January I start tig welding..........

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January I start tig welding or GTAW if you prefer. I will be taking courses that first work with steel pipe and then move onto non-ferrous pipe. I know that 300 hours of torch time is good for a school, but how many years of experience does it usually take before welders will consider someone a professional welder? I'm not new to trades, just welding, and as I look across the job listings most of them want 5 years exp. or more, but I get the impression that is without schooling. Could I reasonably count the A.A. degree in welding as exp. or does that just count as minimal training? I have no delusions that I will be able to weld better than someone with years more experience than me right out of the gate, but I'm hoping that the degree will get me more than a piece of paper. Lastly, if anyone has words of advice for someone entering the trade I would appreciate the jesture.Thanks,Burner.
Reply:I was once told:A Pro does a great job all the time, a True Pro does a great job even when no-one is looking.Do you feel comfortable telling others, youre a Pro? Have you welded in the field, out of position, or on something really tough to work?I admit I WAS a Pro in the booth, add 5G 3" sch80 6" from a wall while welding of a 10 foot step ladder, Not so much anymore....lolLincoln Power MIG 210 MP ( boat anchor )Lincoln Weld-Pac 100 HDHobart IronMan 230Cutmaster 42Jackson NexGenSumner Ultra ClampsDWM120
Reply:One nice thing about welding, is that you can talk all you want, but when it comes down to it, it's a "Show Me!" sort of deal. Great news for somebody new to the field (like me) or soon to be you. If you're able to demonstrate the skill, you're there. There are a lot of folks out there with "five year's experience" who don't have anything like that skill level, or torch time. It's all about having the skill and being able to show it.As for me, I went to night school for a year (around two hundred and fifty hours of torch time), got an additional hundred hours at my buddy's shop, and another fifty or so when I finally got my own machine and set it up in my garage. I was the only one in my class who was able to get sufficient skill in TIG welding in order to land a job, which I attribute to plain old hard work (at school, I welded like my life depended on it!), pulling on additional resources of family and friends to help me get a leg up, and sending out over two hundred job applications (seriously!).For all that pain sweat and tears, I now have a production TIG welding job for two dollars over minimum wage and no benefits, and I consider myself one of the lucky ones. I've been at my new job for about a month now, and with all the overtime, I've nearly doubled my torch time and my skill has really improved! My advice is if you can get a welding job where you will actually be welding, take it at any price, it's experience and even at minimum wage it pays better than school, or practicing in your garage.
Reply:I struggled out of welding school, I was lucky and worked for a company that had their own welding school.  I worked with an 85 year old that had been welding since he was a kid.  His name was Hoppy and he was an absolute blast to work with.  I flipped a 50' beam off a set of horses, I thought I was gone!  He looked at me and said "you broke my stool!"A good company will realize that you just finished up school and will have you work with someone for a couple of weeks.  If I were teaching I would have people on the floor welding, or anything to get them out of a stable position.