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.
31,600 people do this job in the US. $47,920 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 11%
- 0%
- 89%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 2%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 11%. Today's estimate: 11%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 29 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devise or build fixtures or jigs used to hold parts in place during welding, brazing, or soldering.Done daily by most who do it. | 13% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Set up, operate, or tend welding machines that join or bond components to fabricate metal products or assemblies.Done daily by most who do it. | 12% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Lay out, fit, or connect parts to be bonded, calculating production measurements, as necessary.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 25 min8 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Clean, lubricate, maintain, and adjust equipment to maintain efficient operation, using air hoses, cleaning fluids, and hand tools.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 33 min13 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Start, monitor, and adjust robotic welding production lines.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 50 min17 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Select, position, align, and bolt jigs, holding fixtures, guides, or stops onto machines, using measuring instruments and hand tools.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Prepare metal surfaces or workpieces, using hand-operated equipment, such as grinders, cutters, or drills.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 17 min4 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Compute and record settings for new work, applying knowledge of metal properties, principles of welding, and shop mathematics.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Assemble, align, and clamp workpieces into holding fixtures to bond, heat-treat, or solder fabricated metal components.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 17 min4 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Anneal finished workpieces to relieve internal stress.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Read blueprints, work orders, or production schedules to determine product or job instructions or specifications.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Inspect, measure, or test completed metal workpieces to ensure conformance to specifications, using measuring and testing devices.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers16% now, 17% by 2028
- Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic18% now, 18% by 2028
- Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters5% now, 5% by 2028
- Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic30% now, 38% by 2028
- Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers4% now, 4% by 2028
- Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers17% now, 17% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
- Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing4,270 people
- Machinery Manufacturing (3331, 3332, 3334, and 3339 only)3,980 people
- Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3323 and 3324 only)3,850 people
- Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3321, 3322, 3325, 3326, and 3329 only)2,610 people
- Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing1,930 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).