While welding is a trade that many people overlook in an increasingly digitized economy, it remains a deceptively important craft and one that’s incredibly hard to learn.
Once you’ve learned how to become a welder, however, you can deploy your new-found skills across an array of different industries, with demand remaining relatively high in some sectors.
In this post, we’ll appraise the five main industries that utilize welding, while asking how this skill is applied in each instance.
#1. The General Construction and Building Industry
There are different types and iterations of welding, with variations based on the way in which the arc (which helps to join two metals) is used.
Each iteration has its own unique applications and industry usages, with ‘Metal Inert Gas’ (MIG) welding widely utilized in the general construction and building sector.
In fact, MIG welding with steel is a major cornerstone of the construction industry, which should come as no surprise given that a vast percentage of globally-produced steel is used in residential and commercial real estate products.
MIG welding with steel is also used to help construct vast structures like hospitals and airports, contributing to an efficient and robust building process that optimizes both quality and safety.
Not only does this create a significant demand for welders, but it’s also the leading industry from the perspective of welding supplies.
These include MIG welders and tables alongside a broad range of abrasives, so there’s no doubt that welding supplies rely heavily on output throughout the global construction industry.
#2. The Automotive Industry
Next up on our list is the automotive trade, which has seen its underlying supply chain endure significant disruption through 2021 against the backdrop of the coronavirus.
While new car sales may have plummeted during the last 12 months, however, automotive welding remains a huge market, both from the perspective of vehicle manufacturing and repairs.
Ultimately, both traditional MIG welding processes and resistance welding processes are commonly used to assemble and repair cars, along with motorbikes, vans and other types of automotive vehicles.
The reason for this is simple; both of these welding processes provide a strong and reliable finish and one that underpins the type of sturdy design that automotive applications demand.
It’s also important to note that while the demand for new cars and the total supply may be diminishing, the need for welding and associated supplies remains high in the automotive sector.
After all, the average car uses a staggering 5,000 welds on average alone, so even small production runs create significant demand for welders across the board.
Check out YesWelder’s lineup of MIG, TIG, STICK Welders. Designed for professionals and hobbyist.
Shop High-Quality Welding Equipment#3. The Aerospace Industry
Aircraft welding is another significant application, with the aerospace industry utilizing a huge range of welding processes and supplies.
These include MIG and TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding processes as standard, of course, along with less renowned and more niche iterations such as SMAW welding, orbital welding and a variety of plasma procedures.
While MIG welding largely contributes to the construction and manufacturing of aeroplanes, TIG and plasma alternatives are more synonymous with aircraft repairs.
In the case of plasma arc and electric resistance welding, these entities are usually deployed for joining sheeting and other precision works.
Of course, the demand for aerospace construction may have also declined through 2021 and 2020 amid global travel disruption, but the construction of even a single aircraft requires a significant number of welds and a high volume of supplies.
#4. The Shipping and Rail Industries
From the construction of train tracks to potentially huge structures such as cruise liners (which plot a number of courses across the length and breadth of the globe), these two industries are incredibly reliant on a variety of MIG and TIG welding processes.
The same sectors include tanker and general shipping welding which also creates significant demand for welding skills and a range of relevant supplies.
Interestingly, the demand in these industries isn’t primarily driven by new structures, as some train tracks and cruise liners remain in operation for significant periods of time.
Because of this, maintenance welding plays a critical role in servicing such industries, ensuring that individual components function properly and user safety is optimized over an extended period of time.
Maintenance welding in the shipping and rail sectors is also renowned for being noticeably fast and economically sound, thanks to the use of the most applicable processes and a huge array of welding supplies.
#5. The General Maintenance and Other Manufacturing Sectors
Last, but by no means least, we come to general maintenance and manufacturing welding, which covers a diverse and versatile space and one that includes a number of applications.
For example, maintenance welding is often used within commercial building settings, especially if the welder in question also boasts other transferable skills such as plumbing and electrical repairs.
Welding may also be used to implement fixes in a diverse range of equipment, from basic machinery and workman tools to pipework, wiring and even electrical appliances.
Because of this, there’s almost no theoretical end to the potential applications of general maintenance welding, while pretty much every iteration of manufacturing also relies on welding skills and supplies to one degree or another.
This rule even applies in the digital age, with welding used widely in the mass production of computer components such as motherboards.
In this respect, welding remains and will continue to remain a large and important trade, and one that supports a diverse range of industries across the globe.
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Check out YesWelder’s lineup of MIG, TIG, STICK Welders. Designed for professionals and hobbyist.
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