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Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers

Production · SOC 51-4121

0.0% AI Exposure — Low
$53,750
Median Annual Salary
Average
O*NET Outlook
48,800
Proj. Annual Openings
416,210
Employment (OEWS 2025)
+0.2%/yr
Empl. growth (2019–2025)
100/100
AI Resiliency Score

AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.

Decision card

Career Evidence Passport

SOC 51-4121 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.

Proxy / seed data labeledDescriptive-only
SOC exposure
0.0%
Low · Anthropic AEI
Automation friction
43/100
Moderate friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
Wages
$53,750
No H-1B offered-wage row for this SOC.
Projected openings
48,800
BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change +2.2%.
Observed/proxy demand
0
FY2025 certified LCAs; 47,383 postings in 2025.

Skill evidence

Quality Control AnalysisMonitoringCritical ThinkingJudgment and Decision MakingOperations Monitoring

Transition context

  • H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
  • Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
  • Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
  • This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.

AI Exposure Analysis

AI Exposure0.0%
AI Resiliency100/100
Exposure BandLow
Sector Avg. Exposure0.7%

Across AI measures

Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.

14.6%
Consensus
Actual adoption · Anthropic0%
AI capability · OpenAI8.8%
AI ability · AIOE35.1%
Automation baseline (2013) · Frey & Osborne94%

Top Skills

1.Quality Control Analysis
2.Monitoring
3.Critical Thinking
4.Judgment and Decision Making
5.Operations Monitoring

H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand

View full H-1B trends →

Certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications naming this occupation, FY2016–FY2025. A descriptive high-skill labor-demand signal — employer filings, not visa approvals or individual outcomes. Note: one LCA can cover multiple worker positions.

3
Decade Total (Certified LCAs)
0
FY2025 Volume
0% of all H-1B filings in FY2025
$0
Median Offered Wage (Latest Year)
#572 of 776
Rank by Total Volume
H-1B filing volume, FY2016–FY2025

O*NET occupation profile

What this work involves

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.

Common titles: Assembly Line Brazer, Brazer, Fabrication Welder, Maintenance Welder, MIG Welder (Metal Inert Gas Welder), Solderer

Representative Tasks

  • 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.

Detailed Work Activities

  • Maintain safety.
  • Measure dimensions of completed products or workpieces to verify conformance to specifications.
  • Operate welding equipment.
  • Notify others of equipment repair or maintenance needs.
  • Watch operating equipment to detect malfunctions.

Tools & Technologies

Microsoft Excel · hotMicrosoft Office software · hotMicrosoft Outlook · hotOracle Database · hotFred's Tip Cartridge PickerIBM NotesRecordkeeping softwareScientific Software Group Filter Drain FDValue Analysis

Employment Projections & AI Exposure

15
Occupations Shown
0.5%
Avg AI Exposure
1
Bright Outlook
Horizontal bar chart showing occupations with the highest projected annual openings. Each bar length represents annual projected openings. Color uses a gradient from violet (lower) to cyan (higher). Summary statistics are shown above the chart.

Employment & Wage Trend

BLS OEWS, 2019–2025


Occupation Employment & Wage TrendMulti-year BLS OEWS history for SOC 51-4121: 2019 — employment: 410,750, median wage: $42,490; 2020 — employment: 397,550, median wage: $44,190; 2021 — employment: 397,600, median wage: $47,010; 2022 — employment: 408,990, median wage: $47,540; 2023 — employment: 421,730, median wage: $48,940; 2025 — employment: 416,210, median wage: $53,750.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.

Sector Comparison

MetricThis CareerSector Average
AI Exposure0.0%0.7%
OutlookAverage4% Bright
Median Salary$53,750N/A
AI Resiliency100/100N/A