Help a newb welder out...Please

[PigPen]

Howdy yall.

Im a newb if you couldn't tell already, anyway im a senior in highschool and ive been welding for about two years now at the school and im pretty proficient with stick, MIG and some TIG but not much. ive decided to be a welder and ive got a couple of questions that I figured yall could help me out with..first off ive decided to go to a welding school it's not for sure yet but im most likely going to go to Tulsa welding school in Oklahoma, have any of yall been ther or heard of it what your view of it???? second I havent figured out what type of welding to work in pipewelding, joints, mig, etc. what line of welding career is more,"rewarding." third- the school I mentioned earlier also has a inspecting school aswell and it would only take an extra 7 months and 14 grand to graduate, Should I do it????. thank you for all your help. And you have ___ANY___ "advice,critisism,pointers,etc." you can give to me id be much obliged.

Thanks,

PigPen

[fabricator]

do you mean 14 grand more?

[PigPen]

thats how much the tuition is for the inspecting course overall..
what I would end up doing is goin and getting the master welder course out
of the way which will cost 14 grand for 7 months then the other 7 months for the inspecting course is another 14 grand...

over all the bill would be 28 grand for 14 months to get the inspecting license. or I could just do the master welder for 14 thousand or half as much, in seven months and forget the inpectors license.

Have you ever heard of tulsa welding school?

[fun4now]

is this the only school you have looked at ??? and is it near home ??

i ask as i'm wondering if you are just choosing whats near you ?
seems like i heard Hobart and lincoln both have welding schools. i think i would look very closely into the placement rate and the jobs open to me before getting on the hook for $14,000 or $24,000 .
welcome to the site. lots of great guys and info here.
i would try reposting with " need help finding a good welding school " as the title. could get you more responses. also post on the motor sports ( ask andy) side as well. most read both but not all, best to get all the exposure you can.

good luck with school

[PigPen]

YA ive seen you around alot of the topics, the only reason I didn't use that title is school is great but if I can't find the form of welding that I can focus on in school then school is worthless.

No it's about an 9-10 hour drive but im intentionally doing this to get out of the house.

supossedly my welding instructor right now says tulsa is a top natch place. and he's not one to lie but I figured there was such an accumulation of knowledge here that id ask yall.

also what do you think of the inspecting idea??

[c wagner]

Welding in general can be very rewarding, but what I find rewarding you might not. You'll have to try a few different things and see what YOU find rewarding.
If you want to be an inspector then spend the $14,000 otherwise I wouldn't worry about it, it would be time and money that could be spent polishing your trade. Besides I think all inspectors should have to weld in the field for a pre-determined amount of time before becoming a certified inspector.

[shorerider16]

Besides I think all inspectors should have to weld in the field for a pre-determined amount of time before becoming a certified inspector.

Never could figure that one out, a guy can walk in off the street and train to be an inspector without having ever welded. I definately agree with you on that one, they should have to work in the trade before inspecting.

[srl_welder]

I looked at going to tulsa welding school briefly last year. and i would definatly go to school. I dont know much about tulsa, but if they hand you a cert. or degree at the end i would say its a good plan. i was just looking at hobarts program and it looks like they have some good courses.

[fabricator]

14 grand seems a little high. i would say look at a state technical school. i went to a local one for 21 months.dont really remember the cost but it was far less then that.i believe it is not so much as the school,as it is the instructor.a good one will have pipewelding experience.which ever school you choose i would take the full welding course,get some welding experience and the overall feel of it.then decide where to go next.you may see other opportunities come your way.

[bryce_burden]

I also had been looking at Tulsa, even got some mail from them. I don't like it for the big city enviroment, i'm from small-town NW Oklahoma and don't like many people in one area, thats why i'm looking into a small vo-tech here local that has an excellent welding program. I've heard that TWS is an excellent school, but I have also heard that about Lincoln's program, it's really more what you prefer. Glad to know i'm not alone in wanting to go into welding for a career. I've been welding about 4 years now and enjoy every minute of it.