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The differences between structural welders and maintenance welders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a structural welder and a maintenance welder. Additionally, a structural welder has an average salary of $42,868, which is higher than the $40,659 average annual salary of a maintenance welder.
The top three skills for a structural welder include SMAW, FCAW and MIG. The most important skills for a maintenance welder are MIG, arc welding, and hand tools.
| Structural Welder | Maintenance Welder | |
| Yearly salary | $42,868 | $40,659 |
| Hourly rate | $20.61 | $19.55 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 9,651 | 78,332 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 46% | High School Diploma, 35% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
The job of structural welders is to design, layout, and fabricate the metal framework for industrial and commercial buildings. They work for a wide variety of industries, including manufacturing, shipbuilding, and construction. Their duties and responsibilities include testing welding and safety equipment, cutting, assembling, repairing building components such as girders and beams, and checking for gap and angle allowances. They either use manual or automated equipment to perform some of these tasks, such as power saws for cutting metals. Structural welders are also responsible for assessing the condition of the equipment.
A Maintenance Welder diagnoses and repairs a variety of metal work including construction vehicles and equipment. They cut, fit, and weld metal using gas and electric welding equipment.
Structural welders and maintenance welders have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Structural Welder | Maintenance Welder | |
| Average salary | $42,868 | $40,659 |
| Salary range | Between $31,000 And $58,000 | Between $30,000 And $54,000 |
| Highest paying City | Philadelphia, PA | Renton, WA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Washington |
| Best paying company | Turner Construction | BNSF Railway |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a structural welder and a maintenance welder in terms of educational background:
| Structural Welder | Maintenance Welder | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 46% | High School Diploma, 35% |
| Most common major | Precision Metal Working | Precision Metal Working |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between structural welders' and maintenance welders' demographics:
| Structural Welder | Maintenance Welder | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.9% Female, 5.1% | Male, 92.8% Female, 7.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 22.1% Asian, 2.6% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% | Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 2.6% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 3% | 3% |