What's the best way to get into welding?

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I'm thinking about learning this to become gainfully employed and not as a hobby. Would I be better off taking some classes or do you think an employer would be willing to teach me from scratch? If an employer would teach me would I still learn everything I would from a classroom setting? Do I need to be knowledgeable before I even start thinking about this? I remember when I started on my computer degree and I noticed other students were computer illiterate. I thought it was crazy for someone who was uncomfortable using a mouse to consider a computer degree. Would this apply to welding as well?I'm interested in doing this as well as continuing my education. Do you guys think I would be crazy to pursue this and an education? I'm thinking a skilled trade would be more fulfilling and probably pay better than unskilled labor like working at KFC or Kinkos. Is most welding 60 hours a week and contract work?     Any thoughts would be appreciated! -B
Reply:Welding is a great career, but my advice would be for you to figure out if you like it before you decide to do it as a career.  Take a couple of classes at the local community college and then decide if you still want to do it full time.  Welding can be any sort of career that you want it to be.  It can be dirty or fairly clean.  If you get a weld engineering degree you will make more money that you would as a production wire burner.  You can do fairly unskilled production work or you can fab stuff up from blueprints.  I would recommend that you get as much education about welding as possible.  That will make you easier to hire and more attractive to an employer.  If you really want to get a good education in welding then you should go to a trade school like Hobart or Lincoln.  I would take the first step and decide if it is really what you want to do before you get too involved with it.
Reply:I think if I was to do it all over again I would seek out the best weldor that I could find and offer to work for dirt as his helper. It wont take long to see what a good craftsman is. The hours these guys are putting in working the oilfield is crazy, a 60 hour week would be a vacation. There is a huge variety out there, what kind of welding do you want to do?
Reply:Originally Posted by StuckwldrI think if I was to do it all over again I would seek out the best weldor that I could find and offer to work for dirt as his helper. It wont take long to see what a good craftsman is. The hours these guys are putting in working the oilfield is crazy, a 60 hour week would be a vacation. There is a huge variety out there, what kind of welding do you want to do?
Reply:Originally Posted by brontosaurusSomething where I'm not working like a mad man because I'd still like to advance my education. How do I find a good welder?
Reply:If find a large place that will train you from step one they're only going to teach you what they need for you to know. Find an old fart in a small shop and he will teach you a little about everything but they pay will be just above min. and raises will be few and far between. Probably the best bet is if you can go to school and work for a small shop part time and summers.