Welcome to the Welding & Joining Technology Department!
The Welding and Joining Department offers several programs of study that prepare students for careers in the welding industry.
Occupational Trends: Employment of welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers is expected to experience little or no change, declining about 2% over the 2008-2018 decade, while employment of welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders is expected to decline moderately about 7% over the same decade. However, the outlook for welders in manufacturing is stronger than that for other occupations in this industry because of the importance and versatility of welding as a manufacturing process. In 2008, welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers held about 412,300 jobs and welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders held about 54,100 jobs. About 65% of welding jobs were found in manufacturing. Jobs were concentrated in fabricated metal product manufacturing, transportation equipment manufacturing, machinery manufacturing, architectural and structural metals manufacturing, and construction.
Career Description:Welding is the most common way of permanently joining metal parts. In this process, heat is applied to metal pieces, melting and fusing them to form a permanent bond. Welders work in a variety of industries, from car racing to manufacturing. Skilled welding, soldering, and brazing workers generally plan work from drawings or blueprints, or specifications and use their knowledge of welding processes and base metals to determine how best to join the parts. The difficulty of the weld is determined by its position-horizontal, vertical, overhead, or 6G, circular, as in large pipes, and by the type of metals to be fused. Welders and cutters may work outdoors, often in inclement weather, or indoors, sometimes in a confined area designed to contain sparks and glare. About 50% of welders, solderers, and brazers work a 40 hours a week, overtime is common, and about 1 out of every 5 welders work 50 or more hours per week.
Employment Trends:Employment of welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers is expected to experience little or no change, declining about 2% over the 2008-2018 decade, while employment of welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders is expected to decline moderately about 7% over the same decade. However, the outlook for welders in manufacturing is stronger than that for other occupations in this industry because of the importance and versatility of welding as a manufacturing process. In 2008, welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers held about 412,300 jobs and welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders held about 54,100 jobs. About 65% of welding jobs were found in manufacturing. Jobs were concentrated in fabricated metal product manufacturing, transportation equipment manufacturing, machinery manufacturing, architectural and structural metals manufacturing, and construction.
These programs are offered on the Savannah Campus only. More information on each program can be found on the links to the right. For questions about program costs, please see the tuition & fees page.
If you still have questions after reviewing the program opportunities listed on this site please feel free to contact us!
Welding & Joining Technology Program Contacts
| Kimberly Anderson | Program Assistant | 912-443-5833 | kanderson@savannahtech.edu | Savannah Campus |
| Melanie Smith | Academic Advisor | 912-443-5859 | msmith@savannahtech.edu | Savannah Campus |
| Bill Burns | Department Head | 912-443-5863 | wburns@savannahtech.edu |
Savannah Campus |