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Job Description

Overview

This position is for a WG-3703-10 Welder in the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, located at the Industrial Production Facility in Portsmouth, Virginia. The role involves welding various components of ships and other maritime equipment.

Responsibilities

  • Weld various components of ships including shell, engine parts, framing, and tanks.
  • Remove and replace interferences in the way of welds.
  • Fit brackets and machinery foundations.
  • Fit minor structural braces, gussets, or patches.
  • Take fire and safety precautions during welding.
  • Adjust welding controls to maintain qualified welding procedures.
  • Apply knowledge of manual welding processes and techniques.
  • Read blueprints, sketches, and online drawings for component layout and fit up.

Requirements

  • Knowledge of welding standards and various metals and alloys.
  • Experience with welding processes such as oxyacetylene, gas metal-arc, and shielded metal arc welding.
  • Ability to read and interpret blueprints and technical drawings.

Additional Information

  • Location: Portsmouth, Virginia.
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How this job compares in Atlantic Beach, NC

Pay in context

At roughly $35/hr, this posting sits about 26% above the $28/hr median for welding jobs across North Carolina — toward the top of a $22–$34/hr middle band drawn from 56 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 89% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. Pay that far above local median usually comes attached to something: a harder cert requirement, travel, night shift, or overtime that isn't really optional. Worth establishing which before you accept.

The local market in Atlantic Beach, NC

Atlantic Beach, NC is a small market in our index: 1 other active welding opening alongside this one, from 1 employer. Across North Carolina as a whole we're tracking 128 other active welding openings from 79 employers. With this few local postings, most welders here end up either commuting or looking at travel work. Browse welding jobs across North Carolina.

U.S. Coast Guard currently has 1 other opening live in North Carolina, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in North Carolina at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Classic Collision (14), Southern Industrial Constructors, Inc. (7), and Environmental Air Systems (4). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within North Carolina, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Charlotte at $36/hr and Denver at $20/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for Stick. Stick (SMAW) burns a flux-coated consumable rod and needs no shielding gas, so it works in wind, rain, and on dirty or rusted steel. That tolerance for bad conditions keeps it the default for field, structural, and repair work.

Similar openings near Atlantic Beach, NC

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Welder figures were last recalculated when this page was built.