Welder vs welder-machine operator

The differences between welders and welder-machine operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a welder, becoming a welder-machine operator takes usually requires 3-6 months. Additionally, a welder has an average salary of $39,696, which is higher than the $37,171 average annual salary of a welder-machine operator.

The top three skills for a welder include arc welding, aluminum and hand tools. The most important skills for a welder-machine operator are arc welding, safety equipment, and stainless steel.

Welder vs welder-machine operator overview

	Welder	Welder-Machine Operator
Yearly salary	$39,696	$37,171
Hourly rate	$19.08	$17.87
Growth rate	2%	-5%
Number of jobs	9,463	68,316
Job satisfaction	4.25	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 46%	High School Diploma, 53%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	6

Welder vs welder-machine operator salary

Welders and welder-machine operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Welder	Welder-Machine Operator
Average salary	$39,696	$37,171
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $54,000	Between $27,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	Woburn, MA	Fontana, CA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Nevada
Best paying company	California Resources	BWX Technologies
Best paying industry	Automotive	Technology

Differences between welder and welder-machine operator education

There are a few differences between a welder and a welder-machine operator in terms of educational background:

	Welder	Welder-Machine Operator
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 46%	High School Diploma, 53%
Most common major	Precision Metal Working	Precision Metal Working
Most common college	-	Dunwoody College of Technology

Welder vs welder-machine operator demographics

Here are the differences between welders' and welder-machine operators' demographics:

	Welder	Welder-Machine Operator
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 93.9% Female, 6.1%	Male, 84.6% Female, 15.4%
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, 11.0% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% Asian, 2.7% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6%
LGBT Percentage	3%	3%

Differences between welder and welder-machine operator 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.

Welder-machine operator example responsibilities.

Weld required parts using GMAW, GTAW, and SMAW.
Require to weld a wide veriety of assemblies, fabricate parts and maintain equipment and fixtures employing GMAW and GTAW techniques.
Operate the welding robots and do rework with the MIG welder.
Weld both steel and aluminum pressure tanks for both train and truck air brake systems.
Dismantle metal assemblies and cut scrap metal, using thermal-cutting equipment such as flame-cutting torches or plasma-arc equipment.
Position, align, fit, and weld together parts, using jigs, welding torch, and hand tools.

Welder vs welder-machine operator skills

Common welder skills

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

Common welder-machine operator skills

Arc Welding, 7%
Safety Equipment, 7%
Stainless Steel, 6%
CNC, 6%
Tig Welding, 5%
Tape Measure, 5%