Welder vs welding supervisor

The differences between welders and welding supervisors 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 welding supervisor takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a welding supervisor has an average salary of $55,605, which is higher than the $39,696 average annual salary of a welder.

The top three skills for a welder include arc welding, aluminum and hand tools. The most important skills for a welding supervisor are GMAW, blueprint specifications, and aluminum.

Welder vs welding supervisor overview

	Welder	Welding Supervisor
Yearly salary	$39,696	$55,605
Hourly rate	$19.08	$26.73
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	9,463	27,184
Job satisfaction	4.25	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 46%	High School Diploma, 36%
Average age	40	46
Years of experience	4	2

Welder vs welding supervisor salary

Welders and welding supervisors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Welder	Welding Supervisor
Average salary	$39,696	$55,605
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $54,000	Between $41,000 And $74,000
Highest paying City	Woburn, MA	Fontana, CA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Wyoming
Best paying company	California Resources	BWX Technologies
Best paying industry	Automotive	Professional

Differences between welder and welding supervisor education

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

	Welder	Welding Supervisor
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 46%	High School Diploma, 36%
Most common major	Precision Metal Working	Precision Metal Working
Most common college	-	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Welder vs welding supervisor demographics

Here are the differences between welders' and welding supervisors' demographics:

	Welder	Welding Supervisor
Average age	40	46
Gender ratio	Male, 93.9% Female, 6.1%	Male, 95.0% Female, 5.0%
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, 13.0% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 5.1% White, 60.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	3%	6%

Differences between welder and welding supervisor 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.

Welding supervisor example responsibilities.

Manage what parts are run with each other and when they are run.
Manage payroll, order all safety equipment, PPE, and spare parts require to keep production rates up.
Manage weld process controls of GMAW-P, CV both robotic and semi-automatic; to include GTAW both robotic and semi-automatic.
Manage warranty repair/restoration of company valves involving strict API and ISO requirements/procedures.
Certify MIG & TIG welding on steel, stainless steel and aluminum.
Work solo and over crews SMAW, GTAW & FCAW procedures perform

Welder vs welding supervisor skills

Common welder skills

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

Common welding supervisor skills

GMAW, 8%
Blueprint Specifications, 7%
Aluminum, 7%
AWS, 7%
Arc Welding, 6%
GTAW, 5%