Got my 6G TIG cert. Now what?

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So, I got my 6G AWS certification on sch 80 carbon steel pipe using GTAW. I'm only 18, and have very little work experience. Should I try for a pipe welding job? I have a few job offers, one is aerospace, other is fluxcore and stick on Navy ships. One is 30$ an hour, Could I do better if I was a pipe welder somewhere?
Reply:Man that is great. Congrats.
Reply:Go South, young man.You'll need an additional cert or two though.You need a 6G SMAW (Carbon Steel and or stainless ) or a GTAW/SMAW combo to work in the Gulf Coast Petrochemical business.There are many many many welding jobs available on the Gulf Coast - from Pascagoula Ms. to Corpus Christi Texas.You are well on your way, get out there and good luck.All the combo welders on the Gulf Coast are making $30.00 per hour ( and the rate is going up) and minimum 50 hrs per week. Some projects are working 70+ hrs per week.Try Zachry, Performance, Infinity, KBR, Bechtel, CBI, etc etc.......................
Reply:I'm working on getting a TIG root and 7018 fill now, it's tough. I would think it would be more than 30 an hour, I wouldn't leave home for that. What industry pays the most as far as pipe welding goes?
Reply:Big money almost always comes with experience. You aren't very likely to walk into any job, fresh out of school, and start making big money unless you know someone or have incriminating pictures of them with farm animals.I know a lot of people who would dearly love an opportunity to be starting out at $30 an hour. Most of the kids out of the welding program at the tech school are lucky if they can find $11/hr jobs as mig monkeys. The really good ones might get an offer of $15-18 an hour if they are decent at tig..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Get off of steel and build up some skills on stainless,Ti, and alum. Tig, mig, and fluxcore. Those skills cross over to the other metals. Don't box yourself into one metal. Buy your own machines if necessary. Go to Yahoo and lookup FieldRes, and watch his videos. He bought his own equipment and hones his skills like no tomorrow at home. Just don't get weird like him. And don't let your skills be dependant on someone else's whims. Jeez, you are 18. I would stay home at least until you can drink. You will need it. Get friendly with birth control as well.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:Originally Posted by shovelonGet off of steel and build up some skills on stainless,Ti, and alum. Tig, mig, and fluxcore. Those skills cross over to the other metals. Don't box yourself into one metal. Buy your own machines if necessary. Go to Yahoo and lookup FieldRes, and watch his videos. He bought his own equipment and hones his skills like no tomorrow at home. Just don't get weird like him. And don't let your skills be dependant on someone else's whims. Jeez, you are 18. I would stay home at least until you can drink. You will need it. Get friendly with birth control as well.
Reply:Well you have your eyes on the prize, that's for sure. How are your alum skills?Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWBig money almost always comes with experience. You aren't very likely to walk into any job, fresh out of school, and start making big money unless you know someone or have incriminating pictures of them with farm animals.I know a lot of people who would dearly love an opportunity to be starting out at $30 an hour. Most of the kids out of the welding program at the tech school are lucky if they can find $11/hr jobs as mig monkeys. The really good ones might get an offer of $15-18 an hour if they are decent at tig.
Reply:$30 bucks at home,you should jump all over it.  While working though, there's lots of 'experience' you can teach yourself.  Get yourself an inverter and a 7x12 bandsaw.  Not all fit-ups are perfect.  Practice your tig with various gaps, tight and loose on the same coupon.  Same with 6010 roots.  Not everything is done out in the open.  Put obstructions in the way, practice holding the torch upside down.  Imagine 5g position with tubes too close together to get torch in tangent.  Learn to back your way up and downhill weld the bottom half.  Can you root through the tube?  Practice welding with your line of vision from different angles than you're used to.  Learn how to make repairs.  Have someone step on your argon hose and then fix the porosity.  Practice 309 on mild steel pipe.  Done all the time, lot cheaper and easier to cut on bandsaw and prep.Last edited by OldSparks; 09-24-2014 at 10:25 AM.
Reply:Here on the Gulf Coast, if you can pass the 6G pipe P1-P8 with SMAW and GTAW, you are going to get the going rate or very close to it. Competition is fierce for combo welders here. They are becoming very scarce. I am hearing of companies on down here considering hiring foriegn craft to fill the gap. Who is ready to see Filipino and Bangladeshi welders welding pipe here?
Reply:Decided to work for an aerospace company, all I can say is damn! One guy is welding the Delta V rocket engine mount, all 6G, Jet exhaust cones, titanium missile nose cones, Apache helicopter exhaust. Welding on Hastelloy X, Inconel 625 and 718, Haynes, Titanium, Stainless, 4xxx aluminum, chrome-moly, and a bunch of alloys that don't even a have names. I think I'm in the right place. Crazy, you'll fail X-ray if your rod is even slightly dirty, the metal isn't absolutely clean, or if you dip the rod when the end is oxidized from lack of shielding.
Reply:Awesome! You are going to learn a lot really fast. Are you working to D17.1?Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:I have no idea. I know some of it is nadcap, asme, and ISO. I think D17.1 is only for fusion welding.
Reply:Originally Posted by gweahI have no idea. I know some of it is nadcap, asme, and ISO. I think D17.1 is only for fusion welding.
Reply:Got it, I was kind of thinking that. Yeah they aren't expecting me to just jump right in, they've been very understanding and helpful. Opportunitiy is right, now certified to weld .35 and .72 inconel 718 2g and 3g, same with 300 series stainless!