welding career

[injun joe]

ok i want your guy's experience on this one.

i have lost the passion for welding i still ove doing it but for a job i dont think i could persue it. i say this because from what i read and heard the industry standard is 7018. im not to fond of this rod because its a little to hard to use but i can use any other rod like 6011,6013,7014 and so on i can use these rods in any position so is there any place in this industry for me or am i skrewed.

[SundownIII]

Injun Joe,

I have to agree. Welding probably isn't really your cup of tea. Too difficult, what with having to learn all those different "processes".

Maybe an Assistant Professor position in the English Composition Dept. at you local university would be more up your alley.

[Craig in Denver]

Injun Joe,

I have to agree. Welding probably isn't really your cup of tea. Too difficult, what with having to learn all those different "processes".

Maybe an Assistant Professor position in the English Composition Dept. at you local university would be more up your alley.

LMAO!! Sometimes keeping my mouth shut just doesn't work.

[acwd1950]

What kind of problems are you having using a 7018? Theres lots of different options in the welding field. Repair shops comes to mind. We burn 6011s most of the time unless is a piece thats needs a 7018 then we use it. 6010s and 7018s are used on pipelines.

Steve

[Hotfoot]

Injun Joe..So why do you think its call "Stick Welding"... I'm guessing that rod stick is what's buggin' you.

[Timinmb]

Tell us a little more about yourself, your equipment and your training. To succeed at anything you need desire and perseverance. If its what you really want, you can do it. Is there any chance that you are making this judgment based on some sort of handicap such as a lack of formal training on decent equipment? With decent equipment, not some poorly designed ac only machine, 7018 is an absolute pleasure to weld with and produces the most beautiful welds in all positions.

[oldtimer]

If you have lost your passion for welding I would think it's time for you to move on to something else. Just out of curiosity, why do you consider 7018 to be so hard to use?

[dwfrailey]

whats so hard about welding with a 7018? i am sort of a hobby welder and i learned how to use them. i would think an old pro could catch on pretty quick. i think you are "skrewed" not by the industry standard, but by your own attitude.

[Zrexxer]

If you have lost your passion for welding I would think it's time for you to move on to something else. Just out of curiosity, why do you consider 7018 to be so hard to use?

I suspect it's because like most teenagers, he has a short attention span and doesn't want to work too hard at anything.

[Hell on wheels]

Well not every welding job is stick welding w/ 7018.A trailer dealer I worked for we did all MIG welding,didn't have a stick welder there.No TIG either.
Now when I did pipe welding we used mostly 6010 and then 7018 on the underground pipe or steam pipe.But it was mostly 6010.

It all depends on what job your gonna be doing. Pipe welding,boiler making,welding in a shipyard or power plant your most likely gonna use 7018.
If you work at a small repair shop your probally gonna be doing more MIG as MIG welding has replaced alot of these jobs that stick welding used to do.
Alot of shops that do aluminum products or jobs its gonna be Tig and MIG.

I am the opposite of you I like welding 6010,6011 or 7018 but I hate welding w/ 6013 and 7014 just don't like them.

How about a job selling welding equipment or teaching welding???

Dan

[Sberry]

Welding may be a compliment to other jobs as well as a job unto itself. I will agree that 7018 should be one of the easiest electrodes to operate.

[injun joe]

lol well about the teenager part of being lazy far from. im always working whatever it may be welding in my high school ag mech class helped me to develop work ethic i am truelly greatful. well i use good equipment we have millers that have the tig stick combo i think there the syncrowave. i get discouraged because i can use the 7018 alright but nothing like the welds that i have seen i can use it in the flat, horizontal and thats it after that it just gets ugly. i have had formal training at my local college and i passed the flat 7018 unlimited thickness easily. i have most the concepts down like in theory on most things but just cant use them. well like i've said i can use 6011,6013,7014,6010 and i can use them in every position ecxept maybe overhead not to much welding done there. i used to LOVE welding so much in fact that after school i come home after my 2 hours of welding at school and then weld some more so i have a lot of hours in just cant get that 7018 to work for me. well both of my instructors( the ag teacher and my college teacher) both have told me that i know what i am doing. But now it has gotten me so discouraged that i dont even go out the the shop anymore unless i absolutely have 2.

[fjk]

Formal (or not) training usually is just enough to get one ready
to practice in order to actually develop the skills needed.

Or, as the old quip goes

"Hey Mister, How do I get to Carnegie Hall?"

"Practice, Practice, Practice"

frank

[Sberry]

I went thru stages and I can say this. Even though welding is my legitimate career/trade/profession there are a lot of other things I would rather be doing most of the time and to tell the truth it doesn't even interest me much, welding just for welding sake. Its what I can do with it, get what I want and need.
You said some yourself,, where the rubber hits the road, being able to run these electrodes out of position well is where its at, anyone can learn to drag the thing around flat but the milestone is when the position or place is pretty much irrelevant. vert, overhead and around a pipe is what makes a welder and separates the men from boys.
I got a couple of buds, great fabricators, above my own level but one big thing I can do they never can is the out of position work. Really levels the playing field as to options, I seen a repair the other day that would have actually worked if the guy had been a better welder, a welder has the ability to over come things that would be huge obstacles to the avg mechanic.

[sfsilks]

Welding Career

I have to admit I am not an expert welder but, having been in recruitment for many years I do know that there are opportunities out there, that may be worth checking out.

You can find a list of welding jobs here to give you some idea, but one thing is for sure there are always other opportunities. It may be worth checking your local recruitment company and seeing if they have any openings as a recruiter, you just never know.

Regards
Stephen
International Welder