Welding Tips and Tricks

Mizzip,
Do the math, if you go to college and get a job paying 40K you would have to work 25 years to make a million dollars, right? If you can weld on the pipeline and make 200K you will have to work 5 years to make that same million. So if it's a boom, you better get after it or you'll be like the rest of us working 30 years until we retire. If it busts then you'll still have a viable skill to fall back on making above average wages.

We have kids with little or no experience around here making 90k while their parents are making 45K. You'll have to put the time in to make that kind of money and it's not white collar by any stretch. So don't think it's like hitting the lottery, you'll be laying in a muddy ditch while your buddies from college are sitting in the bar chasing your trim. Life's about choices and you have to make them for yourself.

Len

Braehill wrote:Mizzip,
"get a job paying 40K you would have to work 25 years to make a million dollarsIf you can weld on the pipeline and make 200K you will have to work 5 years to make that same million. So if it's a boom, you better get after it or you'll be like the rest of us working 30 years until we retire.'
''We have kids with little or no experience around here making 90k while their parents are making 45K." Len

Thats a good point about the timeline of 1 million dollars. On the second point you made what do you mean kids? who are these kids, you mean kids fresh out of trade school making 90k a year as a welder? Also what are some other jobs 6G welders can do, what fields can they work in (Nuclear, Plant, Aeronautics?)

Mizzip,
Sorry I,m getting to the age when more and more people are becoming kids. I'm talking about 18-25 year old guys that are doing all the ancillary work that supports the gas and oil fields, roustabouts, welder helpers, and drill hands in general.

As to what other jobs are available for 6G welders, you named a few jobs that a qualified welder can make a very good living. Most welders who are willing to travel to where they're needed have no problem making 70-100K a year with nothing more than a lunch box invested.

Len

Braehill wrote:Mizzip,
As to what other jobs are available for 6G welders, you named a few jobs that a qualified welder can make a very good living. Most welders who are willing to travel to where they're needed have no problem making 70-100K a year with nothing more than a lunch box invested.

Len

This is what im interested in. I have heard that 6G certified pipe welders can get on a s a welders 'helper' and then become an actual wlder. Once youve done this and got a rig going you will be making atleast 1k a day? this sounds too good to eb true but ive heard for a few people that it isnt.

Mizzip,
A rig welder gets paid for himself, his rig, gas, insurance, taxes, and all other expenses. He's not just collecting a wage, so 1K a day isn't what he puts in his pocket. You will be lucky to make half of that when it's all said and done. When your machine is new and hardly ever breaks down you have to bank money to replace it when it gets worn out, same as other tools needed for the job. Again this isn't like hitting the lottery, it's work and a business that needs to be thought of as such.

Len

Mizzip wrote:Hey I wanted to ask you for your opinions on Pipeline Welding. Right now Im in college and thinking of going to the Tulsa Welding School to do the Pro welding program in hopes of becoming a pipeline welder. My parents work for a natural gas company and are pushing me to become a welder on the pipeline. I was talking to one of my friends who used to work running fiberglass pipe and he told me that it usually takes anywhere from 3 months to 1 year to go from wleders helper to actual welder. Also he said once you get your own rig going you will be making atleast $1,000 a day minimum, so you can work 200 days out of the year and make around $200,000. My parents say that this is true and the fiberglass guy said that its true, im wondering if its "too good to be true". Also do you think that 6G certified pipe welders will always have work or that it is a boom and bust cycle?. Thanks alot. Lets get this discussion started!!!

The only thing I would add is "Do not go to Tulsa Welding School", they have become just a student mill.
I live in the Tulsa area and have been told several times by people doing the hiring "If I see Tulsa Welding School on a resume I quit reading it and put it in the trash".
Their reputation has taken a severe hit since the original founders, who were welders sold it to the lawyers who now own it.

Good info, and good to know Braehill. Best to do your research with ANY academic institution. Especially one your going to pay a crap ton of money for.

bass.warrior wrote:

Mizzip wrote:Hey I wanted to ask you for your opinions on Pipeline Welding. Right now Im in college and thinking of going to the Tulsa Welding School to do the Pro welding program in hopes of becoming a pipeline welder. My parents work for a natural gas company and are pushing me to become a welder on the pipeline. I was talking to one of my friends who used to work running fiberglass pipe and he told me that it usually takes anywhere from 3 months to 1 year to go from wleders helper to actual welder. Also he said once you get your own rig going you will be making atleast $1,000 a day minimum, so you can work 200 days out of the year and make around $200,000. My parents say that this is true and the fiberglass guy said that its true, im wondering if its "too good to be true". Also do you think that 6G certified pipe welders will always have work or that it is a boom and bust cycle?. Thanks alot. Lets get this discussion started!!!

The only thing I would add is "Do not go to Tulsa Welding School", they have become just a student mill.
I live in the Tulsa area and have been told several times by people doing the hiring "If I see Tulsa Welding School on a resume I quit reading it and put it in the trash".
Their reputation has taken a severe hit since the original founders, who were welders sold it to the lawyers who now own it.

I cant vouch for Tulsa, but, I am in Salt Lake City taking a pipe course at the DATC in Kaysville (a suburb). I was shocked to find out how cheap the entire program is (near 3500 start to finish).

Lincoln sponsors this school. They have one of the cleanest, nicest shops I have ever seen at a school. Lincoln updates the machines here every 3-6 months with brand new ones and sells the old used.

I would also suggest SLC as a good starting point for the following reasons: Utah has a very low cost of living compared to most of the country. The SLC motto for the valley is "Industry". There are 2 Chevron refineries here, countless manufacturing facilities, and it serves as a steel hub for the west. Just search Indeed.com for welding jobs in SLC. You will see a variety of jobs listed, and that's just the tip of the iceburg. If you do schooling here you are pretty much guaranteed a job right out the door, and a well paying one at that, in an area that's more than affordable to live. Not to mension Park City, Brighton, Canyons, Snow Basin, Alta, Deer Valley, and a handful of other ski resorts are a half hour drive from the city. You are free to play in your off time.

Yes, I am promoting Utah. I love it here. Theres TONS of welding work here.

Depends on where you're at. We have tons of pipe welder/fitter work down here in Houston. Its not on the pipeline but its been pretty steady lately. Oil and Gas will have a use for you when you can't stand working the line anymore.

djrockytharp wrote:Depends on where you're at. We have tons of pipe welder/fitter work down here in Houston. Its not on the pipeline but its been pretty steady lately. Oil and Gas will have a use for you when you can't stand working the line anymore.

Who are these hiring and what plant ? I am near I've worked Houston Texas city area . And I am a fitter

I know if you go right now to airproducts.com website there is a position listed for Houston/LePorte for a welder. This job is mostly traveling to the work if that's your thing. It's ASME code welding.

Len

I think all of construction is Boom or Bust. I think of all the overtime and money I made back in the 1990's, and I think of how BROKE I am today and I just kick myself for not saving more. But! Like I tell the students, if I was smart, I wouldn't have been an ironworker. Sigh.

I am going back to school for my pipe welding certificate and graduated last December with my structural welding certificate from STC in Linn, MO. I thought the school did a really good job at teaching me everything and they actually go in depth into a lot of what they teach. I know this next semester they're going to be teaching about what happens to the properties of the metal and all that.

I do have a question about pipe welding though. How do you get on the pipelines? Where do you look for job openings or is it just a "you have to know a guy" type deal?

Thanks!

-Austin

Right now the boom is on for the 6G guys. Any type of pipe welder is going to make top $$$. I see lots of guys in this area (South Bend, IN), making a good living welding TIG, aluminum and stainless. Structural welders are making good money. Being great at fit up, layout and running a crew paid my bills for years. Learn as much as you can, and keep in mind that you need to be a pipe FITTER and not a pipe WELDER. There is a difference!

what is the difference?

Austin,
Check the active topic list and read the post asking about laying out legs on a BBQ pit and you'll get an idea of what Boomers talking about. Being able to lay out and fit up a pipe install is as good as three good welders to the company who's paying the bill. Plus a good fitter can make a welders life a dream and a bad one can make you want to quit. I'll take two fitters who are decent welders over a dozen of the best welders any day.

Len

Braehill wrote:Austin,
Check the active topic list and read the post asking about laying out legs on a BBQ pit and you'll get an idea of what Boomers talking about. Being able to lay out and fit up a pipe install is as good as three good welders to the company who's paying the bill. Plus a good fitter can make a welders life a dream and a bad one can make you want to quit. I'll take two fitters who are decent welders over a dozen of the best welders any day.

Len

Said it better than I ever could. As a lay out man or fit up guy I keep my welders jumping. The right man in a fit up/layout position in a shop can make sure that the welders are never idle and are arcing the entire day. For field fit up, if done right ... well ... I don't need to comment on that! We all have had to fill in the big gaps - or have had to re-cut the joint.

Thank you Len!