Also called: TIG Welder, Certified Welder
Uses the most precise welding method (TIG) on thin, exotic metals for aircraft, rockets, race cars and medical equipment.
You sit at a bench holding a torch in one hand and a filler rod in the other, laying a weld bead neat as a row of stacked dimes on a titanium rocket part. Every weld gets X-rayed, so there's no room for mistakes.
Estimate; top specialists earn more.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Certificate, about 2 years after high school. Welding program plus AWS or aerospace certification and experience.
Ways in: Trade school, Certification, On-the-job training, Military. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Welding Technology (trade school).
Growing about average (about 2% over 10 years). Welders overall.
Low risk for 10 years. Thin exotic-metal TIG work is hard to automate and tightly certified; skilled welders stay scarce.
Classes: Welding CTE class, Geometry, Art or sculpture.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-4121.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.