Skills needed

[Stropes]

rickers, that's the best news I've heard all day! My husband has been working with CNC's for 20 years. I haven't found much on CNC's and Montana, but your post has encouraged me to dig a little deeper!

[Timberwolf232]

Man I liked things better before email, internet and cell phones. The world is getting way too digital.

Not to sound like a kook, but it's ironic how we think we NEED all this stuff, and purchase our own way into a surveillance society.

Just that last thought makes me want to go fishing, which is what I'll be doing once this last thing is finished up here at work. Couple o' beers and a fishing pole... ahhhhhh

[mrwumpus]

What about cement truck driver? My brother-in-law drives cement trucks near Kalispell, MT and earns darn near as much as I do as a small-time network engineer at a small business in CA (I happily give up better pay to avoid the stress of bigger companies you guys are talking about). Also he doesn't work a good part of the winter.

He does tell some pretty harrowing tales though of navigating mountain roads with a full load of cement, and of co-workers tipping their trucks over in various directions. Still, it's a good living wage.

A strategy I'm working on is finding one or two small businesses in CA that will pay me to remotely support them, so I can live comfortably in a place like MT or anywhere that isn't expensive like CA. It's a long shot and not without risks, but small businesses are eager to save money these days.

[Lasgambler]

Originally Posted by bigtrees

Welding as a profession is a good choice if you like to weld. But if you don't care to weld, welding is a terrible choice for a career.






I had a college professor once who laughed his head off anytime someone walked up to him and introduced himself (herself) as a certified welder....

I was a certified Pipe Welder in Louisianna from 78-81. Got sick of it and quit welding.


I don't know why he would laugh. When you are sent out to a new job, Its the first question you are asked "Are you Certified?" Then "Whats your name?"

[I_Want_Snow]

That's what I thought... All my buddies who weld always talked about being or getting certified.

Timberwolf232: I agree with being too connected! Don't get me wrong, I love the Internet and everything associated with it, but when I get out of I.T. I am gonna get rid of my cell phone and just have a home phone. On my off days now, I don't get on my computer at all and usually turn my cell phone completely off!!

[bigtrees]

Originally Posted by Lasgambler

I was a certified Pipe Welder in Louisianna from 78-81. Got sick of it and quit welding.


I don't know why he would laugh. When you are sent out to a new job, Its the first question you are asked "Are you Certified?" Then "Whats your name?"

I think it was probably inappropriate for him to laugh, but that reflected more on his personality than anything else.

As far as welder certification, the point that my instructor was making is there is no general "certified welder". Even Lasgambler mentioned he was a certified pipe welder. Becoming certified means that you can create a weld that will meet a weld standard out there, and those weld standards are for a specific process, position, and material.

As an example, you mentioned that you'd like to get certified by AWS, and they offer certification for welding in structural steel, piping, and sheet metal. The certification calls out the weld parameters and you are "certified" to weld to the specific process, position, and materials. (It's based on the requirements set forth in ASME B1.13). If you're interested, look at http://files.aws.org/certification/CW/QC7-93F.pdf, page F-5.

So what my instructor was saying is there are a lot of guys running around saying they are "certified welders" and really they should be running around saying they are "certified to weld in accordance with ASME B1.13". I'm not so sure the later makes great cocktail party conversation, but if accuracy is important.....

I probably am going into this a lot deeper than anyone here is really interested, but I write these standards for a living, so I guess I probably am more interested them in than the average joe. Really the only reason I thought about it was it reminded me of my college days.

For you, if you're interested in welding, getting certified to weld a particular process, etc, is a good way of getting paid more by the hour than the average joes that learned on the farm but can't put down a weld that meets code requirements.

[Lasgambler]

Bigtrees; Good follow up, Thank you,

[Trace_Rinaldi]

Im gonna agree with Rickers.. CNC operators/programmers, and the ability to draw in CAD are very good skill sets to have these days. The diversity of things you could work on are endless too. You could be making anything from custom motorcycle parts, to jet engines. Eventually I will be looking for a CNC operator to make knives in N. Idaho, or I will be going to school to learn it myself..;-)

[Rickers]

I worked in a machine job shop, started a floor sweeper and burr-hand. After ten years I was a tool-maker and fixture builder. All manual lathes and mills, as well performing all the shops QC duties. I have TIG welded many exotic alloy small parts that go into sidewinder missiles and I was never certified. I also started as a "temp" in that shop. The university degree and trade school certification is often over-rated when it comes to getting a job in more rural locations. When I first moved to Mt. I had to go back to working temp jobs such as cleaning sawmills, not fun ! A combination of schooling and on the job training makes a persons qualifications more balanced.