Hi all,
Son in law wants to become a welder. What are some options to go pro?
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Basically, get training, get certified, get a job…
AWS is one of the more popular certifying bodies.
A training option is local colleges, like Eastfield College, now called Dallas College-Eastfield Campus.
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sounds good. what about OTJ training or internships or anything like that?
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What type of welding is he wanting to get into?
Pipeliner, structural, pipe fitting/welding, Custom welding…
Not sure what the local market looks right now. I haven’t been doing too many startups over the past 8-10 months.
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Depends on the type of welding he wants to do.
If he wants to make money? Get certs for the higher paying types of welding like tig welding nuke stuff.
Does he want to work in interesting places? Get a pipe fitter cert.
Does he want to work in one place, do some “simple” welds but pretty much never have to worrying about looking for a job? Get a couple certs for MIG welding and work at a local job shop.
Personally, I would recommend him take the TIG, Stick, and MIG welding classes at DMS to see if he even likes welding first.
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Here are 3 jobs that appear to offer training that popped right up on searching, all from Indeed.com:
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I don’t know if he’ll pop in, but @Afloyd went pro in welding, and might have some life lessons form someone who “went there”…
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Collin College offers welding now at their new Technical Campus in Allen. It is new so not sure how good a program it is. https://www.collin.edu/campuses/technical/
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If I’m looking @ AWS’ criteria correctly, one technically does not even NEED training; there is no training nor experience required, per se, though I expect passing your x-rays will be tough without some tutalage, and practice, certainly, is de facto, even if not explicitly stated…
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It depends what he is shooting for. Our journeymen (currently) make 31-32 an hour plus benefits. But thats after a 5 year apprenticeship.
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That’s pretty good. I’m looking at some jobs on indeed.com and they’re starting at 15-18/hr He has a job tending bar @25. Of course he’s probably close to peak at the bar but it’s hard to make the switch when you’re getting a big cut. mind if I ask what type of welder the Journeyman is and what company?
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THAT is hard to transition out of, because the $ is so good.
I have 2 family members who are trying to make the conversion to “family life with real jobs”, and it’s tough…
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If he has any prior experience, he might could get in a little higher or buy your book. Its union work, so it would need to be union contractors. With no experience, he will need to get a hold of different contractors to see if they are hiring apprentices. Brandt,DSI, MIINC, Freer are some of the local companies. An apprentice will start out as a Pre-apprentice or 1st year apprentice. Thats on the lower end of the pay scale, but it includes the health benefits & retirement. Of course it also depends on the work out there. Once he is a journeyman, he can travel if he would like. There is also work in the ammonia refrigeration world. They do tend to travel though & it can be pretty toxic work. Ammonia refrigerant does not use any copper or brass. It’s pretty much all steel lines that have to be welded. Another downfall to that is having to work in coolers & walk in freezers/ blast freezers etc…
If he isn’t stuck on welding, he could try getting into HVAC service. We dont do as much welding but the pay is usually better, plus you get to drive a company vehicle. In the next 10 years, there will likely be a greater shortage of HVAC service guys. I myself probably wont be doing service in 10 years, but that really depends how government jobs go in about 10 years.
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To start, when it comes to applying for a welding job the main thing they are going to care about is your welding ability. You can have certifications and degrees but starting off and even years later the main thing they are going to care about is your ability to weld. So going to a job interview they are going to have him do a weld test of what they normally weld.
It sounds like he has never welded before, one option is TSTC - Texas State Technical College. They have degree plans where he can get his Associates in Welding Technology. With this he can get his degree as well as learning how to weld. https://www.tstc.edu/programs/WeldingTechnology
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He started at TCCC and likes it. unfortunately it was a little to high paced for him. everyone else had experience before getting started. so he got a poor grade and that led him to academic probation. because he was a student before at TCCC that lead him to be out for the next year. he wants to continue now and not wait for another year to get started.
So I’m helping with with alternatives.
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Sounds like he needs to practice at DMS at his own pace 
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Don’t the community colleges also offer a certificate? I’d be going that route. Sure, he can join at DMS and practice all he wants ($1/3min for MIG, bring your own consumables (rods, etc.) for TIG and stick), but we don’t often have folks hanging around to give him tips. Having an instructor on hand could be worth the price. We do have 24/7 access, which can be helpful for folks with weird schedules, but I’m thinking it’s likely he could do afternoon classes before his shift at work.
I will say that I took a pottery class at Northlake before finding DMS. Getting access to the equipment outside of my class time was a major PITA. Nearly impossible. Not sure if they would have extra lab time for practice, or not.
And, yeah, if you’re in the service side, the only way you get more money is if you find a restaurant/bar that’s got a higher ticket price so that your tips are based on a higher ticket. At least, that’s how it works for waitstaff.
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Certainly not at a for profit “school”. DMS for basic intro. Community college for more serious - picking the right program. Maybe get some home stuff like a $200 MIG which is considered easiest for ordinary. I did torch because it was quiet. A couple of decades there was a Dallas welders group that had fascinating meetings (welding Indy car tubing, fabbing oil well blowout quenchers) - ask at welding supply shops if still exists.
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Like others below, I think a community college is the best way to go. I paid for my nephew to attend Paris CC vs a voctec, enough savings I was able to give him $700/mo he wouldn’t have work.
But I also told him that at a CC after he did the welding portion and got certified he could go back PT and get the AA degree in welding technology. At some point when he got older he may want to become a supervisor and having the AA would help and he’d half units done.
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It sounds like your son-in-law needs to get weld time in. It he joins DMS he can use the welders here and get plenty of extra practice time every day. Even if he doesn’t join he should consider getting his own welder and practice every day. Putting in the time and practicing is what he is going to need to do.
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When I was 18, I bought one of these Lincoln welders
From that, I practiced a lot. I was even doing exhaust work with 1/16” rod. The downfall is you need 220 for it.
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