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My husband is a welder and we are never worried about him being out of work. He has always made a good living to support our family. You could work in a shop, do field work, do underwater welding, get your CWI and be an inspector, get your own truck and welder to do private jobs, do costume jobs, travel for work with something like a pipeline. If you are a skilled welder I don't think you will have to worry about not finding a job.
I agree.
One friend of mine is a precision welder, and he has a background in mold making. So, most of his business is in welding molds, although he does PLENTY of other precision welding 90%+ of weld shops won't touch.
There was a huge demand for welders who could weld titanium near to here, recently, starting at $26/hr. I think it was about 24 positions or so.
My family owns a masonry contracting firm.....laying brick, stone, tuck pointing, stuff like that. Business is booming and they're having trouble finding qualified people. Starting wage $35/hr + benefits which include vacations, sick days, pension and health insurance.
It seems like there is a stigma attached to teens graduating high school nowadays that don't want to go to 4 year institutions. It was the same back in '89 when I finished high school, but I know it is worse now. Some parents are to blame also.
Most young people today, because of the media and sorry school curriculums, think that "technical" only means IT and PC jobs. Or that "trades" is construction labor, or being a janitor.
To me formal education is no better than formal apprenticeships and OJT.
I spent 4 years in the Navy. The first year was all schools and training. After that I went to a two-year college and obtained an associate degree in a technical field. After that i was luck enough to get on at a company that had a good training program that involved community college courses. After that I took other classes (AutoCad and PLC's) that were, in part, reimbursed through my employer. All-in-all I have more class time than most folks who have a BA or BS from a tradtional 4 yr university. My last job paid over $58K and the one before that paid over $50K. And that is in NC.
Not going to university does not equate to being a failure.
There are so many career opportunities out there that are in need of skilled trades/technical folks. Even in this bad economy. When things get better there will be even more demand.
Where is the best city/state to learn, practice, and become proficient in a trade?
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