Debating a Career in welding !

admin

Hi all I would like some suggestions.I am thinking about going into welding as my profession.   I am just curiousas to what other Canadians would recomend I have as far as Certifications go.   I would prefer to stay in my own province for work but well half of us Newfoundlanders end up moving away to Alberta for work.I would like to become certified in Pressure Vessel welding.  But if I could I would like to stay away from school.  Maybe get on the job training.   I have absolutly no clue as to how or even if I could get certified with on the job training.Thanks for any advice
Reply:There is no way you are going to be a certified pressure welder and stay away from school.  Are you allergic to school??  In Alberta there is a proper welder apprenticeship.  You likely could work your way up to a plate welder with no school training.  I have seen such welders who could run flux core all day but had trouble figuring out how to light up a torch.  Employers like guys like this.  All they can do is the standard CWB plate test and they have little or no chance of moving to another employer plus they don't have to be paid top dollar.  I think you are closing a lot of doors if you don't intend to upgrade in a school for at least six months at a time.  You could start out as a labourer/cleaner in a local steel shop and see where it goes.
Reply:No im not allergic to school lol,  thank you for the advice.   Looks like school it is,   I just wanted to try to avoid school if I could but looks like I wont be able to do that and make good money so school it is.   Oh and I want to avoid going to Alberta im a Newfoundlander and I would much prefer to stay here.  Alberta is a last resort.  So I will be getting certified in Newfoundland as well.Only thing is I hear a lot of places here wont hire an apprentice, they will only hire Journeymen/women,   not sure how true that is..Thanks again
Reply:For some reason employers complain about what they get but none of them will register their people for apprenticeship.  In the last year we lost two good guys to more progressive employers who offered apprenticeships.  One young fellow went to a stainless shop and the other to a larger union shop where apprentices even got paid while taking classes.  The first guy got the better job through a friend and the other guy got phoned months after he had dropped off a resume before he started with us.  If you are not ready to enroll in school or you end up on a waiting list find a job in a local shop just doing grunt work.  You will get to see the type of work, earn some money and make some connections with people in the same trade.
Reply:Well my friend is planning on becoming a certified welder and he has contacted the College of the North Atlantic and there is suppositly a 3 year waiting list (my friend could be lieing he is sort of lazy and that may be his excuse not to go do the course).   If there is a 3 year waiting list I may just go to Academy Canada (cost is higher but im sure I can get in faster).
Reply:Well I just stumbled across this thread while doing a search,  its been a while..Lotechman,I have to thank you for the advice you gave me way back then.   I went to school and im now a full on Red Seal Journeyperson Welder..   Have been certified to weld  ASME sec 9 piping.  So all is goodI ended up going to the privately owned school "Academy Canada" cost me a fortune but I did it.   Passed my Journeypersons last june....Journeyman / Red Seal Welder (What a useless test)Miller CST 280Miller XMT 350Miller 12vs XtremeEvolution Evo 28 mag drillEvolution 380 Dry Cut saw
Reply:Good news.  Now don't start flashing that gold card around at the bar and when them gold diggin wimmin ask you what you do for a living cast your eyes down to your boots and say "I am just a welder".   LOL
Reply:Hahaha   its like a gold card around here now too.  Lots of work for us with Red Seals.   I still see a lot of apprentices struggling to find work though,  its a shame really.  Employers wont hire them and give them the experience to get the hours they need.  But yet employers wonder why they cant get qualified redseal welders...I remember when I was a first year having to pretty much go to every shop in the city ever few weeks for around 8 months before getting on anywhere...I'll have to keep that in mind with the women lol  we all know how SOME of them can be...Journeyman / Red Seal Welder (What a useless test)Miller CST 280Miller XMT 350Miller 12vs XtremeEvolution Evo 28 mag drillEvolution 380 Dry Cut saw
Reply:I had a young welder I was working with and his buddies all had wall-mart type jobs with fancy titles making ten bucks an hour.  Young Ray was making 20 and it use to make him chuckle as the girls would talk up his friend who gave himself a title like "sales associate".  He would stay our of the limelight and could see which girls had dollar signs in their eyes.  He used the "I'm a welder" line and most females had no idea steering clear of him and going for the big bucks ... or so they thought..