newbie wanting to know what to take

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im taking a welding class at my school and i have the option to take oxy/fuel or stick arc or both. our teacher showed us oxy/fuel today and it seemed pretty simple. i want to be very good in one or another and if i take both i will be less experienced in both. so i need to pick one. it seems like stick arc takes more practice and skill so thats what im leaning towards but i want your opinions. also later on we are doing a little little bit of mig and tig. so the main question is to take oxy/fuel or stick arc?
Reply:I always suggest learning O/A first, then move on to stick, after stick learn mig and then tig. Learning in that order will increase your skill level moving from one process to the other. I think O/A is the hardest to learn (at least for me it was) but once you learn the technique's involved it will make stick that much easier. Mig is the simplest looking but does still require a bit of skill as you can make a beautiful looking bead that is attached to nothing. Tig isn't that hard once you can get your technique and movements in sync. If at all possible, try to learn each process on various different machines. If you learn on one machine it may give you a false sense of security or comfort zone that will mess you up once you use an unfamiliar machine later down the road. Each machine will act differently and you need to  be able to adjust to the machine.All of the welding processes are difficult to begin with but with some good training and lot's and lot's of practice you should be ready to take on your first project in a short amount of time.I am what I am, Deal with it!If necessity is the Mother of Invention, I must be the Father of Desperation!
Reply:O/A firstEd Conleyhttp://www.screamingbroccoli.com/MM252MM211 (Sold)Passport Plus & Spool gunLincoln SP135 Plus- (Gone to a good home)Klutch 120v Plasma cutterSO 2020 benderBeer in the fridge
Reply:Broccoli and Dbar are dead on. The first things to learn about working steel is heat manipulation. Wether you are welding, shaping, cutting, bending. O/A torches teach you the way heat gets applied, and how it works for and against you. If you take the time to get some experience with a torch, you will understand what every other type of welding does much easier than if you just start on electric welding and cutting.And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.
Reply:All three have told you right. When I first started learning I was told if you want to get good with this (a stinger) you gotta get good with this (a torch). While I seldom ever weld with it anymore I still use my torch daily.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:Yep, O/A first. Hopefully you have a good instructor that will teach you ALL that can be done with the torch. So many just do mild steel and cutting, there is so much more capability there.Weld just about anything but titanium, braze and solder the same.
Reply:thanks ill take that into consideration, im thinking i might as well take both
Reply:All manual welding processes depend on puddle control by the weldor (man). O/A slows it down so you can see what the heck is going on. I've been welding, as a hobby, since about 1977. When I took a class last year, the instructor made me start in O/A. I learned vert, ovhd and horz. Positions I had never forced myself to learn. I started TIG class this month. 9-11-2001......We Will Never ForgetRetired desk jockey. Hobby weldor with a little training. Craftsman O/A---Flat, Vert, Ovhd, Horz. Miller Syncrowave 250