You are a young guy, take this from a 53 year old. I started out in a aerospace foundry at 18. Because of the hot cars I drove got me hooked into Industrial Maintenance by the Maintenance Supervisor. He said you tinker with cars, here you can tinker with machines because you are obviously machanically inclined. I worked maintenance during shutdown while other employees took vacation to gain knowledge.I went to JVS and took electrical classes, Hobart welding school for welding. I am a certified Tig/Mig welder in aluminum and steel.I learned plumbing along the way. I have had to use all that I had learned at one point or another (welder,plumber,electrician,maintenance) to put food on the table. so dont put all your eggs in one basket. The more you know, the more likely you will get hired. Plus Welding takes a toll on eyesight after so many years. I hope this helps in your life adventure. Dan
The damdable degree. I work in an "educated" field. Mostly engineers. I have 6 years in the Navy. Photographer's mate. All the schools for cine,movies. I shot miles of film from the back seat of an F-4j in this related field. No degree, no photo job here. I have more education in that and experiance than anyone in the shop,no degree. I drove a shuttle for years,kept up with conversations quite nicley. I once was told I was wasting my time because I was smarter than driving. He wouldnt give me a break because,,,,no degree. An engineer asked me one time to explain the difference between horse power and torque. I about fell over and told him at 80k per year he should know that and it was gonna cost him $100 but I'd explain it. Never did, he has a degree. I've driven a truck since 88, run a few small bussinesses and have alot of experience. They hired a dude right outta the university who has NO dammmm time under his belt and even lives with mom and chews with his mouth open,,,,,,,,,,, BUT THIS FOOL HAS A DEGREE. If you can work on cars or a house you'll never be outta work. Learn to weld and get a CDL. I also stand by the HVAC I posted earlier which was co-signed by a few others.
A Hobart is a tool. A HS diploma is a tool. A wonderful upbringing is a tool. A Degree is a tool. The human brain is a tool. None insure a happy life, a good job, or a thriving career. Success all depends on what a person does with his tools.
Yes, it's an old thread. So what? I enjoyed reading 29Nash's exposition on welder/weldor. He might like to hear that I once got a little too cute and filled out a resume (for a non-welding job) using weldor to describe myself. I didn't get even an interview, and learned later that the young woman in HR who looked at the resume thought I might be lying, both about the welding experience and the college degree because she saw that I "had misspelled the word" and failed to fix it.
I was a airframe mechanic, I wished i would have learned welding other than high school.....man it's all what do you want to do...say this ..I make a living do .......
Old thread but if a young guy is seriously interested in welding he would do well to look into going to Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Wa for their welding courses. http://www.columbiabasin.edu/index.aspx?page=501 It's one of the schools that the Hanford Atomic works contractors accept weldors from. If you don't have serious skills and extensive specialty training in welding you could expect to end up in production welding in some sort of manufacturing plant. A local plant has a shop full of guys welding trusses for big steel buildings up and that is all they do all day long one truss after another. A young friend of mine is a weldor on the pipelines in Alaska. He flew back out a week ago to the North Slope where he is welding outdoors in 40 below weather. That doesn't sound like fun to me but he makes good money at it.
I know this is a old thread .. But it could still help some people ... Im a welder / stainless steel fabricator .. An someone at work told me once "think about the ammount of dust that collects on the back of your computer /tv or something ... An i bet you never do any grinding or dirty work in your house ... Imagine how crappy that computer would get if it was kept in the workshop ... Its the same with your lungs ... But You cant empty those" Always wear a dust mask when grinding or something since then ! I personally love welding but its pretty dangerous for your body if your not careful ! Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
so what happened to this kid? did he get a job? i see he has only one post and it is not an intro. did he apply to school and forget to go?
My dad was a welder and he sent me to welding school before I went to college.said I could always weld part time. Good advise that's how I bought my first car and got into hot rod culture 50 years ago. Good luck!
Welding is a great job and this is a stupid statement. My Journeyman ticket says I am a Welder. I may Tig weld like one, but I am definitely not a machine. At least last time I checked.
Welding is fun and chicks dig scars....Just sometimes not home enough to work on my projects...but I sure find lots of good stuff while I'm gone.
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