A welding inspector resume is a different document from a welder resume, and the mistake almost everyone makes on the way across is writing the same page with a CWI number added at the top. The person hiring an inspector is not buying your arc time. They are buying your judgement, your paperwork, and your willingness to stop a job.
Two complete samples below – structural and pressure/pipeline, because they are close to different jobs – plus how to write the codes, the certifications and the numbers that only an inspector can produce.
What changes when you stop welding and start inspecting
Your welding history still matters, but it stops being the argument and becomes the credibility behind the argument. Three things move to the front:
- Codes, not processes. As a welder you wrote “6G, GTAW root, SMAW fill and cap”. As an inspector you write “ASME Section IX and B31.3” – the document you inspect against, not the way you burn rod
- Outcomes across other people’s work. Repair rate, rejection rate, audit findings. Your own weld quality is no longer the metric; the crew’s is
- Documentation. WPS, PQR, NCRs, weld maps, turnover packages. Half the job is paper, and a resume that never mentions paper reads like a welder who bought a certification
If you are still on the tools and wondering how to write the welding side, start with the welder resume sample instead – this guide assumes you are moving off them.
Welding inspector resume sample: structural
Fourteen years welding, six inspecting, structural side. Notice that the repair-rate figure sits in the summary – for a QA manager it is the single most persuasive line on the page, because it says this inspector changes outcomes rather than just recording them.
DALE MERRIWEATHER Kansas City, MO 64108 | (816) 555-0193 | d.merriweather.cwi@email.com AWS Certified Welding Inspector #XXXXXXX | 14 years welding, 6 inspecting OSHA 30 | Own truck | Available for travel and shutdowns SUMMARY AWS CWI with 6 years inspecting structural steel and 14 years on the tools before that. Inspected 40+ commercial and bridge projects to AWS D1.1 and D1.5, wrote and qualified 30+ WPS and PQR packages, and cut one fabricator's weld repair rate from 4.1% to 1.6% in 18 months. EXPERIENCE Certified Welding Inspector - Heartland Steel QA, Kansas City, MO Mar 2020 - Present - Visual inspection to AWS D1.1 and D1.5 across 40+ commercial, industrial and bridge projects - Wrote and qualified 30+ WPS with supporting PQRs; witnessed and documented welder qualification tests for 60+ welders - Coordinated UT, MT and PT with third-party NDT; reviewed reports and dispositioned indications - Cut weld repair rate at one fabricator from 4.1% to 1.6% over 18 months by retraining crews on fit-up and preheat - Wrote daily inspection reports and NCRs; supported two AISC audits with no major findings - Held pre-weld meetings with foremen instead of writing NCRs afterwards - that is what actually moved the repair rate Welder / Weld Foreman - Missouri Structural Fabrication, Sedalia, MO Jun 2010 - Feb 2020 - SMAW and FCAW on structural steel, 3G and 4G qualified - Ran a 6-welder crew for the last 4 years - Trained 11 welders through their D1.1 qualification tests SKILLS AWS D1.1 and D1.5 | Visual inspection | WPS and PQR development Welder qualification testing and continuity | Weld symbol and blueprint reading | NDT coordination: UT, MT, PT | Indication disposition | NCR and daily report writing | AISC audit support Fit-up, preheat and interpass control | Crew retraining CERTIFICATIONS AWS Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) #XXXXXXX - current, expires 20XX ASNT Level II - VT, MT, PT OSHA 30-Hour Construction - 2025 First Aid / CPR - current EDUCATION AWS CWI seminar and examination - 2020 Welding technology certificate - State Technical College, 2010
The last bullet under the current role is deliberate. “Held pre-weld meetings instead of writing NCRs afterwards” tells a hiring manager what kind of inspector you are – the kind who prevents the repair rather than the kind who documents it. That distinction is worth more than any certification line.
Welding inspector resume sample: pressure and pipeline
Nine years, refinery and pipeline. Completely different evidence: turnaround count, rejection rate, and the access credentials that decide whether you can be on site at all.
PRIYA RAGHAVAN Houston, TX 77029 | (713) 555-0158 | p.raghavan.qaqc@email.com AWS CWI #XXXXXXX | API 1104 | ASME Section IX | 9 years inspecting TWIC | H2S | 100% travel, available on 72 hours notice SUMMARY Welding QA/QC inspector with 9 years on refinery, pipeline and pressure piping work. ASME Section IX, B31.3 and API 1104, 22 turnarounds completed, and a radiographic rejection rate held under 2% across roughly 8,000 welds inspected. EXPERIENCE QA/QC Welding Inspector - Gulf Integrity Services, Houston, TX Jan 2021 - Present - Inspection to ASME Section IX, ASME B31.3 and API 1104 on refinery and midstream projects - 22 turnarounds: monitored fit-up, preheat, interpass temperature and PWHT charts on critical circuits - Reviewed RT film and UT reports on roughly 8,000 welds; rejection rate held under 2% - Verified welder qualification ranges and continuity before anyone was allowed on the tools - Wrote NCRs, weld maps and turnover documentation packages - Positive material identification on alloy piping before fit-up - Interfaced with client inspectors and third-party NDT houses Welding Inspector - Bayou Pipeline QA, Baton Rouge, LA Aug 2017 - Dec 2020 - API 1104 cross-country pipeline inspection - Coating inspection and holiday detection; trench, bedding and lowering-in inspection SKILLS ASME Section IX | ASME B31.1 and B31.3 | API 1104 | API 570 awareness WPS and PQR review | Welder continuity tracking | RT film review UT, MT and PT report review | PWHT chart review | PMI NCR, weld map and turnover documentation | Turnaround execution Client and third-party interface CERTIFICATIONS AWS Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) #XXXXXXX - current API 1104 qualification - current ASNT Level II - RT, UT, MT, PT TWIC card - current H2S Awareness - 2025 OSHA 30-Hour General Industry - 2025 Respirator fit tested, clean shaven - current
TWIC, H2S and respirator fit test sit in the header for the same reason a turnaround millwright puts them there – an inspector who cannot be fit tested cannot enter the unit, and putting it on the page saves a phone call. Same logic as the turnaround sample in the millwright resume guide.
Write the codes you have actually worked to
This is where inspector resumes get thrown out. Listing every code you have heard of is transparent, and a QA manager will find out in the interview. List the ones you have genuinely inspected to, and be specific about which:
- AWS D1.1 – structural steel. The default for buildings and most fabrication
- AWS D1.5 – bridge welding. Stricter, and worth calling out separately if you have it
- AWS D1.6 – stainless structural
- ASME Section IX – qualification of procedures and welders for pressure work
- ASME B31.1 – power piping. B31.3 – process piping. These are not interchangeable, and distinguishing them shows you know the difference
- API 1104 – pipeline welding
- API 510 / 570 / 653 – vessel, piping and tank inspection. Different certifications from CWI; do not blur them together
- AWS D17.1 – aerospace. AWS D15.1 – railroad
If you have worked to a code but were never the inspector of record for it, write “familiar with” rather than implying you signed off. Nobody is offended by that, and everybody is offended by the alternative.
The CWI line, and what goes around it
Write the certification the way AWS writes it, with the number and the expiry:
AWS Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) #XXXXXXX - current, expires 03/2028 Not "AWS certified". Not "CWI certified welder". Not "Certified Welding Inspector (AWS)". The body has one name for it, and a QA manager reads hundreds of these a year.
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The 2 samples above, as one editable Word file
Word .docx · 36 KB · ATS-safe formatting, no tables. Delete the note at the top before you send it.
Then the things that sit around it, in rough order of what they are worth:
- ASNT Level II – and say which methods: VT, MT, PT, RT, UT. An inspector who can review film rather than only forward it is a different hire
- API 1104 qualification, listed separately from CWI
- SCWI or CWE if you have gone further – Senior Inspector or Welding Educator
- CWB Level 2 if you trained in Canada. Say so plainly rather than translating it into an AWS equivalent it is not
- TWIC, H2S, confined space, respirator fit test – access credentials. On refinery and port work these decide whether you can start Monday
- Your old welder qualifications. Keep them. An inspector who has passed a 6G test himself gets a different reception on the floor, and every welder on the crew works out within a week which kind of inspector you are
Format matters more than people expect – how to list certifications on a resume covers the general rule, and the welding certifications list covers your welder-side tickets in the six-variable format.
The reason the number matters as much as the wording: it is checkable. AWS maintains a directory of current certification holders, and a QA manager filling an inspector seat will look you up rather than take the line on trust. That makes two errors expensive here. Writing a number that has lapsed turns a small omission into something that looks deliberate. And writing “CWI” when you hold CAWI is a graded distinction the directory will show — associate, inspector and senior are three separate credentials, not three ways of saying the same one. Write the grade you actually hold, and the number that confirms it.
Numbers a welding inspector can produce
Inspectors have better numbers available than almost any other trade role, and most inspector resumes use none of them:
- Repair or rejection rate, ideally before and after. This is the headline number
- Welds inspected – total, or per shift on turnaround work
- Welder qualification tests witnessed and documented
- WPS and PQR packages written or qualified
- Projects and their scale – tonnage, footage of pipe, project value
- Turnarounds completed, and their typical duration
- Audit results – AISC, client, third-party. “No major findings” is a sentence worth writing
- Recordable-free time on sites you were responsible for
If your figures are approximate, write “roughly”. An inspector who quotes a suspiciously exact rejection rate across nine years invites the wrong kind of question. How to quantify physical work covers where these hide.
The paperwork half of the job
Every QA manager has hired an excellent welder who turned out to be a poor inspector, and the failure is almost always documentation. A resume that mentions paperwork explicitly is answering a fear before it is raised:
- Daily inspection reports
- Nonconformance reports – and how you handle the conversation that follows one
- WPS and PQR development, not only review
- Weld maps and traceability
- Turnover and handover packages
- Continuity tracking: who is still qualified, and when it lapses
- Audit preparation and support
One honest line about the human half is worth more than the list. An inspector who writes that they hold pre-weld meetings, or that they explain a rejection to the welder rather than tagging it and walking off, is describing the part of the job that decides whether a crew cooperates with them or works around them.
Mistakes on welding inspector resumes
- Still writing a welder resume. Leading with processes and positions when the job is inspection. Your tickets belong in certifications, not the summary
- Listing every code. Transparent, and it collapses in the interview
- No repair or rejection rate. The most persuasive number available to you, left off
- Nothing about documentation. Reads like someone who passed the exam but has not done the job
- Blurring CWI with API 510 or 570. Different certifications from different bodies. A QA manager notices immediately
- “Detail-oriented.” You are a welding inspector. It is assumed, and writing it suggests you had nothing concrete to put there
- Omitting the years on the tools. They are an asset on the floor. Put them in, just further down and compressed
Frequently asked questions
I just passed my CWI but have not inspected yet. What do I write?
Be straight about it. Lead with the certification and your welding years, then describe the inspection-adjacent work you did as a welder or foreman – witnessing tests, checking fit-up, training people through qualification. Nobody expects a new CWI to have a rejection rate.
Should I keep my welder qualifications on an inspector resume?
Yes. They are not clutter, they are why the crew will listen to you. Keep them in certifications, below the CWI line.
How do I write the years I spent welding?
As experience, with the welding detail compressed to two or three bullets rather than eight. If you were a weld foreman, lead those years with supervision and training – that is the closest thing to inspection you did.
Structural or pressure – can one resume cover both?
Keep two versions. The codes differ, the credentials differ, and a refinery QA manager reading about AISC audits assumes you will need training. Swap the summary and reorder the codes; ten minutes per application.
Is CWI worth getting if I am happy on the tools?
That is a career question rather than a resume question, and the honest answer is that it depends on whether you actually want to stop welding. Plenty of people get the certification and find they miss the arc.
Related guides
Still on the tools: welder resume sample and welder resume template. Writing your tickets properly: welding certifications list. The same move off the tools in another trade: millwright resume. Formatting: ATS resume template.
If you would rather not write it yourself
Your CWI number, your codes and your rejection rate are the whole argument, and nobody outside the industry can supply any of them. A general writer will turn “ASME Section IX and B31.3” into “familiar with industry welding standards”, which is strictly worse than what you would write yourself.
Do it yourself. A resume builder handles the single-column formatting that application software wants, which is the fiddly part. Take the sample above, replace the content with your own numbers, and you are done in under an hour.
Pay someone to write it. Worth it mainly if you are applying to a client-side or owner QA role where the resume has to argue about audits, budgets and managing other inspectors rather than your own inspections. If you go that route, Resumeble is a US-based writing service – where the writer sits matters on trades work, because someone unfamiliar with the trade flattens your specifics into generic phrasing. If you do, the code HARDHAT10 takes 10% off. Expect to be asked for your numbers either way, so do that homework first regardless of which route you take.
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