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Boston Career Explorer

Production

Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers

Use hand-welding, flame-cutting, hand-soldering, or brazing equipment to weld or join metal components or to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products.

Also called: Assembly Line Brazer, Brazer, Fabrication Welder, Maintenance Welder, MIG Welder (Metal Inert Gas Welder), Solderer

Compare with my current job (Butchers and Meat Cutters)
Median pay in Greater Boston
$63,770
$30.66/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
2,210
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+4.2%
330 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
High school diploma or equivalent
plus Moderate-term on-the-job training

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$49,030$56,250$63,770$76,100$83,430

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Operate safety equipment and use safe work habits.
  • Examine workpieces for defects and measure workpieces with straightedges or templates to ensure conformance with specifications.
  • Weld components in flat, vertical, or overhead positions.
  • Detect faulty operation of equipment or defective materials and notify supervisors.
  • Recognize, set up, and operate hand and power tools common to the welding trade, such as shielded metal arc and gas metal arc welding equipment.
  • Select and install torches, torch tips, filler rods, and flux, according to welding chart specifications or types and thicknesses of metals.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Lower exposure9 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 10
  • Language-model AIOE 7
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 11

Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure for this job is among the lowest, and observed AI use is little or none. AI tools may help a little with checking specifications or flagging defects. Welding in different positions, setting up equipment, and working safely in the shop are hands-on tasks that AI tools do not do.

Likely to change

  • Checking workpieces against specifications
  • Flagging defective materials or faulty equipment

Still relies on people

  • Welding in flat, vertical, and overhead positions
  • Using safety equipment and safe work habits

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

Related jobs that build on what you already do.

  • Structural Iron and Steel Workers

    Metal work, measuring, and blueprint reading carry over. The Boston median is $120,840, and the path is an apprenticeship.

    Pay difference
    +$57,070 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +6.1%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Glaziers

    Reading blueprints and measuring carefully carry over to installing glass and framing. The Boston median is $107,610, and the path is an apprenticeship.

    Pay difference
    +$43,840 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +4.9%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles

    Measuring, cutting, and trimming materials to fit carry over. The Boston median is $98,290 and Massachusetts growth is 11.3%.

    Pay difference
    +$34,520 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +11.3%
    To get started
    No formal educational credential

Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

1 program near Boston

Who employs welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers on Boston construction projects

Hours worked on projects covered by the Boston Residents Jobs Policy over the last 24 months. This shows who has employed welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers, not who has openings.

4,482 worker hours from Oct 20, 2024 to Oct 19, 2026 (trades: Welder).

9.6%
of hours by boston residents
45.5%
of hours by people of color
0.0%
of hours by women
Top employers by worker hours
EmployerWorker hoursBoston resident shareProjects
JWC Steel Co., LLC2,6520.0%6

Related occupations

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