# Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

US SOC code 51-4122. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/51-4122

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **31,600** US welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders, with median pay of **$47,920** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the highest was **55,360**, in May 2014. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://www.construction-physics.com/p/welding-and-the-automation-frontier) of **200,000** from 1959, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era in this work: Programmable robotic welding cells in automotive and job-shop manufacturing, 1985 to 2010.

Figures: Official statistic (latest count and pay, highest count); Researched context (earliest figure).

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to decline 8.9% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=51-4122&ioType=o) (Official statistic).

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1888
- Latest US employment: 31,600 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [2]
- Latest US median pay: $47,920 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [3]
- Outlook: -8.9% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [14]

### All 24 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1959 | 200,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Construction Physics (Brian Potter) [1] |
| 2003 | 53,750 | $29,110 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [2] |
| 2004 | 47,210 | $29,780 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [2] |
| 2005 | 45,220 | $30,430 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [2] |
| 2006 | 48,770 | $30,980 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [2] |
| 2007 | 50,820 | $30,980 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [2] |
| 2008 | 51,840 | $31,610 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [2] |
| 2009 | 41,580 | $32,750 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [2] |
| 2010 | 38,530 | $33,810 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [2] |
| 2011 | 40,350 | $34,770 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [2] |
| 2012 | 49,430 | $34,720 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [2] |
| 2013 | 50,860 | $34,410 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [2] |
| 2014 | 55,360 | $35,180 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [2] |
| 2015 | 53,080 | $36,150 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [2] |
| 2016 | 46,920 | $36,980 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [2] |
| 2017 | 38,750 | $37,190 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [2] |
| 2018 | 35,080 | $37,670 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [2] |
| 2019 | 35,110 | $38,310 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [2] |
| 2020 | 33,150 | $39,410 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [2] |
| 2021 | 29,980 | $38,580 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [2] |
| 2022 | 30,940 | $44,920 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [2] |
| 2023 | 33,020 | $45,350 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [2] |
| 2024 | 36,290 | $47,060 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [2] |
| 2025 | 31,600 | $47,920 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [2] |

## Sources (67)

### Employment series

1. [Construction Physics (Brian Potter) -- "Welding and the Automation Frontier" (2022): 200,000 machine operators in 1959, more than half of all welders](https://www.construction-physics.com/p/welding-and-the-automation-frontier), Construction Physics (Substack)
2. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

3. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Tool eras

4. [Mechelonic Welders -- "Resistance Welding: A Fusion of Science, Skill, and History" (Thomson patents 1885, Roebling commercial installation 1888)](https://mechelonic.com/2025/03/01/resistance-welding-a-fusion-of-science-skill-and-history/), Mechelonic Welders
5. [Lemelson-MIT -- Elihu Thomson biography (over 700 patents, electric welding invention 1885)](https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/elihu-thomson), Lemelson-MIT Program
6. [Total Materia -- "Historical Development of Welding" (Edward Budd all-steel body 1912, automotive adoption)](https://www.totalmateria.com/en-us/articles/historical-development-of-welding), Total Materia
7. [Construction Physics (Brian Potter) -- "Welding and the Automation Frontier": machine operators exceeded half of all welders by late 1950s, peak ~200,000 in 1959](https://www.construction-physics.com/p/welding-and-the-automation-frontier), Construction Physics (Substack)
8. [Wikipedia -- Unimation (Unimate at GM 1961, die-casting handling and car body welding)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unimation), Wikipedia
9. [AllAboutLean.com -- "KUKA FAMULUS Turns 50: The First Modern Industrial Robot" (1973, six-axis articulated design)](https://www.allaboutlean.com/kuka-famulus/), AllAboutLean.com
10. [Robots.com -- "KUKA Welding Robots: A History" (1980s expansion in automotive and broader manufacturing)](https://www.robots.com/articles/kuka-welding-robots-a-history), Robots.com
11. [ADH Machine Tool -- "The History and Evolution of Laser Welding Machines" (1980s-1990s industrial adoption)](https://shop.adhmt.com/the-history-and-evolution-of-laser-welding-machines/), ADH Machine Tool
12. [Universal Robots -- Collaborative robots for manufacturing (cobot history, first commercial cobot 2008)](https://www.universal-robots.com/), Universal Robots
13. [O\*NET 51-4122.00 -- BLS OEWS 2024-2034 projections (decline of 1% or lower, projected 3,200 annual openings)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/51-4122.00), O\*NET / BLS

### Forecasts and exposure studies

14. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 51-4122 Welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders (2025: 32.9 thousand; 2035: 30.0 thousand; -8.9%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=51-4122&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Historical notes

15. [Lemelson-MIT -- Elihu Thomson biography (700+ patents, electric welding invention 1885, Roebling Iron Works 1888)](https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/elihu-thomson), Lemelson-MIT Program
16. [Total Materia -- "Historical Development of Welding" (Edward Budd all-steel car body 1912, resistance spot welding)](https://www.totalmateria.com/en-us/articles/historical-development-of-welding), Total Materia
17. [Wikipedia -- Unimation (Unimate at GM Ewing Township 1961, spot welding at Lordstown, Ohio)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unimation), Wikipedia
18. [AllAboutLean.com -- "KUKA FAMULUS Turns 50: The First Modern Industrial Robot" (1973 introduction, six-axis design)](https://www.allaboutlean.com/kuka-famulus/), AllAboutLean.com
19. [Robots.com -- "The Evolution of Robotic Welding: A Historical Retrospective" (FANUC-GM joint venture 1982, 65% of robots for welding by 1980)](https://www.robots.com/articles/the-evolution-of-robotic-welding-a-historical-retrospective), Robots.com
20. [Universal Robots -- Collaborative robots for manufacturing (company founded 2005, first cobot 2008)](https://www.universal-robots.com/), Universal Robots

### Predecessors & successors

21. [Total Materia -- "Historical Development of Welding" (forge welding to electric resistance welding transition)](https://www.totalmateria.com/en-us/articles/historical-development-of-welding), Total Materia

### Present-day analysis

- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-21
- [O\*NET 30.3 — US Department of Labor](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), accessed 2026-05-21

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.