Am I too old, inexperienced

admin

Hello everybody.  First post here.To introduce myself I'm 42 and looking to make a career change.  I've done retail and office work most of my working life and have grown to find it completely unrewarding.  I would love to learn welding and attempt a later-in-life career at it.  I have absolutely no experience at it or any other trade but would really love the felling of accomplishment from something like this.  Honest opinion:  Am I too old?  Thanks
Reply:Only one way to find out. Depends on the individual.
Reply:Honest opinion...you are going to be going out into a world you may have little understanding of...and one that can often times be intolerant of beginners. The work is physically demanding, hours are often long and the pay may not be as high as you are used to or need when you're first starting out. I quit the trades in my mid twenties for longer hours, but far better benefits and retirement on the railroad. I've missed the trades for decades now and glad to finally be retired and away, far away, from the rails. Now my old trades are only hobbies to me...and come a hard winter day or hot summer afternoon I prefer it that way. As for retail and office work...it never was a consideration as my temperament never extended that far. I wish you the best.Lincoln PrecisionTig 275Miller 251Miller DialArc 250Bridgeport millHossfeld bender & diesLogan shaperJet 14 X 40 latheSouth Bend 9" 'C'Hypertherm 900Ellis 3000 band saw21"Royersford ExcelsiorTwo shops, still too many tools.
Reply:You are never to old to try something new, go for it. There are plenty of people that do there 20 yrs in the military and retire at 40 and do another job for 20 yrs and retire . Then do some thing else as semi retired till, you know when there time is up.
Reply:The answer is yes, you are too old.  But so what.  I'm 46 and am doing something similar.  I've owned several businesses over the years, landscape, cabinet shop, small engine, welding repair and light fabrication and done some other stuff.  I started welding back in high school and have always kept at it.  But all I ever knew was stick and wanted to learn Tig, so I went to school, 3 years ago, but never looked to make money on it.  I was doing pretty well with my landscape maintenance company and couldn't justify the pay cut.Now, again at the tender age of 46, I've said the heck with it, I wanna make stuff again, don't want to deal with customers anymore, or employees, so I sold my business and am in the welding job hunt. What I'm finding is that age is a factor, but not always a negative.  I've tested at 6 or 7 places the last few weeks and have received offers from all but two.  One, I know the kid doing the interview thought of me as too old, the other I haven't heard back from. Of the offers I've received, the two I'm considering, both offered me above normal starting pay because I've been around the block a few times, even though I have pretty much no experience doing what they do. As an employer myself, what I see out there is a real shortage of people who will actually work for a living.  I think I must have gone through at least 20 people in the last two years who lasted less than a week, many lasting less than a day.  In my experience, it's not the guys over 35 who do this.  Dependability is a huge issue amongst employers as is the willingness to be a team player and not whine about working overtime, odd hours, hot weather and what not.  Some employers will hire the older guy over the younger guy just for this reason.All my life I have said you may as well do whatever strikes your fancy while you're on this earth, cause I don't think you'll get another chance.  I'm sure there's something else for us to do once we leave this world, but I really believe this trip is special.  As I pass through various stages of decrepitude, this philosophy becomes even more important to me and makes me even more determined.  So forget about age, inexperience, Wife complaining, whatever, just go do it.
Reply:Age doesn't mean squat for the majority of the time when you're good.  I'd rather hire a 55 yer old that can give me some years as a fantastic weldor, than a 22 year old that doesn't have the ambition, drive or learning potential to find his way out of a dark room.Lincoln Power Mig 216Lincoln AC/DC-225/125Miller  625 X-Treme PlasmaMiller 211 Forney 95FI-A 301HF 91110Victor Journeyman O/PMilwaukee DaytonMakita  Baileigh NRA Life Member
Reply:Originally Posted by richtateI've done retail and office work most of my working life
Reply:I went to welding school with a guy that was 51, hes out on a job site now. He had also welded/fitted/fabricated in factories his whole life though. It really all depends on how much you know about using tape measures, levels, angles, ect. Contractors are a little bit more tolerant when a 19 year old doesn't know something, rather than someone who is older. The good thing about your situation is you have a lot more room to fake welding experience on your resume when you get out of school which I think is illegal , but the ladies in the front office won't ever check into your resume at your age. So to answer your question if your hand eye coordination is still good you should be fine. You also have another advantage, if you do good in school, and get on a job site and you can weld, people are just going to assume you have been doing it for years, My 5,8 nineteen year old self walks onto a jobsite and I'm pretty sure the foreman has a mini heart attack when he see's me. Give it a shot if you are financially able to go to school.
Reply:I'm 49, put in 24+ years in sheet metal fab shop in a/c factory. Plant closed and moved to Mexico.I was a few hours short of computer science degree but burned out on those things ling ago. I like to step back after a day of work and say "look, I made that".So I decided on welding. Been in class at local community college for two full semesters and coming to the end of a summer semester. Time to find a job. I'm finding that entry level shop work here is about $10 - $11 an hour. Not quite what I was used to but things are tough all over right? If I wanted to be gone for weeks at a time, I'm sure the pipelines would pay lots more, but the age thing makes me want to be home at night.Bottom line, my opinion, if you are up to it mentally and physically, and can take the pay cut, then go for it. Asked not you can pick a job that you look forward to going to every morning. I am. (Well, when I find the job I mean! ;-) )
Reply:Your only as young as you feel.  Employees see older people as more reliable and long term.  That 19 year old will just stop showing up one day for no reason.  I think if you try hard and keep at it you'll be fine.  Welding can be hard work but hard work can be rewarding.  You'll be dirty at the end of the day, you'll have burns on your arms and other places.  You'll have black boogers if you don't wear a respirator.  You'll be sore at first from using muscles different than what your used to.
Reply:I'm 53 yrs old and I'm still hanging in there with guys half my age. I quit my production welding job 6yrs ago to work as a pipe welder in the commercial a/c world. I still wonder how much longer my body can handle this kind of work.