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.
51-4121

Job Information
Create Job ID		Min Sal		Education Level
				Less than a High School Diploma High School Diploma / GED) Post-Secondary Certificate - specialized training after high school   Some College Courses Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) Bachelor's Degree Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Master's Degree Post-Master's Certificate First Professional Degree Doctoral Degree Post-Doctoral Training
FLSA		Max Sal		Job Level
Exempt / Salary  Non-Exempt / Hourly				Less Than 2 Years exp. 2 to 4 years exp. required 4 to 8 years exp. required 8 to 12 years exp. required Over 12 years exp. required
Organization		Mgr. Level		Bureau Labor Statistics: Low   -   Mid   -   High
Operations Engineering Administration		Yes No		38,310	51,620	98,850

Select 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.		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.
	Weld separately or in combination, using aluminum, stainless steel, cast iron, and other alloys.		Select and install torches, torch tips, filler rods, and flux, according to welding chart specifications or types and thicknesses of metals.		Ignite torches or start power supplies and strike arcs by touching electrodes to metals being welded, completing electrical circuits.
	Connect and turn regulator valves to activate and adjust gas flow and pressure so that desired flames are obtained.		Determine required equipment and welding methods, applying knowledge of metallurgy, geometry, and welding techniques.		Monitor the fitting, burning, and welding processes to avoid overheating of parts or warping, shrinking, distortion, or expansion of material.
	Mark or tag material with proper job number, piece marks, and other identifying marks as required.		Chip or grind off excess weld, slag, or spatter, using hand scrapers or power chippers, portable grinders, or arc-cutting equipment.		Prepare all material surfaces to be welded, ensuring that there is no loose or thick scale, slag, rust, moisture, grease, or other foreign matter.
	Preheat workpieces prior to welding or bending, using torches or heating furnaces.		Align and clamp workpieces together, using rules, squares, or hand tools, or position items in fixtures, jigs, or vises.		Develop templates and models for welding projects, using mathematical calculations based on blueprint information.
	Guide and direct flames or electrodes on or across workpieces to straighten, bend, melt, or build up metal.		Position and secure workpieces, using hoists, cranes, wire, and banding machines or hand tools.		Detect faulty operation of equipment or defective materials and notify supervisors.
	Clean or degrease parts, using wire brushes, portable grinders, or chemical baths.		Melt and apply solder along adjoining edges of workpieces to solder joints, using soldering irons, gas torches, or electric-ultrasonic equipment.		Grind, cut, buff, or bend edges of workpieces to be joined to ensure snug fit, using power grinders and hand tools.
	Repair products by dismantling, straightening, reshaping, and reassembling parts, using cutting torches, straightening presses, and hand tools.		Check grooves, angles, or gap allowances, using micrometers, calipers, and precision measuring instruments.		Operate metal shaping, straightening, and bending machines, such as brakes and shears.
	Set up and use ladders and scaffolding as necessary to complete work.		Hammer out bulges or bends in metal workpieces.		Melt and apply solder to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products, using soldering equipment.
	Use fire suppression methods in industrial emergencies.		Analyze engineering drawings, blueprints, specifications, sketches, work orders, and material safety data sheets to plan layout, assembly, and operations.

Select Abilities
	The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.		The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
	The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).		The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.		The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
	The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.		The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).		The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
	The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.		The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.		The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
	The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.		The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.		The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
	The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.		The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.		The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
	The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.		The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).		The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
	The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.		The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.		The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
	The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.		The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.		The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
	The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.		The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.		The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
	The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.		The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.		The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
	The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without 'giving out' or fatiguing.		The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.		The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
	The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.		The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.		The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
	The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).		The ability to see details at a distance.		The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
	The ability to see under low light conditions.		The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.		The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
	The ability to see objects in the presence of glare or bright lighting.		The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.		The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
	The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.		The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.		The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.