The questions like that never pop up on minds of the experienced welders.
You use tablets, cell phones, and laptops; you get medical treatment with modern equipment, you fly on planes and cross the bridges in a taxi back home.
Have you ever thought about welding as a core thing to provide you with all of those benefits of the present?
The United States, just like the rest of the world, have plants and factories in high demand for welding.
Choosing to weld as your future profession is the right thing if you want to become part of the big industry.
Read on to learn why becoming a qualified welder is your next step to a successful life.
Your Would-Be Education and Employers
To become a highly qualified welder, you have to combine your high school education with technical studies and practical training.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, welders have normally graduated from a trade school (specifically welding program) or a community college (general education included).
After you’ve obtained your diploma or certificate, the employers will review your CV as a potential candidate for welder’s position in their company.
That’s a usual scenario for those trading schools in the US which collaborate with welding companies around the world (e.g. Tulsa Welding School).
Some of your would-be employers are:
- Liebherr (fridges, cranes, excavators; 41,000 employees; based in Switzerland),
- Marmen Energy (wind industry, wind tower building; based in North America),
- Miller Industries (industrial carriers, multiple size wreckers, transporters; 1,000 employees; based in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, France, and England).
Study Your Expected Salaries as a Welder
Below the salaries of the welders in different categories and positions in descending order of maximum salary per year:
- $185,002 – Traveling Pipe Welder,
- $109,205 – Certified Welding Inspector (CWI),
- $104,599 – Pipe and Pipeline Welder
- $72,200 – Shielded Metal Arc Welder (SMAW),
- $72,001 – Senior Aircraft Welder,
- $65,483 – Metal Inert Gas Welder (MIG),
- $58,624 – Structural Welder,
- $51,270 – Tungsten Inert Gas Welder (TIG).
What Are These People Responsible For?
Note that SMAW, WIG, and TIG belong to a category of professional welders who work in manufacturing, construction and petroleum companies.
CWI is a person whose responsibility is to confirm that the welding environment is absolutely safe and welders are highly professional for the tasks they do.
Apparently, Pipe and Pipeline Welders work with pipes at such spots as factories, oil and gas companies, nuclear power plants, etc.
Senior Aircraft Welder is obviously involved in the aircraft building and maintenance industry (they support rockets and jetliners in the companies like Delta, NASA, or Southwest).
What does a Structural Welder do then?
He (or she) is in high demand to weld in the construction of bridges, and buildings where the metal framework is used.
Know That They Really Need Your Experience
At the moment, the United States’ manufacturers, construction industries, aerospace, and machine building companies are in great demand for welders.
They claim that the youth chooses to become other than welders.
This can lead to a decrease in the number of qualified welders in the industries which make comfortable our everyday life.
The welders who reach the age of 55 still cannot be replaced at work, therefore, this is considered the average age in the welding sphere.
What is more, the younger generation is less skilled when they obtain a four-year degree instead of specific on-the-site training.
If you want to review the percentage of workers in the welding industry, there are 97% of male and 3% of female welders.
With this in mind, employers expect the number of welders to increase by 4% through 2024.
Talking about a shortage of welders, the American Welding Society claims lack of 400,000 operators by 2025.
Signs That You Made the Right Decision
How do you know that you made the right decision in any of the fields under question?
Right, you can feel that with your sixth sense.
No doubts, that works sometimes, but in most cases, you will need some real signs which would reassure you of taking steps forward.
Therefore, a welding career is the right decision for you if:
- working with your hands to build a bridge brings you joy, pride, and satisfaction,
- shipping, aircraft, oil and gas, military or construction industries sound like your dream job,
- traveling around the world to work high in the sky or deep under the ocean inspires you,
- additional training, certifications, and career-building do not scare you,
- state-of-the-art instruments, machines, and equipment make you want to improve them.
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