I'm on my 4th day of welding at my tech school and I'm lovin' it! I've welded a little before but now it's the real thing. I weld for six hours, practicing T joints and verticals (up and down) and can't wait to see what we're assigned next.
What's also great is that the boys (and my teacher) don't give me crap for being the only girl in both of my welding classes, plus they don't treat me any differently.
I'm happy about choosing this for my career. Everyone had their doubts that I'd get into it but I definitely proved them wrong.
Anyways, do we have any other welders out there? Anyone who has a welding career or does quite a bit of it for projects and whatnot?
Are you doing all kinds? Mig seems to be the easiest but i've never tried tig. Not a fan if stick welders, then again i'm no good at any welding.
I dont know any female welders, good for u gettin into it.
I started in 1974 in Jr High shop, and have been welding since. I ain't no pro welder and have no certs, but everywhere I've ever worked I've been assigned the welding tasks. TIG, MIG, gas, and stick, but steel only really. I've done a tiny bit of aluminum, and my biggest aluminum job even passed FAA insp and load tests, but they looked like crap. Stainless is easy with TIG, but never done it with anything else.
Good luck to you I think it's a great career choice. If you are adventurous and really want to make huge bucks, once you pass your initial certs you might consider looking into becoming a dive welder. Them boys and girls get paid well into the 6 figures once they prove themselves.
Dad was a self taught welder, he was repairing cars since he was a teen with gas, and the Army taught him stick welding with that newfangled electrical box thing during WWII. After he got back, he was the lead welder that built the Crosley auto assembly line for their new plant. Welded for the Fisher Body plant for a bit, and of course since we had a small farm he was constantly making and repairing equipment with his well used Craftsman "color welder". I learned stick welding on that machine, still have it. Flat, properly prepared, I can lay a bead that looks like one in a textbook with a stick. Any other position, forget it! Dad made overhead welds you couldn't tell from my flat ones.
Recently took a class in welding at the local community college, MIG only. Got certified 3G and 4G. 3G uphill is easy, the overhead 4G was difficult! And it is a perishable skill, I haven't laid a MIG bead in months, my recert was difficult. We had a good teacher, a woman by the way, and only one of us failed to certify in at least 3G. I think his eyesight was so poor he couldn't see what he was doing.
Around the shop we mainly use a Miller flux core machine, gets the job done but spatters like crazy. Finally got the ESAB MIG fixed, but very little trigger time on that one so far.
BTW, if you want to try steel only TIG, try to find an older Harbor Freight 220 machine. Haven't tried the new model, but the one I bought about 5 years ago is a damn fine little welder. I gave right at $200 for it with a coupon. Only drawbacks are you need quality tungstens, HF ones are crap, and the power control is a knob on the panel of the welder. You can get a "guitar pedal" and convert it to a pedal control for a few bucks. I love that little machine, welds better than my Thermalarc! Here's some pics of one like it and the pedal mod details: http://www.mg42.us/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=7208&p=54262 Couple of my rifle builds are courtesy of that machine.
Women can get pretty good at welding, IIRC the last champion at the AWS competition was a woman. Weld Inspection is what my instructor wants to get into, pays even better!
Its an excellent skill to have... Even if you do not choose to make a living at it... I decent welder will ALWAYS have something to trade. Living out here in the sticks it has come in handy a few times. People are always breaking something off their old tractors and usually 15 mins with a grinder and good old arc welder gets it fixed.. Last time I got a 555 round box of Winchester 22LR for my efforts..
My Uncle was a welder by trade, He served in the Sea Bees during WWII as a welder. When I was in HS I thought welding would be a good profession to have when I graduated. He worked with me for a couple years. I never did very well and decided welding was not my forte. Good for you Girl. Stay with it.
Weld and fabricate almost daily but not certified. Have a miller 210 mig but really want to get a tig, just figure the learning curve on the tig will be huge.
I say regardless of WHAT you are doing, at least you have a good direction at 18, more than can be said for most!
TIG is EASY, on steel and stainless anyway. It's just like gas, plus with a peddle you can not only control the fill rod, but also the amps. The only problem I've ever had with TIG is being unable to get into tight places same as MIG. I have a Miller 275 MIG and also want a TIG. But a plasma cutter comes first. Gotta get me one of those.
It's a skill I want to pick up, but haven't done so yet. In the meantime, it's what I think is a crucial skill for any zombie apocalypse team should have. Consider this an invitation, Kri!
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