Did you know that there is a subset of welding positions that offer especially high wages? Most people aren’t aware of these positions, but learning more about them may help you enhance your wages as a welder. A career as a basic welder can pull in between $30,000 – $60,000 per year depending on experience, so, yes, it’s a relatively lucrative career even at the basic levels. To be able to get you to the top of the pay scale, you need to make sure that you are choosing the best welding jobs in the world for your future.
Before we go into the top paying welding jobs, it can help to know what certifications you need to get there. You will take a lot of time to learn everything that you need to learn, including qualifications and skills that you can learn on the job and in an education setting. The specialist welding that earns the most money requires the right skills. Many of the top-paying welding jobs include some degree of increased risk, which means that you will need to be constantly training and learning so that you can stay safe.
Even if you have every certification and piece of paper you need, you will need experience. You will need to work your way up from the bottom to do well in your role, and that means you won’t start out with your dream salary. After 3-5 years of experience in welding, you can expect your salary to grow.
Now let’s get into the highest paying welding jobs available right now.
With an annual salary between $52,000 – $207,000, rig welders are the highest paid in the world. The hours are long and hard. The position is advanced and requires the most difficult qualifications to attain. The position is high stakes. If they make just one small mistake, the outcome is catastrophic and so risk has to be considered. There are years of experience and multiple qualifications needed before you can be considered for this job.
Underwater welders bring in between $38,000 – $147,000 every year and they face a range of dangers in their jobs. It’s one of the most dangerous jobs in the world and there is a high workplace fatality rate with it. This is one of the reasons that underwater welders are paid so highly, and they often work offshore and overseas for months at a time. From repairing oil rigs to salvaging shipwrecks, underwater welders work on subsea construction and other risky duties that can be performed. If you want to be an underwater welder, you need a D3.6M certification from the American Welding Society. You have to be a commercial diver, too, and certified as such. During this schooling, you’ll do the basics of underwater welding and you can expect it to be an expensive education – but worth every cent.
Nuclear welders have to perform a huge range of tasks with a range of certifications attached to them. With an annual salary between $22,000 – $143,500, nuclear welders need an underwater welder certification and commercial diving certification, too. You also have to be cleared by the FBI, which is an unusual requirement for the position! You have to have a high security clearance and that’s just to be able to work in or around the materials that you need. You also have to go through psychological testing and regular drug screenings, too.
This role, also known as a pipeliner, carries an annual salary of $23,500 – $133,500. Gas and oil is transported through interconnected pipelines that span for miles. One leak can be a disaster for a business and the environment, too. If you are a pipeline welder, you’ll be responsible for both fixing and building these pipelines to prevent any leaks. This job involves a lot of travel and some of those places aren’t ideal. Hot deserts and snow-filled tundras aren’t ever the ideal working places! The pay meets the risk and yet you won’t have the same risk as other welders like underwater welders!
Military support welding pulls a salary up to $160,000 per year, and given the risks of working in a war zone, the pay is amazing as a result. Military installations everywhere around the world require upkeep and careful building. It also takes a range of skilled workers to do this and get it right. You will be risking your health as you work and you will be compensated for it. You will learn a lot and you will have to pass rigorous checks and training to be able to do the job. You have to be a part of the armed forces for this role so it’s not an environment for everyone. You get amazing benefits and great security in your role, and you will have to consider your future in the military as a result.
Another job in the welding industry is that of a Welding Engineer. With a salary up to $120,000, you will need to have a love for learning because this job is ever changing and can help you to stay up to date on all of the latest in welding techniques. You have to learn all of the new trends and advancements and you have to be certified and qualified to do the job in the first place. This is a difficult role, but it’s one that you need a degree and an AWS certification to be considered for it in the first place.
There are many other options in welding, but these are the jobs that pay the most. To learn more about available welding positions that cannot help propel your welding career contact Xemplar Tradesmen Recruiting today.