Here's your 6-figure salary welder.
Ping!
Everyone thinks they can weld.
Underwater welding — there’s a handy skill.
How many years of experience did these guys have?
I work with a lot of welding companies.
There is always great demand for good welders. A lot of these guys are making $100K+.
Michelle Obama knows it all. She recently said everyone will need a college degree. Like her husband, she’s so often wrong. So many young people would be so much better off as a welder than 4 - 5 years of political science.
The average age of a welder in the USA now is almost 60. Young people just aren’t being trained or getting into the field. A good well trained young welder will be in great demand in the future.
Perhaps a, or multiple FReepers could comment, but seems to me here in California at least the “shop classes” were shut down NOT due some belief the four year college degree was essential, but because of frivolous lawsuits against the various school districts based on the alleged hazards of such classes.
I’m amazed locally that most building trades jobs are now filled by illegal aliens. I suspect electrical and plumbing are not but have not checked that closely.
a friend of mine has a welding company and he can get all the certified welders welding dual shield for less than $20/hr.
My cousin is in charge of a college that teaches welding and has a request from national Ship Building for 2,000 welders and their starting pay for certified welders is $18/hr.
Son learned welding in the navy. When he got out, he got his bachelor’s degree. He worked for a properties company - a desk job. Now he and wife are moving back to our area and he still doesn’t have a job lined up.
He doesn’t want to do welding.
I don’t bring it up any more. He won’t listen! How to knock some sense into him??”
***Bring Back Shop Class****
That;s what I’ve been saying for years!
My daughter is an excellent example of what this article is stating. She went to two different private colleges and got an art degree and a mountain of debt. She worked as a waitress (and did quite well) for a number of years. She decided to get out of that, took a two year course in marine maintenance (which she finished in one year), and now has a good job as a boat mechanic - and loves it. Never did use the art degree...
later follow -up
But as a welder, wouldn’t you be spending your life in a loud, dirty, dangerous environment, wearing a funky helmut?
I’ve been welding industrially for 30 years. Never heard of anybody making $150K. Must be multi- certificate guys with massive pipeline experience. I make fair enough wages with good benefits. But nothing near six figures.
Probably, but of course they wont have any kind of life. And forget about marriage. I work in aviation, there is big money to be made overseas or even in the gulf but you basically wont have any kind of life except work.
I make 75k AND i go home to my wife and son every night. That is far more important to me.
ping!
When I was in school we all took mechanical drawing, wood shop, and metal shop. Interesting and fun. I still have the flour scoop I made in shop
I’ve always told people who were seeking a lifetime profession to learn a trade.
I tell them if they learn a trade, treat it well and it will take care of you for the rest of their life.
During the great depression those selling apples or pencils on street corners were those who learned how to “push pencils” and perform “white collar” jobs. Those who learned a technical skill were in a far much better situation to survive the depression.