0 selections
0 selections

How to Become a MIG Welder

0 selections

On This Page

Skip to section

OverviewOpen JobsCareer PathsAverage SalaryResume Examples & Templates
More
DemographicsEducational RequirementsTop SkillsBest StatesEmployersVideos

What is a MIG Welder

Whether it's just a small fitting, or a big project of metal made by shaping different parts, it usually involves a gas welding technique. This must be performed by a MIG welder who is professionally trained for carrying out welding and electric arc processes.

All you need to become an MIG welder is a high school diploma, but having at least an associate's degree is common. Many high-rated professionals have joined the field after completing college. Apart from a degree, MIG welders must pass certain safety and technical courses before working.

There are many hazards in a welding workplace that could lead to serious accidents. MIG welders must follow all the proper safety procedures to avoid this. Welders are also required to go through physical fitness tests periodically, making good health a criteria for the job. Once you get through all these requirements, the profession can earn you more than $16 per hour.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a MIG Welder. For example, did you know that they make an average of $16.18 an hour? That's $33,661 a year!

Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 14,500 job opportunities across the U.S.

What Does a MIG Welder Do

There are certain skills that many MIG Welders have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed Detail oriented, Manual dexterity and Physical strength.

Learn more about what a MIG Welder does

How To Become a MIG Welder

If you're interested in becoming a MIG Welder, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 5.9% of MIG Welders have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 1.6% of MIG Welders have master's degrees. Even though some MIG Welders have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a MIG Welder. When we researched the most common majors for a MIG Welder, we found that they most commonly earn High School Diploma degrees or Diploma degrees. Other degrees that we often see on MIG Welder resumes include Associate Degree degrees or Bachelor's Degree degrees.

You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a MIG Welder. In fact, many MIG Welder jobs require experience in a role such as Welder. Meanwhile, many MIG Welders also have previous career experience in roles such as Welder Fitter or TIG Welder.

What is the right job for my career path?

Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the right jobs to get there.

And if you’re looking for a job, here are the five top employers hiring now:

  1. Martinrea International Jobs (24)
  2. Johnson Controls Jobs (31)
  3. Lippert Components Jobs (25)
  4. Great Dane Jobs (19)
  5. BAE Systems Jobs (21)
Average Salary
$33,661
Average Salary
Job Growth Rate
3%
Job Growth Rate
Job Openings
7,375
Job Openings
resume document icon

Don't Have A Professional Resume?

0 selections

MIG Welder Career Paths

As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a MIG Welder can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as Welder, progress to a title such as Driver and then eventually end up with the title Superintendent.

MIG Welder

Top Careers Before MIG Welder

Welder(9,622 Jobs)
39.3 %
Welder Fitter(8,486 Jobs)
9.2 %
TIG Welder(7,374 Jobs)
9.2 %

Top Careers After MIG Welder

Welder(9,622 Jobs)
40.7 %
TIG Welder(7,374 Jobs)
10.2 %
Welder Fitter(8,486 Jobs)
8.8 %

MIG Welder Jobs You Might Like

What is the right job for my career path?

Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.

Average Salary for a MIG Welder

MIG Welders in America make an average salary of $33,661 per year or $16 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $42,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $26,000 per year.
Average Salary
$33,661
Find Your Salary Estimate
How much should you be earning as an MIG Welder? Use Zippia's Salary Calculator to get an estimation of how much you should be earning.
See More Salary Information

Calculate your salary

Use Zippia's Salary Calculator to see how your pay matches up.

12 MIG Welder Resume Examples

Build a professional mig welder resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 12+ resume templates to create your mig welder resume.

 
Emma Palmer
MIG Welder
Contact Information
Oklahoma City, OK
(600) 555-9535
Skills
  • Car Parts
  • Inspect Parts
  • Fanuc
  • Component Parts
  • Drill Press
  • Osha
  • Quality Standards
  • Heavy Machinery
  • Motoman
  • Sigma
 
 
Employment History
MIG Welder2011 - Present
Trinity Industries
Oklahoma City, OK
  • Determined layout for welding operations.
  • Utilize acquired knowledge of stick, mig, tig and plamza on stainless, aluminum, cast iron and various alloys.
  • Passed welding requirements: 1G & 2G Flux core, MIG/TIG, Stick, stainless steel using multiple positions.
  • Grinded, cleaned and repaired welds using (SMAW) E6011.
MIG Welder2010 - 2011
Trinity Industries
Oklahoma City, OK
  • Certified structural welder, process SMAW, 3G/4G.
  • Welded metal parts together to fabricate product per blueprints, layout, and schematics or work order.
  • Utilize acquired knowledge of stick, mig, tig and plamza on stainless, aluminum, cast iron and various alloys.
  • Passed welding requirements: 1G & 2G Flux core, MIG/TIG, Stick, stainless steel using multiple positions.
  • Customized metal fabrication, TIG, MIG, SMAW, oxy acetylene/plasma
Robot Operator (Part-Time)2009 - 2010
Reynolds Consumer Products Holdings
Jacksonville, IL
  • Communicate with coworkers by phone and radio Perform Quality checks and complete paperwork as required.
  • Identify and locate raw materials by reading and interpreting job orders.
  • Assembled dog collars and leads and sewed dog collars and leads on an assembly line.
  • Operate man lifts, backhoe, and other machinery as needed.
  • Worked on several assembly lines- Packed skids- Performed rework
Education
Associate's Degree Precision Metal Working2008 - 2010
Illinois College
Jacksonville, IL
 
 
Christian Walker
MIG Welder
Contact Info
Aurora, IL
(930) 555-7223
Skills
Customer Service
Marble
Overhead Cranes
Aluminum
Car Parts
Countertop Materials
Welders
AWS
Reception Desk
Stainless Steel
Employment History
MIG Welder2018 - Present
CaterpillarAurora, IL
  • welded with 3/32 flux core, .052 flux core.
  • confined space certified, class 3 welder and fitter, flux core welding.
  • Use calipers, snap gauges, and micrometers to make parts within thousandths of blueprint specifications.
  • Used measuring tools such as tape measure, speed square and level.
Welder-Assembler2016 - 2018
AerotekSan Antonio, TX
  • Use of hand tools power tools air tools.
  • Operated a MIG welding machine, Oxy/Fuel torch, grinder, and some experience on a forklift.
Fabricator/Installer (Part-Time)2015 - 2016
Modular ServicesAustin, TX
  • Assembled and installed components of office furniture and equipment.
  • machine, checked with a caliper and placed back on assembly line to the next area.
  • Fabricated new truck beds and rebuilt oldtruck beds made fiberglass boxes for delivery trucks.
Education
Associate's Degree Precision Metal Working2014 - 2016
Austin Community CollegeAustin, TX
 
 
Steven Moore
MIG Welder
Longview, TX
(980) 555-4216
Experience
MIG Welder2020 - Present
Trinity Industries•Longview, TX
  • Plan and develop layout from blueprints and templates, design, effects of heat, and properties of metals.
  • Weld using mainly 1/16 Flux core wire.
  • Passed welding requirements: 1G & 2G Flux core, MIG/TIG, Stick, stainless steel using multiple positions.
  • Used 0.45 duel shielded flux core wire to weld underframe of 50' boxcars, mostly slots and gussets.
Welder Operator2010 - 2020
BAE Systems•Sealy, TX
  • Certified to weld Carbon steel, stainless steel, CuNi, Aluminum, structural, and pipe systems.
  • Welded structural joints in any position with flux core welding process.
Ironworker/Welder (Part-Time)2010 - 2010
Stoughton Trailers•McAllen, TX
  • Determined layout for welding operations.
  • Welded metal parts together to fabricate product per blueprints, layout, and schematics or work order.
Skills
RailingsTape MeasureTrouble ShootingStructural SteelCNCSmawCar PartsAWSLesson PlansMIG
Education
Some College Courses Precision Metal Working2010 - 2010
South Texas College•McAllen, TX
 
Create My Resume
Build a professional resume in minutes using this template.

Learn How To Write a MIG Welder Resume

At Zippia, we went through countless MIG Welder resumes and compiled some information about how to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.

View MIG Welder Resume Examples And Templates

And if you’re looking for a job, here are the five top employers hiring now:

  1. Martinrea International Jobs (24)
  2. Johnson Controls Jobs (31)
  3. Lippert Components Jobs (25)
  4. Great Dane Jobs (19)
  5. BAE Systems Jobs (21)

Choose From 10+ Customizable MIG Welder Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use MIG Welder templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your MIG Welder resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

MIG Welder Resume
MIG Welder Resume
MIG Welder Resume
MIG Welder Resume
MIG Welder Resume
MIG Welder Resume
MIG Welder Resume
MIG Welder Resume
MIG Welder Resume
MIG Welder Resume
MIG Welder Resume
MIG Welder Resume
MIG Welder Resume
MIG Welder Resume
MIG Welder Resume
MIG Welder Resume

MIG Welder Demographics

MIG Welder Gender Distribution

Male
Male
92%
Female
Female
8%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among MIG Welders, 8.1% of them are women, while 91.9% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among MIG Welders is White, which makes up 68.0% of all MIG Welders.

  • The most common foreign language among MIG Welders is Spanish at 70.5%.

Job Openings

Find the best MIG Welder job for you

0 selections
0 selections

MIG Welder Jobs You Might Like

  • High Paying MIG Welder Jobs - $42K and Up
  • Entry Level MIG Welder Jobs
  • Part Time MIG Welder Jobs
  • Actively Hiring
  • No Degree MIG Welder Jobs

MIG Welder Education

MIG Welder Majors

Precision Metal Working
52.1 %
Business
7.9 %
General Studies
7.9 %

MIG Welder Degrees

High School Diploma

47.4 %

Diploma

19.8 %

Associate

13.5 %
Job Openings

Find the best MIG Welder job for you

0 selections
0 selections

MIG Welder Jobs You Might Like

  • High Paying MIG Welder Jobs - $42K and Up
  • Entry Level MIG Welder Jobs
  • Part Time MIG Welder Jobs
  • Actively Hiring
  • No Degree MIG Welder Jobs

Online Courses For MIG Welder That You May Like

Fusion 360 tutorial for CNC machinists
udemy
4.5
(445)

CAD CAM training for CNC machinists using fusion 360...

View Details on Udemy
CNC Milling machine programming using G-Code
udemy
4.3
(256)

Learning to read and write CNC programs with FANUC G Code has never been so easy...

View Details on Udemy
OSHA Safety Pro: Personal Protective Equipment
udemy
4.6
(1,401)

Impress management or get that job with you your ability to display life and dollar saving work place safety practices...

View Details on Udemy
Show More MIG Welder Courses
Job type you want
Full Time
Part Time
Internship
Temporary

Top Skills For a MIG Welder

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 14.4% of MIG Welders listed Tape Measure on their resume, but soft skills such as Detail oriented and Manual dexterity are important as well.

  • Tape Measure, 14.4%
  • Component Parts, 11.5%
  • Gmaw, 10.1%
  • Aluminum, 9.2%
  • Stainless Steel, 7.5%
  • Other Skills, 47.3%

Best States For a MIG Welder

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a MIG Welder. The best states for people in this position are Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey, and Hawaii. MIG Welders make the most in Massachusetts with an average salary of $49,153. Whereas in Vermont and New Jersey, they would average $47,743 and $45,381, respectively. While MIG Welders would only make an average of $44,802 in Hawaii, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Maine

Total MIG Welder Jobs:
23
Highest 10% Earn:
$57,000
Location Quotient:
1.64
Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here

$42,854

Avg. Salary

View 23 MIG Welder Jobs

2. North Dakota

Total MIG Welder Jobs:
16
Highest 10% Earn:
$47,000
Location Quotient:
1.63
Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here

$41,422

Avg. Salary

View 16 MIG Welder Jobs

3. Oregon

Total MIG Welder Jobs:
65
Highest 10% Earn:
$51,000
Location Quotient:
1.48
Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here

$42,314

Avg. Salary

View 65 MIG Welder Jobs
Full List Of Best States For MIG Welders

How Do MIG Welder Rate Their Jobs?

Working as a MIG Welder? Share your experience anonymously.
Do you work as a MIG Welder?
Rate how you like work as MIG Welder. It's anonymous and will only take a minute.

Top MIG Welder Employers

Most Common Employers For MIG Welder

RankCompanyZippia ScoreAverage MIG Welder SalaryAverage Salary
1
1.Martinrea International
4.4
$54,171
2
2.Johnson Controls
4.7
$48,356
3
3.Lippert Components
4.5
$47,164
4
4.Great Dane
4.3
$43,118
5
5.BAE Systems
4.8
$42,245
6
6.Tenneco
4.8
$41,069
Show More

MIG Welder Videos

How to Use a MIG Welder With Flux Core Wire - Kevin Caron
Welding Career Advice
A Day in the Life of a Welder/Pipefitter

MIG Welder Related Careers

MIG Welder Related Jobs

What Similar Roles Do

Resume For Related Jobs

Updated May 26, 2022