Growth In Welding Jobs

Even with automation and robotics transforming some industries and replacing jobs traditionally performed manually by welders, the employment outlook is still very positive for a variety of reasons.

Although only a slight increase in jobs in welding is projected through 2018, many new openings are expected to become available as the current aging workforce approaches retirement age and must be replaced, and green technology, alternative energy, and infrastructure projects are anticipated to increase demand. For these reasons, currently there is actually a shortage of qualified skilled welders in several fields.

Welding is involved in manufacturing, construction, auto making, ship building, the erecting of bridges and other infrastructure, the energy industry, aerospace, agriculture, metal fabricating, mining, and the oil and gas industry, to name only a few of the many potential fields where welders may find reliable employment with competitive salaries and benefits.

All jobs in welding involve fusing or cutting some type of metal, such as aluminum, steel, or copper, at high temperature. Welders can be either skilled or unskilled laborers, with skilled welders requiring a knowledge of the chemical and physical properties of the numerous metals commonly involved in welding. They may be capable of reading blueprints, utilizing a wide range of tools and techniques, be familiar with metallurgy and geometry, and also often are trained to operate computerized or robotic welding equipment, whereas unskilled welders generally only perform the most basic welding techniques.

Welders additionally have the advantage of possessing a skill that is required in many industries which helps guarantee job security. Therefore, if there is a decline in one area, welding jobs can typically be acquired elsewhere, although sometimes relocation may be involved.

New advanced techniques and technologies such as electron beam or laser beam welding are also making welders more in demand for certain traditional and emerging applications that can benefit from these specific capabilities, and welding skills are often required, applicable, or advantageous to have when employed in a variety of other related occupations such as sheet metal workers, millwrights, tool-and-die makers, boilermakers, metal sculptors, and machinists.

In terms of U.S. regions with the greatest likelihood of hiring welders, historically 40% of all welders in America have been employed in only six states where manufacturing and the chemical and petroleum industries have dominated - Texas, Michigan, Illinois, California, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Overall, welders are likely to continue to be required in most fields due to attrition, technological developments, growth in alternative energy and infrastructure projects, and other new fields of innovation, although welders may be expected to be more educated and able to perform increasingly complex and sophisticated tasks at a higher skill level that cannot be easily accomplished with automation or robotics.