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Welding Engineering

Types of Degrees Welding Engineering Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Welding Engineering can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	46
Associate’s Degree	70
Bachelor’s Degree	62
Master’s Degree	198

What Welding Engineering Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Welding Engineering develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Welding Engineering graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Welding Engineering emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Engineering and Technology — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Production and Processing — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.3 / 7.
• Mechanical — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set emphasized by a Welding Engineering program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Quality Control Analysis — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.3 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.3 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 3.1 / 7.
• Monitoring — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 3.2 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Welding Engineering careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Near Vision — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.
• Information Ordering — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.2 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Welding Engineering graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials	4.2 / 7
Getting Information	4.2 / 7
Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings	3.9 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	3.9 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	3.9 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	3.8 / 7
Controlling Machines and Processes	3.7 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	3.7 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	3.6 / 7
Processing Information	3.6 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Welding Engineering professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
SAP software	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
Autodesk AutoCAD	Computer aided design CAD software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
National Instruments LabVIEW	Development environment software	—
Enterprise resource planning ERP software	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
IBM Notes	Electronic mail software	—
Presentation software	Presentation software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Welding Engineering graduates include:

• Test Technician (Test Tech)
• Laser Specialist
• Welding Technician
• Fiber Optics Cabling Specialist
• Optomechanical Technician (Optomechanical Tech)
• Fiber Splicer
• Optics Manufacturing Technician (Optics Manufacturing Tech)
• Removal Technician (Removal Tech)
• Optics Test Technician (Optics Test Tech)
• Fiber Optics Instructor
• Photonics Laboratory Technician (Photonics Lab Tech)
• Optical Fabrication Technician (Optical Fabrication Tech)
• Laser Scanners Technician (Laser Scanners Tech)
• Strain Technician (Strain Tech)
• Fiber Optics Splicer

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Welding Engineering graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
High school diploma or equivalent	49.0%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	18.7%
Postsecondary certificate	8.2%
Some college courses	8.0%
Bachelor’s degree	6.9%
Less than a high school diploma	5.9%
Master’s degree	1.7%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	1.6%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Welding Engineering?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly male, with men earning 86.4% of Welding Engineering degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	83	13.6%
Men	526	86.4%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Welding Engineering graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	467	76.7%
Asian	3	0.5%
Hispanic or Latino	52	8.5%
Black or African American	34	5.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native	13	2.1%
Two or More Races	15	2.5%
Race Unknown	24	3.9%
International Students	1	0.2%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Welding Engineering Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Welding Engineering graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$59,570
4 years	$66,536
5 years	$74,003

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $74,003 — roughly 24% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Is a Degree in Welding Engineering Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Welding Engineering graduates earn a median of $66,536 four years after completion — roughly 75% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians	11,391
Manufacturing Engineering Technology/Technician	4,498
Industrial Technology/Technician	3,881
Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians, Other	1,904
Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians	1,557
Biomedical Technology/Technician	1,460
Computer/Computer Systems Technology/Technician	1,272
Computer Engineering Technology/Technician	1,215
Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Other	492
Computer Software Technology/Technician	278
Plastics and Polymer Engineering Technology/Technician	271
Applied Engineering Technologies/Technicians	113

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.