Earn More MoneyJune 28, 2021August 9, 2021

How Much Money Can Welders Earn?

Trade jobs can and have proven to be extremely lucrative. However, while certain industries can be saturated, one thing is for certain. If you put in the time and effort, you will become a master of your craft. Once this happens, opportunities and money will eventually come. This is the same with many other businesses and ideas. For example, Drop Shipping. However, there are many people who go into this saturated market and still earn a large amount of money. This is due to a few things. The first is marketing and the second is developing your skillset pertaining to your business.

The same theory applies to welding. If you are able to increase your skills and become outstanding, you will earn money. Your skill will be one of the key factors that make you stand out from the rest. Trades are jobs that value skill and experience above all. Therefore, if you’re skillful or have proven to provide a higher quality of work, you will most likely beat out other applicants. However, since welding can be saturated in certain areas, finding these opportunities may be slightly difficult.

In this article, we will be covering what welders do, how to become one, and how much money you can possibly earn as a welder.

What Do Welders Do?

While there are a lot of minor details about welding jobs. The main job of a welder is to use heat to fuse together materials. These metals include but are not limited to steel and aluminum. By fusing together certain metals, their goal is to either create mechanisms or fix what was once broken. For example, say a pipe is broken or is leaking. You can weld the pieces together to close the gap. While this is a minor example, there are many instances where welding is used on a larger scale.

As stated earlier, welding is not only used to fix what was once broken. Builders and inventors will often need welders for their projects. Welding focuses a lot on safety as well. This is due to the fact that you’re dealing with a lot of equipment that can be dangerous. Furthermore, you’re working with large amounts of heat.

As a welder, you need to be extremely detail-oriented. You will be working with many calculations and measurements. This is to ensure that whatever you’re welding is done correctly and exactly. Therefore, as a welder, you will need to develop your mathematical skills a considerable amount. That’ll help immensely during your career as a welder.

How To Become A Welder?

When looking to become a welder, there is a rather particular path you need to take. However, similar to many other trades, post-secondary school isn’t necessarily mandatory. However, secondary or high school will most likely be mandatory for most jobs. There may be some instances where it is not. However, for the most part, employers will require a degree or GED as a bare minimum schooling requirement.

The next thing you’ll most likely get is a trade certification. While this is voluntary in most provinces, it is still an asset and good to have in most instances. In order to be eligible for this certification, you will need to complete a 3-year apprenticeship program. However, you can also do a college course and integrate work experience, if you don’t want to do the 3-year apprenticeship route.

You can do industry courses in welding to be eligible for the certification. Therefore, you can see that there are a few ways that you can go about earning this certification. Next, acquire a Red Seal Endorsement. The RSE or Red Seal Endorsement is an achievement that recognizes a few things. It recognizes the skill, knowledge, and experience of a person. Therefore, if you acquire one, it is essentially a sign that shows that you’re more knowledgeable than the average journeyperson within welding.

While having this seal does not mean that you’re more knowledgeable than everyone who doesn’t have it, it’s a certification that shows your prowess. Therefore, acquiring one will make you more marketable. Furthermore, with the RSE, you can negotiate higher wages because your knowledge, skills, and experience are proven through that endorsement.

Lastly, every province within Canada can have its own rules and regulations. Therefore, you may need to acquire specific certifications from a regulatory authority. Alberta, for example, is under regulation for welding. Therefore, you will need to get a certificate through the Apprenticeship and Industry Training Office.

Ontario is similar. In Ontario, you will need to go through the Ontario College of Trades. Click here to see your province.

How Much Money Can Welders Earn?

The amount of money a welder can earn varies greatly. The first factor is their skill. The second is work experience. However, there are reports and anecdotes of people earning anywhere from $20 per hour to as much as $50 per hour. Of course, the ones who earn the most are usually those with a developed skillset, a considerable amount of experience, and RSE. However, we will take a look at the average amount that welders within Canada earn.

Above is the average amount that welders earn through a 20-year career. This is an average of over 500 salaries. As you can see, even at an entry-level, welders earn a considerable amount at $18 per hour. However, as you become more experienced and have years under your belt, you will begin to earn more money. For example, welding is a career that allows you to earn more money based on tenure. Therefore, someone who has been working in the industry for 20+ years will earn $10 more per hour than an entry-level welder. If the welder is earning $28 per hour, that is roughly $58 per year.

However, trade jobs are known for long hours and overtime. Therefore, the chances of you earning more than $28 per hour are significantly higher. There are anecdotes and reports of many people earning over $100,000 per year from welding and other trades. While this may be true, it most likely is not the norm. As a welder in Canada, you will most likely be looking at around $25 per hour.

Stay Competitive

This can be due to a lot of reasons. One reason why people are not paid higher on average is competitiveness. If there are many people in an area who are able to do a job, many people will try to do it for less, in order to stay competitive. This causes welders to earn less on average. However, many welders are independent and either work for themselves or are contracted. This can be quite the advantage is you can control how much you charge and earn on a regular basis. However, if you fail to remain competitive, companies and clients will go to someone else.

If you have two people who can do the same job, the average person or company will likely go with the one that costs less. Both companies and the average person are always looking to reduce costs. This is important to keep in mind when becoming independent within an industry or looking for a job.

Shameed Chris Khan

Shameed is just a man on a mission to help those around him gain financial success. Obsessed with writing about all things finance, this GTA native is constantly learning and sharing his experiences with others.