Speak Up For Welding
Welding is not a career for the faint of heart – that’s nothing new, but a recent survey by a job search Web site ranked it as the fifth worst out of 200 different professions. Ironworker fared even worse, coming in as the third worst job for 2010. Knowing the passion and pride that welders and ironworkers take in their jobs, we suspect the Web site didn’t consult with any while conducting their survey.
The site ranked jobs based on five factors — physical demands, work environment, income, stress and hiring outlook. Although the results are based on what a typical job seeker would look for in a career, welders are often anything but typical and many find the physical demands and work environment to be some of the most rewarding parts of the job. The money can be pretty darn good, too!
Surveys like this fail to reflect the fact that many people thrive on physically demanding work and the rewards of creating things with their own two hands. People like this would never envy the actuary (the top ranked job in the survey) sitting at a desk and staring at numbers on a computer screen all day.
On a more serious note, these types of surveys can actually harm the welding industry by potentially scaring away people who would otherwise enjoy welding as a career or hobby.
They’ve had their chance, now it’s yours. Let’s hear why this Web site is wrong and why welding is a great career. Share your thoughts and stories about how you came to be a welder by posting a comment below.
Average (Not Rated)
January 24th, 2010 at 7:03 pm
without welders the economy would be even worse off than it is.
welding holds the world together without welding all of their offices would fall apart roads, everything. ever since i could barely walk i wanted to be a welder and ill be the best dam welder i can be
January 28th, 2010 at 5:55 pm
I hate to say it but the they are right, that welding is currently one of the worst careers, very few employers want to pay a decent wage for welders, and by decent I mean $17/hr plus, I don’t know how many ads I see that only want to pay $10-12 for a welder, why weld and get dirty all day , when I can drive a forklift for $15 plus?
January 30th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
not everyone wants to be a shiny arse
some of us enjoy physical work
and s a contractor the money can be worthwhile
January 31st, 2010 at 12:07 am
personally,I enjoy welding,it takes special people to be welders, most people do not like to get dirty but it is part of the job,and you get a satisfaction knowing that you joined two peices of metal together with high voltage power,at times there may be a risk of getting shocked or ” tickeled “but like I said its part of the job.I could not think of being a chair jocky pencil pushing office person for the same pay as I am now for welding,you must enjoy your work to accept all the down sides to it as well,have fun in what you do.
February 1st, 2010 at 9:31 pm
If you think working in an office is the place to be then you should do it. If you think that welding is what you want as a career then this is what you should do. I can put out all of the studies to promote my point of view. It is true that employers don’t want to pay but that is why you need to take charge of you career. If everyone wants to do something else then let them it is to your benefit. I left a career to work in an office and ended up as manager at an international company in 5yrs. Worst thing I ever did. Stick with what you love.
February 5th, 2010 at 4:17 pm
For eternal years my loved one worked overtime with a Singer machine mending my pants and shirts which were full of large burn holes; It was hell at the time, shitjob mending coal working equipment, but looking back 40 yrs it wasn’t so bad after all, compared to todays crappy bureau jobs. It was a job with value; I had a craftsmans cert in welding, something so rare now which others didn’t have at the time. 5 Quid payrise! and I got a Lloyds cert as a passed stick welder ? Wow. Who cares now ? Big things then but now worth naught.
February 5th, 2010 at 8:29 pm
I think all welders should get the pay they deserve. at least 30.00 an hour plus a good benifit package. hard working get dirty men and women are what built this country. let’s get back to what made this country what it used to bee.
February 6th, 2010 at 9:04 pm
Well, well those academians have reered their ugly heads once more with a survey. This disturbing trend has been allowed to develop during the last two-three decades and is now at a critical level. It started with principles being allowed to do away with training in welding, carpentry, masonry and other crafts while they poured resources into computer training, college prep courses and sports. Good students, whom would make excellent craftsman, are discouraged and even belittled for wanting to choose a trade where they will sweat and get dirty to make a living.
Another example of the downward trend is schools hiring more craft instructors that only have the two year general vocational degree. Six months each of welding, carpentry, sheet metal and plumbing. This needs eliminated altogether because as we all know those individuals only have enough training in those areas to get a starting helpers job, not effectively teach!
How do we fix the problems?
To start with we and the AWS must educate the public and school administrators to the technical advances in many of the crafts. Computers are becoming a common tool in many of the vocational skills such as welding and automotive. Then add Computerised Plasma Tables, Orbital Welding, Flux Core welding and the different metals we have today. Old Billy Bob can’t move up without special skills.
Get the training and certifications, work the low paying job to get the experience and move on to greener pastures. When they can’t hold on to a good welder they will eventually figure it out.
February 9th, 2010 at 6:37 pm
I’ve been around the block so many times that I’ve worn a rut in it. Soon to be 63, BEEN THERE, DONE THAT! Short resume: Air Froce, Air Traffic Controler (Atlanta), custom wood working business, grading business, tree surgery business, just to name a few. Now custom welding.
I made the most money in the Tree business which I shut down Nov 2007 to open the weding service. Why you ask, PERSONAL PRIDE in making something, rather than destroying something.
I like what Ron Johnson had to say, get the training & experience and move on.
Make employers hate to see you leave, knowing they will not find anyone to replace the quality of your work and work ethic.
I”m proud to be called a “Welder”.
February 9th, 2010 at 7:28 pm
Hey guys, dunno if this hurt or help but this is what i ended up posting on the survey website:
I find your worst job survey laughable in almost every respect. I am a welder who is currently working in the wind energy field. I make decent pay, work in an environment that can vary from outdoors to a precisely climate controlled (temp and humidity) indoor work area.
As far as danger levels they can also vary widely as well. Although I also feel this category reflects more on the individual rather than the career field.
I feel that this survey pretty well completely misses the point and your so called rating system is so flawed it’s ridiculous. The fact that you put welding as an all inclusive category is proof.
Welding covers so many different fields and sub-careers and jobs that it’s impossible to lump them all into one. What kind of welding are you referring to? There’s manual arc welding, robotic arc welding, ultra-sonic welding (used in making plastic products such as toothpaste tubes), welding engineers which is much different than engineers who “think” they know how to weld, percussion or explosives welding, etc…
Your survey also doesn’t include any kind of reference to the personality types that very much prefer to get dirty and perform physical activities.
Another category that gets me is the stress category. What kind of stress are we talking about? There are both good AND bad stresses. I would assume that you would refer to bad stress but it’s not stated as such. Although in the end stress is stress. This is another area that again reflects on the individual and their ability to cope rather than some assigned number.
There’s a mentality factor that I also touched on earlier that’s not included. I know of many people in the welding industry if not most or all that see welding as a way to create something as well as having a hand in something that could very well outlast the person. The passion and the love that welders have for the job should have a place in this survey.
At some point I would have to wonder what kind of people were surveyed. If it was a bunch of slacker couch potatoes or someone not very mechanically inclined I could see how they would not prefer this kind of hands on job. But there are those of us who do like mechanical stuff, construction and just plain doing a day’s work. But that’s me.
One last thing I would be curious or even suspicious about the place and/or environment the surveys are conducted as they would have a huge factor so maybe the survey base should be broadened.
Thanks, A Welder
February 14th, 2010 at 7:46 pm
I worked in a restaurant for 13yr 11 months and 15 days, yes it sounds like a prison sentance. At 36 i went back to college and got my diploma as a welding /Fabricator, then got my current job as a welder two months after graduation. I have been working for 3yrs now and I wish I had done it sooner.
I LOVE MY JOB!! the people who do those surveys don’t know who to talk to when it comes to job satisfaction
Thank you
February 16th, 2010 at 2:20 pm
Someone recently asked me if welding was safer than it used to be. My reply was “one can still get burns and arc eye”.Nothings really changed if one wanna to look at it in this way. Ah now welding isn’t for the faint of heart. I turn my attention to “stick” welding because apart from gas, 95% of all workshops used it in my time.
But seriously, back in the 1960′s to 1980′s my forte was stick or MA welding. I’d admit I was good at it as at the time as new electrode coverings were appearing and there was a ease in getting things striking. Now electrodes are gradually disappearing and some workshops have ceased using them altogether. Looking back at the first transformers I used, they were min 100V AC o/c voltage ex wartime lumps, to cope with the first basic carbonate and cellulose coatings. With primitive insulation, electric shocks, were quite the norm. We never had safety shoes so the electric shock often travelled down through the shoes to the job. Today there were/are low H2 stick electrodes that can start around 50vAC, so things have improved, as have all plastic safety shoes, helmet fume extraction, for decades no-one ever never had this even welding galvanised ! The cure to the fumes was to drink a glass of milk. Atomic H2 tongs were also a hig shock hazard so the welder of the past had to an inorganic chemist,electrician,mechanic all which I proudly boast myself. If we’d paid so much attention to safety as is done now, we would have never got the jobs done in the speed we worked. The pipeline Linde technique was one most torturous methods I encoutered as pay was fast piece-work. With one operator in the inside doing the root the other on the outside, and if one didn’t syncronise the flame, it would nicely dance on the opponent and burn the hair !
I ought to mention the 1970′s generation Miller TIG machines. These used a resonant “sizzler” circuit to generate the high striking volts for the argon. This I always remember far worse than catching ones bare parts on a cattle wire. Welding for me, the best music. I may have rabbled on, but it really in my time it wasn’t for the faint of heart. God bless experience.
February 17th, 2010 at 4:00 am
Well it just goes to show that the population has become dantey! ive been welding since i was 9yrs old and to this day i enjoy it, getting dirty and zapped well its all part of the fun enjoy earning a paycheck, not getting it handed to you by pushing paper, it takes a different bread of person to do that type of work but wouldent trade it for nothing, my 5yr old girl has taken a interest also she is my side kick and wants to learn thats our future
February 18th, 2010 at 8:50 am
YeahYeayYeah, lazy no good beauracrats!!! lifelong certified welders like myself are just pissed off at this survey. I love welding and all the processes involved. built powerplants, submarines, navy ships and have run just about every known form fabrication tool from waterjets to track torches. its about time we started getting more credit instead of the latter. I will guarantee I am much closer with my fellow workers in the field then these pencil pushers care to lie about. you know its funny but every office geek that happens to accidentally step into the weld shop can’t help but be mesmerized by the bright lights. theres a kind of calm when your helmets down and that world is yours, you control it. too all welders alike live long and live strong
February 18th, 2010 at 6:54 pm
There’s nothing i love more than a welding shop. I love the sounds, smells, and sights. I just started welding as a freshman in high school, and I’d hate to see the welding industry go down by people who have never experienced the pride in welding.
February 19th, 2010 at 1:35 am
TIM quite right. “When helmet is down etc”, you couldn’t have put it better.
“Oxy acet to me is a great stress reliever”. I hate managers to think they know more that the job. Time and motion plonkers with stopwatches trying to assess costings etc. God I hate’em types. Those are the types who ruin the tranquility.
February 24th, 2010 at 3:39 am
they can say what they want about the low pay..dirty work etc…But the truth is a welder will find work faster than someone with a MBA…When have you heard of a company getting rid of their welders???Coming home dirty shows you did a good days work….Plus I have never heard of a welder stealing funds from a company…
March 18th, 2010 at 7:33 pm
Ummm excuse me but I don’t know who took this survey or where but this is the most ridiculous thing I have heard. Welding pays great for those who couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Maybe they should put working at Little Ceaser’s on that list for the top crappiest jobs. Welder’s can make 40 to 50k a year if they find the right job. Why don’t they ask us hard working, blue collared welders who value their sweat as gold instead of asking these telemarketers about their opinion on welding. It is not as dangerous as it is perceived to be. Most injuries are a result of someones stupidity or carelessness which does not happen alot around here. I am a Welder and will be one until the day I kick the bucket. No matter who views my career or how they view it.
Sincerely yours, A Lady Welder.
March 30th, 2010 at 2:51 pm
We need to uplift the image of welding!! This can’t be done alone! All welders everywhere need to do more to promote welding from within. In the past we have always been cast down as a job for “under achievers”. There is no place for “under achievers” in todays world of welding! Modern steel alloys are requiring more high tech equipment and more metalurgy is being required! What other career field is so diverse that you can literally go anywhere in the world as long as you have the skills? Stand up for welding! it is more than a career, it is an Adventure!! Welding is a way of Life so get you some!
April 9th, 2010 at 10:45 am
Quote:- Modern steel alloys are requiring more high tech equipment and more metalurgy is being required!
No not true. Like the surgeon or the dentist, all the skill is in the hands of the operator. There used to be a time when a Stubbs 67 (ferritic stick electrode) was used to guarantee a sound weld in mixed unknown steels and those who used such electrodes knew exactly how they behaved and the clear color differences between slag and metal.
From the 1970′s, and earlier, perfectly sound welds with no porosity was attainable in medium C boiler steels using a basic TIG arrangement,using mixed inert gases. Alll those soft starts and extra current purge controls found on modern equipment, simply make it easier for the operator. It isn’t a replacement for skill. No different to all the accessories found on modern cars. Switch’em all off and one still has to drive it.
April 21st, 2010 at 7:19 pm
I have been welding for over 25 years now. Started just tinkering in high school. Progressed as years went on, drill rigs, machine shops, fab shop. All this time I was also doing side work from home. There is no shortage of people needing something welded, but few want to pay what the job is worth! Figure in the investment you have made in equipment, shop space & raw materials and most people are scared off when you give hteem a price! I have found though, when they do some price comparison they usually come back with a sheepish look on their face. Right now I’m lead fabricator at my job, and as long as it continues to be interesting I’ll stay at it.I’m proud to be a “welder” !
May 4th, 2010 at 7:31 pm
The guy who took that survey was probly some pencil pushing desk jockey who doesn’t want to get dirty. I love welding! More jobs for us who enjoy it and take pride in our work.
May 13th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
Have you looked at the average 20 year old getting ready to start a life career
lately? Of course welding is at the bottom of the list. Its a honest days work where you would have to sweat and get dirt on your hands. Rest assured though, for the right kind of person, with todays modern equipment, welding has never paid more, or been more interesting than now. What would happen to welding if any (edited by moderator) wanted to do it anyway?
May 17th, 2010 at 10:35 am
The U.S.A. was a manufacturing 1/2 of the worlds goods & 70% of the autos in the 1950′s. The best times are when MEN were working on all levels, not just on the service side like today. Let the sparks fly again!
June 15th, 2010 at 10:04 pm
I started working as a truck mechanic then 10years as a lineman then while on strike i worked with some tank builders as a helper. And a whole world opened up for me. I got to help build something that was important,long lasting and still in use today. I really felt good to be a part of something like that. Building something beats the heck out of repairing a car or truck, and just blow’s away climbing a pole and connecting wires together day after day after day. I stayed on with the tank builders and worked my way up to superintendent, learning every job position along the way. I’ve built tanks, towers,stacks,flairs, catcrackers, fluid crackers, exchangers and all kinds of jobs. The last five before retiring welded steam tubes at powerhouses, very satisfing and the pay was good and they would pay me to travel all over the country and even a few islands (have i told you that i love to travel). Now as a retired welder i still get the occasional call job offer. I like to drive by some of the plants that i have built large vessels or a tower and see it as i go by, gives me a charge!!