In this guide, we’ll tell you about where and how to start a welding career. We will talk about the minimum requirements for welding jobs. The different types of welding jobs, the educational options, and other information that may help you get into the trade. This article will derive the welder out of you.
We see the work of the welding industry every day in buildings, cars, machines, bridges, and much more. In the old days, it has been connected to engineering, safety, quality, and even risks. To be a good welder, you need to be dedicated. You need to have a good work ethic, and pay close attention to details.
The welding business is at a turning point right now. Welders who are currently working are retiring. The average age of a skilled and experienced welder is 50 or older. There are a lot of ways to get into this field. Even though there aren’t enough welders and there’s a lot of training available. Can this problem be solved by new tech trends and education?
How can someone become a welder?
It doesn’t matter if you’re young and new to the job market or older and looking for a change. It doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman, or even a math genius; you can become a welder, and it can be a very lucrative job. Forget what other people may have told you about needing XYZ skills or a certain mindset. Welding is something you can learn, it’s not something you’re good at from birth. To become a welder, you have to be able to learn and give yourself to the process.
Learning is the most important part of this job, and there are many ways to get started. In most countries, vocational schools or other training centres with specific training programmes for newcomers teach people how to weld. In some countries, the National/Local Welding Association, which is also in charge of welding certifications, can give this training directly.
Certifications for welding can be different from one country to the next. There are international organizations that offer certifications that are recognized around the world.
Apprenticeships can be a good way to get into welding jobs if you are just starting out. Local unions may have apprenticeships that can help you get the experience you need to do well in the field.
What do you need to do to get a job as a welder?
It’s important to want and be able to learn. But it’s more important to want to learn or be driven to learn. Welding is not something easy that you can learn and get good at quickly. Most welders spend years training and retraining, testing different welding technology, techniques, and welding procedure specifications (WPS), and making sure they have all the necessary welding certifications. For professional welders, it’s important to know what’s new and to keep training their skills and abilities. So, what else could you possibly need besides a desire to learn?
Hands-on, Real-World Experience
If you don’t put what you know into practice, it doesn’t matter how much you know. The people who have spent the most time behind the welding torch are the ones who are certified as master welders. Welding is a skill that can only be learned by doing it over and over again. You can get experience while getting an education at a community college, a technical school, or a vocational school.
A specialization
Welding is usually a high-paying job, and skilled welders are always in demand. Just like in many other fields, if you want to find the best-paying jobs, you need to be an expert. Pay attention to your interests and the needs of the welding industry in your country when choosing your specialty.
Certification
The requirements for certification change from country to country. Some countries in Europe have their own rules, which are set by their own welding groups. In Germany, the German Welding Society (DVS) is in charge of welder certification. Some examples of international welding certification include the International Welder certification from the International Institute of Welding (IIW).
A desire to learn about technology
The welding industry changes very quickly. New technologies and trends are key to keeping the trade current, so welders need to know what’s going on. Industry 4.0 has led to the rise of new technologies in the welding industry. Robotic welding is a great example of this. Some professional welders need to know not only how to do it by hand, but also how to programme a robot to do the perfect weld.
Continued learning is important for professional welders. They need to learn about new requirements and trends so they don’t become “outdated.” When they are already working as welders, great welders keep training, looking for the next step in their careers and ways to improve their skills and knowledge.
What are the different ways to weld for a welder?
Welding is an activity that can be done in many different ways. Depending on how we sort or rank them, the number of processes can change, but for now, these are the “top four” welding processes used around the world:
MIG welding
This Welding is the type of welding that comes to mind first. MIG stands for “Metal Inert Gas,” and it is the most common type of welding. It’s the easiest to learn and most useful skill for a certified welder. You can use it to work with steel or aluminium. Gas Metal Arc Welding is another name for this process (GMAW).
TIG welding
Also known as GTAW, which stands for Gas Tungsten Arc Welding. TIG stands for Tungsten Inert Gas welding. Both of these are the same thing, and they both use tungsten gas to make a high-quality fusion in a place where it might be hard to sand or adjust the joint. This is seen as a way to weld that takes a lot of skill and know-how.
Flux-Cored Arc Welding, or FCAW, is a type of welding. FCAW welding uses a continuous consumable electrode that is filled with flux. This method is often used in construction and industry, even though it can be used for a wide range of projects. Remember that this process makes smoke, so it’s better to do it outside.
SMAW welding stands for Shielded Metal Arc Welding. In this process, the arc is made between the stick and the materials being welded. This method is often taught in vocational schools because it is cheap (it doesn’t need gas). It is often used to fix things, and it works well for welding outside.
As you may have seen above, there are many different ways to weld, and they all have different names. It’s important to know which ways are the same. People all over the world are familiar with these four processes, but professional welders also need to know about other processes that are used in their industry. This is why it’s important to keep learning!
What are some good Welding Skills ?
Here are some skills that someone who works in the welding trade should have if they want to get into a welding programme:
WELDING KNOWLEDGE
A skilled welder will know how to work with a wide variety of materials, have a broad understanding of how different tools and technologies work, and have worked on projects ranging from building ships to doing general maintenance. This means that a beginner should try to gain a wide range of technical knowledge and be willing to change. Because of this, it’s best to join training programmes or technical schools that teach skills that can be used for more than one thing. See the section before this one about the different kinds of welding and try each one (and even further)
STRENGTH AND DEXTERITY
A bad weld can hurt people or even kill them, so it’s important to be strong enough to handle the welding tools, dexterous enough to use them well, and precise enough to do the job right the first time. Another thing to think about is how fit you are, since this job can be hard on the body and mind.
PAY ATTENTION TO DETAILS
Quality is the most important thing in the trade. All of your welding beads and exercises will be put through a lot of quality checks to make sure they are done right and are safe. Professional welders pay attention to everything, from how the equipment is set up to making sure everyone and everything around them is safe.
WORK ON YOUR OWN
Being able to work on your own and with others. As a certified welder, you’ll do most of your work by yourself, but on some jobs, you’ll need to be able to work well with others and communicate with them.
AMBITIONS
Since complacency has no place in this industry (especially because of the strict safety rules), trainee welders should want to work on big infrastructure projects, use their skills in the auto industry, learn how to work with structural steel and acetylene gas, understand the key parts of metal fabrication, and become trusted at reading blueprints. In short, learn, move up, learn, move up, and master the field.
RISK TOLERANCE
Being afraid of taking risks is a good trait, because you don’t want your welding career to end because you didn’t take care. There is safety gear for a reason.
BASIC MATH SKILLS
Numbers are used for measurements, figuring out materials and alignment, and sometimes in the CAD software and blueprints that define each project. If you want to do well in the welding industry, you should definitely know the basics.
What does a path to becoming a welder look like?
Find out about the best places to learn how to weld in your country.
Welding Associations are the most important groups in the country when it comes to welding certification. They talk to vocational schools and businesses, so they know everything there is to know about training, jobs, and certification requirements…
In the United States, the best place to start is either with the American Welding Society or with your local Welders’ union. If you can’t find a Welders’ union, try a Plumbers’ or Fitters’ union instead. If you’re not in the US, look for the Welders’ union or society in your own country. Most likely, they will tell you to get some kind of welding certification and training before you try to use any equipment. The AWS has the best welding certification programmes in the US.
In Europe, the European Welding Federation or the International Institute of Welding is the best place to start (IIW). Australians are not yet required to have an International Welding Engineer (IWE) qualification from the IIW, but most organisations are starting to ask for it.
Find out where you can get welding training and how much it will cost.
- With the information you get from your national or local welding association, you’ll be able to make a plan for the different kinds of welding training that are available near you. You might have choices like:
- Programs for apprentices (both paid and unpaid).
- A number of training programmes or courses at a welding school.
- There are affordable certified welding courses at community colleges.
- Private welding schools with expensive courses and a good reputation.
- There are colleges and universities that offer a full Bachelor of Science in Welding Engineering.
Choose how you want to train.
Any of these choices could be the right one for you. You can start your welding career from any point and go in different directions.
Our only piece of advice is to make sure that the training you are getting is up-to-date, safe, and in line with official certifications. New trends and technologies, like Augmented and Virtual Reality or Gamification, are already making welding training more effective around the world, and they should always be taken into account when making a decision.
We can’t tell you what’s best for you, but we can tell you that apprenticeships are a good way for many welders to start because they are cheap. Most of the time, these are free, and sometimes you may even get paid for your work. They are perfect for people who just finished high school, don’t want to go to college for a bachelor’s degree, and still live at home and get some money from their families for up to 5 years.
Don’t forget to train every day.
Once you’re done with your training, keep practising and learning. The welding industry is very fast-paced, and new trends and techniques are always being made. Find the best fit for your skills (keep an eye on what the market needs) and keep working and specialising in different processes, joints, positions, materials, etc.
For welding jobs, you need to know what you’re doing, but your technique will only get better if you keep doing different welding jobs.
Get a certificate or license.
Even though the certifications you need depend on where you live, there are some that are recognised all over the world.
These official certifications will make it easier for you to find welding jobs, and they can even help you decide what kind of welding you want to do.
Get the right job
So many different jobs are available in the welding industry. You might want to become a certified welding master so you can work on big projects overseas, underwater, and in other more exciting places in the industry. One might be interested in cars and want to work in the auto industry, or you might want to work in the railroad industry.
You can also become a welding inspector or a site manager and help the next group of people who want to be welders.
How does Soldamatic change the way that people learn how to weld?
Since the blowtorch was invented 220 years ago, traditional welding education hasn’t changed much. However, new technologies like Augmented Reality are already making changes to traditional training. Soldamatic Augmented Training lets people learn to weld in Augmented Reality, which cuts their learning time by 56% and makes them 84% less likely to get hurt. When schools use Soldamatic’s technology, on average they can certify 34% more students and save 68% on lab and equipment costs.
With its flexible software and Augmented Reality, Soldamatic takes educational facilities and programmes to the next level in their training. With gamification, virtual and augmented reality, e-learning platforms, and digital learning being used by a number of industries to help with disruption, it is in a great position to help the next generation of welders.
What do welders make?
As we’ve already talked about, welding can lead to many different kinds of jobs, each of which has its own pros and cons. Salaries vary based on the requirements of the job and the certifications you need, the country you work in, the industry you work in, and so on.
Putting together a salary range is almost impossible, but the list below has some information about how much welders make around the world.
Germany: Between €30,000 and €40,000 a year, or €14 to €21 an hour.
Australia: $60,000 to $95,000 a year, or $30 to $45 an hour.
United States: $33,000 to $55,000 per year, or $17 to $100 per hour.
Korea: 21 to 35 million won a year, or 12,000 to 16,000 won an hour.
Japan: 1.2-4 million YEN per year, or 1,000-3,000 YEN per hour.
Sweden: 84,000 to 150,000 SEK per year, or 40 to 70 SEK per hour.
Czech Republic: 200,000 to 300,000 CZK per year, or 100 to 150 CZK per hour.
In this post, you can find out more about the welding jobs that pay the most.
Conclusion.
People looking for a career have different options in the welding industry. There are many ways to go about a welding career, but if you’re really interested in welding, your chances of finding a job are really good right now. Welders are in short supply all over the world, and this problem is getting worse. Since skilled professional welders are getting older and retiring, there needs to be a generational change.
Even though traditional welding training hasn’t been seen as a “attractive” job, new technologies and trends are already bringing it one step closer to Industry 4.0. Augmented reality is already helping the next generation of welders at large companies like Siemens and Volkswagen.
Don’t wait, and start making your own welding career today!
