Best Welder programs in California, ranked by enrollment
Use hand-welding, flame-cutting, hand-soldering, or brazing equipment to weld or join metal components or to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal.
74 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 3,728 people a year. The job pays a median of $58,060 in California across about 26,060 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in California that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
2 programs in California that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in California (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own California page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 48.0508In California → | 3,669 | 98.4% | 73 | $36,566 | $9,429 |
| 2 | CIP 15.0614In California → | 59 | 1.6% | 1 | $57,188 | $22,000 |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 12 of the 74 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cerritos College Norwalk, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 278 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 31% | — | — |
| 2 | Advanced Career Institute Visalia, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 274 | Welding Technology/Welder | $31,401 | 81% | — | — |
| 3 | Summit College San Bernardino, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 244 | Welding Technology/Welder | $37,502 | 62% | $25,402 | — |
| 4 | Universal Technical Institute - Southern California Long Beach, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 207 | Welding Technology/Welder | $37,568 | 63% | $26,553 | — |
| 5 | Universal Technical Institute of California Inc Rancho Cucamonga, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 191 | Welding Technology/Welder | $37,568 | 72% | $24,830 | — |
| 6 | Merced College Merced, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 175 | Welding Technology/Welder | $27,541 | 36% | — | — |
| 7 | Universal Technical Institute of Northern California Inc Sacramento, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 153 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 65% | $27,890 | — |
| 8 | Butte College Oroville, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 121 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 45% | — | — |
| 9 | American River College Sacramento, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 116 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 37% | — | — |
| 10 | UEI College - Gardena Gardena, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 113 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 60% | $28,919 | — |
| 11 | Fresno City College Fresno, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 95 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 24% | — | — |
| 12 | CET - San Diego San Diego, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 88 | Welding Technology/Welder | $32,817 | 87% | $21,055 | — |
| 13 | Allan Hancock College Santa Maria, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 66 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 26% | — | — |
| 14 | Long Beach City College Long Beach, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 66 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 30% | — | — |
| 15 | Barstow Community College Barstow, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 60 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 39% | — | — |
| 16 | Escondido Adult School Escondido, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 59 | Welding Engineering Technology/Technician | — | — | — | — |
| 17 | Santa Ana College Santa Ana, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 57 | Welding Technology/Welder | $45,864 | 31% | — | — |
| 18 | Los Angeles Trade Technical College Los Angeles, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 56 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 35% | — | — |
| 19 | Tri - Community Adult Education Covina, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 55 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | — | — | — |
| 20 | CET - El Centro El Centro, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 52 | Welding Technology/Welder | $32,817 | 93% | $19,396 | — |
| 21 | Cuesta College San Luis Obispo, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 49 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 48% | — | — |
| 22 | Modesto Junior College Modesto, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 49 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 30% | — | — |
| 23 | Mt San Antonio College Walnut, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 49 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 45% | — | — |
| 24 | College of the Canyons Santa Clarita, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 46 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 45% | — | — |
| 25 | Santa Rosa Junior College Santa Rosa, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 45 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 37% | — | — |
All 74 schools in California
Every school in California with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cerritos College | Norwalk | Public | 278 | 1 |
| Advanced Career Institute | Visalia | Private for-profit | 274 | 1 |
| Summit College | San Bernardino | Private for-profit | 244 | 1 |
| Universal Technical Institute - Southern California | Long Beach | Private for-profit | 207 | 1 |
| Universal Technical Institute of California Inc | Rancho Cucamonga | Private for-profit | 191 | 1 |
| Merced College | Merced | Public | 175 | 1 |
| Universal Technical Institute of Northern California Inc | Sacramento | Private for-profit | 153 | 1 |
| Butte College | Oroville | Public | 121 | 1 |
| American River College | Sacramento | Public | 116 | 1 |
| UEI College - Gardena | Gardena | Private for-profit | 113 | 1 |
| Fresno City College | Fresno | Public | 95 | 1 |
| CET - San Diego | San Diego | Private not-for-profit | 88 | 1 |
| Allan Hancock College | Santa Maria | Public | 66 | 1 |
| Long Beach City College | Long Beach | Public | 66 | 1 |
| Barstow Community College | Barstow | Public | 60 | 1 |
What welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $53,750. California pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in California
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers page.
How to become a Welder
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in California
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 2 majors mapped to Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 15.0614Welding Engineering Technology/Technician
- 48.0508Welding Technology/Welder
Common questions
Answers for people weighing welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers programs in California.
What degree do you need to become a Welder?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Welding Technology/Welder, which awarded 3,669 degrees in California in 2024-25, 98.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Welder?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Precision Metal Working, Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 3,728 people a year in California.
How much do welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers earn in California?+
The median is $58,060 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 8.0% above the U.S. median of $53,750. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers growing?+
BLS projects a +2.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 45,600 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
74 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Wirer, Brazer, Welder, Solderer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 51-4121.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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