Welding Tips and Tricks

OK I am 47 and in need of a career change and I am seriously considering welding as that change. I am currently in the IT field doing routing and switching with some project management. I am making right at 6 figures and although the money is good the job is a dread and my cube is slowly becoming my coffin. I have registered for welding school to start in the fall and hopefully it will take no more than 18 months. SInce I already have two degrees I only need to take the core welding classes.

With that said is it possible to make a good living in welding once certified by AWS? I like TIG and Stick welding best and from my research stick is still king for the big gigs. My need and calling to build things and manufacture things has been very strong and growing since I have started making western and fedora hats three years ago. I have a lot of satisfaction in seeing something I completed with my hands.

So any advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also Am I too old to start moving to welding as a career? AND, I really don't want to work for someone else. I would rather contract my services as a welder and not be another employee.

Thanks!

OUCH!

That's a complicated question!

I've made six figures welding, but it's rare and inconsistent. Once primarily under AWS, once under ASME.

47 is too old to be someone's bitch. 47 is not too old to do it for yourself.

I'm 44, BTW.

I should add, the six-figure years were on the road, with no benefits, insurance, 401k, etc.

You should weigh the ability to transfer your fringes into the equation.

Doable, but at this age, you need a plan.

Steve S

I wouldn't give up six figures to start a welding career @ 47. Remember that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. I bet there are plenty of welders that would love to be in IT. Sit at a desk, go home clean at the end of the day. etc.

I would say if you want to change, pick up some week end work as a welder and you will see what you may be getting into before you make the jump. We all have days where we wish we could just make a change. I am a journeyman Machinist, Industrial Mechanic and Industrial Electrician. I have done a fair bit of stick and TIG welding as well as a few courses, but have yet to get my seal.

You are the only one that will know what is best for you. Good luck with your choice!

When you get right down to it, you are selling your remaining time on this planet to someone else.
Perhaps, try welding as a hobby first and see if you can make any money at it?

Hey man its a ruff go out on your own but it is the way to go. If you want to make six figures welding you need to be in the pipe fields or something like that. You will forever work your butt off in ways unimaginable no matte what you do. IT is what I call a paycheck job. You show up listen to people grumble and try to fix the stupid outer. You don't sell squat. Next step is where us contract guys are. We sell labor and that's it. Your truck or welder are broke down, no money. You are sick or go on vacation or weather sucks dog turds, no money. Labor is the biggest b-otch to sell but if you get good at it you get the opportunity to turn work away once in a while. If you want to make real money find a product that is unique that you can make and sell it then find a way to make it cheaper faster through jigs, equipment, personnel etc. Don't think you are ever too old to make a go at it. Colonel Sanders didn't fry his first batch of chicken until he was in his 70s. The other guys are right too start small and on weekends and get it figured out first then jump out of the boat. Good luck man and drop by and keep us up to date!

IronmanJay.

An interesting topic you posed for us.
I tend to follow some of the members' that suggested trying out welding at a limited dosage.

Not knowing or understanding the IT specialization, I was wondering if you could go part-time or consultancy in the IT field, while slowly building up your welding credentials.

Age is relative to each individual and of course the type of work. Forty-seven is young in many aspects ... but an age of higher risks in other ways. Physical resistance is lower and susceptibility injury is higher as we pass middle-age. Welding is an activity that often puts you in situations that are physically demanding. You would probably have to choose your clients and work environments with care. On the other hand, if you have been a hobbyist or enjoyed strong physical workouts over these years, maybe welding would not be that demanding for you. But often welding is a tolling and a quite physical job.

Welding in itself, is quite stimulating for the mind. It requires learning more and more to become a better welder. Not only learning with the brain, but also the coordination of the brain along side eyes and how you move your body. The improvement is not always automatic. Another reason to get a feel gradually with welding before making the 'switch' decision.

Welding is great. Working as a welder, depending upon many factors, is not always so rewarding. So I recommend that you learn to weld on your free-time. Take on gradually some small projects and see how it goes.

Tanks for the patience.
Alexa

Thank y'all for all the suggestions. All your advice is taken and added to my plan. My plan is to go at it slowly until I get some jobs under my belt. I like the IT world I just can not work for the man much longer. I am not worried about the physicality of welding. I am a endurance athlete and a multiple Ironman finisher.

My plan is to finish welding school and try to get certified. I would like to pick up jobs and when I have to start turning jobs away then I will start doing IT part time or contract work until I can fully replace at least 75% of my income. I plan to focus on pipe welding and farm/ranch equipment repair. Can I even get paid to weld before I get certified?

I hope not to offend anyone here - but I think many of us have thought someone else's job was so much better than our own without ever actually having done it - if your being paid that sort of money working " for the man " why not suck it up - carry on till say 50 - by then surely you could semi-retire - unless you've been living the dream & spending $ as fast as you earned it just find something to keep you occupied that you enjoy - welding if you like - but repairing farm equipment - you will only get work if your cheaper than everyone else in the area & pipe work tends to be very short contracts & never near home - unless you know of a demand for shop built pipework sub assemblies for an industry near you - the ability to weld is great - you can build yourself anything you want - but to get paid for welding at any decent rate is another matter.
Next time I'm out welding up cracks in a rock grab on a trackhoe on a barge in the dark / rain / being drenched in 5degree sea water I'll think of your IT job & wonder why I did'nt do better @ college !
I hope welding as a career is better where you are than here in the UK - but the reality is there are few well paid jobs & increasingly you will only get work by under bidding any competition & their mostly employing immigrants - not even many welding outfits left around here - only good thing is if you want second hand 3phase equipment there is a mountain of it being auctioned off.
All the best in whatever you decide to do in the future.

I agree with the consensus, if you are making 6 figures "stick with it Man" pardon the pun. I'm not saying that welding in of itself is not rewarding. I'm sure i speak for the masses and if not pardon me, but if you are already established in a certain trade stay with it, you are getting some great advice from the rest of the forum members. Try it as a hobby first and see if you can turn a profit, build a reputation and then when you feel the time is right do what you feel is best for you and the family. I do not regret the choices i have made, and do not regret any of the experiences i have had welding. It has been rewarding to me and I have been able to make a living at it working for someone and doing it on my own as well. It has taken me quite some time to build my reputation almost 20+ years. Just remember that its a really small world and if was easy everyone would do it, also the quality of your work gets around by word of mouth and if you turn out one bad job regardless if you turn out 100 great jobs the world becomes a very small place. remember word of mouth goes a long way in the industry! I wish you luck in what ever decision you make.

Funny, I'm in almost exactly the same situation. I'm 41, an IT professional, just got my 30-day notice and am deciding whether to continue with IT or go into welding, something I've always wanted to do.

I was in IT for 15 years, then took a break, hopped aboard a tall ship and spent a year bumming around the south pacific, loading cargo, etc. I got to know several welders and see them work--pretty cool stuff.

I returned to IT work once my money ran out, but one month in a cubicle's enough for me to know I'll go nuts if I can't do work that's more physically challenging and involves something other than sitting on my ass staring at a screen for 8 hours a day. Plus, welders certs + able seaman certificate=lots of available ships to work on.

But it's going to be interesting going back to square one. Still not sure if I'm going to make the leap. Keep us posted on your experiences--I'm interested to know how it works out for you!

I think you will know by the end of your welding class if you want to take the plunge or not. The first few weeks will be very frustrating. Kind of like learning to play golf. When you first start out you will only hit a couple fairways a round, and the ball looks like the size of a pea when you swing at it. But with patience and practice you will be hitting more fairways than you miss, and the ball looks like the size of a beachball when you swing at it. Same with welding. Before long the puddle will look a mile wide and you will be able to make it go where you want it to go.
I agree with the guys above about the money. The money is in pipe welding. And there is a shortage of good hands. After you get out of welding school i would contact the local UA organisers in your area. They will set you up with a 6G pipe welding test at your local union hall and give you the wage and benefit information for your area. If you dont mind traveling you will make 100 G easily.

at some point especially as we grow older it's not about the money it's about being satisfied in your work. most of us spend more time at our jobs than we do at home and to be miserable or to have doubts as to the worth of what were doing can be a very depressing thought. remember that movie bridge on the river kwai? what does the japanese commander say to the british pow's? "be happy in your work"