High School

High school graduates are preferred for trainee positions for skilled jobs. Useful courses for prospective welders include mathematics, blueprint reading, mechanical drawing, applied physics, and shop. If possible, the shop courses should cover the basics of welding and working with electricity.

Postsecondary Training

Many welders learn their skills through formal training programs in welding, such as those available in many community colleges, technical institutes, trade schools, and the armed forces. Some programs are short term and narrow in focus, while others provide several years of thorough preparation for a variety of jobs.

A high school diploma or its equivalent is required for admission into these programs. Beginners can also learn welding skills in on-the-job training programs. The length of such training programs ranges from several days or weeks for jobs requiring few skills to a period of one to three years for skilled jobs. Trainees often begin as helpers to experienced workers, doing very simple tasks. As they learn, they are given more challenging work. To learn some skilled jobs, trainees supplement their on-the-job training with formal classroom instruction in technical aspects of the trade.

Various programs sponsored by federal, state, and local governments provide training opportunities in some areas. These training programs, which usually stress the fundamentals of welding, may be in the classroom or on the job and last from a few weeks to a year. Apprenticeship programs also offer training. Apprenticeships that teach a range of metalworking skills, including the basics of welding, are run by trade unions such as the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

Other Education or Training

The American Welding Society offers a variety of webinars and in-person courses. Recent classes include "A New Welding Standard for Additive Manufacturing," “Welding Fundamentals,” “Safety in Welding,” “Math for Welders,” and “Metallurgy.”

Certification or Licensing

To do welding work where the strength of the weld is a critical factor (such as in aircraft, bridges, boilers, or high-pressure pipelines), welders may have to pass employer tests or standardized examinations for certification by government agencies or professional and technical associations (such as the American Welding Society).

Most employers prefer to hire welding professionals who have completed postsecondary training or an apprenticeship program. 

Welders and welding technicians should be in good enough physical condition to bend, stoop, and work in awkward positions. They also need manual dexterity, good eye-hand coordination, and good eyesight, as well as patience and the ability to concentrate for extended periods as they work on a task.