Welder Helper Job Description: Duties, Template & Pay (2026)
A welder helper keeps a welder welding: getting material cut, prepped, fitted and clamped before the arc strikes, grinding and cleaning after, moving parts, and keeping the work area safe. It is an entry-level job and, in most shops, the first step toward becoming a welder. This page has a welder helper job description template you can copy, the duties to list, the requirements worth keeping, and what the job pays.
What a welder helper does
A welder helper does the preparation, handling and cleanup around welding so the welder can spend more of the shift actually welding. In a fabrication shop that means cutting and beveling material, grinding joints, holding and clamping parts for fit-up, moving pieces with hoists and forklifts, chipping and grinding finished welds and keeping consumables stocked. On a field crew it adds hauling leads and equipment, setting up at the work location and standing fire watch.
BLS does not publish figures for welder helpers as a title. O*NET lists “Welder Helper” as a reported job title under helpers–production workers (SOC 51-9198), and every pay and employment figure on this page describes that occupation. It is a broad group: machine helpers, press helpers and production helpers across manufacturing, not only welding. Helpers who work for construction contractors, for example on structural steel or pipeline crews, may instead be counted in BLS’s separate helpers, construction trades group (47-3000), which has detailed codes for helpers of carpenters, electricians, plumbers and other trades but none for welders. This page uses 51-9198 throughout.
Welder helper duties
O*NET’s tasks for production helpers that apply directly to welding work include lifting raw materials and finished products manually or with hoists, marking or tagging parts, examining products for conformance to quality standards, loading and unloading machines, preparing raw materials for processing, attaching slings, ropes or cables to objects, cleaning and lubricating equipment, and signaling coworkers to direct the movement of products. In a welding shop, those become:
- Cut, bevel and prepare material using saws, shears, plasma or oxy-fuel equipment, as trained and authorized
- Grind, clean and deburr joints before welding and remove slag and spatter after
- Hold, clamp and position parts for fit-up to the welder’s direction and the drawing
- Move material and assemblies with overhead cranes, hoists, forklifts and rigging, following signals and safe lifting practice
- Mark and tag parts and read basic dimensions on drawings and cut lists
- Set up and put away welding equipment, leads, gas cylinders and consumables
- Stand fire watch during hot work where the permit requires it
- Keep the work area clean, organized and free of trip and fire hazards
- Tack weld or weld simple joints under supervision, where the helper is training toward a welder role
The work context data for production helpers shows the conditions to put in your posting:
| Working conditions | Share reporting it |
|---|---|
| Wear common protective or safety equipment | 100% every day |
| Time pressure | 80% every day |
| Exposed to contaminants | 74% every day |
| Distracting sounds and noise | 67% every day |
| Exposed to hazardous equipment | 56% every day |
| A standard 40-hour week | 83% |
Welding shops sit at the harder end of that range: heat, fumes, sparks, grinding noise and heavy steel. Say so, and name the PPE and ventilation you provide. Candidates who know what they are walking into stay longer.
Welder helper job description template
Copy this into your ATS or job board, replace the bracketed fields, and delete what does not apply. It is written for a fabrication shop; the customization section covers field crews, manufacturing lines and pipeline work.
Job title
Welder Helper [/ Fabrication Helper / Welding Apprentice], [Shift], [Company name], [City, ST]
Summary
[Company name] is hiring a welder helper at our [fabrication shop / plant / field crew] in [city]. You will work alongside our welders and fitters preparing, fitting, moving and finishing [product, e.g. structural steel, trailers, tanks, equipment frames]. No welding experience is required; we will train you, and [explain the path to welder, e.g. helpers who complete our program test for a welder position within 12 to 18 months].
[Shift and days]. [Pay range]. [One sentence on what is good about working here.]
What you will do
• Cut, grind, bevel and clean material for welding
• Hold, clamp and position parts for fit-up
• Chip, grind and clean finished welds
• Move material with [overhead crane / hoist / forklift] after training
• Set up and maintain welding equipment and consumables
• Read cut lists and basic drawings and mark parts
• Stand fire watch and keep the work area clean and safe
• [Tack weld under supervision as you progress]
What you need
• Able to lift [weight] and work on your feet for a full shift in a hot, noisy environment
• Willing to wear full PPE, including [respirator, if required after fit test]
• Able to read a tape measure
• Reliable attendance and a willingness to learn
• [Valid driver’s license, for field crews]
Nice to have
• Welding class, shop class or trade school coursework
• Grinder, torch or forklift experience
• Experience in manufacturing, construction or farm work
What we offer
• [Pay range] and [raise schedule tied to skills]
• [Paid welding training / weld test fees / tuition help]
• [PPE and boot allowance]
• [Benefits and the eligibility date]
• [Overtime expectations]
How to apply
[One step. A short form or a text; say when you interview.]
Requirements: what to ask for, and what to drop
| Requirement | What to know |
|---|---|
| Welding experience | Drop it. BLS lists short-term on-the-job training as typical for production helpers and no related work experience. If you want someone who can already weld, you are hiring a welder and should pay like it. |
| Education | BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as typical, but O*NET’s survey found 35% of respondents said less than a high school diploma is required. Make it a preference, not a screen, unless your training program needs it. |
| Physical demands | Be specific: weights, heat, standing, overhead work. It is a real requirement and saying so up front saves you first-week quits. |
| Forklift or crane | Train and certify after hire. Requiring certification up front shrinks the pool for a skill you can teach quickly. |
| Respirator use | If the job needs a respirator, say so, and say that you provide the medical evaluation and fit test. |
| Driver’s license | Only for field crews who drive to sites. Do not add it by default. |
Customizing it by setting
Fabrication and structural steel shops
Fit-up, grinding, material handling with overhead cranes and reading cut lists. Name the products and the processes your welders use.
Manufacturing lines
Helpers load fixtures, feed robotic or semi-automatic welding cells, and grind and inspect parts. Say whether the job is on a line with a set pace; O*NET reports 56% of production helpers say the pace set by equipment speed is extremely important.
Field and construction crews
Hauling leads and equipment, rigging, fire watch and travel. Say where crews work, how far they travel and whether there is per diem, and check whether your site safety program requires specific training before day one.
Pipeline and industrial maintenance
Long days, remote sites and rotation schedules. State the rotation, housing arrangements and overtime pattern plainly.
What welder helpers earn
Helpers–production workers, the occupation O*NET files welder helpers under, had a median wage of $39,070 a year, or $18.78 an hour, in May 2025. It is a broad group, so treat it as a reference point and check local postings from shops near you.
The step up is the reason people take the job. Welders, cutters, solderers and brazers had a median of $53,750 a year, or $25.84 an hour, in May 2025, with about 437,700 people employed in 2025 and about 40,300 openings a year projected through 2035. Our welder job description has the full picture.
BLS counted 167,400 production helpers in 2025 and projects employment to fall 8 percent to 153,600 by 2035, a decline of about 13,800 jobs. Even so, BLS projects about 20,900 openings a year, all of them replacing people who leave the occupation.
What it costs to reach a welder helper
A welder helper is an entry-level production hire, so the closest family in our benchmark is warehouse / production. In our 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark those campaigns on Meta ran a median cost per applicant of $9.83, with the middle half between $3.15 and $18.72, a blended figure of $4.44 and a 20 percent apply rate. For comparison, skilled trades roles such as welders ran a $14.14 median at a 15 percent apply rate, and the all-role median is $13.88.
Apply rate explains 70 percent of the variation in cost per applicant across the benchmark. For helper roles, a short mobile form with no resume requirement is what keeps the cost near the median.
Staffing the rest of the shop? See the welder, machinist, assembler, sheet metal worker and material handler job descriptions, and welder shortage and recruiting for the hiring side.
The job description is not the job ad
The template is the document for your files and supervisors. The ad has to stop a warehouse worker, a farm hand or a recent graduate scrolling after work.
- Lead with pay and “we train you to weld”, if you do.
- Say how long it takes to become a welder at your shop and what the pay becomes.
- Show the shop floor. A real photo of your welders beats a stock image.
- Keep the application to a minute. Call back within a day.
More on the ad itself is in job ad copywriting, and apprenticeship recruiting covers building a trainee pipeline.
Frequently asked questions
What does a welder helper do?
A welder helper prepares, moves and finishes work so the welder can weld. Typical duties are cutting, beveling and grinding material, holding and clamping parts for fit-up, moving material with hoists and forklifts, chipping and grinding finished welds, setting up equipment and consumables, standing fire watch and keeping the work area clean and safe.
What are the main welder helper duties?
Material prep (cutting, beveling, grinding), fit-up support (holding, clamping, positioning), material handling (cranes, hoists, forklifts, rigging), weld cleanup (chipping, grinding, deburring), equipment setup and care, marking parts from cut lists, fire watch during hot work, and housekeeping. Helpers training toward welder roles may also tack weld under supervision.
How much does a welder helper make?
BLS does not publish a welder-helper wage. Helpers–production workers, the occupation O*NET lists the title under, had a median of $39,070 a year, or $18.78 an hour, in May 2025. Welders had a median of $53,750 a year, or $25.84 an hour, which is the pay a helper can work toward.
What qualifications does a welder helper need?
Very few. BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as typical for production helpers, with no related work experience and short-term on-the-job training. What matters in practice is being able to lift and stand for a full shift, tolerate heat and noise, wear PPE, read a tape measure and show up reliably.
Do welder helpers need welding experience?
No. The point of the role is that you train people who do not yet weld. Requiring welding experience turns a helper posting into an underpaid welder posting and shrinks your applicant pool. List welding coursework as a nice-to-have instead.
What is the difference between a welder helper and a welder?
The welder is responsible for the weld: process, settings, technique and passing inspection or a weld test. The helper prepares, moves and cleans up the work around the weld and may tack weld under supervision. Welders earn more; the May 2025 medians were $53,750 a year for welders and $39,070 for production helpers.
Which SOC code covers welder helpers?
O*NET lists welder helper as a job title under helpers–production workers, SOC 51-9198, which is the occupation used on this page. Helpers working for construction contractors may be counted instead in BLS’s helpers, construction trades group (47-3000), which has no separate welder helper code.
Is welder helper a good way to become a welder?
Yes, when the employer makes the path real. Helpers learn fit-up, prep and shop safety every day and see how welders work. State the training, the timeline and the weld test in the posting; the path is what persuades candidates to choose a helper job over other entry-level work.
How much does it cost to recruit a welder helper?
On Meta, warehouse and production roles, the closest family in our benchmark, ran a median of $9.83 per applicant across our managed campaigns, with the middle half between $3.15 and $18.72 and a 20 percent apply rate. That is cost per applicant, not cost per hire.
Related job descriptions
Hiring welder helpers?
The description is the document. Getting it in front of people near your shop who want to learn to weld is the part we do.
Wage, employment, projection and education data for helpers–production workers (SOC 51-9198), the occupation O*NET lists “Welder Helper” under: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, Data for Occupations Not Covered in Detail, last modified 27 August 2026; annual openings and welder comparison figures (SOC 51-4121) from BLS Employment Projections Table 1.2, 2025–35; hourly medians from O*NET OnLine 51-9198.00 and 51-4121.00; tasks, work context and education from O*NET OnLine 51-9198.00. Wages are May 2025 OEWS. Read at source 24 September 2026. Cost-per-applicant and apply-rate figures: Boostpoint 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark, 891 managed campaigns and 1,334 campaign-months.