Welding business opinions/advice

[ZRob97]

Hey everyone, some background on why I’m writing this thread:

After about 5 years active duty Army I switched last year to working part time for the AZ National Guard as a Firefighter/EMT. My schedule is pretty flexible and work about 1-2 weeks total a month depending on wildfire activity/requested troop medical support. I really enjoy it and plan on doing this for at least another 14 years for the retirement and great benefits also. I’m also going to school full time to work towards a degree in Fire Science using the GI bill. Ive always looked at going into the trades and starting a small business of my own. Welding has always interested me and I plan on going to school to get AWS certified. Ideally looking at doing small fab projects and repair work, at my shop and possibly mobile.

anyways, looking for advice from mainly anyone in the trades on best routes to go in regards to starting out, gaining experience, finances, etc.

Thanks- Zach

 

[roadrunner]

Being AWS certified means you test to a code standard, process, and position.

D1.1, D1.5, etc just to name a few. It depends on what you mean by small fab and repairs and if you live in a code state. There is also ASME that encompass small fab and repair.

Working at a fab shop is usually the quickest way to get there if you can swing it.

 

[Brock A]

I work at welding shop in the Seattle area. I am a Estimator/Project manager for a small company. We have 7 welders plus myself and the owner. There is absolutely no shortage of work out there for a certified welder and if you set your company up right, you should be pretty successful pretty quickly.

I am heavily involved in the business side of things here so feel free to shoot me a PM with any specific questions.

 

[Wvroach]

Around my area if you want to get certified in welding it is either through a votech school or you can have your employer schedule a test only day, fab shops in my area don't typically pay much but if you get into field work after certification and are willing to travel you can rake in a good deal of cash.

I worked in mineral mining maintenance and supervision for several years before recently switching over to being a Lead Millwright, If your open to other careers I'd look into going through an apprenticeship program as a precision millwright. You will get to experience a wide variety of work, including welding but virtually every other facet of industry as well.

 

[mmac]

I would also suggest here in AZ there is a big need for machinists and learning that is pretty portable and can be flexible depending on who you work for.

 

[Wacm]

Welding jobs that pay the good money don’t care if you’re “certified” or not. They’re going to give you a welding test before they hire you in. Pass you’re good, bust it and you’re out.

 

[ZRob97]

Appreciate all the feedback, the community college in my town offers some welding classes and it says they’re AWS certified fwiw. The pipe dream is to eventually have a small shop on my property and work out of there/mobile for myself. There’s a lot of farm/construction equipment in my area and it’s pretty touristy if I wanted to make and sell items. Would a 210-230 amp multi process and a separate generator be a good start for both?

 

[Wrench]

I'll argue the test comment. D1.1, 1.5 and plenty more here. To do any bridge work on federal property, you're gonna be a 1.5 card holder and potentially have an inspector or 3 over your shoulder.

If you want to make some money welding, look into the 798.

If you want to make ok money and stay busy in the field, get the 1.1 and 1.5 and have as many processes as you can support on it.

If you want to run a fab shop, be sure you can source materials cheap. The welding is about 5% of the success of a shop.

A true metal master will teach you how to shrink steel, cut with a torch so you just need to touch it to be ready to rock.

If you are in the spokane / cda area, I am going to be selling my miller 351 with cooler for a very fair price.

 

[Wacm]

Appreciate all the feedback, the community college in my town offers some welding classes and it says they’re AWS certified fwiw. The pipe dream is to eventually have a small shop on my property and work out of there/mobile for myself. There’s a lot of farm/construction equipment in my area and it’s pretty touristy if I wanted to make and sell items. Would a 210-230 amp multi process and a separate generator be a good start for both?

Just don’t get hung up on being “certified” it literally means nothing. It’s not worth the paper it’s wrote on. Find somebody that welds and go to work for them and learn on the job. Get paid to learn it instead of paying somebody to teach you a bunch of stuff that doesn’t apply in the real world. I’ve seen it a hundred times. 99% of those classes are a joke. A real welder can teach you 10x what that class will teach you in a quarter of the time and you’ll be getting paid too.

 

[Wrench]

Appreciate all the feedback, the community college in my town offers some welding classes and it says they’re AWS certified fwiw. The pipe dream is to eventually have a small shop on my property and work out of there/mobile for myself. There’s a lot of farm/construction equipment in my area and it’s pretty touristy if I wanted to make and sell items. Would a 210-230 amp multi process and a separate generator be a good start for both?

I would look to a 250-300amp ac/dc engine driven. You can rob power from the job if a little machine will do it, but you'll end up with smoother power on an engine rig than the generator route.

 

[Stubborn_bowhunter]

Welding jobs that pay the good money don’t care if you’re “certified” or not. They’re going to give you a welding test before they hire you in. Pass you’re good, bust it and you’re out.

I've been welding off and on for 4 years. Mostly TIG, but I can run most process. Not a ton of acetylene under my belt though.

This is what I was told by guys who have done it for life... That I could cert if I wanted, but it wouldn't matter. Still would have to pass the jobs tests.
I know some guys with certs that can't weld for shit. You could probably teach a monkey to MIG cert 1g.
If you do cert then pursue 6G, and you'll be set for anything.

I was thinking of starting my own business this year, but got a different job that's metal oriented.

A major thing I've read is that you'll be a business owner far more than you'd be a welder. That it doesn't really matter how good you lay beads if you can't run a business.
I decided to not put all my eggs in that basket yet.
Side jobs and euro mount plaques. Haha

 

[Wrench]

Location is important. You cannot weld structural in Wa without the states d1.1. The 1.5 is a separate cert for bridge code....that test is easy for anyone who can walk through the 1.1, the difference is no power tools.

 

[ZRob97]

Just don’t get hung up on being “certified” it literally means nothing. It’s not worth the paper it’s wrote on. Find somebody that welds and go to work for them and learn on the job. Get paid to learn it instead of paying somebody to teach you a bunch of stuff that doesn’t apply in the real world. I’ve seen it a hundred times. 99% of those classes are a joke. A real welder can teach you 10x what that class will teach you in a quarter of the time and you’ll be getting paid too.

Sounds like most hands on skills. I’ll definetly look into this route

 

[GSPHUNTER]

I agree if you are a great welder but can't run a business your sunk. But, if you know the business end great. Make sure you have welders who are proficient in at least four of the nine Dif. kinds of welding, stick, MIG, TIG, Ect. I have known many welders but only a hand full of real good ones, and I mean real good.

 

[Azone]

I will echo what others have said in that getting certified isn’t the end of the world. I was once the bright eyed 19 year old with a 6G cert in my back pocket thinking I would be killing it in no time, no dice. The best jobs are usually word of mouth to people who are extremely good with experience. I would highly recommend that you go work for someone for a bit to learn the ropes.

I recently opened up my own fab shop last year and it’s been going pretty good so far. My bread and butter is the agricultural industry in my area, ag equipment is what I work on most with the occasional steel fence or balcony rail thrown in. I will definitely attest that excelling in the field of your craft and running a business are two different things. Feel free to ask or PM any questions.

 

[amassi]

When I EASd in '09 there was a program called helmets to hardhats- only used 12mos of gi bill, had agreements with apprentice programs all across the country, employment coordinator et el. May want to look into if it's still around. Likewise- if your going to get a rating... get rated first and use VRE for school and keep your gi bill bennies

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[goalie]

Appreciate all the feedback, the community college in my town offers some welding classes and it says they’re AWS certified fwiw. The pipe dream is to eventually have a small shop on my property and work out of there/mobile for myself. There’s a lot of farm/construction equipment in my area and it’s pretty touristy if I wanted to make and sell items. Would a 210-230 amp multi process and a separate generator be a good start for both?

I've made a bunch of money selling fire poker and welding art. I've just got a Hobart 190 and a cheap plasma cutter.

 

[goalie]

 

[Stubborn_bowhunter]

I've made a bunch of money selling fire poker and welding art. I've just got a Hobart 190 and a cheap plasma cutter.

I make a lot of sculptures, and stuff like this as well. Good creative outlet. Been working on some euro mount plaques today.

Edit: Doing this has taught me to weld really small and finicky material. Definitely has made me a better all around welder.

 

[goalie]

I need to do the hummingbird. I've done a flower or two. My son does the fire pokers