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The AI Resilience Report helps you understand how AI is likely to impact your current or future career. Drawing on data from over 1,500 occupations, it provides a clear snapshot to support informed career decisions.
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Not Very Resilient
Last Update: 5/19/2026
Your role’s AI Resilience Score is
31.9%
Median Score
Meaningful human contribution
Measures the parts of the occupation that still require a human touch. This score averages data from up to four AI exposure datasets, focusing on the role’s resilience against automation.
Med
Long-term employer demand
Predicts the health of the job market for this role through 2034. Using Bureau of Labor Statistics data, it balances projected annual job openings (60%) with overall employment growth (40%).
Low
Sustained economic opportunity
Measures future earning potential and career flexibility. This score is a blend of total projected labor income (67%) and the role’s inherent ability to adapt to economic and technological shifts (33%).
Low
This reflects the reliability of your score based on the number of data sources available for this career and how closely those sources agree on the outlook. A higher confidence means more consistent evidence from labor experts and AI models.
Most data sources align, with only minor variation. This is a well-supported result.
Contributing sources
AI Resilience Report forWelding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders are less resilient to AI impacts than most occupations, according to our analysis of 6 sources.
While welding still needs skilled human hands for complex, custom work, many of the routine, repetitive tasks that make up a big part of this job—like programming weld paths, monitoring quality, and adjusting settings—are increasingly being handled by AI-assisted robots and cobots. The technology is advancing quickly, and as it becomes more reliable and affordable, more shops will automate the straightforward, high-volume welding work that many operators currently do day-to-day.
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View analysisChat with CoachLatest newsMore career infoAnalysisChatNewsMoreThis role is not very resilient
While welding still needs skilled human hands for complex, custom work, many of the routine, repetitive tasks that make up a big part of this job—like programming weld paths, monitoring quality, and adjusting settings—are increasingly being handled by AI-assisted robots and cobots. The technology is advancing quickly, and as it becomes more reliable and affordable, more shops will automate the straightforward, high-volume welding work that many operators currently do day-to-day.
Read full analysisAnalysis of Current AI Resilience
Weld/Solder/Braze Machine
Updated Quarterly • Last Update: 5/14/2026
How is AI changing Weld/Solder/Braze Machine jobs?
Good news first: in welding, soldering, and brazing, AI is mostly showing up as a helper, not a replacement. The American Welding Society describes today's AI-enabled cobots as "like having an apprentice"—they handle programming complexity and repetitive motion so welders can focus on their core skills, with collaborative robots being increasingly deployed to improve ergonomics and drive efficiency. New systems use cameras and machine learning to do tasks operators used to do by hand, such as analyzing millions of data points, suggesting voltage, wire feed speed, and travel speed settings, and even letting the operator snap a photo of a problem so the AI can suggest a fix.
On the inspection side, acoustic sensing combined with AI [1] can now spot MIG welding defects in real time. Still, AWS notes that today's automation conversation is "focused less on replacing people and more on helping teams produce more with their existing staff", and shops typically start with a single cobot cell rather than a full robotic line.
Sources
How fast is AI adoption growing for Weld/Solder/Braze Machine?
Adoption is being pushed hard by labor shortages. Fortune reports a 250,000-worker shipbuilding shortage [2] where welders are described as "far less susceptible to automation than many white-collar jobs," and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects about 45,600 openings per year [3] through 2034 as workers retire. That makes augmentation attractive.
However, full adoption is slowed by reliability: Path Robotics' CEO told Manufacturing Dive that a demo "that works 70% of the time isn't really going to cut it" [4] for manufacturing—it needs 99%+ accuracy. Costs and the need for skilled setup also matter; the International Federation of Robotics' case studies [5] show shops adopting AI welding specifically to free skilled operators for strategic work amid a shortage of specialized labor. Bottom line for young workers: hands-on welding judgment, problem-solving, and craftsmanship remain in high demand—learning to run and supervise AI-assisted welding cells is likely the strongest career move.
Sources
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More Career Info
Career: Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
They operate machines to join or repair metal parts, ensuring everything is securely connected and functions correctly.
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Employment & Wage Data
Median Wage
$47,060
Jobs (2024)
38,900
Growth (2024-34)
-9.0%
Annual Openings
3,200
Education
High school diploma or equivalent
Experience
None
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2024-2034
Task-Level AI Resilience Scores
AI-generated estimates of task resilience over the next 3 years
1
Clean, lubricate, maintain, and adjust equipment to maintain efficient operation, using air hoses, cleaning fluids, and hand tools.
2
Assemble, align, and clamp workpieces into holding fixtures to bond, heat-treat, or solder fabricated metal components.
3
Prepare metal surfaces or workpieces, using hand-operated equipment, such as grinders, cutters, or drills.
4
Tend auxiliary equipment used in welding processes.
5
Lay out, fit, or connect parts to be bonded, calculating production measurements as necessary.
6
Select, position, align, and bolt jigs, holding fixtures, guides, or stops onto machines, using measuring instruments and hand tools.
7
Fill hoppers and position spouts to direct flow of flux or manually brush flux onto seams of workpieces.
Tasks are ranked by their AI resilience, with the most resilient tasks shown first. Core tasks are essential functions of this occupation, while supplemental tasks provide additional context.
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