Human edge, steady

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.

AI Resistance Index 43 of 99

In the middle of the pack: more resilient than 43% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by -8.9% by 2035, expected to shrink. The work leans on physical dexterity.

AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.

Median pay (2025): $47,920
Job growth to 2035: -8.9%
Openings a year: 2,500
People doing it (2025): 32,900
Usual route in: High school diploma, then moderate on-the-job training

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Where people already use AI for this work

Select materials or equipment for operations or projects
Read documents or materials to inform work processes
Program computer systems or production equipment

From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).

Work AI rarely helps with

Join parts using soldering, welding, or brazing techniques
Position materials or components for assembly
Assemble products or work aids

What the work looks like

Read blueprints, work orders, or production schedules to determine product or job instructions or specifications.
Inspect, measure, or test completed metal workpieces to ensure conformance to specifications, using measuring and testing devices.
Add chemicals or materials to workpieces or machines to facilitate bonding or to cool workpieces.
Record operational information on specified production reports.
Correct problems by adjusting controls or by stopping machines and opening holding devices.

From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.

What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects

Fewer of these jobs, as programmable machines, such as robotics and computer-controlled (CNC) machinery, increasingly replace less advanced machinery, increasing efficiency.

Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook

Drilling and boring machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plasticHuman edge, steady, Index 46, -9.5%
MachinistsHuman edge, steady, Index 52, +1.0%
Aircraft structure, surfaces, rigging, and systems assemblersHuman edge, steady, Index 46, -5.6%
Helpers--carpentersHuman edge, steady, Index 71, -1.7%

Also known as: Fabricator, Machine Operator, Mig Welder, Spot Welder, Braze Operator, Certified Welder, Finishing Technician (Finishing Tech), Laser Operator.

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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.