Commercial Welder
We place this role between $47,000 and $77,000 a year at mid experience, before overtime, bonus and on-call.
What the job actually is.
Welds structural and process work to a procedure: reading the WPS, preparing and fitting joints, running the process the job calls for - stick, MIG, flux-core or TIG - in the positions the work is actually in, and producing welds that pass visual and, where required, radiographic or ultrasonic inspection.
What this role pays.
That band is mid experience, built from our own engagement history. Experience and region move it - the salary calculator applies both.
The federal occupation this role reports under is Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121), May 2025. Nationally it reports a median of $53,750 , with the middle of the market between $39,240 and $77,530. BLS counts this job inside that occupation rather than publishing it separately, so the figures cover a slightly wider group than this exact title.
Where it pays most.
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers across the metros we cover, May 2025. BLS publishes a median for 100 of them and withholds the rest, where the local sample was too small to be reliable.
| Metro | Median | Employed there |
|---|---|---|
| Baton Rouge | $78,170 | 3,690 |
| Hartford | $75,040 | 670 |
| Seattle | $66,240 | 3,230 |
| San Francisco | $64,320 | 1,990 |
| San Jose | $64,140 | 1,050 |
| Boston | $63,770 | 2,210 |
| Bridgeport | $63,440 | 210 |
| New Orleans | $63,270 | 2,000 |
| McAllen | $39,710 | 350 |
| Huntsville | $44,020 | 1,810 |
| El Paso | $45,000 | 650 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. The last three rows are the lowest-paying metros in the same set. Headcount is metro-wide across every industry, not this trade alone.
Credentials that move an offer.
- AWS Certification
Licensing is a state question, not a national one. The Welding & Fabrication hiring page carries the state-by-state position, and every market page names the authority for that state.
What separates a strong candidate.
Everyone who applies for this seat will claim the experience. These are the things that distinguish the people who have it, and the questions that find out.
What to look for
- States current certifications by process, position and material, with the dates
- Can read a WPS and say what in it constrains the work
- Fit-up described as part of the job rather than someone else's step
Questions that find out
- Which certifications are current, in which positions, and when were they last renewed? A strong answer Answers specifically: the code they are qualified under, the process, the positions, the material thickness and type ranges, and when continuity was last recorded. Knows a qualification lapses if the process has not been used within the period the code allows, and that the paperwork lives with the employer who qualified them. Has the documentation or knows exactly who holds it, rather than saying they have welded everything.
- What does the WPS tell you about preheat and interpass temperature, and why does it matter? A strong answer Knows the procedure sets a minimum preheat by material and thickness and a maximum interpass temperature, and why each exists: preheat slows cooling and reduces hydrogen cracking in thicker or higher-carbon material, and the interpass maximum keeps the heat-affected zone from losing its properties. Measures rather than guesses, with a contact gauge or crayons, at the distance the code specifies from the joint.
- You have porosity in a flux-core weld outdoors. What are you checking? A strong answer Works through the causes: wind blowing the shielding away on a gas-shielded wire, damp or contaminated base metal, mill scale, paint or oil not removed, wire that has been stored badly, wrong gas or flow, too long a stickout, or travel speed and voltage off the procedure. Knows self-shielded wire tolerates wind and gas-shielded does not, and would move to the right consumable or put up a screen rather than keep welding.
- How do you set up and check your machine before the first weld of the day? A strong answer Checks the settings against the procedure rather than from memory, runs a test piece on scrap of the same material and thickness, and looks at the bead, the penetration and the arc sound before going near the work. Checks the ground connection and its location, the cable condition, the gas flow and the consumable. Says an hour of bad welds because nobody ran a test coupon is the expensive way to find a setting is wrong.
- How do you set up for an out-of-position weld on structural steel? A strong answer Sets up the body and the access first - position, support, clear sight of the puddle, and somewhere to rest - because out-of-position work is mostly control. Adjusts parameters to the position as the procedure allows, often lower heat input and a different technique for vertical up or overhead. Checks the fit-up and cleans the joint. Says they would ask for the work to be repositioned where that is possible rather than welding it badly overhead.
- What do you do when your weld fails visual or UT inspection? A strong answer Finds out what the indication actually is before grinding - porosity, slag, lack of fusion, a crack, undercut - because the cause and the repair differ. Repairs to the approved repair procedure rather than welding over it, removing the defect fully and re-inspecting. Looks at what caused it so the next one does not fail. Does not argue with the inspector, and does not quietly cover an indication.
- How do you control distortion on a long run? A strong answer Plans the sequence before starting: tacking at intervals, balanced welding on both sides where the joint allows, back-stepping or skip welding rather than one continuous pass, and controlling heat input and the number of passes. Uses fixtures or restraint where appropriate and knows restraint trades distortion for residual stress. Checks for movement as they go rather than at the end when it cannot be fixed.
- What is your approach to prep and fit-up before you strike an arc? A strong answer Treats it as most of the weld: joint cleaned back to bright metal of mill scale, paint, rust, oil and moisture; bevel angle and root face as drawn; root gap within tolerance; alignment checked; and tacks placed so they can be consumed or are ground back. Says that a bad fit-up cannot be welded out, and that most defects they have seen started before the arc did.
- How do you read a weld symbol and what does it tell you about prep? A strong answer Reads which side of the joint the weld is on from the line, the weld type and size, the groove angle and root opening, length and pitch for intermittent welds, and the tail for the procedure or process. Knows a field weld flag and an all-round symbol when they see one. Can say what the symbol requires them to do to the material before welding, which is the point of reading it.
- How do you store and handle your consumables, and why does it matter? A strong answer Knows low-hydrogen electrodes come out of a sealed container into a holding oven and have a limited exposure time before they have to be reconditioned or scrapped, because they pick up moisture and moisture means hydrogen cracking. Keeps wire covered and dry and off the floor, and does not use rusty or contaminated wire. Checks batch and classification against the procedure rather than using whatever is on the rack.
- How do you handle welding on coated or painted material? A strong answer Removes the coating back far enough from the joint on both sides rather than welding through it, because the weld will have porosity and inclusions and the fumes may be hazardous. Finds out what the coating is - galvanising, a primer, lead-bearing paint - because that decides the ventilation and the respiratory protection. Says they would stop rather than weld galvanised in a confined space without extraction.
- What is your process when a procedure calls for a consumable you do not have? A strong answer Does not substitute. Knows the procedure is qualified with that filler and that an equivalent is a decision for the engineer, not the welder. Stops, tells the supervisor and gets the right consumable or a written change to the procedure. Says they have been pushed on this and held, and that an unapproved substitution found at inspection means the weld comes out.
- How do you manage fit-up gaps that are outside tolerance? A strong answer Does not fill it with weld. Knows the procedure sets a maximum root opening and what is permitted beyond it - usually build-up by an approved method, or re-fitting - and that the decision belongs to the engineer. Reports it with the measurement rather than making it work. Says that excessive gap filled with weld metal is one of the most common causes of cracking and rework on structural jobs.
- What is your approach to welding overhead or in a confined space? A strong answer Deals with the safety before the welding: ventilation and extraction, atmospheric testing and a permit for a confined space, an attendant, protection from falling slag and spatter, and fire watch for anything below. Checks the escape route and that the cables and gas lines do not block it. Knows fume in a confined space is the hazard people underestimate, and says what would make them refuse to go in.
- How do you handle a repair weld on a crack? A strong answer Finds the extent of the crack before welding - usually by dye penetrant or magnetic particle - and drills or excavates past both ends rather than welding over it, because a crack welded at the tip just keeps growing. Follows the approved repair procedure including preheat, and re-inspects after. Asks why it cracked, because a crack is usually a design, restraint or procedure problem rather than a bad bead.
- What documentation follows your welds? A strong answer Knows what the job requires: which procedure each weld was made to, their own welder identification marked or logged against the weld, the material and heat numbers where traceability applies, inspection records and any repairs. Marks their welds where the code requires it. Says the record is how a weld is traced years later and that on a structural job an untraceable weld can mean the connection comes apart.
The mistake this seat invites
Accepting "certified welder" without the process, position and expiry. Certifications are specific and they lapse, and the weld test will find out before the job does.
Where the role goes next
Welders move to fitter-welder, lead and foreman, and some add CWI inspection credentials. Candidates ask this in the first conversation, and an employer who cannot answer it loses the people who had other options.
Interview kit for this role
- All interview questions for this role in the question bank.
- Printable interview scorecard built from these questions and signals.
- The Welding & Fabrication hiring kit - every role in the trade, with credentials and offer risks.
- Offer calculator starting from this role's pay band.
What the search actually takes.
We have not closed a welding & fabrication search in 2026 year to date, so we publish no timing figure of our own for this seat rather than borrow one. The Hiring Index shows the trades where we do.
Keep reading.
- 2026 Welding & Fabrication Salary Guide - the full benchmark by role.
- Welding & Fabrication recruiting - how we run this trade.
- Salary calculator - the band by experience and region.
- Welding & Fabrication hiring in Houston - one market in detail.
- Hiring Index - how long our searches actually take.
All 56 roles we recruit - every trade, every seat.
