How To Become An Industrial Welder: What It Is and Career Path

What is an industrial welder and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average industrial welder salary is $45,427. The most common degree is a high school diploma degree with an precision metal working major. It usually takes 2-4 years of experience to become an industrial welder. Industrial welders with a Certified Welding Engineer certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 2% and produce 6,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreIndustrial WelderUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $45,427

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.8

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.58%

Asian 2.95%

Black or African American 10.75%

Hispanic or Latino 19.74%

Unknown 3.96%

White 61.02%

Gender

female 6.59%

male 93.41%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress level

5.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.7

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.9

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an industrial welder

Explore industrial welder education requirements

Most common industrial welder degrees

High School Diploma

33.3 %

Associate

24.1 %

Diploma

22.2 %

Start to develop specific industrial welder skills

Skills	Percentages
MIG	19.58%
Arc Welding	13.56%
Stainless Steel	10.12%
Jigs	9.46%
Spot Welding	8.87%

Complete relevant industrial welder training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New industrial welders learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an industrial welder based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real industrial welder resumes.

Research industrial welder duties and responsibilities

Cut metal using acetylene and plasma torches.
Gain experience with materials ranging from PVC to hastelloy.
Perform MIG and stick welds and erecting structural steel utilize for building skeletons including specific/ detail measurements for accuracy.
Weld taillights in a machine vibrating welder for car companies such as Hyundai and Chrysler!

Prepare your industrial welder resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your industrial welder resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an industrial welder resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable industrial welder resume templates

Build a professional industrial welder resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your industrial welder resume.