Spark a Career in Welding
Want to work with high-tech robots or dive deep into the sea? Consider welding--the outlook for this field is hot, hot, hot!
Molly Lawrence was apprehensive the first time she cut steel. The instructor put a cutting rod into her nervous hands and pointed. "I struck it with the steel to ignite the tip," says the 24-year-old. As the electrical current went through the rod, it created a spark, called an arc. Molten steel--10,000 degrees hot--began to fly. "It's so hot that it splits water molecules when underwater. It was an amazing experience," Lawrence reports.
Underwater welding was a lot different from anything she'd ever done. Last year, Lawrence was studying wildlife ecology. But after visiting the College of Engineering and Oceaneering in Wilmington, Calif., she transferred. "This program is exciting, and there's lots to do out there."
Welding Is All Around Us
We live in a welded world. Anything that's not bolted together is probably welded. Cars, planes, bikes, buildings, computers, medical devices, and even amusement park rides require welders to cut, assemble, and join all kinds of materials, including nonmetallic ones. Plastics and composites, for example, can be welded using high-frequency vibration. The method is called ultrasonic welding, and it's one of many high-tech subspecialties available in a field that needs workers badly.
A shortage of 250,000 welding professionals is expected by 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Not enough new people are entering the field to replace retiring welders. Trained welders entering the field are likely to find good jobs.
Welding can be learned in high school industrial arts programs, trade schools, and community colleges. The programs run from a couple of weeks to two-year associate degree programs. To prepare for the field, students should take drafting and as much math as possible, says Tony Marsden, an instructor at Simi Valley Career Institute in California. "Geometry--we use it all the time," he says, adding that trigonometry is also essential.
Once in the field, new hires start as apprentices. They earn anywhere from minimum wage up to $12 an hour. Journeymen can earn $14 to $20 per hour. Managers or inspectors who take the engineering route can make $25 an hour or more. But wages really start to rise once you hit deep water.
Wet Welders
Some adventurous welders--like Molly Lawrence--work underwater. They inspect and repair bridges, tunnels, and pipelines or build and repair oil platforms. Although the skills used in wet welding are similar to those for dry welding, the ocean environment makes this a very different job. Wet welders use touch to assess progress. They must also relearn simple skills. "Swinging a hammer underwater takes a lot more strength and coordination," says Lamar Howard, an instructor at the College of Engineering and Oceaneering. One challenge is learning to work in diving suits with hundreds of feet of oxygen line trailing behind.
Most underwater welders train at accredited commercial diving schools. New graduates can then start as apprentices, or tenders. New hires can start at $14 to $16 an hour and can move up to $40,000 to $100,000 a year when they become full-time divers.
Experienced divers can go on to become saturation (SAT) divers and make more than $120,000 a year. SAT divers are the underwater welding elite. Their bodies become saturated with oxygen from working at low depths. SAT divers live in pressurized living areas underwater and work out of diving bells. They stay under pressure for long periods so they don't have to decompress whenever they come to the surface. As many as eight divers can live together in a space the size of a typical bedroom for weeks at a time.
Welding beneath the waves is a small and tough field, but as Howard says, "If you can do it, every day is an adventure."
High-Tech and Clean
"People think welding takes place in a grungy, dark environment," says Ken Smith, manager of training projects at Lorain County Community College in Ohio. "That environment is changing." High technology is creating new jobs and cleaner environments. Automated--or robotic--welding is replacing some manual welders but creating jobs for welding technicians and welding engineers. In an automated environment, "individuals aren't inhaling fumes like a manual welder," says Smith.
Specialists are needed to program the computers that tell robots how to do their jobs and to monitor the robots' work. "A welding technician understands what a good weld looks like and can apply it to the environment with the robot," says Smith. Human welders will always be needed. The high cost of robots limits them to heavy-production work, such as automotive assembly lines. So if you're good with your hands, and you have a sharp eye and a knack for technology, consider this white-hot field.
The Welding Pros
WELDERS cut, fit, assemble, and repair structural forms using hand tools, torches, or arc welding equipment. (high school diploma with on-the-job training or vocational/technical training)
WELDING TECHNICIANS help develop and apply new welding equipment, techniques, and processes. They test and troubleshoot new technologies. (associate degree)
WELDING ENGINEERS research and develop new welding techniques, procedures, and applications of welding technology. (bachelor's degree)
What to Weld?
Aim your torch toward materials in these five industries, which offer great opportunities for skilled welders.
* automotive
* heavy equipment
* aerospace
* electronics, medical instruments, precision instruments
* energy and chemical, including deep-water technology
HOT LINKS
http://www.weldingedu.com/ http://www.takeupthetorch.org/ Find a welding school: www.aws.org/w/sense
By: Nishi, Dennis, Career World, Sep2006
Molly Lawrence was apprehensive the first time she cut steel. The instructor put a cutting rod into her nervous hands and pointed. "I struck it with the steel to ignite the tip," says the 24-year-old. As the electrical current went through the rod, it created a spark, called an arc. Molten steel--10,000 degrees hot--began to fly. "It's so hot that it splits water molecules when underwater. It was an amazing experience," Lawrence reports.
Underwater welding was a lot different from anything she'd ever done. Last year, Lawrence was studying wildlife ecology. But after visiting the College of Engineering and Oceaneering in Wilmington, Calif., she transferred. "This program is exciting, and there's lots to do out there."
Welding Is All Around Us
We live in a welded world. Anything that's not bolted together is probably welded. Cars, planes, bikes, buildings, computers, medical devices, and even amusement park rides require welders to cut, assemble, and join all kinds of materials, including nonmetallic ones. Plastics and composites, for example, can be welded using high-frequency vibration. The method is called ultrasonic welding, and it's one of many high-tech subspecialties available in a field that needs workers badly.
A shortage of 250,000 welding professionals is expected by 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Not enough new people are entering the field to replace retiring welders. Trained welders entering the field are likely to find good jobs.
Welding can be learned in high school industrial arts programs, trade schools, and community colleges. The programs run from a couple of weeks to two-year associate degree programs. To prepare for the field, students should take drafting and as much math as possible, says Tony Marsden, an instructor at Simi Valley Career Institute in California. "Geometry--we use it all the time," he says, adding that trigonometry is also essential.
Once in the field, new hires start as apprentices. They earn anywhere from minimum wage up to $12 an hour. Journeymen can earn $14 to $20 per hour. Managers or inspectors who take the engineering route can make $25 an hour or more. But wages really start to rise once you hit deep water.
Wet Welders
Some adventurous welders--like Molly Lawrence--work underwater. They inspect and repair bridges, tunnels, and pipelines or build and repair oil platforms. Although the skills used in wet welding are similar to those for dry welding, the ocean environment makes this a very different job. Wet welders use touch to assess progress. They must also relearn simple skills. "Swinging a hammer underwater takes a lot more strength and coordination," says Lamar Howard, an instructor at the College of Engineering and Oceaneering. One challenge is learning to work in diving suits with hundreds of feet of oxygen line trailing behind.
Most underwater welders train at accredited commercial diving schools. New graduates can then start as apprentices, or tenders. New hires can start at $14 to $16 an hour and can move up to $40,000 to $100,000 a year when they become full-time divers.
Experienced divers can go on to become saturation (SAT) divers and make more than $120,000 a year. SAT divers are the underwater welding elite. Their bodies become saturated with oxygen from working at low depths. SAT divers live in pressurized living areas underwater and work out of diving bells. They stay under pressure for long periods so they don't have to decompress whenever they come to the surface. As many as eight divers can live together in a space the size of a typical bedroom for weeks at a time.
Welding beneath the waves is a small and tough field, but as Howard says, "If you can do it, every day is an adventure."
High-Tech and Clean
"People think welding takes place in a grungy, dark environment," says Ken Smith, manager of training projects at Lorain County Community College in Ohio. "That environment is changing." High technology is creating new jobs and cleaner environments. Automated--or robotic--welding is replacing some manual welders but creating jobs for welding technicians and welding engineers. In an automated environment, "individuals aren't inhaling fumes like a manual welder," says Smith.
Specialists are needed to program the computers that tell robots how to do their jobs and to monitor the robots' work. "A welding technician understands what a good weld looks like and can apply it to the environment with the robot," says Smith. Human welders will always be needed. The high cost of robots limits them to heavy-production work, such as automotive assembly lines. So if you're good with your hands, and you have a sharp eye and a knack for technology, consider this white-hot field.
The Welding Pros
WELDERS cut, fit, assemble, and repair structural forms using hand tools, torches, or arc welding equipment. (high school diploma with on-the-job training or vocational/technical training)
WELDING TECHNICIANS help develop and apply new welding equipment, techniques, and processes. They test and troubleshoot new technologies. (associate degree)
WELDING ENGINEERS research and develop new welding techniques, procedures, and applications of welding technology. (bachelor's degree)
What to Weld?
Aim your torch toward materials in these five industries, which offer great opportunities for skilled welders.
* automotive
* heavy equipment
* aerospace
* electronics, medical instruments, precision instruments
* energy and chemical, including deep-water technology
HOT LINKS
http://www.weldingedu.com/ http://www.takeupthetorch.org/ Find a welding school: www.aws.org/w/sense
By: Nishi, Dennis, Career World, Sep2006
posted by Mary Mezack at 12:20 PM
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