I'm currently in welding school and am required to ask up to 3 welders questions and was hoping some of y'all could help me.
I have noone in my inner circle that is a welder and no local shops will respond to me for some reason.
If you can answer the questions, please message me the answers or however you feel best to answer them.
thank you for taking the time to help me out in advance!
1.Why did you choose welding?
2.Did you have a difficult time becoming proficient with the tools and techniques?
3.What uncommon mistakes did you make that you would advise others to be wary of?
4.Would you have pursued another level to that trade? Higher education to accompany and compliment it?
If you did, was it necessary or do you feel you could have done without the further education.
5.Do you believe that field is still a good field to go into?
Or would you now, knowing what it entails and how the market was for you, go into another trade or career?
6.Where would you recommend I start if I decide to continue the route for this trade? Where would you suggest I avoid?
7.Did you feel like you made enough financially to provide for a growing family comfortably? Or did you find yourself needing more to stabilize your needs and that of your family?
8.What was your most difficult frustrations with the trade? This could include not enough time with the family because of the trade’s demands, or anything else you may feel was a blockage or source of adversity.
9.What did you enjoy about it the most?
10.While I recognize this question is subjective and personal, I still feel compelled to end it with this: Were you happy while in the trade?
I think you’ll find lots of different answers, and some common themes. I’ll give you my $0.0015 worth.
1. Was fascinated by the process of gluing metal together with electricity. Plus, it was a very good job market.
2. Welding is a learned skill. Some learn better and more quickly than others, but everyone struggles at the beginning.
3. I was lucky that I was mentored by skilled, wise experts to keep me from those.
4. I think everyone benefits from more education regardless. It should also be on your path to supplement your trade career.
5. I think it’s better now than decades ago. Attracting young tradespeople is harder and harder.
6. If you can get a job at a shipyard, they will train you to a very high level in most every process. My first choice.
7. This is very subjective based upon a person’s financial practices. If you’re responsible, you’ll flourish. Party like a rock star and no amount is sufficient.
8. The physical demands on your body. Stay fit, stretch, exercise. It pays off in the end.
9. Dirty hands, clean money
10. Very
1. Was fascinated by the process of gluing metal together with electricity. Plus, it was a very good job market.
2. Welding is a learned skill. Some learn better and more quickly than others, but everyone struggles at the beginning.
3. I was lucky that I was mentored by skilled, wise experts to keep me from those.
4. I think everyone benefits from more education regardless. It should also be on your path to supplement your trade career.
5. I think it’s better now than decades ago. Attracting young tradespeople is harder and harder.
6. If you can get a job at a shipyard, they will train you to a very high level in most every process. My first choice.
7. This is very subjective based upon a person’s financial practices. If you’re responsible, you’ll flourish. Party like a rock star and no amount is sufficient.
8. The physical demands on your body. Stay fit, stretch, exercise. It pays off in the end.
9. Dirty hands, clean money
10. Very
1 I chose to learn welding because it was the only way to advance in the Company I worked for at the time.
2 Mig welding was the only option to learn with at the first place I worked. I thought it was easy, but found out it was hard to recognize a good looking bad Mig weld.
4 I chose to change jobs sometimes at a pay or benefits cost, so that I could get a job that allowed my to build on or expand my skills. Example, I once took a $3 an hour pay cut for a job 20miles closer to home that agreed to teach me how to tig SS and a little aluminum, it was also a repair shop so it was also an expansion on my fab skills over just a production setting.
5 welding will always be a valuable skill.
6 start where ever you can afford to, experience is key. The only way to get experience is by working.
7 this is more about budget and life choices, look at all the examples of professional athletes who are broke and bankrupt while collecting checks for tens of thousands of dollars.
9 I like how there is no template for being a “good or successful” welding career. It is an open field, you can specialize in any one of thousands of possible specialties. You can be success doing basic repetitive production, you could specialize in structural steel, maybe detailed precision work, pipe and pressure vessels, ships and boats, or specialty metals. Not to mention associated jobs that often start out as welding. Example weld inspector,
2 Mig welding was the only option to learn with at the first place I worked. I thought it was easy, but found out it was hard to recognize a good looking bad Mig weld.
4 I chose to change jobs sometimes at a pay or benefits cost, so that I could get a job that allowed my to build on or expand my skills. Example, I once took a $3 an hour pay cut for a job 20miles closer to home that agreed to teach me how to tig SS and a little aluminum, it was also a repair shop so it was also an expansion on my fab skills over just a production setting.
5 welding will always be a valuable skill.
6 start where ever you can afford to, experience is key. The only way to get experience is by working.
7 this is more about budget and life choices, look at all the examples of professional athletes who are broke and bankrupt while collecting checks for tens of thousands of dollars.
9 I like how there is no template for being a “good or successful” welding career. It is an open field, you can specialize in any one of thousands of possible specialties. You can be success doing basic repetitive production, you could specialize in structural steel, maybe detailed precision work, pipe and pressure vessels, ships and boats, or specialty metals. Not to mention associated jobs that often start out as welding. Example weld inspector,
I have more questions than answers
Josh
Josh
i'm hobby welder but i'm also an experienced tradesman and farmer.Jcruz88 wrote:I'm currently in welding school and am required to ask up to 3 welders questions and was hoping some of y'all could help me.
I have noone in my inner circle that is a welder and no local shops will respond to me for some reason.
If you can answer the questions, please message me the answers or however you feel best to answer them.
thank you for taking the time to help me out in advance!
1.Why did you choose welding?
2.Did you have a difficult time becoming proficient with the tools and techniques?
3.What uncommon mistakes did you make that you would advise others to be wary of?
4.Would you have pursued another level to that trade? Higher education to accompany and compliment it?
If you did, was it necessary or do you feel you could have done without the further education.
5.Do you believe that field is still a good field to go into?
Or would you now, knowing what it entails and how the market was for you, go into another trade or career?
6.Where would you recommend I start if I decide to continue the route for this trade? Where would you suggest I avoid?
7.Did you feel like you made enough financially to provide for a growing family comfortably? Or did you find yourself needing more to stabilize your needs and that of your family?
8.What was your most difficult frustrations with the trade? This could include not enough time with the family because of the trade’s demands, or anything else you may feel was a blockage or source of adversity.
9.What did you enjoy about it the most?
10.While I recognize this question is subjective and personal, I still feel compelled to end it with this: Were you happy while in the trade?
not surprised the shops didn't respond they are no doubt sick of being asked the same questions, peoples generosity only goes so far. something schools tend to forget.
1. got sick of having to get other people to weld things for me. also something we really never got taught at school.
2 yes
3 trick question, no such thing as uncommon mistakes. someone has made that mistake before.
4 always always go for more education. one thing thats been a problem for me is lack of education. over here they dropped the apprenticeship scheme when i was leaving school and it took decades before the industries got off their arses to do their own and it doesn't work well with adult students. so i have had to be self taught on everything. while that can work its extremely slow and doesn't have the paper work to go with it.
5 yes, the skills are used across many industries and those extra skills a useful to an employer so they are valuable to you.
skills like welding really go across a wide range of industries. a production welder may weld day in and day out, while a small fab shop welding is only a small part of the skills required. or nothing to do with your main work.
one of the good things i'm finding is now that i can do the welding part, the fabrication and repair side of things improves. even for things i don't actually weld, because i know what needs to be done it can be fabricated better.
so welding is never a wasted skill.
tweak it until it breaks