Welder vs blacksmith

The differences between welders and blacksmiths can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a welder and a blacksmith. Additionally, a welder has an average salary of $39,696, which is higher than the $33,570 average annual salary of a blacksmith.

The top three skills for a welder include arc welding, aluminum and hand tools. The most important skills for a blacksmith are customer service, aluminum, and hand tools.

Welder vs blacksmith overview

	Welder	Blacksmith
Yearly salary	$39,696	$33,570
Hourly rate	$19.08	$16.14
Growth rate	2%	10%
Number of jobs	9,463	406
Job satisfaction	4.25	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	40	42
Years of experience	4	4

Welder vs blacksmith salary

Welders and blacksmiths have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Welder	Blacksmith
Average salary	$39,696	$33,570
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $54,000	Between $22,000 And $50,000
Highest paying City	Woburn, MA	-
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	-
Best paying company	California Resources	-
Best paying industry	Automotive	-

Differences between welder and blacksmith education

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

	Welder	Blacksmith
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Precision Metal Working	Fine Arts
Most common college	-	New York University

Welder vs blacksmith demographics

Here are the differences between welders' and blacksmiths' demographics:

	Welder	Blacksmith
Average age	40	42
Gender ratio	Male, 93.9% Female, 6.1%	Male, 83.1% Female, 16.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 3.0% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.7%	Black or African American, 5.0% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 9.6% White, 69.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	3%	4%

Differences between welder and blacksmith duties and responsibilities

Welder example responsibilities.

Manage and run production parts through the brake.
Weld with oxyacetylene, MIG, and brazing all kind of materials like bronze, platinum, aluminum, and flux.
Experience TIG, plasma cutting, brazing, torch cutting, shears press, bending and manipulating heated metal.
Fabricate and weld car carrier trailers using MIG welding method, used overhead cranes to lift weld pieces up.
Fabricate and weld the steel reinforcement and forms according to print on a vibratory bed using MIG and GMAW welding.
Experience welding pipe ranging from 2"up to 72"pressure vessels using the GMAW and FCAW welding process.

Blacksmith example responsibilities.

Experience in all fields of welding: stick, mig, tig, pipe fitting.
Perform weld repairs using the mig and tig process.
Weld copper anodes to pots using the mig process.
Fabricate local signs from aluminum weld with steel, neon light mapping and LEDlights.
Perform cnc press brake set up per customer print; ensure compliance with all QA procedures.
Fabricate machining fixtures and jigs for custom applications.

Welder vs blacksmith skills

Common welder skills

Arc Welding, 8%
Aluminum, 7%
Hand Tools, 7%
Tig Welding, 6%
Stainless Steel, 5%
GMAW, 5%

Common blacksmith skills

Customer Service, 37%
Aluminum, 24%
Hand Tools, 10%
Torches, 5%
Drill Press, 5%
Stainless Steel, 4%