Welding in British Columbia

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Right now i'm taking a welding course in Ontario Canada. Everyone keeps telling me stories about people that moved out to BC or Alberta to weld and are making tonnes of money. They say that there is a huge demand for welders out on the west coast and they are paying top dollar. It has always been a dream of mine to move out to BC and weld and i'm considering doing it this summer. Has anyone here gone out to BC to weld? Is there as much money and demand as people say there is? Any input or stories one the subject would be greatly appreciated.
Reply:Move to BC if that's where you want to live. Be a welder if you love to weld. If you start chasing $$$ you'll never stop moving your home.Sometimes you do have to move to find reasonable work for good pay but you got like what you're doing and where you're going.Last edited by tresi; 02-07-2007 at 08:51 PM.
Reply:At least get a CWB plate ticket, flux core and you will find lots of work in shops anywhere in BC.   It is expensive to live in Vancouver proper but there it is cheaper as you move away from the city.  Do a newspaper search on google.  Look at a map and choose the smaller centers then search for the local newspaper.  The website will have the local want ads also.  You also can get an idea of the price of renting.  When you are young and single moving around will give you a wide range of experience.  Staying in one shop for twenty years limits your ability to adapt to new situations.
Reply:There's a huge demand for ALL trades in Alberta. Calgary is booming (where I am) and the oilsands project in FT Mcmurray is huge. The demand for welders, fabricators, HD mechanics, operators rig guys is out of hand. The pay is high here but so is the cost of living. Average Calgary house price is now over 400K, FT MCmurray is around 6-700K  BC may or may not be much cheaper unless you live in small town or in the country and commute.Kel
Reply:I think BC is a better choice for a beginner welder since there is more structural welding going on.  Once you have a few pipe tickets then Alberta is the place to be.  You don't have to go to the far North to make a decent wage.  I have heard of living room couches in Fort McMuray going for 500 a month with no meals.  Don't even dream of going there without guaranteed accomodation.  At work the secretary's husband was up there doing some carpentry.  He never has seen so many pickup trucks with the whole deluxe interiors including leather seats!!!  That town has been booiming since the late seventies.  I could go on for hours recounting stories I have been told by people who have worked up there.  Some stories sad.... Money made and money lost.  Try this local BC rag website and look under classifieds.http://www.abbynews.com/  Once you are an hour out of Vancouver cost of living is not too bad.  Most heavy industry has moved out of the core of Vancouver because taxes are just too high and the city council doesn't like heavy industry.   I have a Brother -in - law in Lloydminster Alberta.  They are upgrading their upgrader again.  It is another multi-million dollar project that will last years.  Housing is in short supply.  Be mindful that many jobs are seasonal if they are related to the logging industry.  Usually shops are busy in the summer and slow in the Winter.  The shop I am in works the opposite way for some reason.
Reply:Forget about looking in local papers, they dont advertise. Your best bet is to go to Fort St. John for about 1 week. The more welding tickets you have to better paying job you'll get. Make sure you get your H2S tickets or they wont even let you on the jobsite. Level 1 first aid and WHIMIS is also needed. If you dont have your pressure tickets then expect to be a welders helper for a bit. There is a huge demand right now for any labourers up in the North, and most pay extremely well. I had 2 buddies come up to FSJ and witihin 6 hrs they each had a job starting at 100,000 /yr. Even the local Tim hortons pays 20/hr with a 3 year contract. Housing is affordable in Northern BC bt once you start heading towards McMurray, forget it. Alberta is screaming just as much as BC for workers , but you have to be aware of there different requirments for welding. Whereas in BC you can weld pipe with a B level, in Alberta you would need a B or A level with your red seal. Also realize that most of the well paying jobs are in camps. Alot of the companies have great incentives to keep employees, such as cash bonuses at the end of the season. Others give hiring bonuses, I think there is one place in AB that gives 42in plasma TV's on hiring. But like I said, most places dont advertise. Your best bet is to come out here and spend a week and travel around, guaranteed that before you leave you'll have something
Reply:I seen some want ads here in Alberta, people from Newfoundland in need of tent trailers for free to get back home,available housing here is quite extreme.Also in the Edmonton surrounding areas they're are actual oilfield workers living out of tents(up until late fall)..it comes down to where you'll rest your weary head at night.Last edited by Noa'zarc; 02-08-2007 at 03:19 PM.
Reply:Actually a pretty decent article in the new WELDING MAGAZINE on just this subject, if anyone saw it. Not the old magazine that shall remain nameless, but the new WELDING MAGAZINE! Oooh... aaah.If you don't have the time to do it right, then you definitely don't have the time to do it over.
Reply:well i was living on vancouver island and there is no way i would say there are tons of jobs and guys are pulling in big dollars....yea you can make good money if you wanna go to do camp work but those jobs arnt fun, i know a guy who was working the rigs and he decided it wasnt worth it after less than a year i think...iv looked around and you make anywhere between $11-20 welding starting out at some of the bigger companies...but yea, i think alberta would be a better place for demand though there could be more on the mainland
Reply:I live in southwest BC, there was a boom for a bit where there was more work than workers, that was about 18months ago and has passed now. Trust me, a lot of guys come out here looking for the good dream, its not that good. Come if you want, but I gaurantee you won't get rich fast and housing costs here in the Fraser Valley are the highest in Canada so says National Post, $980,000 for 4.5 acres and a 3500sq ft house with shop and this is 50kms away from the big cities like vancouver and burnaby. Even rent is $1200-1500 a month for an average suit or small farm house, plus utilities.
Reply:thanks for the help so far guys. I have checked out a few newspaper in sounthern BC and a place to stay ranges in about $900-$1400CND a month. I'll also be heading there with a buddy so we'd split the rent so thats not to bad. I've also been looking at jobs and most say to be determined, I did see see a few that were around $16-$24/ per hour. I figure it's really not worth my while to head out there and get less then 20. When I'm done my program i'll have a 1 year certificate in Welding, a 6G stick open root pipe ticket, and maybe a plate ticket too, plus i'll have job experice from my co-op placement. I'm hoping this is enough to get me a job paying 20+ and hour. More so then anything I want to head out there for the experience.