5 Best Welding Companies to Work for in 2024
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Welding is a highly skilled trade that takes many years of experience to perfect. More than just experience, you’ll need certifications if you want to land the best jobs in the industry. But certifications aren’t easy to come by. They require pricey specialized schooling, not to mention the time you have to invest in school, practicing, and improving on the job.
Across the country, the average hourly wage for welders is $21.33. But most welders aren’t going to start there. The bottom 10% of welders are only making $13.73 per hour, hardly enough to support a family. Welding is hard work and can even be dangerous in certain conditions. Naturally, you’ll want to be well-compensated and appreciated for your hard work and skill. While not every company will respect you and pay you well, the following five will. These are some of the best welding companies to work for this year.
1. Space X
Founded by Elon Musk in 2002, Space X is an aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company that’s pushing the boundaries of space travel. They’ve accomplished some impressive feats, including a propulsive vertical landing by their Falcon 9 rocket in December 2015. If you think you’d like to work on such ground-breaking and forward-thinking work like this, then you may consider working for them as a welder.
Welders at Space X are some of the highest-paid in the country, but you may need to relocate to work for them. Over 7,000 talented individuals are employed by Space X, and the competition is quite fierce. There are several places you could find yourself working for them, including their headquarters in California, their launch facility in Florida, or even their rocket-development facility in Texas.
According to the job market website Indeed.com, welders at Space X earn an average of $79,091 annually. This is $34,731 higher than the national average, so you know that they’re compensating their workers very well. Welder/fitters make out even better at Space X with an incredible average salary of $92,595 yearly. But that’s not the end of the story. Workers at Space X are some of the most satisfied employees around. In fact, this company has earned a 4.1/5 rating in employee satisfaction, impressive for any business. When you take into account the high pay, equally high employee satisfaction, and fascinating work you’ll be a part of, it’s clear that Space X is one of the greatest companies to be employed by as a welder.
2. Huntington Ingalls Industries
Out of all the companies you could work for as a welder, Huntington Ingalls Industries is one of the best. If you don’t know who they are, they’re the biggest military shipbuilding company in the country. This means that they require skilled workers who don’t mess around since they have important government contracts to fulfill. They employ over 40,000 workers from a variety of different fields, and welders are always in need.
Out of their large workforce, 97% approve of CEO Mike Petters, a pretty substantial number for any company. Seventy-seven percent said they would recommend working here to their friends, so they’re clearly enjoying the work environment. But if you need more proof, they have a 3.6/5 satisfaction rating by their employees and former employees on Glassdoor.
Employee satisfaction is important, but it’s not the only factor when considering a place of employment. Equally important, or possibly more important, depending on your priorities, is how well-paid their employees are. According to Payscale, Huntington Ingalls Industries pays their welders more than any of their close competition. With an average pay rate of $25.46 per hour, they seem to be reimbursing their welders quite well. Of course, that’s just an average, so based on your experience and credentials, you could be making more or less by a significant margin. But between their great pay rates and high employee satisfaction, Huntington Ingalls Industries is one of the best companies to work for as a welder.
3. General Electric Co. (GE)
General Electric is based in Boston, Massachusetts, but they have locations across the world. They employ 283,000 people worldwide, making them a major company. In the United States alone they employ 97,000 workers. That’s a lot of people to keep employed, and amazingly, they’ve managed to retain an impressive 3.8/5 worker satisfaction rate. That’s a great number for any business, but especially for a company of such massive size.
On average, welders at GE earn $1.32 more than other welders across the country. The mean hourly rate that GE pays their welders is $22.65 per hour, but some of their more experienced welders are taking home as much as $33.00 per hour. With the right experience, you could earn nearly $12 per hour more than the average welder does in America.
Aside from great pay and high levels of worker satisfaction, employees at GE say that the company is great about providing them opportunities. If you want to work for a company that will give you the chance to move up the ladder, then GE is a great company to consider. Most employees tend to stay with this company for a long time, often 5 years, 10 years, or even longer. With 75% of their employees saying they’d recommend working at GE to their friends, it’s easy to see why they’d stay for so long.
4. Caterpillar, Inc.
As the world’s leading manufacturer of industrial turbines, diesel and natural gas engines, diesel-electric locomotives, mining equipment, and construction equipment in general, Caterpillar Inc. is a major company with a large workforce of 42,400 people in North America alone. With so many employees, welding jobs aren’t hard to find here. But their employees also seem to be happy with their place of employment, based on their 3.7/5 employee satisfaction rating. Most employees believe this company offers good hours, benefits, and pay.
Though they aren’t the highest paying company you could work for as a welder, Caterpillar Inc. does compensate their welders pretty well. Their highest-paid welders are making about $26 per hour for an annual salary of over $68,000. But on average, their welders are taking home $20.52 per hour. This means that there is room to move up here and climb the ladder to a higher salary.
5. General Dynamics Electric Boat
As the primary submarine builder for the United States Navy and a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corporation, General Dynamics Electric Boat employs over 14,000 people, including a high number of welders. They have several locations across the country, so you probably won’t have to go far to get employed with them.
With an average employee satisfaction rating of 3.5/5, you’re likely to enjoy the environment and opportunities available with this company. According to their employees, there is plenty of room for promotion and opportunities for advancement, so your career isn’t likely to get stale and stall out here.
Some of the highest-paid welders at General Dynamics Electric Boat are earning $33 per hour, which is $12 higher than the national average in this industry. Of course, not all of their welders are earning this much. The average welder at this company is bringing home $21.10 per hour, still a very respectable salary. They may not be the highest paying company you could work for as a welder, but with many welding jobs available for a decent pay rate and satisfied employees overall, it’s still a great company to weld for.
Conclusion
When determining the best welding companies and which you want to work for as a welder, you should consider important factors like average pay, highest pay, employee satisfaction, and where you’d have to go to work for them. Many different businesses employ welders across the country in a variety of industries. While they all differ in the important factors, you’ll be performing similar tasks at them all. If you want to get the best compensation while experiencing high levels of job satisfaction, then Space X is one of the best companies you could work for as a welder. But competition for their welder positions is very heavy, and there aren’t always open spots available. A close choice for second is Huntington Ingalls Industries. They also pay their welders far more than the average across the nation, and their employees rate the company as very satisfying to work for.
Featured Image Credit By: alcangel144, pixabay
