I want to be a pipe welder

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Hey you all . I am 16 and am a junior in high school . Welding is my passion , and when I graduate I would like to become a pipe welder . I just don't know where to start. I take two periods of welding at school and am usually there after school getting practice for the skill Usa welding contest coming up. Any advice would be helpful thanks.
Reply:Find a local pipe welder to help you out or try the local union office and ask about thier apprenticeship program . Maybe see if the colleges have a welding program
Reply:I will probably try the local union office thanks.
Reply:Check out the Navy Reserve and Navy so you have an idea of what opportunities that may open when you turn 18 (which will happen before you know it) and how to score very high on the ASVAB tests.Getting paid to get certified and go to military tech schools is an unbeatable deal.The new G.I. Bill pays for four years of schooling. Reserve benefits can be excellent too.
Reply:Im about to graduate from welding school.  Im 26 and if I was 17 again I would have have done welding in the Air Force instead of Security Forces.  Not only do you not have to pay to learn how to weld, you get paid while doing it!  I was SF in the Air Force (nice name for Military Police) and the only job I can really get out in the civilian world is a cop or prison guard; both of which are **** jobs with **** pay (and the possibility of getting **** thrown at you as a prison guard is a huge turn off).  After the military I floated around from low paying job to low paying job.  I even got a AS degree in Digital Media, only to find out that video shooting and editing and graphic design is a dying field that only college interns work in so that the companies dont have to pay them.Anyway.....I was in a welding club in high school and never thought about doing it as a career until last year.  Ive been at Tulsa Welding School in Jacksonville since May and only have 6 weeks left.  Ive learned a lot, but not as much as I probably could have in the military.  Also, 75% of the people that go to my school are lazy and disrespectful, something you would not get in the military.  Having motivated people around you, and willing instructors is something youll get 100% of the time in any branch of the military.  So, sorry for the rant but youre young, so my advice is join the military, learn the trade, get paid a livable salary, and in 4 years if you want to make big money, get out of the military and put your skills to work.Read my welding blog:http://weldeveryday.wordpress.com/