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Job Description

Overview

Caterpillar Inc. is seeking an Early Career Welder in Decatur, IL, to join their global team focused on creating sustainable communities. This position offers an opportunity for individuals with limited training to enhance their welding skills while contributing to the company's mission of building a better world.

Responsibilities

  • Perform manual finish welding operations on plain and alloy steels in all positions.
  • Operate robotic welding equipment.
  • Follow documented procedures and standard work to perform safe and defect-free operations.
  • Perform carbon arc cutting and gouging.
  • Sanding may be required to dress welds.
  • Use of jib and overhead crane to manually position work pieces.

Requirements

  • Must be able to pass multiple welder qualification tests during the Caterpillar provided training.
  • Ability to gain welder certification upon completion of classroom and hands-on weld school training.
  • Ability to become a qualified welder.
  • Ability to perform simple computer operations.
  • Ability to work overtime to support production demands.
  • One (1) to three (3) years of GMAW welding experience.
  • Technical school or equal educational background in mechanical or similar discipline.
  • Experience using GMAW with 0.045” or larger wire.
  • Experience welding ½” or greater thickness material.

Benefits

  • PTO
  • 401k
  • Health Savings Account (HSA)
  • Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)
  • Health Lifestyle Programs
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Career Development
  • Incentive bonus
  • Life Insurance
  • Parental leave
  • Tuition Reimbursement

Additional Information

  • Located at the Caterpillar manufacturing facility in Decatur, IL.
  • Shifts: 2nd or 3rd shift available.
  • Welders may be placed on any shift, dependent on business needs.
  • No relocation package is available.

Benefits

PTO
401k
Health Savings Account (HSA)
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)
Health Lifestyle Programs
Employee Assistance Program
Career Development
Incentive bonus
Life Insurance
Parental leave
Tuition Reimbursement
Apply for This Position

How this job compares in Decatur, IL

Pay in context

At roughly $29/hr, this posting lands within a few percent of the $31/hr median for welding jobs across Illinois, whose middle half runs $26–$43/hr across 197 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 40% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. In other words it is a market-rate offer, so benefits, overtime, and shift schedule are where the real difference between this and the next posting on the list shows up.

The local market in Decatur, IL

Decatur, IL is a small market in our index: 2 other active welding openings alongside this one, from 2 employers. Across Illinois as a whole we're tracking 260 other active welding openings from 160 employers. With this few local postings, most welders here end up either commuting or looking at travel work. Browse welding jobs across Illinois.

Caterpillar currently has 1 other opening live in Illinois, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in Illinois at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Gerber Collision & Glass (16), S&C Electric Company (10), and The Boyd Group LLC (8). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within Illinois, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Elk Grove Village at $40/hr, Chicago at $39/hr, and Bedford Park at $30/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for MIG. MIG (GMAW) feeds a continuous wire electrode through a shielding-gas nozzle. It lays down metal fast and is forgiving on clean material, which is why it dominates production and light fabrication work.

Similar openings near Decatur, IL

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