Best Welder programs in Oklahoma, 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.
29 schools in Oklahoma run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,552 people a year. The job pays a median of $49,720 in Oklahoma across about 9,960 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Oklahoma that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
1 programs in Oklahoma that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Oklahoma (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 Oklahoma page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 48.0508In Oklahoma → | 1,552 | 100.0% | 29 | $36,566 | $9,429 |
Top 25 schools in Oklahoma
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 7 of the 29 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tulsa Welding School - Tulsa Tulsa, OK Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 591 | Welding Technology/Welder | $31,821 | 68% | $34,362 | — |
| 2 | Indian Capital Technology Center - Muskogee Muskogee, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 134 | Welding Technology/Welder | $23,518 | 100% | — | — |
| 3 | Kiamichi Technology Center - McAlester McAlester, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 127 | Welding Technology/Welder | $24,017 | 45% | — | — |
| 4 | Francis Tuttle Technology Center Oklahoma City, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 92 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 52% | — | — |
| 5 | Tulsa Technology Center Tulsa, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 77 | Welding Technology/Welder | $28,983 | 81% | — | — |
| 6 | Meridian Technology Center Stillwater, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 48 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 48% | — | — |
| 7 | Canadian Valley Technology Center El Reno, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 47 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 71% | — | — |
| 8 | Metro Technology Centers Oklahoma City, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 45 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 35% | — | — |
| 9 | Eastern Oklahoma County Technology Center Choctaw, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 34 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 92% | — | — |
| 10 | Pontotoc Technology Center Ada, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 30 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 83% | — | — |
| 11 | Central Technology Center Drumright, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 28 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 85% | — | — |
| 12 | Red River Technology Center Duncan, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 28 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 53% | — | — |
| 13 | Northeast Technology Center Pryor, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 27 | Welding Technology/Welder | $29,365 | 97% | — | — |
| 14 | Moore Norman Technology Center Norman, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 91% | — | — |
| 15 | Southern Oklahoma Technology Center Ardmore, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 83% | — | — |
| 16 | Chisholm Trail Technology Center Omega, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 71% | — | — |
| 17 | Green Country Technology Center Okmulgee, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 67% | — | — |
| 18 | Autry Technology Center Enid, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 75% | — | 71% |
| 19 | Western Technology Center Burns Flat, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 74% | — | — |
| 20 | Mid - America Technology Center Wayne, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 100% | — | — |
| 21 | Caddo Kiowa Technology Center Fort Cobb, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 68% | — | — |
| 22 | Gordon Cooper Technology Center Shawnee, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Welding Technology/Welder | $39,018 | 90% | — | — |
| 23 | Great Plains Technology Center Lawton, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 95% | — | — |
| 24 | Oklahoma Technical College Tulsa, OK Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Welding Technology/Welder | $29,721 | 73% | $29,527 | — |
| 25 | Wes Watkins Technology Center Wetumka, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Welding Technology/Welder | — | 98% | — | — |
All 29 schools in Oklahoma
Every school in Oklahoma 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 - Tulsa | Tulsa | Private for-profit | 591 | 1 |
| Indian Capital Technology Center - Muskogee | Muskogee | Public | 134 | 1 |
| Kiamichi Technology Center - McAlester | McAlester | Public | 127 | 1 |
| Francis Tuttle Technology Center | Oklahoma City | Public | 92 | 1 |
| Tulsa Technology Center | Tulsa | Public | 77 | 1 |
| Meridian Technology Center | Stillwater | Public | 48 | 1 |
| Canadian Valley Technology Center | El Reno | Public | 47 | 1 |
| Metro Technology Centers | Oklahoma City | Public | 45 | 1 |
| Eastern Oklahoma County Technology Center | Choctaw | Public | 34 | 1 |
| Pontotoc Technology Center | Ada | Public | 30 | 1 |
| Central Technology Center | Drumright | Public | 28 | 1 |
| Red River Technology Center | Duncan | Public | 28 | 1 |
| Northeast Technology Center | Pryor | Public | 27 | 1 |
| Moore Norman Technology Center | Norman | Public | 22 | 1 |
| Southern Oklahoma Technology Center | Ardmore | Public | 22 | 1 |
What welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers earn in Oklahoma
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $53,750. Oklahoma pays below the national figure.
Concentrated here: Oklahoma employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Oklahoma
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 Oklahoma
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 Oklahoma.
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 1,552 degrees in Oklahoma 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 1,552 people a year in Oklahoma.
How much do welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers earn in Oklahoma?+
The median is $49,720 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 7.5% 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 Oklahoma?+
29 institutions in Oklahoma 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
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card