Top 5 Welder Skills You Need to Spark Your Career

Welding is quite possibly one of the most underrated careers in the trades industry. In most situations where metal must be joined, welders are required. This includes all sorts of construction applications, from skyscrapers to manufacturing automobiles to cargo ships. If you’re reading this in a car or building now, chances are a welder was there to assist with the construction. As consumer demand and manufacturing increase, as well as American investment in infrastructure, we can expect welders to continually remain or increase in demand. Remember, wherever there’s steel involved, more than likely there will be welders needed. 

Various Specializations

Welding is a vast industry. Essentially, if metals need to be combined, welders are needed. They may specialize in industries like aerospace or automotive, work with special metal alloys or equipment or even robotic welding. Each of these “subspecialties” requires more welding skills beyond what are taught in trade school. The skills needed to be a welder are usually gained from experience on the job and can make you even more desirable within the industry. 

What Are The Skills and Responsibilities of a Welder?

Detail-Oriented

Attention to detail is one of the most important welder skills. Welders make products that people trust every day, and the slightest error can be potentially problematic. At worst, it could be potentially disastrous for the building or car. At best, it could result in a setback on the project. Paying careful attention to their work, checking and double-checking the end results, and staying diligent with details in mind during the project is the best way to prevent these issues. This is even more important if you subspecialize, where greater precision can be required depending on the project, such as in military projects. 

Manual Dexterity

Physical Stamina

Welding can be a very physically demanding activity. You’ll need to hold up heavy equipment like welding irons, and you’ll likely work with steel, which is a very hard and heavy material. You might also be working in hot conditions, as you’ll be near an intense flame and under layers of protective clothing. 

One way to possibly increase your physical stamina and endurance is to be active. This can include going to the gym and working on strength training or cardio, or simply playing a sport. Anything that gets your heart going or challenges your muscles is going to help. It doesn’t have to be specific, just consistent, in order to increase your stamina and endurance. Equally important is resting. We understand that it can be tough balancing work with life, but when you’re exerting your muscles and body with heavy equipment and motion, it’s important to take time to heal and relax. Your body will thank you years down the road. 

Physical Strength

Strength might not be the first thing you think of when considering welder skills, but it’s extremely important. Holding up, moving, and manipulating heavy gear and materials requires strength, especially core and upper body strength (though being strong everywhere is important). Make sure you understand the physical strength needed for the welding task at hand, and don’t overestimate yourself — this can result in accident or injury. Know your limits! 

We recommend training the upper body with compound exercises like overhead presses, bench presses, and rowing. These exercises all toughen your shoulders and arms, while also helping boost your endurance. Additionally, they activate your abdominal muscles in order to stabilize your core, so your whole trunk will get a decent workout. Just like on the job, know your limits — an accident in the gym can potentially take you off the job site for weeks until it recovers.

Ergonomics, the study of how people move in their work environment, should also be considered. Maintaining proper form when welding is crucial to avoiding injuries. For example, the classic scenario of lifting an object off the ground with your legs, and not your back. There’s a reason proper form like this is recommended — because not following it can result in injury. Before any exercise or task, make sure you understand the motions. 

Spatial Orientation

Spatial orientation is the skill of understanding your environment’s layout in your mind. For example, being able to imagine where you are in a room or space (and any objects in it), and then manipulate it. Would you be able to picture the space and objects upside down? Rotated ninety degrees? From facing another direction? 

Remember that welders work mainly in construction or manufacturing. They may need to repeat a task, but mirrored, to make complementary parts or joints. Or, they may need to approach their task from an angle, or from below, or from above — all while still making sure the end product is oriented properly. If not, it might have to be redone, costing both time and money. 

Beyond Skills: Training and Education in Welding

Welding, like most other trades, requires training. One way to get started on the welder career path is to enroll in a trade school. This usually involves around a year of classroom instruction where you’ll learn the mechanics and physics of welding, and then another year or so of apprenticeship where you’ll follow a seasoned welder and learn on the job — oftentimes, it can be a paid apprenticeship, too. 

Once your apprenticeship ends, you can then become a qualified welder and then work independently. Depending on the field you enter, you might have to learn more welder skills, such as handling the properties of a particular alloy or welding torch. You’ll likely need to continue to take competency tests in order to maintain your qualifications as well. We recommend that you always continue to learn new skills where you can, because the more you have, the more desirable you’ll be to future employers, especially in niche industries that demand great precision and experience like aerospace. 

The Welding Industry Landscape: Trends and Innovations

Staying on top of trends is also important. Some of the current trends in welding include robotic and automated welding, which allow for more precise, consistent and timely welding on the assembly line of manufacturing. There’s also laser beam welding. Instead of a jet of very hot gas, a high-intensity beam of light is used, resulting in cleaner, finer, and more precise welds. Other technologies like ultrasonic welding and electron beams are also being developed. Materials and metals used for welding are also changing too. One of the most common metals in the industry, aluminum, is currently being challenged by magnesium-lithium alloys, which are nearly as strong but substantially lighter (they’re also more reactive metals, requiring different technique). Virtual reality headgear is also being used to help teach welding skills and is part of sustainability efforts to reduce waste in the industry. These may or may not be incorporated into your classroom education, so be sure to keep learning and stay up to date even if they aren’t. 

Challenges and Solutions in Welding Careers

Welding can be a potentially hazardous occupation. There are flammable gasses, jets of very hot gas, and heavy metal objects. Welding torches can not only be combustion hazards and cause extremely severe burns, but they also can be poisonous, and the welding torches burn so hot that they release ultraviolet radiation. Proper safety equipment is a must. Face shields to block UV rays, and heat-resistant material to shield from heat. Welders often wear respirators or masks to protect their airway from potentially harmful gasses or metal particles, and noise-dampening earplugs to protect their ears from the loud machinery noises. 

It takes time to become a welder and the field is changing with new technology and projects. There’s plenty of opportunities for hazards, unfortunately. But the best solution is preparation — being familiar with the equipment and project you’re working on and understanding what to do in case of a malfunction or emergency. If you aren’t comfortable with a task, speak up and ask questions. They’ll go a long way to preventing challenges or accidents. 

Welding skills also open doors beyond welding on the site. Remember, welders don’t just work in construction; they work in private industry, manufacturing, the military, and more, where there’s plenty of opportunity for lateral growth. Or you can also move laterally if you find another job or trade interesting. After all, welders may often work alongside equipment operators, masons, electricians, and so on, that are working on the same building or task at hand. You can also go back and become an instructor, to train the next generation of workers. Welders can move upwards into management, if they gain enough experience and are interested in leading a team. 

Welding as a versatile skill: Diverse applications and industries

Welding skills also open doors beyond welding on the site. Remember, welders don’t just work in construction; they work in private industry, manufacturing, the military, and more, where there’s plenty of opportunity for lateral growth. Or you can also move laterally if you find another job or trade interesting. After all, welders may often work alongside equipment operators, masons, electricians, and so on, that are working on the same building or task at hand. You can also go back and become an instructor, to train the next generation of workers. Welders can move upwards into management, if they gain enough experience and are interested in leading a team. 

Future Outlook

The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 1% growth in welding for the next few years, or little to no growth. However, over 40,000 jobs for welders are projected each year. While the field may not be growing drastically, it’s holding steady and there will always be a need for welders. This is because older welders are beginning to retire, leaving their positions open for a newer one to take their place. We’re seeing this happen with other trades across the board, like carpentry and plumbing, as the Baby Boomer generation workers enter retirement. 

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