How To Become A Machine Welder: What It Is and Career Path

What is a machine welder and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average machine welder salary is $31,852. 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 a machine welder. Machine 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.

ScoreMachine WelderUS Average

Salary

2.5

Avg. Salary $31,852

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.8

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.58%

Asian 3.19%

Black or African American 10.22%

Hispanic or Latino 17.24%

Unknown 3.97%

White 63.80%

Gender

female 18.33%

male 81.67%

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

7.5

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.9

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a machine welder

Explore machine welder education requirements

Most common machine welder degrees

High School Diploma

55.3 %

Diploma

18.7 %

Associate

11.4 %

Start to develop specific machine welder skills

Skills	Percentages
MIG	13.85%
Aluminum	10.38%
GMAW	9.10%
Calipers	8.16%
Carbon Steel	7.95%

Complete relevant machine welder training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New machine 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 a machine welder based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real machine welder resumes.

Research machine welder duties and responsibilities

Manage aluminum structural/pipe fabrication turnaround: cross-country CGIT/IPB megawatt electrical power conductors.
Perform various tasks requiring MIG welding and TIG welding.
Weld metal parts and components together, using brazing, gas and arc welding equipment.
Stick and mig weld when machine go down.

Prepare your machine welder resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your machine 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 a machine 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 machine welder resume templates

Build a professional machine 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 machine welder resume.