Career Training Path › Welding schools › Virginia
Welding schools in Virginia
Virginia has 20 accredited campuses awarding welding credentials. If you finish and work as a welder in Virginia, expect to start around $42,520–$49,020 and reach a median of $59,180 with experience; the top quarter earn $65,400 or more (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025, Virginia). Graduates of these Virginia programs — every graduate, whatever job they took — earned a median of $33,825 in their first year, against $34,154 nationally; that is the figure used to rank campuses below.
What welders, cutters, solderers and brazers earn in Virginia
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; 10,100 employed in Virginia. National median: $53,750.
Campuses in Virginia, ranked by what their graduates earned
Cities: AbingdonAlbertaAnnandaleBig Stone GapCedar BluffChesterClifton ForgeDanvilleDublinFranklinLynchburgMartinsvilleMelfaNorfolkNorth ChesterfieldRichmondRoanokeVirginia BeachWytheville
| Campus | City | Type | Grads / yr | Earnings, yr 1 | Program debt | Completion | Cost / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Technology Institute | Virginia Beach | for-profit | 50 | $42,088 | $12,000 | 79% | not reported |
| Tidewater Community College | Norfolk | Public | 45 | $35,934 | $7,500 | 32% | not reported |
| Tidewater Tech-Trades | Norfolk | for-profit | 205 | $33,825 | $9,500 | 71% | not reported |
| New River Community College | Dublin | Public | 53 | $31,371 | not reported | 50% | not reported |
| Patrick & Henry Community College | Martinsville | Public | 49 | $31,323 | not reported | 42% | not reported |
| Virginia Western Community College | Roanoke | Public | 25 | $28,539 | not reported | 40% | not reported |
| Central Virginia Community College | Lynchburg | Public | 82 | not reported | not reported | 45% | not reported |
| Southside Virginia Community College | Alberta | Public | 56 | not reported | not reported | 42% | not reported |
| Danville Community College | Danville | Public | 54 | not reported | not reported | 39% | not reported |
| Mountain Empire Community College | Big Stone Gap | Public | 45 | not reported | not reported | 48% | not reported |
| Brightpoint Community College | Chester | Public | 41 | not reported | not reported | 38% | not reported |
| Virginia Highlands Community College | Abingdon | Public | 41 | not reported | not reported | 40% | not reported |
| Southwest Virginia Community College | Cedar Bluff | Public | 36 | not reported | not reported | 46% | not reported |
| Centura College-Richmond Main | North Chesterfield | for-profit | 27 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Eastern Shore Community College | Melfa | Public | 13 | not reported | not reported | 41% | not reported |
| J Sargeant Reynolds Community College | Richmond | Public | 13 | not reported | not reported | 32% | not reported |
| Wytheville Community College | Wytheville | Public | 13 | not reported | not reported | 47% | not reported |
| Mountain Gateway Community College | Clifton Forge | Public | 6 | not reported | not reported | 38% | not reported |
| Northern Virginia Community College | Annandale | Public | 6 | not reported | not reported | 33% | not reported |
| Paul D Camp Community College | Franklin | Public | 3 | not reported | not reported | 36% | not reported |
Earnings are median wages and self-employment income reported to the IRS (W-2 and Schedule SE) for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled, measured in the calendar year after finishing. They are pay only: health insurance, retirement contributions and other benefits are not included.
Ranked by median earnings of this program's graduates one year after completion (College Scorecard field-of-study, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2022-23 Completions survey; College Scorecard June 2026; Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP), September 2026); campuses without a reported figure follow, by credentials awarded. "Program debt" is the median federal loan debt for graduates of this program at this campus. Completion is the campus-wide 150%-of-time rate. "Not reported" means the federal file suppresses the value for privacy.