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WELDING - Is it a good job

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by clark16, Jan 6, 2010.

  1. clark16
    Joined: Jan 6, 2010
    Posts: 1

    clark16
    Member
    from utah

    Hi I am in high school and really like welding so I was simply wondering how do you like being a welder? and how do you like the pay?
     
  2. 296 V8
    Joined: Sep 17, 2003
    Posts: 4,666

    296 V8
    BANNED
    from Nor~Cal

    If I had to do it all over, id have got an inside job. The older you get the harder it is to work outside or in a non heated or ac shop..
    The pays not bad but to afford old car$ I still need to wheel and deal.
     
  3. Ayers Garage
    Joined: Nov 28, 2002
    Posts: 1,382

    Ayers Garage
    Member

    It would be hard for me to recommend welding as a career to anyone right now. In my area, we had a huge oil boom for the last few years which went bust. Now there are unemployed welders everywhere. Those oil field welders are damn good too, but there's simply not enough work out there right now to keep them employed. Way too much competition causes the wages to be driven way down.
     
  4. redlinetoys
    Joined: May 18, 2004
    Posts: 4,302

    redlinetoys
    Member
    from Midwest

    I have a buddy that had dreams of being a fabricator. He worked for several top pro shops making a lot of cool stuff and getting paid nearly nothing.

    Then he ended up on his belly welding inside of small stainless tanks for hours on end at another company, but was making decent money. The problem there was that the company didn't care about supplying good breathing air or safety in general and he was working a ton of hours. It was killing him, literally, and he had to get out.

    Not trying to bust your bubble. If you are going to do it, be the best and try to write your ticket on what sort of job you end up in.

    Good luck to you.
     

  5. Shifty Shifterton
    Joined: Oct 1, 2006
    Posts: 4,964

    Shifty Shifterton
    Member

    Welders better either be ready to travel, or have a lot of high-tech manufacturing in their home town.

    The 2 most common welding careers that'll pay enough to justify schooling are either traveling (construction & heavy equip install) or production welding with super high requirements, such as aerospace.
     
  6. hotrod-Linkin
    Joined: Feb 7, 2007
    Posts: 3,382

    hotrod-Linkin
    Member

    my son went to ATI,graduated top of the class,very qualified. right now he would take a carhop job. welding jobs in dallas are not good at the moment.
     
  7. edweird
    Joined: Jan 4, 2009
    Posts: 3,186

    edweird
    Member

    I think tig welding would be more valuable as far as making a living goes. Allthough stick and mig are good to know also. I had been a welder \ fabricator with the same company for 18 yrs. I got layed off 2 weeks before christmas. They kept the tig welders! One more thing. You cant build hot rods if you cant weld. Thats all their is to it. Thats my 2 cents worth.
     
  8. bob308
    Joined: Nov 27, 2009
    Posts: 220

    bob308
    Member

    i have done it for 30 years . did alot of cert. work. i made fair money but never the top pay like you hear talked about. i did not want to move around the country. it is hot dirty work. you either sweat or freaze as said before. also when things slow down it seams like the weldors are the first to be laid off.

    i do hope you want tobe a weldor, the person not a welder,the machine.
     
  9. PhilJohnson
    Joined: Oct 13, 2009
    Posts: 906

    PhilJohnson
    Member

    TIG welding is the only welding I would get into. There are a lot of unemployed MIG and stick welders out there right now. A lot of folks have told me welding stainless with a TIG torch is tough. I tried it for fun one time, didn't seem too difficult.
     
  10. SaltCityCustoms
    Joined: Jun 27, 2007
    Posts: 1,212

    SaltCityCustoms
    Member

    Welding is one of those careers that demand a lot of skills and will only suck away your health and affect your way of life if your the family type, I have friends that weld for a living. The pay is not great and breathing in the gasses like argon all day will make you wish you never did it.
     
  11. Royalshifter
    Joined: May 29, 2005
    Posts: 15,579

    Royalshifter
    Moderator
    from California

    I get paid good but would not recommend it. I am more the fabricator than welder.
     
  12. Rudebaker
    Joined: Sep 14, 2007
    Posts: 1,598

    Rudebaker
    Member
    from Illinois

    I never worked as a welder but I worked for a company that employed about 100 welder's and I was elbow to elbow with them for years. It's a good skill to have but you do NOT want to be a production line welder. Any of them that had been at it very long had respiratory issues and poor eyesight. Go to college for at least a couple years and get some kind of degree. I've seen people get hired for jobs they knew nothing about just because they had a degree and the degree was for nothing even remotely related to the job.

    If you enjoy welding then by all means learn to weld but if you're set on getting a welding related job go to college and get training related to CNC programming and robotic welders and get a degree. The CNC and robotics can always open other doors for you. Get a degree.
     
  13. snelson57
    Joined: Jun 3, 2008
    Posts: 544

    snelson57
    Member

    Coincidentally, I just saw a study that came out on the news today - Best and worst jobs in 2010 based on job availability, pay, conditions, etc.

    Best job - Actuary
    Worst job - Welder

    Seriously.

    I think that it is a skill that you will never be sorry that you learned, but you may want to consider another career path.

    At least you are asking - good luck!
     
  14. Manufacturing in North America is shrinking FAST.
    Learn a skill that can't be outsourced to any third world country.
     
  15. thirtytwo
    Joined: Dec 19, 2003
    Posts: 2,639

    thirtytwo
    Member

    if you like doing it you should think about taking some courses at least...and become good at it ......hard to build a hotrod with out being a good welder , if your thinking about doing it as a career i would look into pipe fitting or some kind of specialty welding like underwater or stuctural welding like an iron worker on sky scrapers ...being a shlub in a factory welding production stuff isnt going to pay very well being a good fabricator in a hotrod shop will earn you slightly more but not much!
     

  16. Yes, a lot of people are impressed by "degrees".
    That would make you a member of their little degree club.
     
  17. PhilJohnson
    Joined: Oct 13, 2009
    Posts: 906

    PhilJohnson
    Member

    I found that to be true as well. I used to work in heavy construction. A lot of the old timers had super thick cheaters in their welding helmets because they couldn't see real well any more. There was one guy who got his papers pulled because he just couldn't see what he was welding :eek: I am considering going into TIG welding because the pay is decent but it is definitely not something I would do for more than a couple years just because of all the eye problems welders seem to get.
     
  18. nailhead terry
    Joined: Mar 23, 2008
    Posts: 1,458

    nailhead terry
    Member

    Hey piano player in whore house is a better job !! I have a fab shop my advice is ac repair banker not a welding to much risk skin and lung cancer and prolonged exposer can cause permant drian bramage !!
     
  19. kustomrodder53
    Joined: Jul 6, 2007
    Posts: 129

    kustomrodder53
    Member

    Certified aircraft welder and machinist in the United States Air Force... I HIGHLY recommend! The tech school and experience gained is second to none.

    Harder job to get into, so dont let some asshole recruiter push you around...
     
  20. paco
    Joined: Oct 19, 2006
    Posts: 1,141

    paco
    Member
    from Atlanta

    I'll add to what has already be mentioned .... I'm a General Electric power generation repair retiree ..... If you enjoy living out of a suitcase ...... an layoffs ...... and the health hazards that go along with welding ... then go for it.

    I still do lots of TIG welding in my garage for me & some side projects ...... but I think the payscale would have to stabilize if I was to get back into it ....

    I'm now in the moving business ....... as a operations mngr. Had I know what kind of money you can make as a mover (owner of the moving company that is) I would have started that when I got out of high school in the late 70's.

    The internet will never replace movers ..... get into that. 10 years down the road you'll thank me.

    PACO
     
  21. markjenks
    Joined: Aug 31, 2009
    Posts: 384

    markjenks
    Member

    Learn how to weld, and then learn to be a boiler operator. The first one will help the second one out.

    Then again, find something else to do, but still learn welding. You can always make a few bucks on the side if you're good.
     
  22. Frosty21
    Joined: Jan 25, 2007
    Posts: 958

    Frosty21
    Member
    from KY

    I spent my whole High School life (Just Graduated) planning on Welding. I can weld nearly anything, I'm a great fabricator, but there is no market for it unless you live in a heavy industrial area unless you

    A.) Work For Nothing
    B.) Kill Yourself welding in knee deep mud, in a hole, hanging from a rope, etc.
    C.) Travel all over the country, get burnt out, laid off, addicted to drugs, or die.

    Let me say this, do something else, do something technical, but welding as a career is just bullshit for the most part.

    Unless your a Welding Instructor. Too bad most welding teachers are more concerned with teaching begginers Assembly Line welding garbage instead of how weld up a crack in a lawnmower deck, or build a bumper.

    Sure, theres great money in it. But theres other things out there.

    I also went to college for welding for a semester. More bullshit there. More smoking and BS-ing than welding. One guy that graduated couldn't get a job at a Pizza Place.

    Learned alot about "Field Jobs" and "Factory Jobs" there. Field Jobs, dangerous, shitty. Factory Jobs, annoying, dangerous, shitty. Your going to get cancer and die, thats also a reality. Fumes and radiation in such confined areas are just a reality.

    I'm now an Equipment Operator. About 10x better. I still love welding, but not as a job.
     
  23. grovedawg
    Joined: Oct 20, 2009
    Posts: 451

    grovedawg
    Member
    from Heber, UT

    You can always get good welding at home after hours. Get a decent job that you enjoy, and you'll always be able to weld at night. That's what keeps it fun. You only get to do it when you want to/have spare time for it. When you do it as a job, it's not as exciting.
     
  24. D-fens
    Joined: Aug 30, 2007
    Posts: 368

    D-fens
    Member
    from Huntsville

    All the aerospace and high-tech stuff going on where I'm at (Redstone Arsenal) is mostly government paper shuffling. My employer actually laughed at me when I signed up for a TIG class.

    Been looking for a part-time or weekend gig to get more TIG torch time, but the only offer I've gotten is for a full-time with a trailer builder, MIG - welding car haulers for $10 an hour.
     
  25. Rudebaker
    Joined: Sep 14, 2007
    Posts: 1,598

    Rudebaker
    Member
    from Illinois

    Unfortunately it's the people with degrees doing the hiring that you have to impress and it takes a degree to impress them. I have 30 years experience in Quality Assurance, I have been told my resume is very impressive, I have damn good references but no degree. I can't even get an interview. I'm down to applying for fork lift driving jobs but I'm told I'm overqualified for that!

    That's good advice too.
     
  26. 29nash
    Joined: Nov 6, 2008
    Posts: 4,544

    29nash
    BANNED
    from colorado

    Is that what you want to do? With all of the things to do in this world? Sit down and write a list of ALL of your interests, then try to connect each of those interests to a livelyhood.

    If you really think you want to take a job welding, get out the yellow pages and walk into every shop you can find, talk to the people there, explain what you are doing and figure it out for yourself.

    Then at the end of each day, ask yourself. Is this really what I want to do for a career?
     
  27. AllSteel36
    Joined: Jul 20, 2009
    Posts: 560

    AllSteel36
    Member
    from California

    From a non-professional...

    I don't hink I could do it 50-60 hours a week...the easy part is the actual welding, but that's only a small part of the job, it's all the cutting, grinding, lifting, moving, fitting, etc that is required before you even tun on a welder, is what burn you out for the day, IMO.
     
  28. eaglebeak
    Joined: Sep 17, 2007
    Posts: 1,269

    eaglebeak
    Member

    i do hope you want to be a weldor, the person not a welder,the machine.[/QUOTE]

    Finally, some one that knows the difference.
    Thank you,
    Elevator Constructor...
     
  29. HellsHotRods
    Joined: Jul 24, 2009
    Posts: 1,405

    HellsHotRods
    Member

    Learn to weld then go get a Mechanical Engineering Degree and you'll be able to find good work.
     
  30. irondoctor
    Joined: Jan 7, 2007
    Posts: 568

    irondoctor
    Member
    from Newton, KS

    Welding is a good skill to have but I would not put all my eggs in that basket. If you are wanting a stable well paying job take a good look at companies that are doing well in this economy. Those are the ones that will be around awhile. See what skills you can gain to make yourself appealing to those companies.
     

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