If you have made a decision to go to welding school have you researched what type of welder you want to be? If you do not know someone that is a welder by trade or been around the welding industry very much this should be one of the many things to think about.
In most cases when you come out of welding school your typically going to get a job in a shop or work on a construction site. Below I will discuss pros and cons of being a shop or field welder.
Pros:
* Shop welders usually get the benefit of having a roof over your head year around. Most usually you will have access to a heat source for warmth in the winter and some shops have air conditioning for the summer months.
* Typically most shops have benefits with 401k, insurance, dental etc…
* Longer lasting employment
* Fairly safe environment
* Not extremely physically demanding
Cons:
* Pay can be less than stellar
* Manufacturing environment can be repetitious and non-fulfilling
* Working on concrete all day every day can take a toll on your knees and feet after years
Pros:
* Possibility of making up to $100,000 or more a year
* Less welding time and more down time
* Per deim pay can add up to considerable amount of money in a year
* Job completion bonus sometimes
* Good paying jobs are easier to find if your willing to travel
* Can work for yourself by adding your own welding rig (truck and machine) to increase pay
Cons:
* Sometimes you have to work in a more dangerous environment
* Some work takes place outdoors and depending on season can be a challenge
* At times work can be physically demanding
* Time off from work can be nice after working months of overtime
Opinion: I have spent many years shop welding and field welding. Once you become proficient in welding processes like tig, stick, mig and fluxcore you can do both. I have always leaned towards field welding. Every time i have stayed in a shop for a long period of time I find the monotony of doing the same thing every day at the same place drains my life force. The money plays a big part also. I always go broke in a shop. I never really build up a cushion financially. The field provides more challenges but i always feel a sense of accomplishment when a job is over and usually have a nice bank account to show for it.
Conclusion: For someone who just gets out of welding school the best bet would be to spend some time in a shop to develop the new skills you have just learned. Try to get hired on a shop that does tig and stick pipe welding. This will sharpen your skills for the field if you decide to venture there. Mig and fluxcore welding will never get your pocket fat.
I have spent many years shop welding and field welding. Once you become proficient in welding processes like tig, stick, mig and fluxcore you can do both. I have always leaned towards field welding. Every time i have stayed in a shop for a long period of time i find the monotony of doing the same thing every day at the same place drains my life force. The money plays a big part also. I always go broke in a shop. I never really build up a cushion financially. The field provides more challenges but i always feel a sense of accomplishment when a job is over and usually have a nice bank account to show for it.
Welding has been attempted successfully in unusual conditions, including underwater and in outer space. Underwater welding is widely used in the repair of pipelines and ships, while welding in space is currently under research as a possible way to put together the International Space Station, currently being assembled in outer space.
After the root i add a hot pass and quite frequently change between walking the cup and free hand in the middle of the weld. This all depends on what position I find myself in and the enviroment around me. Sometimes you can get obstucted more easily when walking the cup due to the room it takes to move the tig rig. Free hand can be far less restictive in tight positions.
Typically welders known as field welders mostly travel to the construction site to work. In most cases the job is temporary and will end at some point. Field welders usually get better pay and get added benefits such as per diem, travel pay and completion bonuses on some jobs.
After you insert the diffuser in the pipe and tape back up you are ready to set your flow meter. Crank it up high for a minute or longer. If you have a bigger volume of pipe you can leave it on longer. After initial flush you can turn it down. On a 6″ pipe 10′ft long i would set it around 20-30 on your flow meter. You can check it with a cigarette lighter. Pull a few inches of tape back from the bevel and engage the lighter and put the flame in the gap. If it goes out usually your purge is good enough. You do need to make sure that the pressure of the argon is not blowing out the flame.
This most commonly happens to welders but it can happen to any person near the extreme bright ultraviolet light when welding. Pipe fitters also suffer from eye burns quite frequently. If your planning to weld for a career this will happen to you at some point. Below i have listed general knowledge on how to prevent and what to do when you burn your eyes.
After the root i add a hot pass and quite frequently change between walking the cup and free hand in the middle of the weld. This all depends on what position I find myself in and the enviroment around me. Sometimes you can get obstucted more easily when walking the cup due to the room it takes to move the tig rig. Free hand can be far less restictive in tight positions.
This most commonly happens to welders but it can happen to any person near the extreme bright ultraviolet light when welding. Pipe fitters also suffer from eye burns quite frequently. If your planning to weld for a career this will happen to you at some point. Below i have listed general knowledge on how to prevent and what to do when you burn your eyes.
After you insert the diffuser in the pipe and tape back up you are ready to set your flow meter. Crank it up high for a minute or longer. If you have a bigger volume of pipe you can leave it on longer. After initial flush you can turn it down. On a 6″ pipe 10′ft long i would set it around 20-30 on your flow meter. You can check it with a cigarette lighter. Pull a few inches of tape back from the bevel and engage the lighter and put the flame in the gap. If it goes out usually your purge is good enough. You do need to make sure that the pressure of the argon is not blowing out the flame.
Welding with a tight gap with tig can speed up your weld time dramatically. It is great way cut down on time under the hood. It works way better on jack stand welds when fabricating pipe. Position welds in the field sometimes get to much high low, obstructions are in the way, etc….. High/Low is a tight gap killer. When welding on a higher heat it can gouge your inner bevel which leads to problems that will be discussed later.
I have spent many years shop welding and field welding. Once you become proficient in welding processes like tig, stick, mig and fluxcore you can do both. I have always leaned towards field welding. Every time i have stayed in a shop for a long period of time i find the monotony of doing the same thing every day at the same place drains my life force. The money plays a big part also. I always go broke in a shop. I never really build up a cushion financially. The field provides more challenges but i always feel a sense of accomplishment when a job is over and usually have a nice bank account to show for it.
Typically welders known as field welders mostly travel to the construction site to work. In most cases the job is temporary and will end at some point. Field welders usually get better pay and get added benefits such as per diem, travel pay and completion bonuses on some jobs.
This is a YouTube video that compares two different types of welding hoods.
The first hood he talks about is a old school regular welding hood. It has no bells or whistles. Just simply put it on and start welding.
The second hood he talks about is a auto-darkening hood. It has adjustable shades and special settings for different types of welding such as tig, mig, flux core and stick.
In the video he definitely favors the automatic-darkening.
Conclusion: I have used the auto-darkening welding hood only a few times over the years. The times i did use the automatic lens it gave a very bad strobe light effect when putting a root with 6010 rod on pipe. It was a real annoyance. Unless they have changed this on the newer models i think i will stick to my old school pipe liner.
