Welder

The welding profession is one of nearly unlimited opportunity. Welders work in a wide range of industries and work environments, are in high demand, command good wages and even launch their own businesses. For a person with the right skills and work ethic, welding is one of the most stable skilled professions one can have.

WHAT DOES A WELDER DO?

In the simplest terms, welders are skilled professionals who join two pieces of metal using heat and gas in order to seamlessly and permanently bond them.

The type of welding used on any given job depends on the materials. Welding is the most durable way to join two parts, using electrical currents to create heat and bond metals together. In all, there are more than 100 different processes that a welder can use, four of the most common being: GMAW (Gas Metal Arc Welding) • More commonly known as MIG (metal inert gas) welding, this type is among the most easily mastered type of welding. • Acceptable for fusing mild steel, stainless steel and aluminum. Arc Welding • Arc welding is also known as SMAW (shielded metal arc welding) or stick welding. • The most basic type of welding. • Commonly used in manufacturing, construction and repair work. FCAW (Flux-Cored Arc Welding) • Developed as a lower-cost, high-speed alternative to stick welding. • Known for being easy to learn. • Commonly used to bond iron and steel; used in manufacturing, construction and repair work. GTAW (Gas Tungsten Arc Welding) • Commonly known as TIG (tungsten inert gas) welding. • Delivers a superior finish without requiring a lot of finish sanding or grinding. • Very complex process, requiring a welder with a lot of experience to perform well.

WHAT’S NEW?

Most people have at least a general idea of what a welder is and what he or she does. But did you know there are two related processes that perform many of the same functions as welders, but use different tools and bonding elements? These jobs aren’t new, exactly, but most people outside the industry haven’t heard of them. Cutters • Utilize heat from an electric arc, plasma stream or burning gases to cut and trim metal objects to specific dimensions. • Cutters also take apart large objects such as ships, railroad cars, boilers and aircraft using special highstrength cutting materials. Solderers/brazers • Use heat to join two or more metal objects together. • Soldering and brazing are similar, except that the temperature used in soldering is lower. • Soldering is used to make electrical and electronic circuit boards, such as computer chips. • Brazing is used to connect cast iron and thinner metals that would warp under the high temperature of welding.

WHERE DO WELDERS WORK?

As the most common and most permanent way of joining pieces together, welding is a trade that performs work as a stand-alone component of larger projects or is used within another trade.

Plumbers are generally trained in the basics of welding in order to perform pipefitting tasks. Other industries use welding as part of their overall operations, including body shops, sheet metal, shipyards and boilermaking operations.

A welder may work on a building or bridge construction site (either indoors or outdoors), which exposes them to working in all kinds of weather. They may also be required to work several stories above the ground on steel building structures or bridges.

Other welders work in a metal shop or garage-like area, which is generally climate controlled. Still other welders work in a factory or industrial setting where they handle maintenance and fabrication tasks as they come up.

Welders generally work full time and it’s not uncommon for them to work a lot of overtime to stay ahead of production schedules, particularly in construction. In some industrial settings, welders may be employed on overnight shifts. WHAT’S THE JOB OUTLOOK?

There were nearly 6,000 welding jobs in Arkansas in 2018 and that number is expected to grow by 13% by 2028. This is well ahead of the national average, making Arkansas an excellent place to build your career.

Some welders move from construction job to construction job, meaning a general slowdown in building projects can mean periods of unemployment. The more mobile a welder is, the more easily he or she may find additional projects.

HOW MUCH CAN I MAKE? • Lower range wages (bottom 10 percent) — $27,440 annually/$13.19 per hour • Middle range wages (median) — $38,030 annually/$18.28 per hour • Higher range wages (top 10 percent) — $53,210 annually/$25.58 per hour

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE SUCCESSFUL? • Physical strength and dexterity • Vision • Attention to detail

HOW DO I LEARN THE CRAFT?

Some high schools have beginner welding programs as part of automotive or shop classes, which can give students a head start on their education.

Most welders have a high school diploma or equivalent and a professional certification, which can be earned through a community college, a private training program or welding courses sponsored by industry groups or trade unions.

Welding programs can be a few months long or they can be an apprenticeship lasting four or five years. They can be full-time classes like any other college curriculum or, in the case of many apprenticeship-type training programs, are held one or two nights a week while the student works full time for a welding company, thereby also learning on the job.

Another advantage of the work-study nature of apprenticeship programs is most employers pay for the training as an employee benefit.