Welder (First Class)
What the work is
Fabricates and repairs metal products using various welding techniques.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Interprets engineering drawings and specifications to determine welding requirements
- Applies appropriate welding techniques to join metal sections
- Monitors and adjusts welding parameters to ensure quality and integrity of welds
- Cleans welds by filing, chiselling and grinding
- Inspects and tests welded joints for defects and compliance with specifications
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a fictional steel fabrication workshop that builds frames, tanks and pipework for farms and factories. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A weld bead that is clean and even from one end to the other
- A big frame you marked out and built is lifted onto a truck and fits exactly
- A tough repair job that keeps a farm's machine working through harvest
Hard days
- Hot, loud work in a heavy mask while the day's deadline creeps closer
- A job that fails inspection and has to be cut out and done again
- A drawing that does not quite add up and nobody answers the phone
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 331133, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.