Compare Occupations

	Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	Sheet Metal Workers	First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers	Machinists	Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic	Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers
SUMMARY	84% Imminent Risk	50% Moderate Risk	38% Low Risk	66% High Risk	69% High Risk	74% High Risk
JOB SCORE	2.2/10	4.9/10	5.2/10	3.5/10	3.4/10	2.7/10
POLLING	53% (Moderate Risk, Based on 99 votes)	47% (Moderate Risk, Based on 64 votes)	54% (Moderate Risk, Based on 29 votes)	54% (Moderate Risk, Based on 203 votes)	There hasn't been enough votes on this occupation yet	66% (High Risk, Based on 53 votes)
GROWTH by year 2034	-9.0%	2.4%	1.2%	0.0%	-5.4%	0.0%
WAGES	$47,060 or $22.62 per hour	$60,850 or $29.25 per hour	$71,190 or $34.22 per hour	$56,150 or $26.99 per hour	$61,870 or $29.74 per hour	$47,460 or $22.82 per hour
VOLUME as of 2024	36,290	117,470	685,140	298,790	5,610	591,180
SNOWFLAKE [?] The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
DESCRIPTION	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.	Fabricate, assemble, install, and repair sheet metal products and equipment, such as ducts, control boxes, drainpipes, and furnace casings. Work may involve any of the following: setting up and operating fabricating machines to cut, bend, and straighten sheet metal; shaping metal over anvils, blocks, or forms using hammer; operating soldering and welding equipment to join sheet metal parts; or inspecting, assembling, and smoothing seams and joints of burred surfaces. Includes sheet metal duct installers who install prefabricated sheet metal ducts used for heating, air conditioning, or other purposes.	Directly supervise and coordinate the activities of production and operating workers, such as inspectors, precision workers, machine setters and operators, assemblers, fabricators, and plant and system operators. Excludes team or work leaders.	Set up and operate a variety of machine tools to produce precision parts and instruments out of metal. Includes precision instrument makers who fabricate, modify, or repair mechanical instruments. May also fabricate and modify parts to make or repair machine tools or maintain industrial machines, applying knowledge of mechanics, mathematics, metal properties, layout, and machining procedures.	Lay out reference points and dimensions on metal or plastic stock or workpieces, such as sheets, plates, tubes, structural shapes, castings, or machine parts, for further processing. Includes shipfitters.	Inspect, test, sort, sample, or weigh nonagricultural raw materials or processed, machined, fabricated, or assembled parts or products for defects, wear, and deviations from specifications. May use precision measuring instruments and complex test equipment.

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