Youngest son wants to become a welder

[Azone]

Everyone can weld. The guy who can make a bevel cut with a torch and slag it with a welding rod, knock a root land and go is the guy you want to be quiet and pay attention to. Welding is easier than solid torchmanship in my eyes.

I agree 100 percent with this comment. I’ve met multiple guys through out the years who flat out suck with the torch. Layout and fit up are what impress me most anymore. I mean I hope the guy can weld if he’s calling himself a welder.

 

[Azone]

Don’t end up in the trailer factory. I have nightmares about that kinda monotonous shit.
In a small fab shop your never gonna make YouTube money. Too many people think there gonna make 100k running mig wire and it’s hard not to laugh.
Get some certs to show potential employers he is serious and then get a apprenticeship and keep his eyes and ears open and mouth shut unless it’s a serious question about how to perform a task is my advice.
I was a former broom pusher in a fab shop, mid teen years, who is now running my own fab shop somewhere in my early thirties now. It has good days and bad days. My best welding advice would be to become an electrician or plumber.

 

[Sherman]

Contact the local pipe fitters union and ask what he needs to do to get an apprenticeship there OR have him look for jobs at unionized gas utility companies and go through the progression to get a pipe fitter apprenticeship through them. The difference will be traveling for work through the union vs covering an area for a utility.

 

[nrh6.7]

I want to thank everyone who has contributed so far. Taking it all in and will be talking to him this week to have a discussion about were his head is on this.

Please keep the advice coming!

 

[snowymtnwolf]

Send to trades school, job to train, or have other job and buy welder and practice

I do early bronco restoration on the side in the military. Was gonna pay someone to do body work and instead bought welder and found local guy to train me for a few weekends.

Now I am able to do light welding (no expert my any means).

Just my .02 cents

Either way. Gotta love what ya do and have passion. Money $$ only goes so far.

Hope he finds his passion.


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[Azone]

Please keep the advice coming!

Never marry for love.
Marry for money and learn to love the money.

 

[Z71&Gun]

The TIG welders in the marine industry that do the aluminum piping on high end center consoles and cats like Freeman, Invincible, Sea Vee, Yellowfin, Contender, etc. are in high demand, and make big bank.

I don't know about big bank. That must depend on location. I came up building custom boats in Skagit county Washington. I know a lot of guys at a lot of shops and nobody is making big bank. Union drywallers and Seattle bartenders make more money than welders where I'm from. Unless you're in a solid union, welding is just another bust ass labor job. $30/hr if you're lucky, top guys maybe make close to 40 after years at the company. Minimum wage is $15. Union guys make more but any union job in the greater Seattle area pays well. Welding wouldn't be in my top 5 choices.

 

[nrh6.7]

Update: Wanted to say thanks again to all who chimed in on this. After talking it over with my son, he is going to step back and make sure this is the path he wants to take before jumping in. Thanks again.

Side note: I now want to learn to weld. Always have actually but never committed, so I'm looking at welders now and have a question. ***Edit: going to start a new thread for my question to let this thread die.

 

[ODB]

A cousin welded underwater stuff, nuke plants in France, the whole bit. Hand-made stuff like you couldn’t believe. Made an absolute ton of money until he drank himself to death. An impressive skill and trade.

 

[kolkat53]

I went to community college for welding classes and worked as a welder fabricator for 4 years and it’s not bad as long as you’re willing to work 60 hrs a week every week. Also don’t just be a mig welder or just a stick work just tig learn to fab and weld in all processes.

 

[jtevanMT]

My suggestion would be to get certified through a community college program and complete an associates or bachelors degree in business at the same time. Having a good understanding of both business and personal finance could make the difference between a successful career in welding and struggling for $12-16/hr

 

[Zeke6951]

My grandson is a welder, millwright. He makes pretty good. His old high school welding instructor gave him the best advice I ever heard. "You can marry more in 30 minutes than you can make in 30 years."

 

[bigeyedfish]

I'll offer a slightly different view on certifications. The companies I've worked at will always test you in house. Showing up with certifications might get you through the interview, but you won't even tack pieces together without being tested first. So I definitely don't consider certs a prerequisite.

If you want to work 40 hours a week and be at home every night, it's going to be tough to make good money welding. If you're willing to work overtime and on the road, income opportunities improve dramatically.

One last thought. I have personally tested hundreds of welders in structural fabrication shops. The absolute worst came from trailer manufacturing shops. Second worst were straight out of welding school. Some of these guys were able to figure it out quickly, but so many of them thought they had chops that it was hard to teach them anything. The best guys I ever tested had worked previously in heavy equipment repair.