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California training programs, and what happened to the people who took them

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Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

SOC 51-4122 · 2024-2034

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.

How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.

Shrinking -16%
California projects this job will shrink over the next ten years. Fewer openings may mean a harder search.

What California expects of this job

Typical pay in California
$50,057per year
Projected openings
1,830
Projected change
-16%
Usually needs
High school diploma or equivalent

Skills this work uses most

O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.

  1. Operations Monitoring
  2. Operation and Control
  3. Monitoring
  4. Reading Comprehension
  5. Critical Thinking
  6. Complex Problem Solving

Pay by region

RegionTypical pay in CaliforniaProjected openings
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties)$53,833480
Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties)$51,815250
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County)$48,877190
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County)$47,439350
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County)$44,84570
Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County)$43,150340
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties)$41,767200

What the pay actually ranges across

The lowest-paid tenth earn under
$41,046
A quarter earn under
$45,792
Half earn under
$50,057
Three quarters earn under
$59,272
The highest-paid tenth earn over
$71,352

A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.

Similar work

O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.

OccupationTypical pay in CaliforniaProjected openingsProjected change
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers$59,38528,860+3.2%
Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$60,3971,390-20%
Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers$65,0922,580-13.3%
Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters$58,9042,460-20%
Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$61,5532,020-15.4%
Industrial Machinery Mechanics$76,50428,510+13.8%

Programs that train for this job — 67