Welder apprenticeships in Watertown-Fort Drum, NY
Watertown-Fort Drum, NY is a smaller U.S. metro. Here is what working as a welder looks like locally.
KEY FACTS — WATERTOWN-FORT DRUM, NY
Source: Census ACS 5-year PUMS (state-rate projection onto metro OEWS employment).
Source: BLS OEWS.
Source: Projections Central data; score computed by Prentice.
Source: Census ACS 2022 5-year.
A framing, not a forecast. See methodology.
Numerator: unavailable.
Watertown-Fort Drum, NY is one of New York's labor markets for welders. This page collects what adults switching into a career as a welder inside the Watertown-Fort Drum metro need first: how local pay compares to the state, what the available labor-market data says about six-figure work, and which statewide programs and licensing rules apply locally.
Pay for welder roles in New York runs from $22/hr at entry to $34/hr at the state median and $53/hr at the experienced end. Statewide headline: $71K avg salary. The Watertown-Fort Drum metro is a smaller U.S. MSA; local wages may run above or below the state median depending on sector mix. Metro-specific OEWS pay bands are not interpolated on this page; figures above are the parent state pay snapshot.
Metro-level six-figure welder counts for the Watertown-Fort Drum metro are not yet published; the estimate is suppressed or pending ingestion. Bachelor's-plus in the metro labor force: 19K (ACS 2022 5-year). For statewide context: New York shows ~130 of 7.8K (~1.7%). Sources: BLS OEWS, Census ACS.
Statewide welder programs and employer-sponsored paths are listed on the New York programs page; none are flagged as metro-exclusive. Metro program and association references are inherited from sourced state pages unless a metro-exclusive entity is explicitly sourced. Treat them as orientation, not a complete local inventory, and verify current intake details with the statewide source or sponsor before relying. Licensing is set at the state level: New York rules apply in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro unless a local authority says otherwise. Metro pages use state-level licensing and program context unless a city, county, or sponsor rule is explicitly sourced. Verify current licensing, local add-ons, and sponsor requirements with the official state or local authority before relying. Smaller MSAs like the Watertown-Fort Drum metro often source welder apprentices from a 60-mile radius into the nearest larger urban center; check with the state programs page for the closest active intake.
Union apprenticeship programs in Watertown-Fort Drum, NY
Verified welder union locals with public-facing city, jurisdiction, training, and official-site details.
Boilermakers Local Lodge 5, Zone 175
Jurisdiction:Zone 175: Cayuga, Clinton, Cortland, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego, St. Lawrence, Seneca, and Tompkins.
Training:Boilermakers Northeast Area Apprenticeship Committee / Local 5 Zone 175 training facility (Oswego, NY)
Official site →UA Local 13 Plumbers, Pipefitters & Service Techs
Jurisdiction:All of Monroe and Yates Counties; portions of Allegany, Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, Ontario, Seneca, Steuben and Wayne Counties; major city Rochester.
Training:Local 13 Training Center (Rochester, NY)
Official site →Enterprise Association of Steamfitters Local 638
Jurisdiction:All general pipe fitting in New York City, including all five boroughs, and all of Long Island: Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
Training:Steamfitters Local 638 Training Center (Long Island City, NY)
Official site →Verified-source check recorded in the union dataset; this data snapshot does not carry per-local verification dates.
Street addresses, phone numbers, and emails stay out of the page source. Open the free directory for addresses & phone numbers .
WELDER PAY SNAPSHOT — WATERTOWN-FORT DRUM, NY
No MSA-specific OEWS median published for welder in Watertown-Fort Drum, NY. State-level median: $57,230 (New York).
Source: BLS OEWS MSA cross-industry estimates. Where MSA-level data is suppressed or unpublished we fall back to the state median and label it explicitly.
Programs across New York
We list welder apprenticeships, schools, and locals statewide.
WELDER IN NEARBY METROS
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GET THE WELDER GUIDE — $9
Use the national decision guide for earnings, lifestyle, and union vs. non-union fit. It is not a Watertown-Fort Drum, NY or New York-specific paid guide.