New at Welding and wanting to take some classes

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Hello, I'm , as you can tell by the title, new at welding and want to take some classes. Only problem is when i look at the courses I dont understand what they are...they have courses like: Intro to shld metl arc weld, Intro to Gas Metl arc, Intro to Gas tungs arc, and Intro to pipe welding. If anyone could help and explain the differences of these diffrent types of welding it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
Reply:Originally Posted by MethKrylonHello, I'm , as you can tell by the title, new at welding and want to take some classes. Only problem is when i look at the courses I dont understand what they are...they have courses like: Intro to shld metl arc weld, Intro to Gas Metl arc, Intro to Gas tungs arc, and Intro to pipe welding. If anyone could help and explain the differences of these diffrent types of welding it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
Reply:methkrylon the first thing to realize on this forum that there will be diversity of opinion and you willget some incredible help. ( idont mean me..)my 2 cents1) for all  the reasons rojo mentioned id agree start with O/A, O/a is a perfect intro to tig.2) I am not a mig fan. i would never ever insult themany superb miggers who post here, but to me it is a production-intended method that if done right makes a wonderful bead... but... it can fool you into thinking that a crappy bead is a good one worse than any other method of welding.it also is highly technical in terms of machine adjustment3)id say learn stick concurrent with O/A. stick requires some of the same skills as O/A and others also.welcome and get busy!
Reply:Meth,It all depends on what you want to do, first of all. (and weldbead is right, there will be differences of opinion).  Are you trying to learn for automotive welding, structural, or small parts?  It really just depends on what you want to do.  I myself learned SMAW (intro to shielded metal arc welding) first, and that actually helped me quite a bit before I learned Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (aka GTAW, or TIG if it does ya).  I learned GTAW second, and then finally I learned GMAW (intro to gas metal arc welding) third.  Then, GMAW Pulse (which is another different animal) fourth.  I wouldnt do pipe until you've done the other classes first.  I did pipe last and it was SO easy because I had already done just about every other process.  So, my opinon is start with Shielded metal arc, then gas tungsten, then gas metal arc.  but again, it depends on what you want to learn to weld for."Real power is an arcair hand torch with a piece of 3/4 inch carbon and 1500 amps.  You feel like Zeus throwing a lightning bolt."
Reply:Originally Posted by RojodiabloWhen i read this part(Hello, I'm , as you can tell by the title, new at welding ) I at first looked to your user name. And i thought...."Well, here's someone who can huff paint for 3 days straight!!" Then I realized the solderer moniker, and I had to think wow, I am pretty demented!!
Reply:You can actually learn a lot by first going to the Library or a good bookstore and looking for a 'General Welding'  or 'Introduction to Welding' type book. Most will be self-explanatory, and with that background, you will better know what people here are talking about or what you might like to work towards.