welding career question

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So I'm pretty bored at 23 doing desk jobs. I like being outside & mechanical things (cars, planes, residential construction etc.) I'm looking for a change.I've not alot of welding experiance. I've done some hobby welding yeah. It's something I'm interested in. My welding experiance is basically limited to some car hobby esque flux-core wire feed welding, tig welding & plasma cutting. Mostly mild steel & T304 stainless up to 1/2" thick. I can't say I've had any instruction, just sorta downloaded the big lincoln & miller welding books. Read through them alittlebit. Pretty much just went at it with some people telling me the gross setting ranges I'd need to get started. Not like professional high end stuff. And there are people welding rings around me wit the same equipment.Just not sure about making it a career move. Not really sure what question I'm asking, but sup with a welding career LoL!Last edited by Toysrme; 11-06-2006 at 08:10 PM.
Reply:You sound alot like me thirty years ago. I tried sum college, and had a nice gig with a naval nuclear contractor, who wanted to give me a full ride for a degree in mechanical engineering.... but the more that I was a desk jockey, the more nuts I became...if you feel that your skill is with your hands, endeavor to become one of the Craftsmen that this country needs now and in the future. If you really enjoy making and fixing things, and have the ability to read a blueprint, and ya already have some welding skills, my suggestion is this. Find the BEST welding school that you can afford, and strive to be the BEST welder that you can be. You may not acquire the financial "freedom" that our society says is our birthright (that's another discussion), but you will not be a pauper either. You can make a very decent buck, and have the satisfaction of knowing that you are doing something that makes you happy. I have been with the same place for 26 years now, and it is run by the biggest bunch of clueless suits and supervisors on the planet...but I LOVE my job! Hope this helps ya out.
Reply:Get yourself a part time job away from a desk job.  See if you like it.  Some people discover that they don't like getting dirty or subjecting themselves to loud noises or even heights.  Don't abandon your desk job until you are sure it is what you want.  A classic tale was told to me by an old hand that was a heavy duty mechanic.  He was teamed up with a young guy fresh out of vocational school.  They loaded up their tools and drove up to the site of the Cat that needed a couple of new rollers.  The kid took one look at the sea of mud with the Cat in the middle and quit immediately.  He had no idea what a heavy duty mechanic really did.  He had done his training in a nice, clean, heated shop.  Find a job as a labourer or cleaner in a steel shop and see if you like it.  You will also gain insight into the local labour market and learn which shops to try to work for and which shops to avoid.  Your co-workers will be an endless supply of information.  They will often steer you to the best local welding schools and in particular the better instructors.
Reply:I my self am looking into this career too. but im a college student and taking classs at skool. After talking to the shop master a few weeks ago i found out that i can get certifieed and get an AA in almost a year. and start working for about $22 an hour he says. I love welding and working with my hands and creating something new..there is a lot of information out there right now. but try to do what the other guy said and work for a local shop thats what i will be doing in few weeks for a iron gate company. should be tons of fun get to work in a shop and out in the field. well good luck man sean
Reply:Are you kidding me? I did stints in highschool and college working in a transmission repair shop, and I still fill in for the best local independant mechanic shop (Best friend's dad owns it), and one of the bigger local Toyota dealers. I also (it's a long story) wound up working in a hospital as & becoming an RNA without ever having any training for that. LoL!I play with vehicles, and R/C aircaft *insessantly*. Dirty is not a problem with me LoL! My dad is a new home contractor, so I've been doing that awhile. I'd love to contract, but that's really a game for people with something called a bank roll. I can see that being my retirement!  I gave up desk jobs & my major years back. Was bored with the acedemic side of my college major, but wound up getting snatched into that field. Did it for a year & a half & said nope! I do alot of car tuning. I'm not a god, but I'm one of the better Toyota tuners you'll ever run across. Especially with the v6's. I do take pride in that as so few people, companies, or shops ever play with them.It's just that... I really like mechanics. I just have a really hard time separating it from being just a hobby. It's great for fun & pocket money, just not *exactly* what I want to be doing for a living.Can you really start welding around $20-25usd/h? That beats the hell out of going to a factory, or another desk job & starting out @ $12-15/h with no real place to go after.Last edited by Toysrme; 11-07-2006 at 12:49 AM.
Reply:lotechman - I've never worked in a steel shop around welding. But I have done two summers at USX (U.S. Steel. Was once the longest/largest building on Earth. Neato!) Once driving dump trucks around the yard full of slag. (Nasty, like being a coal miner above ground.) And another summer cleaning/monitoring the blast furnaces thesmlves. (120-140*F)Now that... I want *absolutely* no part of. I don't mind being dirty, I don't mind being hot (God god's sake I've lived in Alabama all my life. LoL!) But I want nothing to do with a job that *requires* you to work for 15 minutes, and sit for 10.I feel for my buddies in the service. The first one I had go to Iraq emailed me back a picture inside a Bradley with a compunurse digital thermometer. It read 122*F in full sun, 145*F in the Bradley.
Reply:I took welding in high school when I got kicked out of Auto Mechanics.  I did well in it, and went on to a crash course vocational school.  It was a 6 month course in Industrial Pipe Welding.  I finished up in 5 months and went out working contruction...chemical plants, paper mills, refineries, etc.  I knew pretty quickly that I didn't want to sweat my *** off all my life.  In 1991, I started back to college.  I would work a while, get laid off, and draw unemployment while I took a couple semesters of school.  I did that off and on until I built a resume that could get me a decent job locally.  I have traveled a little here and there, doing small jobs for shops or other companies I have been with.  Along the way, I built things for aircraft carriers, armored personnel vehicles, military tank trailers, dry bulk trailers, spacecraft, submarines, airplanes, etc.  One company offered a deal on CWI training.  They'd pay for the class, we paid for the test.  If we passed the test, we were paid back for the test cost, and got $1/hr raise.  I was first in line for that one.  I passed and it was just another thing for the resume.It's been a nice journey...but if I had it all to do over again, I'd go straight to college from high school.  If I had, I'd be making twice as much money now.I was on the 15 year degree program  so I didn't graduate till a few years ago.  I finally got an office job, as Quality Manager/CWI.  It's a pretty nice job, and I work for a great company.  Of course I'd rather not have to work for a living, but I can't think of another place I'd rather be working.
Reply:Be aware of the fume hazards. Otherwise, I would think welding, especially TIG would be a way to earn a good living.
Reply:I work in a factory as a tool room machinist.  I make as much as many of the college grads that work there.  I really like my job now... I used to be a Human Recources Facilliatator.  Now I make more and do less.  Do what you like and figure out a way to make money at it.  Working on cars, welding, automotive electronics, and tube radios are my hobbies.  I too am not the best weldor but I am getting better.Thermal Arc 185 TigHTP 200 MigCraftsman O/A1942 Bridgeport Mill12 Ton Hyd PressConsew Walking Foot
Reply:the most important thing here is that you have to LOVE it or else fughetaboutit..theres no logic going to a job you hate in the first place..and welding to me is more of an art than anything..everything else i know...i have to know to do what i do..i get all thae fun jobs... ...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.