For the sake of getting better...?

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I chose welding as a career to pursue because coincidentally it pays money (somebody say an offhand comment here).I never was in it for the "big bucks". Really, it was never even about building anything. I never had anything in mind, I never wanted to build racecars or spaceships or anything like that. All I've ever done, really, were coupons (and pardon my ignorance here.)It was all about... flipping that hood down, listening to that surge of electricity, the crackling of a roaring flame... everything in the world disappears except for me and this burning steel.All I know is that I want to get better. I want to come back the day after, every day, until my hands fall off, and do it better than I did it before.There is... no skill ceiling when it comes to this, is there?I was introduced to this by chance, and I know not of the world around me- it's about as dark as the hood inside...What level of perfection has man attained out there? Is "perfection" even the right word to use? Do robots and machines even come close? If so, have they been surpassed by humans?Apparently there are many people that are satisfied by making six figures, and they stop there... but I dream about ascending to greater heights... for the love of the process itself... you know?I apologize if this sounds like a bunch of young-kid pie-in-the-sky baloney. (It probably is. )Keeping it down in the hood...literally!
Reply:I weld away from my job for pure joy/satisfaction of the "art".  To me thats what it is.  I have no worry about having to weld to make the house note, car note, welding rig note, etc.( not to brag, but I have no note anyway).  The welding I do at work is my job, though it is enjoyable it is somewhat different in that it finances utilities, insurance, groceries, vactions, kids needs, etc.  When you HAVE to weld, to me it is somewhat a different feeling.A few of my toys !LinuxMintManjaroMiller Roughneck 2E Lincoln WeldPak 100HTP MTS 160 Chicago Electric 80amp Inverter   Victor O/A
Reply:Welding for weldings sake is work. Building something out of metal that, requires welding to put it together, is fun.
Reply:When I was in High School, there were many different shop classes that were offered ( I went to a vocational school, basically for kids that wanted to go right to work out of high school with no plans of going to college). I grew up in the garage, building drag cars with my dad, then my own lowriders, etc. When it came down to choosing a shop class (basically your freshman year is spent doing a tour of all the different classes they offer, then you make a decision, and whatever you choose is your class for the final 3 years), I wanted to get into automotive repair, since that was all I did outside of school. My father strongly suggested that I don't, because he told me if I went to work being a mechanic it would take all the fun out of doing what I love, because basically now I have to do it, not because I want to do it. I listened to him, and went to school to be a machinist. It was great advice, as I still love cars and working on them, and I know I would have hated it if I had to earn a living doing it. When I was about 16, I learned how to MIG weld, and I fell in love. At some point, I went away from being a machinist, and became a plant mechanic. Basically I fix machines, and general fab work, etc. My plant is closing in a month, and I immediately thought "now is a good time to get into welding for a living", since I'm losing my job anyway. I love welding, I do it daily, either at work, or in my personal shop. As I started thinking about how I was going to go about getting into welding as my source of income, I started thinking about what my dad told me, and how he was right. I'm now worried that if I have to do it to earn a living, will I still love it? Will all the fun be gone? I think for me (not everyone), it will be. I've since decided that I will go back to machining, since I really enjoyed it. I'll still be able to weld at night on my own projects, and I'll probably even take some courses to try to become better and learn more. Sorry for the novel, I just figured I'd share my personal experience and thoughts. Good luck man
Reply:Welding itself is still 'fun' for me even though I had to do it as my job for years and now have to do it for a living for my own show.  The welding is the fun, easy part.  The rest of running a business isn't exactly fun, just things that have to be done to make it all work.   Sometimes I miss just doing the welding and letting management worry about the rest!  If I ever start hating and dreading melting metal together, I'll have to find a new line of work.  I don't foresee that happening.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Welding in the right frame of mind is comparable to the the microscopic surgery done by the world's most famous surgeons. All human senses combine with the knowledge of fusion technology and everything falls into parameters until the boss says "speed it up"..........."Just a Weldor's rant"  Have you ever thought of going into Journalism.  OOps that is a ism word.....@C....   *I haven't met a" ism "  I liked"Last edited by Cofe; 10-06-2009 at 04:52 PM.6"XX P5P8 6G