Best Welder programs in Florida, 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.
51 schools in Florida run programs that feed this job, graduating 2,522 people a year. The job pays a median of $50,640 in Florida across about 16,420 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Florida that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
1 programs in Florida that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Florida (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 Florida page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 48.0508In Florida → | 2,522 | 100.0% | 51 | $36,566 | $9,429 |
Top 25 schools in Florida
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 18 of the 51 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tulsa Welding School - Jacksonville Jacksonville, FL Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1,050 | Welding Technology/Welder | $31,821 | 72% | $33,589 | — |
| 2 | Southern Technical College Orlando, FL Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 160 | Welding Technology/Welder | $31,007 | 63% | $25,852 | — |
| 3 | Universal Technical Institute - South Florida Miramar Miramar, FL Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 87 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 70% | $27,594 | — |
| 4 | Lake Technical College Eustis, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 70 | Welding Technology/Welder | $33,687 | 47% | — | — |
| 5 | Big Bend Technical College Perry, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 69 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 98% | — | — |
| 6 | Lively Technical College Tallahassee, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 56 | Welding Technology/Welder | $46,499 | 51% | — | — |
| 7 | Hillsborough College Tampa, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 52 | Welding Technology/Welder | $24,327 | 34% | — | — |
| 8 | Manatee Technical College Bradenton, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 50 | Welding Technology/Welder | $41,602 | 64% | — | — |
| 9 | Withlacoochee Technical College Inverness, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 46 | Welding Technology/Welder | $23,156 | 61% | — | — |
| 10 | Daytona State College Daytona Beach, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 45 | Welding Technology/Welder | $31,448 | 43% | — | — |
| 11 | Pinellas Technical College - Clearwater Clearwater, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 41 | Welding Technology/Welder | $40,795 | 52% | — | — |
| 12 | William T McFatter Technical College Davie, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 35 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 66% | — | — |
| 13 | First Coast Technical College Saint Augustine, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 34 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 77% | — | — |
| 14 | Fort Myers Technical College Fort Myers, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 33 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 81% | — | — |
| 15 | Northwest Florida State College Niceville, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 33 | Welding Technology/Welder | $37,052 | 39% | — | — |
| 16 | Orange Technical College - South Campus Orlando, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 33 | Welding Technology/Welder | $39,539 | 35% | — | — |
| 17 | Indian River State College Fort Pierce, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 32 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 45% | — | — |
| 18 | Radford M Locklin Technical College Milton, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 32 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 63% | — | — |
| 19 | Chipola College Marianna, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 31 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 53% | — | — |
| 20 | Atlantic Technical College Coconut Creek, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 29 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 65% | — | — |
| 21 | Marion Technical College Ocala, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 29 | Welding Technology/Welder | $38,846 | 80% | — | — |
| 22 | Pensacola State College Pensacola, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 27 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 36% | — | — |
| 23 | Eastern Florida State College Melbourne, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 52% | — | — |
| 24 | Tom P. Haney Technical College Panama City, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Welding Technology/Welder | $31,480 | 61% | — | — |
| 25 | Treasure Coast Technical College Vero Beach, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 81% | — | — |
All 51 schools in Florida
Every school in Florida 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tulsa Welding School - Jacksonville | Jacksonville | Private for-profit | 1,050 | 1 |
| Southern Technical College | Orlando | Private for-profit | 160 | 1 |
| Universal Technical Institute - South Florida Miramar | Miramar | Private for-profit | 87 | 1 |
| Lake Technical College | Eustis | Public | 70 | 1 |
| Big Bend Technical College | Perry | Public | 69 | 1 |
| Lively Technical College | Tallahassee | Public | 56 | 1 |
| Hillsborough College | Tampa | Public | 52 | 1 |
| Manatee Technical College | Bradenton | Public | 50 | 1 |
| Withlacoochee Technical College | Inverness | Public | 46 | 1 |
| Daytona State College | Daytona Beach | Public | 45 | 1 |
| Pinellas Technical College - Clearwater | Clearwater | Public | 41 | 1 |
| William T McFatter Technical College | Davie | Public | 35 | 1 |
| First Coast Technical College | Saint Augustine | Public | 34 | 1 |
| Fort Myers Technical College | Fort Myers | Public | 33 | 1 |
| Northwest Florida State College | Niceville | Public | 33 | 1 |
What welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers earn in Florida
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $53,750. Florida pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Florida
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 Florida
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 Florida.
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 2,522 degrees in Florida in 2024-25, 100.0% 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 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Precision Metal Working. Together they graduate about 2,522 people a year in Florida.
How much do welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers earn in Florida?+
The median is $50,640 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 5.8% below 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 Florida?+
51 institutions in Florida reported graduates from at least one of the 1 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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