Welding
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (June 2026), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the Welding occupation series (code 3703).
The verdict
In the Metal Processing Family family, Welding counts 2,325 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.1% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount edged down from the prior period; pay averages $87,563, which pays below the federal-wide average.
- Headcount change
- -0.4%
- Pay change
- +0.8%
- Avg tenure
- 11.4 yrs
- Rank in family
- #1 of 9
FedScope read on Welding (dense series)
Headcount moved down versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path. Pay moved up between the two reporting periods, a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement. On length of service, this series shows a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
The Metal Processing Family family (code 37) groups Welding together with 8 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Welding postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Metal Processing Family family. Across the Metal Processing Family family, 3,792 employees work in 9 occupations; Welding is 61.3% of that headcount. Its average salary ranks in the top half (60th percentile) of pay among Metal Processing Family occupations.
Salary Context
How Welding pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$87,563
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-25.4%
Where Welding ranks on federal pay
Welding earns more on average than 43% of federal occupation series (233 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Welding sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Welding.
Related Occupations in Metal Processing Family
8 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Destructive Testing | 904 | $98,385 | 10.1 yrs |
| Electroplating | 272 | n/a | 10.7 yrs |
| Miscellaneous Metal Processing | 102 | n/a | 12.4 yrs |
| Metalizing | 70 | n/a | 14.8 yrs |
| Shot Peening Machine Operating | 54 | n/a | 16.9 yrs |
| Heat Treating | 46 | $79,709 | 16.9 yrs |
| Battery Repairing | 13 | $72,252 | 19.5 yrs |
| Buffing and Polishing | 6 | $84,749 | 16.4 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Welding outside the Metal Processing Family family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar dense headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (2,325 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($87,563 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Welding pay in context with the pay-rank chart above, then compare it with another occupation.
- Turn an average salary into a grade: the GS pay grade tables show how grades and steps map to pay.
- Browse the Metal Processing Family family occupations in the table above, or search current Welding postings on USAJOBS.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.