Roadmap from Average Joe to a Pipeline Welder

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Can someone lay it out for me? I am looking forward to going to hobart welding school with the goal of welding pipelines after I graduate. How hard is this journey going to be? Do I have a good chance of getting hired right out of school, assuming I test well? If I can't just hop right into the field, what would be specific jobs that would look great on my resume and put me ahead of the pack? Where do I find the employers I'm looking for? Thank you for your advice!
Reply:I'm not talking from personal experience just relating what' s happening to a guy I work with here in Nova ScotiaHe's 30, smart, willing to take any training he can and infact he has taken a lot of courses on his own dime. Had his red seal for a over year, was welding in a hydraulic shop for a couple of years on cylinders so he had his pressure ticket even before that. He's been sending off resume's to the oil companis out west for over 5 months now and his contact rate for even acknowledgement of the resume is at best 40%.It almost seems as if they jobs are posted and no one wants to even check him out so why are the jobs even  posted. I would personally ecommend this guy, not saying that he knows everything but he doesn't nor does he profess to.I'm not trying to discourage you, just give you a heads up so you don't get discouraged.....MIke
Reply:Recommend working for a specialist fabricator for a while after your training. A few ASME IX welder qualifications, then workshop pipe experience with GTAW / SMAW / FCAW manual and auto systems will turn out a gun pipeline welder in no time.Have no fear, be willing to learn from your workmates, and you will never look back. In OZ, reliable pipe welder subbies, etc get well over $60.00 AUD per hour on piping, even butt rates could earn you more. I know fellas making more than $200,000.00 AUD yearly welding to standards like DNV OS-F101, AS 2885-2 - (OZ API 1104), both offshore and onshore.Cheers and good luck mate.
Reply:i am not an expert on pipelines but based on what i have read and heard here is my 2 cents....  I do not know much about hobart welding school and their certification program but when i tested for my certification in college i did it on a 6G pipe, i believe most pipelines use the downhill process. Also i think the majority of pipelines only hire rig weldors. My point i guess im trying to make is first do lots of research and 2nd u mite want to look at getting hired as a weld helper or pipefitter on the pipelines and once u gain money and experience u could eventually put together your own rig. there are a lot of different welding jobs available so do lots of research. if u r looking for more info on pipeline welding i would suggest going on the AWS forums and talking to those guys.
Reply:Don't bother with the FCAW, it's been tried and failed badly.  Sort the stick and tig, over this way (Australia and New Zealand) the stoving rods are run vertical down, but in Great Britain they run them both ways.  Job's on lines over here are so hard to get that you almost have to inherit them. True. The money on a stoving job runs at $1000+ a day locally these day's, hell I'm in the bush in Aussie at the moment getting not much less   In fact time to hit the boss up haha.I'd rather be hunting........USE ENOUGH HEAT.......Drifting around Aussie welding more pipe up, for something different.....wanting to get home.
Reply:I didn't spend a lot of time pipelining but this is how it worked then in the NM oilfield and still does. You had to have your own rig. You rolled in and if they needed welders they would test you (unless you had a Miller on your truck then they would be full up on welders and I'm not trying to give anyone a hard time but that's the way it was and still is for the most part - gotta be pc on here nowadays you know). If you knew how to weld but didn't have a rig you could hire on as a helper. If you had the skills they would help you get your own rig. Every where I have hired on that required testing didn't care how many certs you had or where you got them you took and passed their test or you didn't get hired. My recommendation if you really want to be a pipeline welder join 798 and get in their apprentice program because by the time you finish it you will be ready to go on the firing line. That's not true for the majority of schools as there is a whole lot more to the work than just the welding and they are the specialists in this particular field. It's not for everyone but those who like it really like it.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:Roadmap from Average Joe to a Pipeline Welder?This road map should get the Normal average Joe there: Attachment 22964Last edited by denrep; 02-25-2009 at 01:24 AM.
Reply:Wow, you're getting a lot of bad advise here.If you intend to become a pipeline welder, in the U.S., there is no reason to attend Hobart's or anyone elses welding school. That's money down the drain as they won't prepare you for the very specific types of welding used in mainline construction plus they charge you money.798 doesn't have an apprenticeship program. The quickest and best road to becoming a welder in the field is to start as a 798 helper. This gives you pipeline experience and an up close look at how harsh the pace and inspection is in that world.798 helpers can apply for the welding school in Tulsa at no cost to themselfs, and when their name comes up they weld pipe downhill, all day every day. They pay a small amount per week to cover motel/meals. As soon as the welder is up to speed he can test out and go into the field. Pipeline construction isn't just another welding job, it's a trade in itself.No you won't have any shot coming straight out of the Hobart school. As for all the other suggestions, working in a shop, learning mig, learning tig, that might be helpfull in a lot of areas but totally useless in mainline construction in the U.S.Flux core (downhill) and dual shield (uphill) are covered a little bit at the school as these are in use on tie ins on some automatic jobs. It remains a downhill stick rod world for the most part.And you do have to have a suitable welding rig.People often confuse in town distribution work or oil patch welding with pipelining but these are seperate fields.JTMcC.
Reply:JTMcC is rightLook into a UA apprenticeship at UA.orgWeld training is nice, but if you can get into an apprenticeship then you will get all the free weld training you want. It is a waste of money to a point. If you came out of the hobart school with certs, you certainly have a better shot at becoming an apprentice. If you can get your UA certs, you will be the apprentice that is getting sent to jobs as a welder and get Journey scale, which is nearly 40 dollars where I am. It is harder to get in without previous hvac, refrig, plumbing, welding etc but is not impossible. You can also do what is mentioned above, be a helper for 798. If you were in the military, you may have an in with the helmets to hardhats program. Every UA union hall I know of is actively recruiting welders. Practice your stick and tig.Hope what I said is remotely helpful.Bill
Reply:OK, maybe I was wrong as I am not, never have been and never will be a member of 798 or any other union. I did remember reading an article where the head of training for 798 was discussing Lincoln Excalibur 7018 and how much faster trainees were able to master 7018 uphill and assumed from that that they must have an apprenticeship program. He convinced me to try it as I figured if he was in that position he knew his stuff and wouldn't bs. I have worked with 798 journeymen before and all that I worked with were good at what they did. Helper, apprentice, trainee they are all the same thing. Bottom line of what I was trying to get across was if you want to learn pipelining go to 798. It's just my opinion, but that's the quickest way from where he is to where he wants to go that I know of.If you can afford the schooling and intend to pursue it by all means do it. The Hobart school is rated very highly. You will still most likely get hired on as a helper, but you are way ahead of the guy who knows nothing, and any type of education can lead to bigger and better things down the road. Now I will really ruffle a few feathers. They are right about pipelining being it's own world. Don't limit yourself to just that world. Like anything it comes and goes, and that's when versatility comes in. All those places that JTMcC mentioned that won't help you out on the pipeline. Well the converse is true as well. Pipelining won't get you anywhere with them either. I'm an oilfield welder and haven't been on a pipeline (other than small local stuff) in around 30 years and I have seen pipeline journeymen reduced to being someone else's grinder hand to pay the bills when pipeline work was hard to get. Those that stick around long enough usually get turned loose to weld. We use the same codes, procedures, and inspection standards so they are already most of the way there. They almost always go back to the pipeline, but are usually welcomed back when their work is slow if we have the work going on. It never hurts to have two or three worlds you feel at home in.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:798 has no apprenticeship program, they never have. The UA apprenticeship is a 5 year program involving classroom time plus on the job training with a graduated pay scale as the apprentice advances thru the program. on edit: Like WHughes said, apprenticeses get all the free welding training they can stand, and they are making pretty good wages while doing it. As opposed to spending thousands of their own dollars and a year or two going to a paying school. That choice is an easy one.A 798 welders helper is not the "same thing" as an apprentice. Some helpers do go on to become welders, some work as helpers until retirement.798 has a welding school as i said. When pipeline construction is slow, 798 welders typically work building trades jobs out of locals that need more welders, and yes, being a pipeliner certainly DOES help the welder in fields other than pipeline construction as the welding school trains in many non-pipeline related types of welding so that members can work in a wide variety of fields. A 798 welder can (if he doesn't already know) learn uphill/in plant type welding skills at the school (tig/stick/flux core).The oil patch has never had the harsh inspection that the mainline always has. Sorry but that's the truth.The guy ask a simple question about a specific field. You gave him a typical internet answer about going into a bunch of other fields. Odd to me. JTMcC.Last edited by JTMcC; 08-26-2008 at 11:09 PM.
Reply:Actually I told him if he wanted to be a pipeliner to go to 798 as they are the experts on it and even admitted I was wrong regarding the apprenticeship program. "The oil patch has never had the harsh inspection that the mainline always has. Sorry but that's the truth." = typical pipeliner answer. I don't know what oilfield you visited but code IX G6 and 100% x-ray are pretty damned tough standards.  I never saw a 60,000lb hydro on any pipeline, but they were routine in the last shop I worked in out there, and that was after it passed 100% x-ray. On some work inspectors are now measuring bead width and each pass must pass visual before the next pass is allowed to begin. Instantly fired if you don't adhere. That's pretty tough and awfully harsh. Wellheads are even tested now. Almost all of the shops are code certified. Virtually impossible to contract with a major without it. Repairs are seriously frowned upon and will get you sent packing real quick. Much of what we used to do with 6010 all the way out is now only root and hotpass and then complete with 7018. The changes in the last 10 years or so have been numerous and wide. Sorry, but that's the truth and I can't see much tougher standards on inspection short of 100% destructive testing.I never worked a union pipeline and the 798 guys I worked with told me they would be in big trouble if they got caught. They didn't really want to discuss the union much and given the circumstances I don't blame them. Kind of a case of yes I'm union, now forget it and don't tell anyone else. As far as I know there isn't a union hall or union shop of any kind in the Permian Basin outside of the major producers employee unions and they are a lot different from your union. The 798 welder who got me started gave me all kinds of trouble because I said I could weld (I quit a welding job to hire on as a pipeline helper because I wanted to do it and didn't have a rig). Within a month I was making more of the welds than he was. The inspector was in on it so no problem there. When the border patrol showed up and all the hands disappeared he climbed on a sideboom and ran it while I welded. He was a good guy, a good teacher and really knew his stuff. Only one other person has taught me more about welding than he did. The others specialty was high pressure gas (real tough standards there bubba, you should check them out sometime). I eventually left the oilfield for about 10 years and while I was gone the 798 welder became one of the reasons why it got a lot tougher to get hired on as a welder in the oilfield and turned loose to do it. He burned to death in a bell hole in Texas. Between that and a couple of others getting blown up it got a whole lot harder to get hired on and turned loose. Now you not only have to prove you can weld, but also that you know enough not to get burned or blown up. Practically everything yLast edited by Jolly Roger; 08-27-2008 at 09:48 PM.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.