Welders of ATOT

[El Guaraguao]

Looking into picking up this skill. Just wanted some opinions on experienced welders and if its still worth getting into.

Thanks.

 

[highland145]

Professional or pleasure?

 

[El Guaraguao]

Professional.

 

[highland145]

preface: I don't know jack about welding.

I have a customer that's a trainer at the union. They're paying $28/hr. Last time I talked to him, he said he could use 100 welders between Savannah River Site and Plant Vogtle. Hard to get them because other parts of the country are paying a lot more (he said $42/hr) and it's difficult work. Hot in the summer, cold in the winter, quality of work, etc.

So there is $$ in it.

 

[Juddog]

^^ As highland145 mentioned, you can make a lot of money, but you oftentimes deal with a very harsh environment. I knew someone that went to school for welding, did it for about a year, and just gave up the profession.

 

[Josh123]

I haven't welded in about 10 years, but I do remember that using a wire welder was a hell of a lot easier than a stick one. That's about it lol.

 

[Triumph]

welding has a pretty good future for skilled workers. easy welding has been roboticized. repetitive welding has been roboticized. but lots of welding is neither. repair work, for instance. that isn't going to be outsourced to china. or outdoors in hard to get to locations. also not outsource-able. or prototyping of any kind, that welding has to be done by hand, and will be so for a long time from now, welding in prototyping applications is a pretty fast way to do things. good welding is a skill that takes many years of practice and experience, and thankfully it still seems to be paid in accordance with that. plus it's just cool.

 

[Fenixgoon]

welding has a pretty good future for skilled workers. easy welding has been roboticized. repetitive welding has been roboticized. but lots of welding is neither. repair work, for instance. that isn't going to be outsourced to china. or outdoors in hard to get to locations. also not outsource-able. or prototyping of any kind, that welding has to be done by hand, and will be so for a long time from now, welding in prototyping applications is a pretty fast way to do things. good welding is a skill that takes many years of practice and experience, and thankfully it still seems to be paid in accordance with that. plus it's just cool.

this. welders are in very high demand across the country. if i were to go to trade school, i would either go for welding or machining.

 

[slayernine]

Welders develop lung issues later in life. I learned to weld about 8 years ago, its pretty cool stuff. However I'd prefer a career with a higher life expectancy. Though some studies say sitting in a chair can kill you just as easily.

 

[mrrman]

my son is in his 1st apprenticeship for welding/fabrication in high school...he has a job already when he graduates HS working for a friend of mine and he can continue on there if he likes. Trades are in high demand plus when he gets good, I want him to help me with my muscle cars.

 

[BudAshes]

my son is in his 1st apprenticeship for welding/fabrication in high school...he has a job already when he graduates HS working for a friend of mine and he can continue on there if he likes. Trades are in high demand plus when he gets good, I want him to help me with my muscle cars.

This is a smart man. Get your kid into an early profession so you don't have to pay for college and he can help you with hobbies. More parents need to be smart like this and we might actually have youths that were good for something.

 

[bfdd]

Find a small local college that has a class and take it. Find out what certifications are required to get into the fields you'd like to weld in. Structural certs go a long way. I've never been certified, but I've taken classes on welding a few times and have welded on the job as a Millwright fabricator. Good money if you can handle breathing in flux.

 

[DesiPower]

Professional or pleasure?

Who the heck welds for pleasure... 😵

 

[El Guaraguao]

Who the heck welds for pleasure... 😵

Well if you're an auto enthusiast (such as myself) welding can be a big time plus for your hobby.

 

[trancet]

Who the heck welds for pleasure... 😵

This guy does.

Ive had to do some expensive mods to my computer case that have required some welding action. Also, as El Guaraguao said, for auto enthusiasts its fantastic to have (which is why i got mine originally!)

 

[mshan]

Hard to tell from this video clip, but auto parts makers might also be looking for experienced welders: http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/1834541087001/engineering-facing-skills-shortage-in-hiring

Looks like auto makers and auto parts suppliers laid a lot of people off when it looked like industry was going to go bankrupt, and now that industry has popped back so quickly, they don't have enough skilled workers to keep up with sudden new demand.



OP could also look at conglomerate such as Siemens or General Electric and see if they have any sort of apprenticeship positions to prepare oneself to manufacture something like gas turbines for power plants in future:

"Running a machine, learning about programs, how to set up a machine for a program, also learning how to use tools and learning how to read blueprints," she says.

Espinal learns all this with the help of her personal mentor, Danny Hawkins. He likes to call her Dora the Explorer. You can see the resemblance.

"It's a great way for these young people to learn that there is a demand for skilled workers," Hawkins says. "Siemens has a very large workforce that's fixing to retire, and there's nobody to replace them."

When Espinal finishes her four-year training program, she'll graduate with an associate's degree, a journeyman's certificate in machining and a guaranteed job that includes a starting salary of around $44,000 a year.

The companies foot the bill for training that costs about $160,000 per student over the course of four years.

"I think it's a small price to pay because I know the time when we couldn't do what we do now," Thurner says. "We couldn't grow the business. We could not get machines in that they wanted because we didn't have the people to run it."

Thurner says there's no alternative to this on-the-job training. Modern manufacturing is high-tech, so you're dealing with expensive equipment. Push the wrong button and you've got a $50,000 mistake."

"Siemens considers the apprenticeship program a community investment in work-force training. Apprentices will learn math, computer and technical skills at CPCC, augmented with time in the factory, Pringle says.

Machinists need programming skills to control machinery that transforms raw steel into complex shapes. “It may take a week, 24/7, to get it in the shape we want it,” Howze says. “The tolerances can be as thin as a sheet of paper.”

http://www.npr.org/2012/07/26/157033600/bypassing-college-dreams-a-different-road-to-work

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlott...06/17/a-big-investment-in-youth.html?page=all

http://www.todaysthv.com/news/article/228357/2/At-6-Jobs-available-that-dont-require-a-degree



Or, if you are willing to bust your balls for some good pay and can tolerate frigid cold, look into becoming an oil field worker in Bakken Shale in North Dakota:

"With oil companies paying top dollar to the new onslaught of workers they need -- doling out average salaries of $70,000, and more than $100,000 including over-time -- other local businesses are boosting their pay to compete.

Entry level jobs everywhere from restaurants and grocery stores to convenience stores and local banks pay a minimum of $12 per hour, according to the McKenzie County Job Development Authority. Truck drivers make an average of $70,000 to $80,000 a year.

Taco John's, a Western fast-food chain, has increased its pay from $8.50 an hour to $15 an hour in Williston to hold on to its workers during its busiest shifts. It's also trying to keep pace with competitors, including the Subway and Hardee's down the street, said general manager Christie Smith. The Taco John's currently has more than 15 open positions and Smith said she has only turned down one applicant this year, "because he just looked too scruffy." (read first link below for full article, because housing costs have gone through the roof, if you can find it. People sleeping in their trucks, tents, or others renting out their RV for $2000/mo indicate how acute the housing shortage is there)




Reader Comment: Katie Sargent, 03/28/2012 11:09 PM

"Oil field wife here, my husband works out of Williston, ND and has for several years. Everyone is concerned with housing but there are loop holes around that, like making sure that the company you apply for has housing available. The housing my husband is currently in is free. Don't move your family there, I stay in Oregon while my husband goes out to work there, his schedule is awesome now, 1 month on, 1 month off but it hasn't always been this way, used to work 3 weeks on 1 week off, stuff like that. Even if you move your family out there, working the hours the companies require you never see your family (we tried it when he first started in the oil field in Wyoming)...I stay in Oregon with my family. Not all families can do this but it works for us. We may spend 30 days apart but then we spend 24 hours a day for 30 days together & probably spend more time together than most married couples. As for the locals, if they have just as much of a chance getting those jobs as anyone else if they want to work that hard. Oil field work, no matter where is VERY VERY hard work, long hours, dirty, tiring ect. but if you want to make that kind of money, it is worth it! If you have mechanical sensibility, a good work ethic, don't do drugs, have enough of a brain to learn new things, you can get a job out there. Every company my husband has worked for has been very strict on drugs, driving records, back ground checks ect so we have not seen this flow of scary people moving up there."


http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/28/pf/north_dakota_jobs/index.htm?iid=EL
http://money.cnn.com/video/pf/2011/10/27/pf_boomtown_oil_jobs.cnnmoney/
http://news.yahoo.com/lonely-hard-oil-rigs-salaries-soaring-210944273--finance.html

http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000041194

 

[Kreon]

Welders for building buildings are in high demand and do well. However, you're outside and often up high.