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Career · Building and installation

Welder

Joins metal parts by welding and makes strong seams for structures, pipes and machines.

Career overview

What a day looks like

The welder reads a drawing, prepares the parts and welds them, watching the seam. The work takes place in a workshop or on a building site, sometimes at height. Welding gives off bright light, sparks and hot metal, so a mask, thick gloves, protective clothing and good ventilation are needed. The seam is checked afterwards: the strength of the structure depends on it. A steady hand, patience and precision are needed. People learn this beside an experienced mentor, and you must not try it yourself without protection.

Try it yourself this week

  • 30 minutes

    Draw a sketch of a shelf bracket with measurements

    1. Find a shelf or stand at home and look at what holds it up. Don't unscrew anything.
    2. On squared paper, draw a side view and a top view of a bracket that could hold a shelf like this.
    3. Mark the measurements with arrows. To get them, measure the real shelf with a tape measure.
    4. Think it over and write down: which part takes the most load, and how would you make it stronger?

    What you'll learn about yourself: Whether you find it interesting to be precise and to think about strength in advance.

  • 30 minutes

    Look closely at a mechanism and draw how it works

    1. Choose a simple thing at home: a door lock, a bike or a desk lamp. You don't need to take anything apart, just look.
    2. Draw the whole thing and label the main parts.
    3. Use arrows to show what passes movement to what: for example, where you press and what moves.
    4. Write down three questions you don't know the answer to, and find the answer to one of them.

    What you'll learn about yourself: Whether you're drawn to finding out how things work inside, and whether you have the patience to get to the cause.

What you can do next

  1. Next 3 months

    • Find out how metal is joined

      Find a simple explanation of how welding differs from bolts and rivets and draw three examples.

  2. In six months

    • Look at the protection

      Find out what protective clothing a welder needs and why. Never switch on a welding machine yourself and never look at a bright arc without protection.

  3. In a year

    • Talk to a master

      Through people you know and together with your parents, talk to a welder: what is taught in practice and how they protect their health.

What it pays

No verified information is available in this section yet.

Where to study

No verified information is available in this section yet.

How to get into college

College gets you a profession faster than university. You can apply after grade 9 or after grade 11.

  • Colleges accept students both after grade 9 and after grade 11. After grade 9 you study longer — about 3 years 10 months; after grade 11, about 2 years 10 months. The exact length depends on the college and the specialty.
    Source: kchk.edu.kz (opens in a new tab)
  • About 80% of students admitted to colleges in the 2024/25 school year study on a state order, which means in state-funded places (in 2023/24 it was about 70%). But each college and each specialty has its own number of state-funded places.
    Source: inbusiness.kz (opens in a new tab)
  • There are also paid colleges. For example, training as a nurse at ADILMED costs 450,000 ₸ per year. Check the price and conditions on the college's website.
    Source: adilmed.kz (opens in a new tab)
UNT: which subjects to take for university

The UNT (Unified National Testing) is Kazakhstan's national university entrance test. You need it to get into university after grade 11.

  • The UNT 2026 has three compulsory subjects: History of Kazakhstan, Reading Literacy and Mathematical Literacy. On top of these, you take two profile subjects, chosen to match your specialty.
    Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab)
  • In total, the test has 120 questions (maximum 140 points) and you get 4 hours. The format is the same as in 2025.
    Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab)
  • Profile subjects depend on the group of specialties. For example: information technology — Mathematics and Computer Science; nursing and veterinary medicine — Biology and Chemistry; electrical engineering — Mathematics and Physics; law — World History and Fundamentals of Law. The full list is published by the National Testing Center.
    Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab)
  • For creative specialties (for example, media and design), you take History of Kazakhstan and Reading Literacy through the UNT, and two creative exams at the university itself.
    Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab)
  • Some universities have their own admission rules. Nazarbayev University, for example, requires a UNT score of at least 85, a GPA of 4.0 and English at IELTS 6.0 level.
    Source: nu.edu.kz (opens in a new tab)

Courses and opportunities

Opportunities near this field

Can you work before you turn 18?

Under Kazakhstan's Labour Code, teenagers can work, but with limits.

History of the career

No verified information is available in this section yet.

Well-known people in this field

No verified information is available in this section yet.

Is this right for you?

The article is about the career; the conversation is about you. The AI mentor will help you see which fields are worth testing.

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