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Hello everyone,     I am interested in pursuing a career in welding but I do have some basic questions I would like answered before I decide to commit to this journey. I am currently an active duty soldier and have had a tiny bit of experience with stick welding and played around with oxy-acetylene torch for a bit. This was something i quite enjoyed and I was told I was actually pretty decent for not having too much real training. However, I am a short female, quite petite actually, about 110 pounds. I do not like to put limitations on myself but I am also a realist. I am a wheel mechanic, so I don't mind getting my hands dirty or breaking a sweat. But honestly...  -What is the welding industry like for a woman? Would my size and lack of man power hinder me considerably in this line of work?  -Is hopping from place to place inevitable when starting out and trying to find a stable position, I mean how does this affect family life?  -Also, shamefully, I would have to admit that I despise math but I love science. How much math would you say is involved? Does this really require me to be a mathematician or what??Just some of my main inquiries on the subject, any insight would be great. Thanks!!
Reply:Hello and welcome. Thanks for serving.The welding field is fairly large. The answer to your question would come down to what sort of job you were looking to do. Some jobs like pipelining and shut down work, you'd probably need to plan on following the work. How it would effect your family life would sort  of depend on if you have kids or if the family planed to be on the road together or if you planned to work and then be home for a bit. I've seen plenty of military families deal with similar situations, either because they were stationed on subs or carriers and away for extended periods, or assigned to jobs where detached duty was typical. Some can handle it, others can't. Depends on the family members.Other welding jobs are more the 9-5 work in production or in a fab shop. There's also ship yard work as another option just to name a few. There you would have a more typical family life, but the pay isn't usually as high on average.As far as size and "lack of man power" hindering you in this line of work, depends. I know several women who have gone on to work in the welding fields with no issues, just like you have as a soldier. Terry here has a woman working for him as I understand it who's a great tig welder on aluminum. Doesn't sound like she's hampered in her job. Being small can some times be an advantage, say if you need to get into void tanks thru access hatches in a hull to weld or climb into assemblies to weld. It production work it might not matter at all. Other jobs where more physical strength is required however wouldn't work for you. Being a mechanic I'm sure you understand there are some jobs you are better suited for than others. You aren't going to be able to lay under a vehicle and muscle a tranny into place on your own by brute strength while you get the bolts in like some might. On the other hand the big guy who could, might not be able to reach things you can...As far as math, again, depends. Laying out pipe offsets would require some math. Being a mig welder in a production shop wouldn't most likely. Working in a fab shop that constantly has different projects coming thru the door may or may not involve math. However your ability to read prints and measure and cut would be important.I'd strongly suggest you take advantage of opportunities available to you while you are serving. If you can learn to weld while in, it might pay you to do so. Also take a look into what facilities are available for your use. I know when my family was stationed out near Seattle, our base had a fully equipped wood shop available for all base personnel and their family thru the Rec program. The  Sub base near by had a fully equipped auto shop including welders that were available for use. However very few people knew of them or made use of those facilities. Also it's often possible to make use of other equipment "unofficially" if you know who to talk to and ask. Many times maintenance shops have equipment on hand "in case", that's not always used. Knowing some one in that shop could open that door for you to make use of it after hours when the shop isn't using it, if the NCO in charge doesn't mind and you follow safety procedures. This might give you access to equipment to practice with. Many times people are happy to talk "shop" with others that share an interest.You might also think about looking into a night class at a local high school votec center or community college. Many run night classes in welding and in some cases offer programs to help military personnel or Vets. When you sit down and add up what it would cost you in materials, rod, wire, gas, electric etc, not to mention the instruction, a class can be stupid cheap. Around me a class breaks down to about $11.50 an hour. You can burn up way more than that in materials alone if you apply yourself.  If you have the ability to practice outside of class, you can do a lot of the repetitive practice at home, and spend class time working on problems or learning new stuff.You might add your location to your profile so we know where you are at. There are a number of military and exmilitary people here who might be able to make suggestions if they knew where you were at. Also you might find someone in the area who can make suggestions about class opportunities and so on. Good luck..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Good advise...welcome and take the advise. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:Get the hell out of the service at the first opportunity before the corporations that own it find something else they need to steal.Women can out TIG men any day of the week.Take those G.I. bennies and visit some welding schools. Tell them you want to be a TIG master.If they cant provide, head to the next school. Then go get a gig with a boat manufaturer. You'll TIg your life away with a beautiful view of the ocean. Nice clean enviro working with stainless and aluminum.Light lifting, some acrobatics welding out of position.Good work overall.Bubble gumTooth pixDuct tapeBlack glueGBMF hammerScrew gun --bad battery (see above)
Reply:Lots of good info already. At 110LBS you are only a little smaller than I am, its not a problem. Hope your not claustrophobic, being small means you will have to go places that others can't.Airco Ac/Dc 300 HeliwelderMillerMatic 200 (stolen)Miller Maxstar 150STLMiller AEAD200LE (welding and generating power) Hobart MIG
Reply:My lady weldor does some fint tig work as well as stick and mig. She started out at adult school, then CC. She holds an LA City Structural steel card as well as AWS D17.1 qualification in alum. Currently she is out on maternity leave scheduled to ease back in part time in April. Can't wait.Last edited by shovelon; 02-08-2014 at 01:24 PM.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:Welcome to the Forum!
Reply:Hello and thank you so much for the feedback. You have been a tremendous help! I am actually stationed out at Ft. Lewis, Wa. So I will definitely be looking into those programs. But your absolutely right, I understand I am better suited for some jobs over others. Again, thank you for the honest and upfront answers and also for not crushing my dreams .
Reply:As far as math, there is some technical math that I had to take when I was in college persueing a 2 year welding technology degree. It was easy. Some geometry, some simple math like finding the long side of a right triangle, and coverting fractions to decimals. There is blueprint reading and drawing involved also. But really what I loved and hated at the same time was simple metalurgy. My instructors taught the iron-carbon diagram. Sounds easy, but it shows you what mechanical properties are achieved with alloying carbon with iron. More iron, the stronger the alloy if quenched. Although I thought I would never use it, I applied the phenomenon to aluminum, of which really made me appreciate/despise the iron/carbon diagram.Funny this comes up every once in a while, but if I had to start again and was in my 20s, I would like to weld on bridges. Semi-auto, no stick weldering for me. Don't know why, but bridges are elegant and mysterious to me. Otherwise I am pleased I chose aerospace welding. My lady weldor(a poser is a welder, a pro is a weldor) has mouse-like fingers and is a natural at getting in tight places.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:Thanks for your service and don't let anybody tell you, you can't do something. You can do anything you want to if you want to bad enough. Go to youtube and search, "female welders". Some great vids.Hobart 125 EZHobart Handler 140Everlast STH 160Generic 210 Amp Welder/GeneratorHobart Air Force 500i plasma cutterChinese 50 amp plasma cutter! Youtube Channel : Henrymac100
Reply:When my daughter was growing up, her mother and I never discouraged her from trying something new. If in school or sports or music, what she started she had to finish that season, semester, etc., etc. she is 38, a Masters Degree, six figure income, third in her company, a wife, soon to be adoptive parent, owns her home and cars, and an extremely loving and compassionate person. You do what you need to do in life that makes you happy and fulfills your dreams and desires. Those that care got you will help and walk with you. Those that aren't sincere about their care will criticize. Leave them behind without regret. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:Originally Posted by JJ474Hello everyone,     I am interested in pursuing a career in welding but I do have some basic questions I would like answered before I decide to commit to this journey. I am currently an active duty soldier and have had a tiny bit of experience with stick welding and played around with oxy-acetylene torch for a bit. This was something i quite enjoyed and I was told I was actually pretty decent for not having too much real training. However, I am a short female, quite petite actually, about 110 pounds. I do not like to put limitations on myself but I am also a realist. I am a wheel mechanic, so I don't mind getting my hands dirty or breaking a sweat. But honestly...  -What is the welding industry like for a woman? Would my size and lack of man power hinder me considerably in this line of work?  -Is hopping from place to place inevitable when starting out and trying to find a stable position, I mean how does this affect family life?  -Also, shamefully, I would have to admit that I despise math but I love science. How much math would you say is involved? Does this really require me to be a mathematician or what??Just some of my main inquiries on the subject, any insight would be great. Thanks!!
Reply:Army of Air Force? If you're AF, the door to Boeing is typically open to JBLM. I was TDY at Whidbey a looooooooong time ago and the opportunities for local service to transition after separation was tremendous. Used to be everyone knew everyone else.
Reply:Welcome AboardI offer three choices: Good, Fast, & Cheap. You may pick two.Hobart AC/DC StikMate LXHarbor Freight AD HoodHarbor Freight Industrial Chop SawDeVilbis 20 Gallon, 5 HP Compressor
Reply:My brother is taking a mechanical engineering and I think it will having a quite relevant to welding. Since it talks about machines or metals, math will always be a partner in this field.Math Tutor|Home Tutors