ColeT, I am a machinist welder and it has taken good care of me & my family for 18 years.

Ya I misunderstood, but your exactly correct there's plenty of people out there that call themselves welders that can't even run a bead with the simplest machines...

Wow a monkey can mig weld. How the hell was he even certified.

Beats me.

My wifes cousin is a brick mason in Auburn and builds outdoor rock stuff. He told me 3 years ago a welder can make a killing down there. Bunch of rich folks wanting stuff done. But you would have to know a lot about the fab side too.

Thanks for everything guys... I have been looking at CSX For the long term. And have been really looking at the offshore gig while I'm young.

i was able to use my experience welding to get hired on at the railroad, now a days if i weld more than 5 rods a night i get mad. if i had not heard from the railroad when i did i was going to the boilermakers union, my dad was one for about 10 years before he retired.i was certified on a lot of stuff ranging from heavy walled pressure vessels to nasa work, to submarines for the navy, in all type of welding, stick, mig,tig,sub arc to tig.
been 15 years since i have done any real welding so to speak.

scott

I'm guessing that would be building wrought iron. If you're gonna make nice looking wrought iron you better put your big boy pants on. If you make a bad looking weld, it shows like a sore thumb. You can't take a grinder to it or it will show up 30 feet away. I hope we never HAVE to build another foot of it.

As others have said, You can make a good living. There was an article in the wall street journal a few weeks ago about the job and the fact that it can pay some serious cash. But you have to work and you have to be good at it. True for most anything but especially here since you are tested every day. If your welds don't pass UT or X-Ray, you won't be doing it long. It helps a lot more if you actually enjoy building things and can take pride in your work.

I went to welding school 25 years ago. Got an Associate Degree in it. I've done it all as far as different types. Stick, Mig, Tig, Sub-Arc, oxyacetylene, etc... I've been certified since about 1992. Done a lot of pipe welding and branched out and learned blueprint reading, fabricating, millwork/lathe, etc... If you have no desire to move then I wouldn't recommend it as a profession. There's no guarantee you'll get on with the railroad. It's not a great living if you just "get a job" doing it. You have to be with the "right" company. Now, if you don't mind moving, or at least traveling, get in the boiler makers union, go out west to the oil fields, get on an off shore oil rig or go to the coast and get in the ship yards. I still weld but haven't made a living doing it in years. I actually work in sales now but it's in the construction industry and I use skills I learned from welding, nearly everyday whether it be blueprint reading, laying out projects, design, load calculations, etc... Good luck.

Take the AUT program at CACC instead of focusing on one thing. Learn welding, hydraulics, electrical, plc and robots. Get into a good maintenance position somewhere and make a good living.