Metal Fabricator

What Metal Fabricator Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, metal fabricator majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Metal Fabricator Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in metal fabricator should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills for Metal Fabricator Majors

When studying metal fabricator, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Abilities for Metal Fabricator Majors

As you progress with your metal fabricator degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
• Control Precision - The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
• Multilimb Coordination - The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Visualization - The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Metal Fabricator

Some degrees associated with metal fabricator may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to metal fabricator have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	4.0%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	48.8%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	30.0%
Some College Courses	17.1%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	0.1%
Bachelor’s Degree	3.3%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.2%

Online Metal Fabricator Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	12	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	4	0
Associate’s Degree	8	0
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Metal Fabricator

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to metal fabricator.

Major	Number of Grads
Welding Technology/Welder	50,561
Machine Tool Technology/Machinist	3,090
Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) Machinist Technology/CNC Machinist	2,268
Machine Shop Technology/Assistant	1,663
Tool & Die Technology/Technician	500
Sheet Metal Technology/Sheetworking	389
Other Precision Metal Working	254
Ironworking/Ironworker	235

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.