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Sheet Metal Workers vs Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Sheet Metal Workers and Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Sheet Metal Workers Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$60,850
$47,060
Employment · BLS OEWS
117,470
36,290
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
16th pct
23rd pct

At a glance

Dimension Sheet Metal Workers Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Median pay $60,850 $47,060
Employment 117,470 36,290
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (+2.4%) Declining (-9.0%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 10,600 3,200
Typical education · O*NET Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Low · 16th pct Low · 23rd pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 35th pct · 21% of tasks 11th pct · 13% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index Automation-leaning (63.8%) —
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman No No

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Design, Visualization, Near Vision, English Language, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Manual Dexterity, Multilimb Coordination, Information Ordering, Selective Attention, Finger Dexterity, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Oral Comprehension, Written Comprehension, Oral Expression, Problem Sensitivity, Deductive Reasoning, Category Flexibility, Flexibility of Closure, Control Precision, Static Strength, Trunk Strength, Administration and Management, Production and Processing, Active Listening, Speaking, Inductive Reasoning, Perceptual Speed.

Specific to Sheet Metal Workers

  • Mechanical
  • Building and Construction
  • Mathematics
  • Coordination
  • Education and Training
  • Engineering and Technology
  • Mathematics
  • Judgment and Decision Making

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

  • Operations Monitoring
  • Operation and Control
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Rate Control
  • Reaction Time
  • Extent Flexibility
  • Far Vision
  • Speech Recognition

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Operating system software , Word processing software .

Specific to Sheet Metal Workers

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

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Sheet Metal Workers or Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

More comparisons

Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Sheet Metal Workers vs Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/sheet-metal-workers-vs-welding-soldering-and-brazing-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Sheet Metal Workers vs Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/sheet-metal-workers-vs-welding-soldering-and-brazing-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-sheet-metal-workers-vs-welding-soldering-and-brazing-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders,
  title  = {Sheet Metal Workers vs Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/sheet-metal-workers-vs-welding-soldering-and-brazing-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.