Industrial welder vs welder fitter

The differences between industrial welders and welder fitters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an industrial welder and a welder fitter. Additionally, an industrial welder has an average salary of $45,427, which is higher than the $39,676 average annual salary of a welder fitter.

The top three skills for an industrial welder include MIG, arc welding and stainless steel. The most important skills for a welder fitter are MIG, hand tools, and arc welding.

Industrial welder vs welder fitter overview

	Industrial Welder	Welder Fitter
Yearly salary	$45,427	$39,676
Hourly rate	$21.84	$19.07
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	15,589	8,022
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 33%	High School Diploma, 43%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	4

Industrial welder vs welder fitter salary

Industrial welders and welder fitters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Industrial Welder	Welder Fitter
Average salary	$45,427	$39,676
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $61,000	Between $28,000 And $55,000
Highest paying City	-	Vancouver, WA
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	Jefferson Lab
Best paying industry	-	Energy

Differences between industrial welder and welder fitter education

There are a few differences between an industrial welder and a welder fitter in terms of educational background:

	Industrial Welder	Welder Fitter
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 33%	High School Diploma, 43%
Most common major	Precision Metal Working	Precision Metal Working
Most common college	-	-

Industrial welder vs welder fitter demographics

Here are the differences between industrial welders' and welder fitters' demographics:

	Industrial Welder	Welder Fitter
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 93.4% Female, 6.6%	Male, 95.1% Female, 4.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 19.7% Asian, 3.0% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6%	Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6%
LGBT Percentage	3%	3%

Differences between industrial welder and welder fitter duties and responsibilities

Industrial welder example 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!

Welder fitter example responsibilities.

Manage and run production parts through the brake.
Align parts in relation to each other, using jacks, turnbuckles, clips, wedges, and mauls.
Align and fit according to specifications using jacks, turnbuckles, wedges, drift pins, pry bars and hammers.
Weld and fit per drawing: GTAW aluminum, stainless, steel, and copper-nickel pipe.
Fabricate parts and equipment using GTAW process on thin metals such as aluminum & other precious metals.
Manufacture mobile home frames using fixtures, heat beam for a perfect chamber while applying welding procedures of SMAW and GMAW.

Industrial welder vs welder fitter skills

Common industrial welder skills

MIG, 20%
Arc Welding, 14%
Stainless Steel, 10%
Jigs, 9%
Spot Welding, 9%
GMAW, 6%

Common welder fitter skills

MIG, 13%
Hand Tools, 7%
Arc Welding, 5%
GMAW, 5%
Aluminum, 5%
Stainless Steel, 5%