Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Set up, operate, or tend welding, soldering, or brazing machines or robots that weld, braze, solder, or heat treat metal products, components, or assemblies. Includes workers who operate laser cutters or laser-beam machines.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Complex Problem Solving
Key knowledge
- Production and Processing
- Administration and Management
- Design
- Public Safety and Security
- English Language
- Mechanical
- Customer and Personal Service
- Engineering and Technology
What the work involves
- Turn and press knobs and buttons or enter operating instructions into computers to adjust and start welding machines.
- Set up, operate, or tend welding machines that join or bond components to fabricate metal products or assemblies.
- Give directions to other workers regarding machine set-up and use.
- Correct problems by adjusting controls or by stopping machines and opening holding devices.
- Inspect, measure, or test completed metal workpieces to ensure conformance to specifications, using measuring and testing devices.
- Record operational information on specified production reports.
- Read blueprints, work orders, or production schedules to determine product or job instructions or specifications.
- Assemble, align, and clamp workpieces into holding fixtures to bond, heat-treat, or solder fabricated metal components.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Post-Secondary Certificate (35.8% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (44.3%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (45.6%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very low | Lower on contact with others than 88% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 91% of occupations compared | 57% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Lower on teamwork than 58% of occupations compared | 54% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 89% of occupations compared | 45% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 81% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 67% of occupations compared | 34% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 93% of occupations compared | 65% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 86% of occupations compared | — |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very low
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 5.88%
- Occasional contact with others: 20.17%
- Contact with others about half the time: 12.97%
- Contact with others most of the time: 18.55%
- Constant contact with others: 42.43%
n = 26, Incumbent 08/2024
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 57.49%
- Fairly important: 6.77%
- Important: 6.7%
- Very important: 27.2%
- Extremely important: 1.84%
n = 26, Incumbent 08/2024
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 5.3%
- Fairly important: 2.69%
- Important: 16.41%
- Very important: 21.32%
- Extremely important: 54.28%
n = 26, Incumbent 08/2024
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 18.77%
- Very little freedom: 6.61%
- Limited freedom: 6.79%
- Some freedom: 44.68%
- A lot of freedom: 23.15%
n = 26, Incumbent 08/2024
Time pressure
- Never: 4.91%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0.9%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 2.73%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 44.27%
- Every day: 47.19%
n = 26, Incumbent 08/2024
Conflict situations
- Never: 33.9%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 24.44%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 10.55%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 11.75%
- Every day: 19.36%
n = 26, Incumbent 08/2024
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 64.8%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 4.57%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 7.75%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 14.89%
- Every day: 7.99%
n = 25, Incumbent 08/2024
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 13.47%
- Fairly serious: 5.8%
- Serious: 10.36%
- Very serious: 19.52%
- Extremely serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 26, Incumbent 08/2024
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O*NET-SOC 51-4122.00 · SOC 51-4122 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8