Welding Tips and Tricks

I dont know if anyone heard but they are putting a new pipeline thru NY and NJ (where I live) and there are welding trucks everywhere (have seen some pretty cool welders) but anyway I was talking to one of my friends who brother is a pro welder and is working on the pipeline.He told me he was making $135 per hour welding!
I thought it sounded like he was fibbing but I talked to a few people and they were not really suprised so it has me wondering - are there jobs out there that pay that much?If not what is considerd Really Really good Pay?
Thanks - Drowstiq

Drowstiq wrote:I dont know if anyone heard but they are putting a new pipeline thru NY and NJ (where I live) and there are welding trucks everywhere (have seen some pretty cool welders) but anyway I was talking to one of my friends who brother is a pro welder and is working on the pipeline.He told me he was making $135 per hour welding!
I thought it sounded like he was fibbing but I talked to a few people and they were not really suprised so it has me wondering - are there jobs out there that pay that much?If not what is considerd Really Really good Pay?
Thanks - Drowstiq

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Drowstiq.

My guess is that that is total rig price. Besides welding, he is probably supplying all the equipment too ... except for filler.
What welding was he doing?

Tanks.
Alexa

Pro pipeline welders will make between $60 and $140 per hour. At least that's the range I've heard of. Typically non union is lower but the work is more consistent. Pipe companies will keep you busier if they don't have a union hall to submit work requests through. We have both around here in northeast Ohio. The union also takes a chunk of the payout too. It all usually works out to close to the same yearly though. Just depends how often and how hard you want to work if you go union or not but the yearly pay can be as high as $$150k but you also pay for gas and insurance and diesel and welding rod etc... still not a bad gig if you can handle the hours and time away from home and family.

For a rig welder, it's not uncommon to see $30+/hr on your arm, $16+hr on your rig, and $100+/day perdiem, room and board, gas allowance and even consumables reimbursement. There is fitter/helper pay/perdiem, too, as rig welders on a pipeline are usually two-person teams. "Buddy welders" who work as a team for all tasks with a twin-rig truck make even better money on large-bore pipe.

You've got to be seriously tooled up and experienced in the task at hand for that money, but, no, the fellow's probably being honest with you when the various monies, overtime, double-time, and fringes are factored in.

Heck, I've made $42/hr spooling pipe in a shop using THEIR equipment.

Steve S

UA guys in Alberta get about the same +/- a few bucks depending on the job.
Again, they supply all of their own tools... consumables and fuel are supplied (at least on the jobs I've been on).