Tack welder vs welder helper

The differences between tack welders and welder helpers 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 welder helper. Additionally, a tack welder has an average salary of $30,795, which is higher than the $29,684 average annual salary of a welder helper.

The top three skills for a tack welder include tack welding, tape measure and FCAW. The most important skills for a welder helper are grind welds, MIG, and grinders.

Tack welder vs welder helper overview

	Tack Welder	Welder Helper
Yearly salary	$30,795	$29,684
Hourly rate	$14.81	$14.27
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	7,051	21,605
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 54%	High School Diploma, 60%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	4

Tack welder vs welder helper salary

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

	Tack Welder	Welder Helper
Average salary	$30,795	$29,684
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $40,000	Between $22,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	-	Bakersfield, CA
Highest paying state	-	Wyoming
Best paying company	-	Kiewit
Best paying industry	-	Construction

Differences between tack welder and welder helper education

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

	Tack Welder	Welder Helper
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 54%	High School Diploma, 60%
Most common major	Precision Metal Working	Precision Metal Working
Most common college	-	-

Tack welder vs welder helper demographics

Here are the differences between tack welders' and welder helpers' demographics:

	Tack Welder	Welder Helper
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 93.2% Female, 6.8%	Male, 92.1% Female, 7.9%
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, 8.9% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 26.0% Asian, 2.5% White, 57.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6%
LGBT Percentage	3%	3%

Differences between tack welder and welder helper 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.

Welder helper example responsibilities.

Manage and run production parts through the brake.
Weld structural material including carbon steel and stainless steel using SMAW, and MIG processes.
Perform welder duties using SMAW, PAC, GMAW, oxy-fuel cutting, and GTAW processes.
Work on vessels welding using SMAW and FCAW
Can also Tig weld and use the process FCAW
Perform welder helper duties using electric, oxyacetylene, MIG and TIG welding processes.

Tack welder vs welder helper skills

Common tack welder skills

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

Common welder helper skills

Grind Welds, 10%
MIG, 9%
Grinders, 9%
Safety Equipment, 7%
Arc Welding, 7%
GMAW, 6%