Is welding a good career for you? With the word ‘Welding,’ your brain might start visualizing the spatters, arcs, and a man in protective gear. This image would undoubtedly indicate something with a possibility of harm. You might be nervous about deciding Is welding an excellent job for you? or Is welding easy?
Welding can be an exceptional career with adequate measures and practice. Imagine the massive range of rewards not many careers offer. The trade gives you money, ecstasy, and adventure at the same time. It is an innovative job that allows you to exercise your creativity in addition to your skills. Just like a sculptor sculpts a remarkable art piece, a welder infuses the metal together to give its final shape.
However, like in every profession, there is a good and a downside. Welding also has some pros and cons. It will be best if you don’t rush to make any choice until you analyze all of them.
If you are interested in welding and want to take it up as a career, this blog is for you. It will tell you all the good and bad about welding as a career. I’ll also share some welders’ opinions regarding the possible opportunities and threats.
So what are you waiting for? Let’s start with the good side of a welding career.
Contents
Why Welding is a Good Career Choice?
Mark Titus an experienced welder and works at Tulsa Technology Center very beautifully answer the question: Is welding a good career?He said: Welding is a great career. I’ve been into welding for 30 years. BUT, it’s not for everyone! Cause It takes skill and determination. If you want to make money, it takes commitment, persistence, and an excellent work ethic.
Welding is gratifying however it is not without its dangers. It can be seriously hard on your body. One of the few jobs I can think of that might be worse is Ironworkers. Think of some professional sports like football and hockey and how those guys end up being messed up when they get older, and you have some idea of what might happen to you.
You can reasonably expect to get injured somewhere along the line in the course of your career also. It can also be quite dangerous, depending on what you do. But for me, being a welding enthusiast, there is nothing in the world I’d instead do.
Welding is a remunerative career, and there are a lot of great benefits to it. With skills and good work ethics, anyone from us can be a welder. Welding comes along with high pay rates, medical and dental insurance converge, and even retirement benefits.
Here are the reasons why you should opt for welding as a career.
1. Money-Making Career
Welding is a highly rewarding field and an excellent choice for anyone looking for a career. It is one of the highest-paying, in-demand trades out there.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual income for welders, cutters, and solderers is $40,920, which is higher than the median yearly income for all occupations of $37,040.
Your salary could cross a six-digit figure as you climb the leader. With more experience and certification, you can grab oodles of cash.
Want to know the best five states for a welder in terms of income? Please read our article:https://weldrun.com/best-states-for-welders/.
2. Career In Demand
Welding is a prime part of almost every industry. People who work in different jobs like construction, shipbuilding, and mining depend on welders to keep everything running smoothly. 50,000 new job opportunities arise each year in America, and the number of welding jobs is relatively high. While the Bureau estimates that the number of job openings for welders is expected to increase by 7 percent from 2014 to 2024.
Technology innovation also causes a rise in welding demand. For instance, escalation in robotics, aeronautics, automobiles, and other such industries also increases the surge of welders.
Moreover, many welders are leaving or retiring, and new generations are not much into welding, causing a more high demand and comparatively low supply. This will generate a severe shortage of welders in the coming years. However, it will be promising and beneficial if you are interested in getting into the field.
3. Facile To Get Into The Field
Being a skilled and hard-working job, welding does not require any formal degree. You don’t need to put much effort into education. You just have to acquire good welding know-how, get a few certified courses, and the industries overwhelmingly welcome you. This makes the job more facile to enter.
You can get the better idea by the words of Mr. Cory Bryan (a former soldier in the U.S army). He said:Back in 2020, when Covid19 caused everything to shut down, I lost both my hospitality and tourism jobs. Having rent and other bills to pay, I decided to use my GI Bill from the army to go to school and learn a trade. I chose to take a six-month welding course to try and wait out the pandemic. While there, I found out I wasn’t bad at it.
In January, I got an interview call for a TIG welding job. I only had a basic grasp of a minimal technique of TIG welding. I didn’t even know how to use a pedal because we’d been taught to touch start. In some way, I got the job after six months. I’m now welding and fabricating frames for helicopters. I did all of this when I was 31.
In my experience at my age, it was horrifying to change careers, but now I’m making at one job what I did at two even better. I like what I do, and I’m constantly learning new things. I’m still trying to work out my long-term plan for welding.
If you are good at something, it will benefit you in many ways, same goes with the ‘welding’, practice and knowledge will make you an excellent professional welder.
4. Easy To Climb The Corporate Ladder
Welding is a great career, and you can get many great benefits from it. Welding can lead to many job opportunities and is one of the most in-demand jobs. The rise in demand makes welding more promising, and the chances of career advancement are even higher.
You can climb high levels with diligence, and a few certified welding courses will add a jewel to the crown.
5. It Is Easy To Start a Private Business
Welding can reward those who like to take on a challenge and make something new. There are some similarities between welding and entrepreneurship.
It can be challenging to begin your own business, but with hard work, it can be a rewarding endeavor. It also pays off to be passionate about what you’re doing. Take the time to learn all you can learn about welding and the steps you need to take to start your business.
It requires comparatively low capital investment and is the most in-demand work. It will prove a good business, too, as it is a career on a steady incline and is still relatively unexplored.
6. Resolute And Courageous Work
Welding is undeniably a work of brave men. It is the career that will keep you busy. If you are a welder by soul, you will love the challenges you face every day, the thought of burns and bruises will not haunt you.
Besides all the exciting packages that come with welding, many welders are passionate about their work. Being welders, you like infusing two metal pieces and giving them a final magnificent shape. It is not a choice of everyone but if you are interested, it will be the most exciting and courageous work for you.
Downsides Of A Welding Career
Now comes the question that often arises in your subconscious: Is welding easy?
Definitely, the answer could not be a straight ‘Yes’ because welding is not an easy job. It requires skills, bravery, and expertise. Like many other professions, welding also has a few disadvantages.
So, let’s begin with the downsides of the welding profession.
Hazards Welders Are Exposed To
Welding is a dangerous job. It comes with a lot of challenges. Even though many safety measures industries are following to reduce the danger involved in welding. Welders need to wear special protective gear and ought to work in open fields.
But you can not completely be safe from the daily fumes and sparks. To make it worse, welders will have to take on immense challenges after learning the craft. You can go blind due to the radiation of arc welding. The metal fumes can cause breathing issues and other lung problems. Burn, bruises, long hours of work, and electric shocks are some risks associated with welding.
Environmental Impact And Physical Work
Welding is not for those who don’t take up challenges and can not work in extreme weather. If you are not physically strong and fit, welding might not be a good option for you as it is a highly physically demanding job.
You must stand on your feet for long hours, working in scorching weather. Many welders also work in confined spaces, under pipelines, in scorching weather, or on skyscrapers as well. So if you are not comfortable with these situations, welding is not a good option for you.
There might be other welding challenges that could hinder your way as a welder like welding requires steady hands and patience. Not all, but there are few workshops where work environments are highly challenging.
FAQS
1- Is being a welder worth it?
Well, it totally depends on the goals you set in your life. Welding is a good option if you are looking for a promising job that gives you money and job security. It worth for those who is passionate about welding or doing challenging tasks.
But on the other hand, if you are not physically strong and don’t want to get your hands dirty, welding is not for you.
2- What is the highest paying welding career?
Rig Welder is the highest paying welders around the world. They work in oil rigs and use dedicate gears to weld meatal in the oil rigs. Their work is to reinforce the infrastructure to extract and process oil and natural gas. Their work is hard and dangerous. The job needs the most advanced education and certified courses.
The annual salary of an average rig welder is around $52,000 – $207,000. But it is the most challenging job, requiring extended working hours, rough weather, and a lot of traveling.
Want to know more about rig welding watch this exciting video.
Ending Notes
Welding is an essential part of the construction industry, and it’s a lot more than just sticking two pieces of metal together. It is a skilled job that requires you to use very dangerous and powerful gears. For one thing, welding is a trade that can provide you with an employable skill that will last you a lifetime. But it is not a walk on the moon. You need to face many challenges in the field; you will often have to work outdoors and in dangerous situations as well.
That’s why you need to know is welding a good career before taking the plunge.