welder
Welders operate welding equipment in order to join metal workpieces together. They can use fusion welding processes based on different techniques and materials. They also perform simple visual inspection of welds.
welder welders operate welding equipment in order to join metal workpieces together. They can use fusion welding processes based on different techniques and materials. They also perform simple visual inspection of welds. The role shows low AI exposure (0.30 on a 0-1 scale) — the role's core work resists automation. The most in-demand skills for the role include statistical process control, manufacturing processes, quality and cycle time optimisation, types of metal, quality standards.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £35,344 a year for Welding trades (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
Middle half of full-time jobs: £29,783 to £44,176 a year
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 5213). ONS rates this estimate reasonably precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Craft and related trades workers” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only welder, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 7. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Production and Processing
- Administration and Management
- Design
- Public Safety and Security
- English Language
- Mechanical
- Customer and Personal Service
- Engineering and Technology
What you'd actually do
- Read blueprints, work orders, or production schedules to determine product or job instructions or specifications.
- Inspect, measure, or test completed metal workpieces to ensure conformance to specifications, using measuring and testing devices.
- Record operational information on specified production reports.
- Correct problems by adjusting controls or by stopping machines and opening holding devices.
- Set up, operate, or tend welding machines that join or bond components to fabricate metal products or assemblies.
- Select torch tips, alloys, flux, coil, tubing, or wire, according to metal types or thicknesses, data charts, or records.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does welder do?
Welders operate welding equipment in order to join metal workpieces together. They can use fusion welding processes based on different techniques and materials. They also perform simple visual inspection of welds.
What skills does welder need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include statistical process control, manufacturing processes, quality and cycle time optimisation, types of metal, quality standards, laser types. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace welder?
Our AI-durability model gives welder a score of 0.30 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at low AI exposure — the role's core work resists current-generation automation. It's a comparatively AI-durable choice within its field.