Side-by-side distribution
Architect
$180,350
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 34%
- Live roles
- 3,253
Welder
$25.00/hr
per hour · USD
- Disclosing
- 33.9%
- Live roles
- 124
Highest-paying jobs
Lead Systems Software Architect
Data Center Standards Architect
Principal Technical Architect, Product Management (AWS/Azure)
3P Systems Architect
Principal Solutions Architect, Public Sector Federal
Data Center Infrastructure Architect
Hardware Platform Security Architect
Performance Architect, AI HW
Sr. Performance Modeling Architect
Chiplet Design Architect
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Welder and Fabrication Technician
TIG Welder
Specialty Welder
Welder and Fabrication Technician III
Welder
Certified Welder
Welder and Fabrication Technician II
Pipe Fitter/Welder
Welder
TIG Welder (Starship) - Level 4/5
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Databricks
|
$213,750 | 82 |
Accenture Federal Services
|
$174,600 | 50 |
Air Apps
|
$200,000 | 31 |
Myriad360
|
$262,500 | 27 |
Elastic
|
$154,935 | 16 |
Anthropic
|
$277,500 | 15 |
Fivetran
|
$196,301 | 15 |
Snowflake
|
$185,000 | 15 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
SpaceX
|
$52,000 | 10 |
|
Vast
|
$86,663 | 3 |
ITAC
|
$80,080 | 3 |
|
Anduril Industries
|
$79,000 | 2 |
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$67,600 | 2 |
Great Basin Industrial
|
$62,400 | 2 |
Elite
|
$62,400 | 2 |
Qualdoc
|
$50,960 | 2 |
Architect salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $212,000 | 29 |
| San Francisco | $208,425 | 136 |
| London | $202,500 | 17 |
| Amsterdam | $200,000 | 3 |
| Paris | $200,000 | 5 |
| Atlanta | $190,391 | 16 |
| Los Angeles | $190,000 | 34 |
| Austin | $190,000 | 27 |
| New York | $185,000 | 171 |
| Boston | $180,750 | 50 |
Architect vs Welder: which pays more?
The median for Architect is $180,350 per year (typically $150,000–$213,750), versus $25.00/hr for Welder ($25.00/hr–$38.50/hr). That puts Architect about 247% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Architect and Welder are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.