Lead fabricator vs welder

The differences between lead fabricators and welders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a lead fabricator has an average salary of $44,415, which is higher than the $39,696 average annual salary of a welder.

The top three skills for a lead fabricator include customer service, lean manufacturing and safety procedures. The most important skills for a welder are arc welding, aluminum, and hand tools.

Lead fabricator vs welder overview

	Lead Fabricator	Welder
Yearly salary	$44,415	$39,696
Hourly rate	$21.35	$19.08
Growth rate	-1%	2%
Number of jobs	3,209	9,463
Job satisfaction	-	4.25
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 28%	High School Diploma, 46%
Average age	44	40
Years of experience	-	4

Lead fabricator vs welder salary

Lead fabricators and welders have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Lead Fabricator	Welder
Average salary	$44,415	$39,696
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $72,000	Between $29,000 And $54,000
Highest paying City	-	Woburn, MA
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	California Resources
Best paying industry	-	Automotive

Differences between lead fabricator and welder education

There are a few differences between a lead fabricator and a welder in terms of educational background:

	Lead Fabricator	Welder
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 28%	High School Diploma, 46%
Most common major	Business	Precision Metal Working
Most common college	-	-

Lead fabricator vs welder demographics

Here are the differences between lead fabricators' and welders' demographics:

	Lead Fabricator	Welder
Average age	44	40
Gender ratio	Male, 92.8% Female, 7.2%	Male, 93.9% Female, 6.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 58.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 3.0% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.7%
LGBT Percentage	5%	3%

Differences between lead fabricator and welder duties and responsibilities

Lead fabricator example responsibilities.

Weld TIG & GMAW stainless certify.
Quoted jobs, weld TIG, MIG, aluminum and steel.
Fabricate jigs and fixtures for accurate production of parts.
Follow all safety policies and ensure PPE are used.
Develop jigs, dies, fixtures, gauges and other tooling to meet specifications set out by customers.
Glass glazing/commercial aluminum window panel fabrication

Welder example responsibilities.

Manage and run production parts through the brake.
Weld with oxyacetylene, MIG, and brazing all kind of materials like bronze, platinum, aluminum, and flux.
Experience TIG, plasma cutting, brazing, torch cutting, shears press, bending and manipulating heated metal.
Fabricate and weld car carrier trailers using MIG welding method, used overhead cranes to lift weld pieces up.
Fabricate and weld the steel reinforcement and forms according to print on a vibratory bed using MIG and GMAW welding.
Experience welding pipe ranging from 2"up to 72"pressure vessels using the GMAW and FCAW welding process.

Lead fabricator vs welder skills

Common lead fabricator skills

Customer Service, 11%
Lean Manufacturing, 7%
Safety Procedures, 7%
Sigma, 6%
CNC Plasma, 4%
Shop Equipment, 4%

Common welder skills

Arc Welding, 8%
Aluminum, 7%
Hand Tools, 7%
Tig Welding, 6%
Stainless Steel, 5%
GMAW, 5%