Tack welder vs combination welder

The differences between tack welders and combination 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 tack welder and a combination welder. Additionally, a combination welder has an average salary of $45,432, which is higher than the $30,795 average annual salary of a tack welder.

The top three skills for a tack welder include tack welding, tape measure and FCAW. The most important skills for a combination welder are arc welding, tack, and minor maintenance.

Tack welder vs combination welder overview

	Tack Welder	Combination Welder
Yearly salary	$30,795	$45,432
Hourly rate	$14.81	$21.84
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	7,051	7,117
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 54%	High School Diploma, 36%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	4

Tack welder vs combination welder salary

Tack welders and combination welders have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Tack Welder	Combination Welder
Average salary	$30,795	$45,432
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $40,000	Between $32,000 And $62,000
Highest paying City	-	Bremerton, WA
Highest paying state	-	Wyoming
Best paying company	-	Maxum Enterprises, LLC
Best paying industry	-	Construction

Differences between tack welder and combination welder education

There are a few differences between a tack welder and a combination welder in terms of educational background:

	Tack Welder	Combination Welder
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 54%	High School Diploma, 36%
Most common major	Precision Metal Working	Precision Metal Working
Most common college	-	-

Tack welder vs combination welder demographics

Here are the differences between tack welders' and combination welders' demographics:

	Tack Welder	Combination Welder
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 93.2% Female, 6.8%	Male, 96.7% Female, 3.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 19.4% Asian, 2.7% White, 62.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%	Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 24.3% Asian, 2.6% White, 57.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6%
LGBT Percentage	3%	3%

Differences between tack welder and combination welder duties and responsibilities

Tack welder example responsibilities.

Manage and run production parts through the brake.
Clean room tig welding of semiconductor gas lines.
Heated, form and dresses metal parts using torches or arc welding equipment.
Tack together pipe with tig rig.
Work in prefab assembly line in steal and aluminum shops.
Assist lead welder in welding, brazing and arc cutting activities.

Combination welder example responsibilities.

Fitter-Qualify in SMAW, FCAW, GMAW, as per AWS D1.1.
Repair wrecked tank cars using plasma, torches, welders, and air arc.
Fabricate numerous shop projects using all processes in variety of positions on carbon, aluminum, and stainless.
Assist lead welder in various welding, brazing, grinding, thermal, gouging, and arc cutting operations.
Can position pieces to weld into jigs, holding fixtures, guides and steps using measuring instruments and hand tools.
Assemble or secure pipes, tubes, fittings, specifications, by welding, brazing, soldering, or threading joints.

Tack welder vs combination welder skills

Common tack welder skills

Tack Welding, 21%
Tape Measure, 19%
FCAW, 16%
PPE, 9%
Tack-Weld, 6%
Blueprint Specifications, 6%

Common combination welder skills

Arc Welding, 14%
Tack, 10%
Minor Maintenance, 7%
MIG, 6%
Gmaw Welding, 5%
Engineering Drawings, 4%