Career/business owners please help and some career advice

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I'm going to try to make this as short as possible.  I have two jobs right now, one at a welding shop and one doing my career long trade which is installing/servicing gas, wood, and pellet fireplaces/stoves/inserts etc (10+ years).  I LOVE my welding job and want to kick the other job to the curb but the only problem is I just don't get reliable hours at the welding shop and I need some security when it comes to finances, I was very hungry on and off this winter in other words.  My lesser desired career (fireplaces) is a guarentee for full time no matter what time of year etc. which makes it kind of hard to escape.  That job happens to be pushing me VERY hard to quit my part time job welding when they happen to pay me $3 an hour less for something I've been doing since I have been old enough to work.To get to the point I am willing to do pretty much anything it takes to atleast keep a welding career and preferably where I'm at because I love the people, the work, the hourly rate, and I learn something new and interesting every day.  How can I drum up more business for my shop?  I am nothing more than an apprentice but I honestly love this job so much I am willing to do this on my own time if it means I can get myself 5 solid 8 hour days a week.  Here is a small list of the things we do:Structural welding of all sorts (catwalks, beams, construction brackets, automotive, handrails, stairways and much more)Plasma table (artistic welding, production work etc.)Forge work (artistic work from lambs tongues to wrought iron)Welding repair on pretty much anythingPipefitting for fuel/water systems above/below ground and truck mounted systems (septic trucks, water trucks etc.)Aluminum welding (pretty much anything from go-karts to signs)Mobile weldingWe also make fuel tanks to a certain degree, mostly day tanks etc. nothing large capacity.We do Tig, Mig, stick, and gas welding, but dominantly mig unless out in the field.  We have a pretty capable shop which is actually going to be expanded almost twice it's size soon.Like I said I love this job and will do anything to keep it but I need to get more hours and I'd love to do what it takes to get them the work to give me the hours.  One drawback is they don't seem to be too hardpressed to get me certified and sometimes when I am being the laborer on the job they just don't have the time to teach me every last detail or let me run that bead and get the practice.  Should I pursue some education/certification beyond what they are giving me?I am located outside the Denver area in the foothills if that has any bearing on any advice to be given.  Please give me any idea/feedback as to what I could do to have a solid and consistent career welding.  Pretty much any other welding job I can find is located deep within the city which would force me to move out of the beautiful mountains of Colorado, and on top of that it is very hard to secure a well paying apprentice welder/laborer job that pays what I'm making now and without some sort of institutional eduction or certification.  I feel like I got real lucky to have this opportunity.Thank you for your time.Last edited by buggyboy_2006; 05-12-2008 at 12:23 AM.
Reply:its never a bad idea to go out and get extra training on your own.  It will show the boss you are serious about what you want to do.  it will also benefit you, the more knowledge you have the better, you never know when you might call upon something you have learned.  Another thing to help show the guys that your serious is having a decent sized set of quality tools (which you may already have).  there is nothing worse than someone who says they want to learn, but refuses to get the equipment necessary to perform the job.Keep in mind that the economy is not doing so great right now, housing market is a disaster (especially here in california) the price of food is going through the roof, and fuelis out of control.  I believe we are only beginning to see the how bad it will get, the worst is yet to come.  In my opinion it would be best to hold onto a job that is giving you constant hours, unless you can live with working part time, which you make it sound like you cant.  Stick with a job that is willing to give you 40 hours a week, every week.just my 2 cents, best of luck to you
Reply:I agree, I'd stick with the steady job right now. Sometimes I wonder it just getting a 9-5 job working retail for less money is better than working on my own in the construction field.I also agree about getting some additional education on your own and about having your own tools. Is there a type of welding that the shop doesn't do or is weak that you can learn? For example if there is only one guy that does tig or isn't the greatest tig welder then concentrating on learning tig may get you more work at the shop. Can you find a way to make yourself more useful to them? Having your own machine to practice on also helps you to learn. You may be able to use the shops machines to practice after hours, if you cover consumables. This would also show your boss that you are interested in learning.BTW you may be able to write of your class as "work related" on your taxes. I can write off my classes if work requires that take them and doesn't reimburse me for them. All you might need to do is talk to the boss and have them just put in writing that they "require" addional training.
Reply:Unfortunately my experience working in shops and welding in general is that it comes and goes. You may go a year with more work than you can handle and then spend the next 6 months wishing you could buy a job. If you are in a position to work on education do it. It will have benefits you can't even imagine right now. It also opens lots of doors especially for young people. In every shop I have worked in the helpers are always the first sent home. There is a reason for that. Good steady welders can be hard to come by and are easy to lose so you have to keep them busy.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:I'm recently retired from 'the real phone company'. I stayed with a secure job because so did my dad. I'm retired now because I stuck it out. It wasn't what I wanted, but it was secure. "That job happens to be pushing me VERY hard to quit."Well, I'm a BAD reference here. Ma Bell got really p!ssed off when I broke my leg riding my off road motorcycle. They implied that I should quit doing what I loved; ON MY OWN TIME. I made my choice and BROKE IT AGAIN, 8 months later!!    No, I didn't get fired; I wore the b*st*rds down and retired 35 years later.Good luck with your decision. Last edited by Craig in Denver; 05-14-2008 at 10:52 PM.9-11-2001......We Will Never ForgetRetired desk jockey. Hobby weldor with a little training. Craftsman O/A---Flat, Vert, Ovhd, Horz. Miller Syncrowave 250