Welding career advice

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Not sure if this is the correct place to post this, so if it's not my apologies. This seems like a pretty good community though so any feedback is appreciated.Little information about myself: I'm 25 years old, I've worked jobs ranging from taxidermy to UPS, to the sign business and warehouse work. I'm tired of bouncing around from industry to industry, and I want to go to school to associate a skill with my name. Now, I currently work for a marine container company and the work isn't too bad. Basically I just clean smoke and spatter from welds all day. Pretty tedious, but the pay is good. I'm very interested in learning to weld, and have been for some time. I'm wondering if this is the career path I should choose. Physically, I know I can do the work. I've worked anywhere from 120+ degrees in a crawlspace to -10 degree freezers. Physical labor has never been an issue with me as I take care of my body. My only concern about welding is the pay, long term. I've done research, and I know the welders at my company get $14-17 an hour, working 50 hours a week. I thought this would be low end, but after more research, there are welding jobs in my area offering only $12-14 an hour. That's low. If I'm going to invest in an education, I want it to be very rewarding. I'm always the best at what I do, no matter what it seems. I've always carried that mentality. So I wonder whats the top pay you guys have experienced? Are you happy with your chosen career path?I'm very good with computers as well. Hardware, software, desktop publishing to web design. Network Security has always interested me. I guess my last question to any of you guys still reading this is if you could've chosen a comfy desk job over long hours and achy backs, would you do it all over again?Thanks for reading, and I appreciate any insight.
Reply:I would rather be burnin rods than pushin papers any day. I'm 25 myself. I enjoy it because I'm in control over the operation, it's like creating art. You determine what the finish product will look like and how well it performs. Not sure if the same could be said working behind a desk all day. And $14-$17 an hr is way low. I make any where from $32-$36 an hr single hand down here in the Houston area.