Career and Education Opportunities for Solderers in Plano, Texas
If you want to be a solderer, the Plano, Texas area offers many opportunities both for education and employment. About 52,730 people are currently employed as solderers in Texas. By 2016, this is expected to grow by 25% to about 65,750 people employed. This is better than the nation as a whole, where employment opportunities for solderers are expected to shrink by about 1.6%. Solderers generally braze or solder together components to assemble fabricated metal parts, using soldering iron, torch, or welding machine and flux.
Income for solderers is about $15 per hour or $32,910 annually on average in Texas. Nationally, their income is about $16 hourly or $33,560 annually. Incomes for solderers are better than in the overall category of Foundry and Metal Work in Texas, and better than the overall Foundry and Metal Work category nationally.
There are two schools within twenty-five miles of Plano where you can study to be a solderer, among seventy-nine schools of higher education total in the Plano area. The most common level of education for solderers is a high school diploma or GED. It will take only a short time to learn to be a solderer if you already have a high school diploma.
CAREER DESCRIPTION: Solderer
In general, solderers braze or solder together components to assemble fabricated metal parts, using soldering iron, torch, or welding machine and flux.
Every day, solderers are expected to be able to see details at a very fine level of focus. They need to control and manipulate objects at a fine level of detail. It is also important that they move quickly in order to hold onto or control objects and devices.
It is important for solderers to heat soldering irons or workpieces to specified temperatures for soldering, using gas flames or electric current. They are often called upon to clean workpieces to remove dirt and excess acid, using chemical solutions or grinders. They also examine seams for defects, and rework faulty joints or broken components. They are sometimes expected to melt and separate brazed or soldered joints to remove and straighten damaged or misaligned components, using hand torches, irons or furnaces. Somewhat less frequently, solderers are also expected to clean joints of workpieces with wire brushes or by dipping them into cleaning solutions.
Solderers sometimes are asked to decide on torch tips and brazing alloys from data charts or work orders. and turn dials to set intensity and duration of ultrasonic impulses, in line with work order specifications. And finally, they sometimes have to melt and apply solder to fill holes and seams of fabricated metal products, using soldering equipment.
Like many other jobs, solderers must be thorough and dependable and be reliable.
Similar jobs with educational opportunities in Plano include:
- Auto Body Painter. Operate or tend painting machines to paint surfaces of transportation equipment, such as automobiles, buses, and airplanes.
- Prepress Technician. Set up and prepare material for printing presses.
- Welder. Use hand-welding or flame-cutting equipment to weld or join metal components or to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products.
- Welding Operator. Set up, operate, or tend welding, soldering, or brazing machines or robots that weld, braze, or heat treat metal products, components, or assemblies.
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: Solderer Training
ATI Technical Training Center - Dallas, TX
ATI Technical Training Center, 6627 Maple Ave, Dallas, TX 75235. ATI Technical Training Center is a small school located in Dallas, Texas. It is a private for-profit school with primarily less-than 2-year programs and has 385 students. ATI Technical Training Center has a less than one year program in Welding Technology/Welder which graduated 165 students in 2008.
Mountain View College - Dallas, TX
Mountain View College, 4849 W Illinois, Dallas, TX 75211-6599. Mountain View College is a medium sized college located in Dallas, Texas. It is a public school with primarily 2-year programs and has 7,126 students. Mountain View College has a one to two year and an associate's degree program in Welding Technology/Welder which graduated four and zero students respectively in 2008.
Radiographic Interpreter: The program, based upon requirements contained within AWS B5.
For more information, see the American Welding Society website.
Certified Robotic Arc Welding: The Certification Program for Robotic Arc Welding - Operators and Technicians (CRAW) allows many welding personnel employed in various welding sectors to measure themselves against standards for their occupation.
For more information, see the American Welding Society website.
LOCATION INFORMATION: Plano, Texas
Plano is situated in Collin County, Texas. It has a population of over 267,480, which has grown by 20.5% in the past ten years. The cost of living index in Plano, 91, is below the national average. New single-family homes in Plano are valued at $229,500 on average, which is far greater than the state average. In 2008, three hundred sixty-eight new homes were constructed in Plano, down from five hundred forty-six the previous year.
The three big industries for women in Plano are educational services, professional, scientific, and technical services, and health care. For men, it is professional, scientific, and technical services, computer and electronic products, and finance and insurance. The average travel time to work is about 28 minutes. More than 53.3% of Plano residents have a bachelor's degree, which is higher than the state average. The percentage of residents with a graduate degree, 17.6%, is higher than the state average.
The unemployment rate in Plano is 7.4%, which is less than Texas's average of 8.1%.
The percentage of Plano residents that are affiliated with a religious congregation, 53.7%, is more than the national average but less than the state average. Potters House Assembly of God Church, Central Baptist Church and Preston Meadow Lutheran Church are among the churches located in Plano. The most prominent religious groups are the Catholic Church, the Southern Baptist Convention and the United Methodist Church.
Plano is home to the Heritage Farmstead Museum and the The Shops at Willow Bend as well as Enfield Park and Buckhorn Park. Shopping malls in the area include Preston Shepard Place Shopping Center, Preston Towne Crossing Shopping Center and Collin Creek Shopping Center. Visitors to Plano can choose from Amerisuites Dallas Plano North, Best Western Park Suites Hotel and AmeriSuites Plano for temporary stays in the area.