Industrial welder vs welder helper

The differences between industrial welders and welder helpers 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 helper. Additionally, an industrial welder has an average salary of $45,427, which is higher than the $29,684 average annual salary of a welder helper.

The top three skills for an industrial welder include MIG, arc welding and stainless steel. The most important skills for a welder helper are grind welds, MIG, and grinders.

Industrial welder vs welder helper overview

	Industrial Welder	Welder Helper
Yearly salary	$45,427	$29,684
Hourly rate	$21.84	$14.27
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	15,589	21,605
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 33%	High School Diploma, 60%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	4

Industrial welder vs welder helper salary

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

	Industrial Welder	Welder Helper
Average salary	$45,427	$29,684
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $61,000	Between $22,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	-	Bakersfield, CA
Highest paying state	-	Wyoming
Best paying company	-	Kiewit
Best paying industry	-	Construction

Differences between industrial welder and welder helper education

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

	Industrial Welder	Welder Helper
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 33%	High School Diploma, 60%
Most common major	Precision Metal Working	Precision Metal Working
Most common college	-	-

Industrial welder vs welder helper demographics

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

	Industrial Welder	Welder Helper
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 93.4% Female, 6.6%	Male, 92.1% Female, 7.9%
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, 8.9% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 26.0% Asian, 2.5% White, 57.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6%
LGBT Percentage	3%	3%

Differences between industrial welder and welder helper 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 helper example responsibilities.

Manage and run production parts through the brake.
Weld structural material including carbon steel and stainless steel using SMAW, and MIG processes.
Perform welder duties using SMAW, PAC, GMAW, oxy-fuel cutting, and GTAW processes.
Work on vessels welding using SMAW and FCAW
Can also Tig weld and use the process FCAW
Perform welder helper duties using electric, oxyacetylene, MIG and TIG welding processes.

Industrial welder vs welder helper skills

Common industrial welder skills

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

Common welder helper skills

Grind Welds, 10%
MIG, 9%
Grinders, 9%
Safety Equipment, 7%
Arc Welding, 7%
GMAW, 6%