Lead welder vs welding supervisor

The differences between lead welders and welding supervisors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a lead welder, becoming a welding supervisor takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a welding supervisor has an average salary of $55,605, which is higher than the $45,718 average annual salary of a lead welder.

The top three skills for a lead welder include aluminum, stainless steel and safety equipment. The most important skills for a welding supervisor are GMAW, blueprint specifications, and aluminum.

Lead welder vs welding supervisor overview

	Lead Welder	Welding Supervisor
Yearly salary	$45,718	$55,605
Hourly rate	$21.98	$26.73
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	8,274	27,184
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 39%	High School Diploma, 36%
Average age	40	46
Years of experience	4	2

Lead welder vs welding supervisor salary

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

	Lead Welder	Welding Supervisor
Average salary	$45,718	$55,605
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $62,000	Between $41,000 And $74,000
Highest paying City	-	Fontana, CA
Highest paying state	-	Wyoming
Best paying company	-	BWX Technologies
Best paying industry	-	Professional

Differences between lead welder and welding supervisor education

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

	Lead Welder	Welding Supervisor
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 39%	High School Diploma, 36%
Most common major	Precision Metal Working	Precision Metal Working
Most common college	-	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Lead welder vs welding supervisor demographics

Here are the differences between lead welders' and welding supervisors' demographics:

	Lead Welder	Welding Supervisor
Average age	40	46
Gender ratio	Male, 95.9% Female, 4.1%	Male, 95.0% Female, 5.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 2.9% White, 63.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.7%	Black or African American, 13.0% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 5.1% White, 60.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	3%	6%

Differences between lead welder and welding supervisor duties and responsibilities

Lead welder example responsibilities.

Create weekly work schedules, process payroll information, manage inventory counts and job cost for each project.
Certify in restaurant grade stainless steel and aluminum TIG welding, carbon stick welding and stainless and carbon MIG welding.
Weld with solid wire (GMAW), flux core (FCAW) and stick (SMAW).
Used MIG and TIG welding to fit electrical and mechanical components.
Execute daily operations of MIG, and TIG welding, and rework welding.
Develop and record documentation for PQR's and WPS's.

Welding supervisor example responsibilities.

Manage what parts are run with each other and when they are run.
Manage payroll, order all safety equipment, PPE, and spare parts require to keep production rates up.
Manage weld process controls of GMAW-P, CV both robotic and semi-automatic; to include GTAW both robotic and semi-automatic.
Manage warranty repair/restoration of company valves involving strict API and ISO requirements/procedures.
Certify MIG & TIG welding on steel, stainless steel and aluminum.
Work solo and over crews SMAW, GTAW & FCAW procedures perform

Lead welder vs welding supervisor skills

Common lead welder skills

Aluminum, 7%
Stainless Steel, 7%
Safety Equipment, 6%
Blueprint Specifications, 5%
GMAW, 5%
Tig Welding, 5%

Common welding supervisor skills

GMAW, 8%
Blueprint Specifications, 7%
Aluminum, 7%
AWS, 7%
Arc Welding, 6%
GTAW, 5%