My name is Austin. I am certified in structural welding and am going back to school this year to get my pipe welding certification. I currently do a lot of MIG welding seeing as I work at Doolittle Trailer MFG in Holts Summit, MO. So I build trailer frames for a living for right now. Doesn't make the big bucks but pays the bills. I got into welding as a whim in high school. I needed another credit and metal fabrication was a class that seemed fun and challenging. My teacher said I was a natural and needed to pursue it as an option for a career. I didn't really have anything planned after high school so I said why not. I absolutely love welding and I love learning more and more about it. I've heard about this forum before but never really checked it out and I check out the welding tips and tricks website every so often to get a few pointers. I really want to get into TIG and SMAW because those processes, in my eyes, are the more challenging and intricate ways to weld. That's about it.
Falling into welding by accident happens more than you might think. I learned the basics early, and it was my "go to" money maker when I was in school, and when I was between other jobs. It took a while for it to click, but focusing on welding eventually started making real money for me, and has led into many interesting variations on the trade.
You've found a good place to explore. We have everyone you might imagine. We have the extreme newbie (I plugged it in. Now what?) We have hobbyists from "just started" to "just retired". We have metal artists that will blow your mind with their creative abuse of metal. We have industrial and commercial welders. We have active and retired welders from the aerospace industry.
You'll have a hell of a time asking a question that can't be answered here, and if you find one, we'll research it until we're all satisfied with the answer.
