I am in sheet metal fabrication myself and let me tell you, there are not a lot of people coming up in these trades like there used to be. Everyone wants a 'clean' job.
This means starting pay will continue to rise as demand for more workers with skills in welding, machine operation, and more are simply not available.
When you finish welding school, look into pipe welding - it will require the use of some type of x-ray machine inspectors have due to having to verify the quality of the weld.
The class for this is not that long (a few nights a week for a month or so) but the lack of qualified welders with this certification is even more in demand.
I live in Arkansas and people with welding skills and pipe welding experience can get about $18 to $25 an hour to start. That is nothing to sneeze at.
The work is dirty, often exhausting, but rewarding when you are done with a complicated job, receive a nice paycheck, and a slap on the back from the boss for pulling their fat out of the frier.
Congrats on the decision to take on welding. I think you will enjoy it a lot. Look into getting an "auto darkening" hood to save on flicking your head to get the helmet down.
Oh, and thanks for being one of the people willing to go through hell regularly as an EMT - rushing into nightmares giving hope to people that are going through hell in a moment's notice like that.
Thanks for the reply! The course I will be taking does contain pipe welding and the opportunity to take the xray verifies test at the end of it with the same equipment I used throughout my training. And being out of Delaware which the northern end is very liberal, the trade job openings are staying open.
Thanks for the awesome reply bud!
That is awesome that the class offers the xray certification. That is a great class you found there. Maybe in a future update you could give a bit more information on what to look for with welding classes and such for people that are interested in this line of work but not sure where to start? I understand it may be slightly different for each person depending on where they are but following your journey here on Steemit may be what motivates them to take that step.
Delaware, that is up North East, isn't it? Yeah, you will have plenty of job opportunities up that way. There is always something going on up there that requires people willing to take the dirty jobs and simply get stuff done.
Looking forward to your updates on this adventure. Best of luck man!
Thanks for the reply! I totally plan on showcasing stuff on steemit as I grow through, and the more I learn about programs the better equipped i will be to help guide people in the right direction. Thanks for your support bud!