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I have to do a paper on what career I am looking into for welding. If somebody could take a couple minutes out of their day to answer these questions and give your specific job title that would be awesome. What drew you to this profession?How much education did you complete and where?Please describe a typical day in your work week.  What do you do on a daily basis?What are your favorite aspects of your job?What are your least favorite aspects of your job?What frustrates you the most on the job?How many hours per week do you work?  Do you control your schedule?How stable is your job?  Do you worry about losing your job?How much stress do you experience from your work?  What’s your advice to someone thinking of entering this field? Thanks for any help!
Reply:My dad.12-grade. California.Built bridges, or container ship / ferry docks. Foundations for high rise buildings. Love to build land marks.Dealing with people from the office.Dealing with people from the office.40 +. No.If you show up, you get 2-hours. If you get your belt on, you get 4-hours. If you get your belt on after lunch, you are paid for the day. Never worried about losing a job. Just go get another one.No stress, sore muscles tho.Work hard, keep your mouth shut, and do as you're told.Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:I think you have to decide for yourself. Welding is heavy hard work and you can't just expect you'll make the big bucks like some guys do. I was fascinated by all the things you build out of steel. A year in a vocational high school (half a day the whole school year) with full time work experience for 2 weeks at 3 separate welding shops. Extremely experienced and knowledgeable instructor. Teacher told me to leave school 2 weeks early cause had an offer(actually 2) for apprenticeship. Built hooped safety ladders for oilfield tanks(mostly 400 bbl, 20') for 7 1/2 month's as well some skids and worked on tanks too. Should point out that some newbies hardly do any welding the first year but do a lot of grinding and grunt work.Seeing the finished product and knowing you built it. Even better when your work gets complimented.Apprentices or coworkers that don't want to listen and cheap employers who scrimp on the supplies you need to do your job. 40 hours/wk some overtimeMost everything is related to the oilfield here so if it's slow or the price of oil is low, you could get laid off at any time. Not always easy finding another job when there's 100 or more other welders applying. A lot of them exaggerate their resumes and don't live up to their own hype.Always take pride in your work and pay attention to the guys that are trying to help you. If someone wants to mentor you, take full advantage even if it means staying late or coming in early. Don't come out of school and expect you're going to set the world on fire. Show up on time and try to learn as much as you can. It's a whole lot better if you get along with coworkers than if you clash with them but some guys are just complete jerks.Last edited by Welder Dave; 12-06-2014 at 02:06 AM.
Reply:Thanks for answering the questions