Money · 1 of 5
What welders make
Median
$53,750
First shop job
$39,240
Certified pipe or pressure welder
$77,530
The national median is $53,750 a year, and the bottom tenth start near $39,240. The survey counts welders, cutters, solderers and brazers together. It does not really capture traveling pipeline and shutdown welders, who chase the work, earn far more in a good year and are unemployed between jobs.