Are you seriously thinking about choosing a definite career?
Maybe you are looking for a job that pays well and gives you enough opportunity to prove yourself.
If your answer is positive, let me tell you something about welding.
Why will you choose welding as a career?
Welding provides a viable career option. There are many fields to work in. It also offers pretty much earning. You can start welding even if you do not have enough academic knowledge.
There are many other things to say about welding. If you are interested to know about them, then go through the rest of this article. I hope you will get a clear idea about this.
Reasons for choosing welding as a profession:
Welding is a good choice of job which has a lot of positive sides. So, it’s easy to mention a lot of reasons for choosing this as a career.
1. Easy to start:
Welding is a technical job. But you don't have to be very talented and educated to be a welder. You can start learning to weld anytime. The learning process is also easy.
There are many welding schools in which you can learn. The welding school is not that hard to continue your training. You can get a pretty amount of time for doing other things.
There are many self-taught welders too. You can learn welding at home on your own.
However, though welding schools require a good amount of tuition fees, it's better to get into a welding school. You will be able to learn welding easily under a professional trainer.
2. A good amount of salary:
After being a welder, you can expect a handsome amount of salary. At the beginner level, the salary is comparatively low. But as you gain experience gradually, you can get a higher salary.
The salary depends on the working area, working experience, welding type, working hours, etc. To say an average salary, it is $17.90 per hour which is almost $41,380 a year in the USA. However, it is of different numbers in different states of the USA depending on the factors.
In this portion, I want to mention the salary of different types of welders according to the type of welding.
As an entry-level welder, you can get only $7 to $10 per hour.
Novice welders can expect $15 per hour when they have a little experience.
Mid-career welders can charge $17 to $25 per hour.
And experienced level welders’ charge starts from $35 per hour.
Are you a bit disappointed after knowing all these?
Remember, these are applicable for a person without good academic background.
Isn’t it good?
Okay, let’s know about some high paying welding jobs.
Highest paying welding jobs:
If you are fully committed to welding and want to continue it as your full-time career, you can make a pretty high amount of salary. It may be $100k a year or even more than that. In this case, you will need some certification like welding inspector, resistance welding, robotic arc welding, underwater welding training, etc. These certifications require a good amount of money and effort. But in the long run, they will help you to earn several times higher.
I am giving you an idea about the salary of these jobs.
Military support welders:
These types of welders work in the armed forces. As it requires to work overseas and sometimes it needs to work in the wars too, it is quite difficult. But the salary starts from $62k to $200k a year which is a high amount.
Pipeline welding:
If you are aware of some industries like water, gas, and the oil industry, you surely know that they require pipes for supply. Here comes the opportunity of a welder to work on. And this pipeline welding is one of the highest paying welding jobs. You will need to travel in many fields located far away from your home. But it’s hard to ignore the $55k to $175k per year that it pays.
Underwater welding:
This type of welding also needs huge effort and skills. And obviously, this work is quite hard and stressful. It needs a great physical and mental ability. But it will be yielding you 55k to 200k per year.
Nuclear welding:
As you hear the name, you understand that it is related to nuclear plants. Yes, this one is pretty dangerous too. This job is full of responsibility and requires huge technical skills. But it can satisfy you with a salary of from $60k to $185k a year.
All these salaries are given as an average. It will differ from place to place. You can get additional information from here.
3. Variation of working fields:
I like welding for its viable career options. If you get into welding, you will be attracted by at least one type. Because there are so many options available.
You may get into MIG welding or TIG welding. It may be gas welding or flux core welding. There are also welding types like MAG, GMAW, SMAW, and SAW. So, you will find a flexible career choosing opportunity.
4. Has a great demand:
Almost every industry needs welders. As the industrialization continues, the job opportunities for welders will persist.
The need for welders was said to be increased by 26% by 2020 according to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics.
5. Opportunity to travel the world:
As I mentioned above almost all high paying welding jobs need to travel from here to there. The working site is across the whole world. If you are a traveler from the core of your heart, this is a great opportunity for you.
6. Increment of salary with experience:
As you become more experienced and skilled, your earning will increase too. You don’t need to worry. I mentioned the salary above.
From that section, it’s quite understandable that an experienced welder can enjoy a tension-free life with a good earning.
7. Easy to start own business:
If you are experienced enough and don’t want to stay away from home, it’s better to build your own business. And starting a welding business isn’t that hard and costly.
An amount of $10k is enough to set up a welding business in little range. You can broaden it gradually depending on your ability.
Why shouldn't you get into welding?
All I said above are the benefits of welding. If it is so flexible, then why all other people don’t choose it.
Well, things are not so simple. Now I will talk about some other things about welding that you need to be informed about.
In which cases welding is not good for you?
1. If you are not physically and mentally fit for welding:
Welding has a potential risk of getting hurt and sick. This may affect your eyesight, cause problems to your respiratory organs, and serious injury to your body. So, you should be both physically and mentally fit for this job.
2. If you are impatient:
This job requires a huge amount of labor. And in the first, the salary is not too much. If you become frustrated by this, it’s hard for you to continue. If you leave this job before becoming successful, it will be a loss of time.
3. If you don’t want to stay away from home:
For your job, you will often need to stay away from home. In some cases, welders need to work far away most of the time of the year. If you miss your family, then you can take steps according to your needs.
4. The weather and working environment is not always good:
There are so many types of working environment for welding. It may rain when you need a dry environment. Then it becomes hard to continue work. A welder needs to arrange his work in hostile situations. It’s not easy obviously.
Final words:
Welding is a smart carrier option. If you do not have a strong academic background and want to earn a good amount of money, welding is one of the best choices for you.
Though welding is hard and toilsome work, you may be accustomed to it someday. Till then, you need to try as nothing good comes so easily.
In this article, I discussed some bad sides of welding. Then why would you choose welding as a career?
Well, every job in this world is hard and has negative sides. So, when thinking about welding, listen to your heart. If it says yes, then go for it.