Welding for a living? Pretty good path or not so much...

I think the pay rate is largely based on location I in NY by PA,OH tradesman make an average living can still get a decent house for around 100k we aren't getting 80 to a 100k a year don't care what trade maybe if you are working 60-70 hrs a week

 

Like any profession, if you are very good at it, you can do well IF you find the right employer. If you have average skills, you will likely get an average salary.
Lean the trade. If you can excel at it, you can make a good career out of it.

I'm an Engineer but have strong mechanical skills. I can be content sitting at a desk doing research, putting a spread sheet together , or doing some CAD drawings, but I'm happier when I'm in the machine shop fabbing something or repairing some obscure part to get production back up.
On weekends, I weld for fun to resurrect a rusty '66 GS convertible!

 

If I were to start over I would do what I sent our son to community college for. HVACR
Everyone wants heat in the winter, cool in the summer and the grocery stores and warehouses have to keep things cold with refrigeration. And from some of the guys i know that do building automation and the programing that goes with it that can be done and make decent money.
To me welding is like fixing cars and too hard on a body. You cant tell me your back, knees, elbows and hips don't hurt after doing this type work for years at a time. I guess if you get your activity on and own the place and do the contracting with hired labor, but as far as I can see the HVACr guys can do that too.
I drive a truck so what do I know?

 

I have several friends who are welders by trade and one benefit I noticed are side jobs they pick up for a little extra money or to hold them over between jobs. They all seem to do quite well

Bob H.

 

I work in a factory that builds utility bodies. The welders make around $22 an hour and usually work 48 hours a week. That's about 60k a year. Not bad for us. The plumbers around here make about 35-40 dollars an hour. I can't be in the sun for long periods so I'm kind of limited

 

In my earlier post I mentioned aptitude, which a lot of people have also hit on.

Yes, the top-money guys are nuclear underwater welders, but you can't just become one without some innate ability.

Sure, I could decide to be a top-notch body man, but guess what, it aint gonna happen no matter how long I try. It is simply not in my skill set.

Not slighting anyone, but the odds of making the top dollars are slim. But you can earn a good steady living doing it.

 

Great perspective on wages vers cost of living
Very high cost of living here with the wages
in the area I live and commented trades make good living a basic house is 300k to buy and average price is probally
500 k
Not sure how the rest of cost of living shakes out compared in different areas

But with the wages here hopefully u can invest a bit in a good retirement
Of coarse most I know can't afford to retire here once done

But I always will feel anyone in a trade
Has the skills to be successful

 

I for one would not recommend any HVAC tech school. Total waste of time and money. They do not and cannot teach what ya need to know to go out into the field and work independently. I've hired a few of these guys and met several others now working at Lowes and Walmart stocking shelves. Im talking the basics, low voltage wiring and trouble shooting, duct work and design , air flow. even soldering copper. IMO, the only way to learn this is hands on and in the field. Get a job as a helper in a larger market where you'll be busy every day. Watch, listen and ask questions for 5 years, then you'll have the foundation to go out and make real money. When I started I never thought it would end up being my career. Was just a job.

 

The program we talked him into was through the school system. He went half a day his senior yr of high school and to another year after high school graduation. They promised help getting job placement but he decided he didn't like it and is working in the warehouse at Martin Sprocket. They supplied him with the books, new tools, and the tuition was paid so it didn't cost any out of pocket(I'm sure the taxpayers didn't see it that way). I read the books and have been trying to learn. I even bought a hf vac pump and gauges and have been able to get the wifes car to blow real cold again. Next big project will be an outdoor unit at the house that locked up. I know, call a pro but that isn't in my budget.

Welding sounds like fun and our son expressed interest in that too but wasn't able to get signed up at the community college as the classes filled up faster than he was able to register.

 

Im in total agreement with you. Problem is in this area (Seattle plus many others) your not going to get a union job. You'll be basically a furnace repair man and small commercial buildings. May be different in your area.

 

No Union here.

Massage me and I'll try and walk you through it.

 

I'm a science teacher with a tiny welding business. It pays for my Buick habit. I have students whose parents make 100K as welders but they work a ton of hours or do pipe line work. The place I purchase my steel is a jobber welding shop most of the guys have been there 30 years. I personally think Tool and Die or CNC Machine is a better route.

 

It’s a great way to make a living. I have buddies who weld. They have very little debt from school and walk out making between 50-70k a year. Tell me a job that pays that to a early 20 something these days?

 

welding is a dirty job man, hard on your back and knees and a shop welder is not going to make that kind of money. Yes the union pipeline guys make that but you live like a gipsy.

I am a certified welder and a union heavy equipment mechanic, there is definitely a shortage in my field. I make over 100,000 per year and work between 50-60 hours per week. It is hard dirty work, and I work outside in the elements. I earn every dollar I make.

Look into the Operating Engineers Union apprentice program. You will get paid well to learn a in demand trade.

I did my time in the fab shops after welding school and found out quickly that is not the place for me. Lucked out and got a job welding for a union construction company, when I wasn't welding I was helping the mechanic's and the rest is history.

25 years later I have great benefits, a great pension, and make good money. Life is good.

 

We are paying $100 an hour for skilled welders that can also fabricate and fit their own pipes and structural...

 

This thread reminds me of an old story I read. There is a help wanted add for an experienced welder. It reads “experienced welder wanted $15 to $30/hour” so a guy comes in to apply and they ask him to show them a weld to check his skill level. The applicant proceeds to do 2 welds. The hiring company is shocked when the welder does 2 welds and asks why? The welder who did a crappy half ass weld and a perfect stack of dimes weld replies “ the add read $15 to $30/hour. The first weld is $15 per hour and the second is $30/ hour” I guess the point is if you have the skill don’t give it away. People will pay for talent. My .02
Cliff

 

hot damn! where do I apply

 

I'm an office worker, 30+ years at the same company doing networking and making a nice living. I'm debt free and don't have to lift anything heavier than 50lbs. College works if you do the work.

Routing/switching/networking certs are viable trade where you won't wreck your back/hips/knees.

I have some buddies that were welders. One was a certified welder that made the air tanks for Campbell-Hausfield compressors. After 10 years he had to have carpal tunnel surgery and got out of that business. Another buddy wasn't certified but he welded brackets and such at the same factory. His grandson was a certified welder at 16. He works after school and it pays for his car and he will have a job when he graduates without college debt.

I always wanted to learn to weld. In wood shop we used to play with the Lincoln stick welders if we finished stuff early. The shop teacher used to come by with his hammer and beat on the welds. He'd often say they weren't pretty but they held.

A decade ago I called the local trade school about a night class. They didn't offer one and they tried to sign me up for a day class certificate program. Here I am, over 55 and still no welding skill. I intend to buy a MIG and watch some youtube videos and see how it goes.

 

Just my .02
Going into the plumbing hvac or electrical apprenticeship will be much more rewarding and pretty much recession-proof if you are on the service side. In my area where the median income is about $50,000 a year journeyman in those trades are pulling in more than a $100,000 per year. There is a huge shortage of apprentices in these trades and wages are going up rapidly. it's not uncommon to pay a good first year hvac apprentice $30 an hour.