5 Things Welding Schools DONT Want You to Know!
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- Опубликовано: 1 окт 2024
- #weldingschool #rigwelder #welding
About 8 years ago I was at a cross roads. Go to welding school, or keep learning in the field. I researched for months on end, called welding school after welding school trying to get information. I asked about courses, what they would teach me, how much It cost and of course. Everything extra I wanted to learn was more money, by the time I had gotten a idea of the school I wanted to go to and the cost I was completely turned off by the whole thing. Forget learning to fabricate at most of these places! They simply didn’t offer it! So I kept on learning in the field. Was this correct choice? I’ll never know. But I’m debt free and make a decent living.
Here's the AWS website- www.aws.org/home
I have more hr on my machine using it as a generator so true 1/3 weld 2/3 weld
we gotta get a video of your work at some point!
@Meltin Metal Anthony charged the go pro and forgot it lots of cursing air arcing and welding at a insane speed
@@shawnlindquist404 don't forget
I went to welding school after about 15 years in carpentery. My first job in a fab shop, I was immediately recognized as the best cutman/fitter, and they almost never wanted me to weld. I guess the moral of my story is, don't be too good at the things you dont want to do all the time.
sounds like they cornered you.
Simply put, they knew they would not have to teach you anything that you could take to another job.
I've had to pretend I'm bad at sex due to the soreness
I went to Lincoln electric welding school 12 years ago. AMAZING school. 80% weld time. 20% class. I came out with 5 certs and can weld better than most people i work with. You can make 20 a hour just welding. I learned to fit/machine . That is where the money is at. I make 70-80k a year working 4 10 hour shifts a week barley working hard at all. Working on breaking out in to my own thing like meltin metal.
Where is this school located?
good luck. make dat money!@
Which Lincoln though?
@@essayess3 Euclid, OH main headquarters
@rarebeagle2741 cool! Thanks! Good luck becoming independent
I have been hired several times as a certified welder, next thing I know I doing layout, fitting and fixturing 95% of the time and maybe 5% welding, the response from the company, "we can get welders all day but layout, fitter and fixture guys are hard to find", your video is on point for sure Anthony.
They wanted to hire a fitter to pay them like a welder
100% correct! Fitting, measuring etc. is so important. This applies to anyone getting into welding - I am just a hobby welder and I could not believe the ratio of time spent measuring and cutting and fitting … figuring out angles. Keep up the great content. I bet you have save more than few folks some time and headache.
You’re absolutely correct, sir. It never ceases to amaze me how many people think that when I show up on a job, I just fall out the truck and weld. As if everything is already cleaned,fitted and clamped together 🤦🏻♂️! I always say and have probably said here, “There’s very little welding to the welding business”.
I did 3 year apprenticeship in Alberta. 8 weeks of school a year which wasn’t too bad but all they teach you is welding 6” plates together in different positions so you do learn to run a bead but 90% of what you actually learn is at work. A lot of guys are lost after school cause they can’t fab and fit. Totally agree with Anthony.
Man I’m gonna have to disagree for the most part. I’m also an Albertan welder b pressure/tig welder and while I do agree maybe some fab work can be taught our program is considerably in depth in all aspects of metal. Learning about different alloys, metallurgy, learning how to read blue prints, learning tig welding carbon/ss/alum, stick welding plates all position with different rod types as well as learning pipe, you fit your own pipe. Mig&flux core, oxy -acetylene cutting projects. You need 4500 hours to complete our apprenticeship outside of technical training. what better place to learn than on the job? Considering Anthony himself has learned through practice on the job. If you are wanting to be fabricator type of welder, then find your way into a shop that will teach you just that. Seek the experience you want.
On top of that our government PAYS for us to go to school. We pay like 900 dollars CAD a semester, plus like 170 bucks in books and the governments funds the rest of the 7gs a semester it costs and if you applied for the grants some semesters it costs you fuck all. If you had to spend HUGE money to go to a school then yeah it should cover everything but our program allows us to work learn the in depths of metal and it’s alloys.
All in all I’m proud to be an Albertan welder, happen to think our welding program is pretty good all things considered. I barely welded through my apprenticeship but I learned to fit/fab/rig through my shop/industrial work throughout my apprenticeship. By the end of my third year I went for my b pressure in school and passed because of our program.
Hey, sorry to randomly comment two years later, but where did you go to school? I'm looking into starting an apprenticeship and dunno if I should go through the normal apprentieship with a good school, or try doing the full proper "pre apprenticeship" program and learning all there is to know before trying to forge a path
I got my associates degree in welding for free thanks to grant money. We learned all the different processes, plate and pipe tests in all positions, math, fabrication, metallurgy, machining, blueprint reading etc... even got my first welding job through the school. I do wish they taught us more fabrication skills though. Once I started working in a large fab shop building huge projects I had to learn alot on the job. I don't regret going to welding school though.
Where did you go to school at?
@@ericddoran went to a University in Western Colorado. I would have gotten a bachelor's in welding if they offered it
@@MikeP350 what type of fabrication skills did they teach you on the job? Very curious
@@d4edxty Different ways to find square, different techniques of manipulating a work pice via come-alongs or port-a-power, formulas to find hole spacing around a circumference. Ways to calculate unknown angles and rise to run. Alot of basic fab math and methods were not taught in the weld school I went to
@@MikeP350 damn I’m horrible at math. Would I still have a shot at it if I’m bad at geometry and trig? I can read a tape measure, just bad at math.
Robert Oppenheimer reportedly said, "A college degree is merely a license to learn." (paraphrased from an old memory) Once you get a degree (or welding certification) you then have to start the "real-world" learning process. Oppenheimer led the Manhatten Project to create atomic weapons, where many super-smart scientists had to create the next level of knowledge. Cheers from Texas!
Couldn’t agree more with everything you said. Went to a night class for welding with welding experience already, I basically did it for tests an codes all were free with the teacher being an AWS CWI so that was worth the money. Then did an apprenticeship with the pipe fitters here an learned more in a month than I ever have. Def got a subscriber after this one
I’ve learned more from RUclips than I ever did in 2 years of Welding school.
Totally agree. I was fortunate that the local community College was also an AWS test facility and offered not just welding of all types but metallurgy, how to read blue prints, welding symbols, contractor law, and spent time on codes in the class, then hours under the hood. Had to learn how to measure stuff, cut and create per a specific plan set. Great way to supplement skills I already had
I can second that
@michaelhovanec3300 where did you go? I have a 17 year old who's about to graduate high school
Fullerton community college in Southern California. I dont think they are an AWS test facility any longer
Well said. Couldn't agree more. I took a few small votec classes for a year then I went and got real field experience working as a helper and now I'm in a great career. Most of what I learned was on the job and in the field!
i’m in welding school right now watching this and it gave me depression. luv ur vids Anthony!
How did welding school go? I’m planning on going
Anthony, I’m in full agreement with you on this subject. I teach welding at Project Lift a school for boys and girls at risk. I’m a volunteer I do not get paid. I tell my students that welding skill is just a tool necessary for completing any metal fabrication job. I also tell them that there are many skills such as math, geometry that must be learned in order to become a good Welder. It’s amazing to me how many kids today do not know how to turn a wrench or how basic tools work, but our society has made that happen with all the computer technology out there and the lack of interest in the trades. I guess that is why your profession is becoming a great place to be and why I am encouraging all my students to pursue a career in welding/fabrication. Thanks for the show and have a great day!
I'm not against technology like I mentioned earlier in a post. I have various knowledge in different things. I work on my own vehicles, build motors etc. Build houses etc. Operate heavy machinery I'm a computer programmer also having various skills has made me a very wealthy person blah blah blah. The problem is is when you have narrow-minded individuals that think this is the road to success. Don't go left. Don't go right? Stay on this road. That's why kids today have issues with skills or shall I say the lack thereof? America's schooling system is extremely crappy
@@imhungry2387 I'm so happy for you that you found a good mix! Congratulations! And wealthy from them? More power to you my friend! Any tips for a newcomer? I'm just starting out
as a former student i totally agree with this video , i’ve graduated a while back and it’s been a journey even after …got to the point where i’m having to battle the gitters …seeing my hands shake because of not having the confidence / knowledge to be out in the field … but i’m not giving up …. going to seek all the knowledge i can … i just pray for the opportunities and patience along the road. GUYS DO YOUR HW i paid a tuition to know the basics
Unfortunately I know more people who went to welding school who don’t weld, than do. Just keep at it and take every opportunity! There was a podcast out by Joe Rogan recently where the guy talks about Archery. But what he says about getting a better shot, could be applied to welding also
Stay strong buddy
Most of the time people who go to welding school don’t weld, it’s the guys who practice at home who go out and weld
Yup this guy tells it how it is and people need to realize that it really comes down to school of hard knocks aka get yourself out there and learn how the real welding world actually functions outside the trade school. Because its a whole another animal and you cant screw up too often or tour out of a job basically. Sometimes its best to start out as a laborer or a helper and really really pay attention to how the professionals do it because when the opportunity comes, then it'll be your time to shine. Oh and be good at repairing welds and cutting tacks off and redoing shit cuz you'll be doing alot of that too especially in fitting when stuff dont fit up right in other words dont be lazy because this trade comes down to blood sweat and tears and experience. Yup welding is just one part of it. Some places will hand ya a blueprint and some tools and say here ya go build this and weld it all from scratch with very little supervision. And when the mentor or supervisor or quality guy you work with says that's off too much, you better know how to fix stuff with a cutting wheel or you may have have to grind out or carbon arc out an entire weld because it failed ultrasonic testing. All i can say is it does take trial and error but its also learning from previous mistakes and just learn one thing at a time. Do a little better each time. But it does come down to doing it on an everyday basis. This trade isn't for everybody just like any other profession. Every welding job is different to an extent you may just be a production welder, or you may do both fitting and welding.
Took a certification course at my community college (was very cheap), but only did fillet welds all day, learn more at my first job in the first week than I learned months at a school.
Graduate from IOT and let me tell you could never be more right. The ventilation is the worst in that school along with everything else. I could have seen this video a lot earlier.
I'll be honest, the worst "welders" I've come across are ones that learned in a shop (not an apprenticeship). Because you have to push things out the door all kinds of stupid garbage gets passed off. And then they go somewhere else and they're so used to the garbage they're pretty much untrainable. And then there's the ones with 10 years "experience" who don't know a fucking thing, but because they're been making garbage for so long think they do.
It was a bit degrading applying at a few different shops here recently and having them tell me their starting wage was between 16 and 20 an hour. I have roughly 3 years experience and have certs(not that they mean much but in a shop setting seems to be a "requirement" around here so I got them) when Culver's is hiring at 21 an hour starting... I am looking for something until I can get up and running solo and these places complain about not having guys, are running mandatory 50 hour weeks trying to keep up but can't break 20 to start?!?! Get effed. I did find one welding program out here that was good. But laugh at some of the others I've seen. 2 years to learn to weld and like you said, these frickin kids can't even run a torch to make a clean cut or read a tape measure.
I remodeled my house and hired high school kids to help. Literally had to teach them how to use a cordless drill to drive phillips head screws, read a tape measure or use a shovel.
Seems to me that learning algebra and trig along with basics of fabricating measuring, cutting, grinding, welding, riveting, threading connections, cleaning, painting and safety would serve as basics for anyone interested in a career in fabrication/repair industry. So unless you are lucky enough to have a father/uncle show you these things how do you learn? You can try to teach yourself but that is difficult or get a job where you will get trained and have opportunity to learn from experienced people (also not easy, most of the time guys at work don't want to share what they know just make fun of the "new guys"). So going to school of some sort is necessary along with alot of experience.
As for not liking the wages shops are paying there is a lesson .... if the person doing the work is making less than 20 and hour and the shop charges 100, how do you get to become "the shop". It's more skills to run a legit business but certainly worthwhile to learn them and start working for yourself. Very few get rich working for someone else.
This man is talking facts
This was arclabs, the school I attended. Crappy instructors that only taught you how to watch the puddle. Now I have no skills, no job and 20k in debt. You called it from the beginning.
Always take an intro course first before you throw away 40 thousand dollars to some welding school. 🤔
I sent my 18yr old son this video, he's on his way to a comm-college and enroll in the welding curriculum. I have personally told him similar concepts you mentioned here and I agree. Hopefully he watches it and grasps the concept. Thank you for sharing.
Best way to learn about all types of welding is to master oxygen/acetylene welding (no not brazing) , gas welding teaches you puddle control, heat management, penetration and material properties, welding schools rarely teach flame cutting let alone welding..
How is it going ?
Went to a good welding technical school. Taught all the stuff you talked about. Don't regret it but I did learn most I know from the different jobs and coworkers I've had in my life. Little tricks here and there. I also think that a big part of being a successful welder is actually falling on love with what you do. I love it and wish I could do it full time but can't seem to figure out how to make that jump. Finding your channel keeps me motivated though! Keep it up man 💪
Man last year I went to welding school provided by the army and I had to go through OSHA 30. Also learned how to stick, tig, and mig weld. It was the best choice for me because I learn so much better from doing than reading.
Right. It’s hard to start if no one is gonna give you a hand. Community college is a way. Union is a way. Military the way.
thanks you for this. ive been stressing to save up the cash to go to welding school on top of my day job ( electrician apprentice ). I ended up getting insight from a friend whos currently going to that school. so far he says its good but all he's been able to learn is how to pass plate tests. Im pretty sure they teach you how to bevel but certainly no other fabrication skills. i printed out the course outline and alot of the real word applications are just taught through a textbook theoritically. I'll just stick to hustling my way into a small company the same way i did with electrical and learn first hand from there. Whats great is that this school allows you to customize your training as well. Once i get better idea of the industry ill make a decsion whether to go and pay for training
I’m happy to hear you say “not all welding schools.” I hate dealing in absolutes, but given that caveat, I agree with the rest of the information. Like all careers that exist, there are good teachers and bad teacher, good welders and bad, good schools and bad. As an instructor myself, I’ve quit a local college that wasn’t properly educating the welders and administration wouldn’t work or pay to fix it. I HATE seeing people taken advantage of, and that’s what I’m hearing you reflect as well. The high school is an awesome free opportunity for students to learn, and in the first year I push the welding heavy - mig, tig, stick, plasma and oxy-fuel cutting. That way year 2 I can focus heavy on the fab side, measurement, and warpage reduction, and holding tolerances, and know I’m not gonna have to hand hold them through setting up the machine or swapping out wire every day. I love the job training facility I work at also, because of how hard they work to get funding for every student. They have quality equipment, the opportunity to learn up to 4 different processes, and usually pay nothing out of pocket for the experience. Keep holding inadequate schools accountable!
My welding course was two years now crammed into 9 months.
Lack of welders they say. Lots of textbook material is getting skipped. I'm 51 going to school after leaving garage door install and repair after 20 years.
I originally tried to get into a community college to learn metal trades as they teach more than just welding, but they lost my transcripts so I had to take a combination welding course at a tech college instead. Kids should graduate HS regardless whether they want to learn a trade or not, as unions sometimes require a transcript for algebra, etc. (depending on your choice of trade).
This is not unique to welding. This is not unique to trades. This is true with everything, even basket weaving. You need to do your research before you spend the money to any training and prepare for it. The problem is that many people and many parents have no experience what so ever. They just want a better life for them or their kids. They have no-one trustworthy they can ask and even it they did, they wouldn't know what to ask. Hence, they have no common sense and all types of wolves will take advantage of them. When I first thought of welding school, I thought about welding. Not fabrication, Not cutting, not readying blue prints, not dealing with a teacher that says, I need this widget built/fixed. It should be this big and here is my diagram on a napkin.(I know some kids/parents that would freak out on this) . But when I went to community college for my EE, the teachers did that to us all of the time. Build and/or fix this thingy... My teachers were jerks about doing this and made my life difficult and looking back I am so appreciative for that. For me in my profession(EE), it's not totally crazy to get abstract requirements. And in your profession, dealing with different people every day with different backgrounds, this is probably pretty common to have to deal with ambiguity and being a jack of many trades.
Learned to weld working at my family heavy equipment repair shop after school in the late 90s and then went to production welding in factories ( no fun) and then learned to fabricate so did that but personally i prefer to be a heavy equipment repair welder/ mechanic cause i get more personal satisfaction from it but i worked in repair shops, automotive factories, forges, foundries, oilfields, and ive had to work with weld school grads quite a few times and every single one of them basically only knew how to weld which is ok production welding at a factory but if ur a welder in a fab shop u better know how to fabricate at least a little and welding/repairing equipment/ trailers etc u better know how to turn a wrench and be able to weld tore up rusty steel in hot/ wet/ muddy/ dangerous environment and i never once met a school welder that could do that. Experience is the ONLY way to learn that shit. Thats crazy u welded in tampa, i just moved back to southern Indiana from tampa, last place i worked at there was reliable welding and steel supply off of 30th and goddam it was hot layin on my back in the sand burning rods/wire and torching fixing trailers and dumpsters in the summer
Just looking for somewhere to start. Want to learn a skill that is in high demand and make good money.
Not many welding schools ever touch on welding sheet metal. They only teach heavy plates and pipes.
Body men are master sheet metal welders
I dropped my mechanics career to head to Gillette Wyoming for welding school. I looked all over the US for welding specific schools and chose WWA. They'll teach all aspects of what is welding plus 100% job placement after graduation.
I live in Denmark, i took the education you would call a "welder", but here we learn alot of stuff, we get to do MIG - TIG - Electrode and oxy cutting. we allso learned how to fabricate, from using simple handtools to cnc pressbrakes and cutters. we basicly get to be "Fabricator, fitter and welder". This education took 4 years, not to mention it was free, with a salary the whole time. it would be 10 months in our "company" and 2 months in school, learning new stuff, more and more advanced every time. We allso learned how to do the "certified" weldtest, just so we were ready for them, would we ever need them.
thats the case most of the times in that region of the world, more comprehensive skills training. here in the Usa there as been a lack luster with a lot of instructors ive come across, sometimes they are under equipped, other incompetent
@@MeltinMetalAnthony From what i've experienced apprenticeships seem to be the way to go. Im on my 3rd of 5 years, make good money, and learn all of that as well. We don't go super in depth with welding besides plate tests and sheet metal pipe type stuff at school but combined with practicing at work and home + advice from the journeymen i work with I've learned a ton.
You know what the best free universities for a lot (not all) things is? RUclips, and Discord. You can find so much information on there. I literally learned all about different types of electrodes, machines, different types of welding, which is one is best etc.. all from youtube (some discord)
Your the shit man 🙌I’m also a central florida guy , over in Lakeland(Polk county ) been field welding for 7 years after finishing up technical school and I must say your right . The only thing we learned in welding school was to pass plate and pipe tests in all processes . We didn’t learn shit about fabrication, and after school I found out real quick that welding isn’t even the majority of the job unless your in a production shop welding and fuck that . I’d rather be in the field
I love u Dana Carvey, WAYNES WORLD ,, WAYNES WORLD... bro ur speaking the truth man, I respect u so much I truly do and admire and thank u so much for all ur help, and for free and it's the realest talk I ever seen on all welding RUclips channels.... Fr fr thank u sir. 🏆
50 years in the trade 4 year apprentice in a shipyard trained in MMA, TIG, MIG, MAG, SAW, Atomic hydrogen, Air arc day release to college with compulsory night school for the last 20 years a CSWIP and CWS welding inspector of that 10 years at senior level can’t imagine doing anything else
damn this dude makes me wanna drop out and i havent started yet lmao, hes talking facts though
Im going through my local community college now, they have us take a dedicated blueprint reading , metallurgy, and dimensional metrology class. We started with stick, now going into mig then tig.
Same and u can take machining or other stuff on the side Im poor so the shit is literally free so why tf not
we have solid welding teachers at our local community college. but hes right in saying you should know what you want to learn. my local community college had a really solid intro to welding class. 14 weeks for 400 bucks. the amount of material youd use in the class was worth it alone. teacher showed us mig, stick, oxy acetylene cutting, scratch start tig and just explained how much more there is out there. not bad for one class.
@@Brandon-bl8ko yeah forgot to mention we actually learned both oxy cutting and welding.
Hey Anthony, I'm a Pile Driver myself. We typically get certified through our apprenticeship.
Splicing pile is only crucial to the point of, it won't break. Same with all the welding that we do .
Anthony, Awesome advise I’ve been saying this for years. Our local school teaches to just pass the test for TIG. pipe welding they don’t teach any fabrication skills. Fabrication skills are priceless
Also weld symbols on a blueprint. I had to teach myself
you are right thir comeing from schools know that there are have no skils for fab or thay welding
My local vocational high school was great, cwi welding instructor and very knowledgeable from years of trade work. Safety was beyond the standard, wouldn’t allow you to mig weld besides to learn the basics but only a week or two then back to stick and tig, couldnt mig weld any class projects, wanted us to be proficient with stick and tig first before we did any mig welding, even then he would joke about it if we suggested mig welding. He said in production shops and quick little things yes it’s the best but if you plan to do repair work or high quality tig you won’t be any different than someone who never went to school if you only mig weld. besides learning joints and metallurgy basics etc obviously. i practiced with a family friend before school started and I as the only one not sticking rods every strike, so watching videos and getting a good cheapo welder to fail with at home will set you up to know the mistakes before you even touch a decent machine
I’m enrolled in community college wanting to weld right now. I start in three days and my whole first semester is machine shop stuff. I weld multiple times a week for my own uses already but I want those certifications. Due to my grades and ACT score I’ll end up paying about $250 per semester and feel comfortable with that investment. I’ve spent more than that on rods and angle grinders.
I got lucky, my school taught everything, we learned how to do all processes, and we learned to read blueprints, and did a lot of fabrication projects ( basic stuff ) it helped me get my first fab shop job, where I expanded on my fabrication skills ( although I still don’t know shit about pipe ) and when I started my own welding business I gotta thank my welding school, I only payed $500, and I got the basics of everything and ofc we perfected our welding which helped a lot at the fab shops so I can perfect my fabrication, now I own my own business, I’m
not the best welder by any means, however for what I do ( similar to Anthony ) it’s good enough, as long as it’s square and the welds aren’t absolutely horrible, I’m good, unless you’re in the pipeline or aerospace, being super-amazing at welding doesn’t mean much. In fact the first question I got during the interview at every fab shop I been to has been ( can you read a tape measure ).
Too funny lol … I am old lol or getting old fast .. just bought a torch for oxyacetylene welding etc , never welded before .. plan to use the torch in my art work for my future art museum. Maybe I will make a few things.
Welding as a pro sounds like a lot of work , does seem like a very big field , I bet there are many ways to go. Welding space ships sounds fun but I would not want to weld for Darth Vader .. “your welding has failed me for the last time !!!” LOL
I almost did weld underwater eons ago in commercial diving school.
To be young again lol
That’s great, I used to make little sculptures in my spare time, now I have no spare time lol. Under water welding is super dangerous. But I’m not even really into scuba so adding welding into the mix might not be ideal for me
I'd rather have somebody with no habits than bad habits.
To counter that though a lot if not most jobs won’t teach how to weld or give you the material to do it. When I was a helper the welder didn’t let me use his machine so I went to welding school for 2 years and master a lot of welding process. If you expect to learned more than just welding than your wrong and didn’t research what they teach in the schools which is mostly welding since most things you can learn in a job or your own like (reading a tape measure ) hell you can learn how to read blueprints on RUclips unlike welding where it has to be hands on. You’ll have to go out your way to find someone to teach you if you don’t wanna take some sort of classes lmao.
Also when I was going to school most students had jobs is common sense to have any work experience in order to get a good paying jobs
I've been watching your videos for a while now and decided to subscribe because you really tell it like it is. I watch you do jobs and you always keep it real. Thanks. I was a certified diesel mechanic then turned welder when the boss figured out I could weld. I had only one welding class in diesel school and the rest I learned by doing. I worked for a company in SLC building aircraft tugs and I would stay late and practice my welding. The "old man" who was a cranky SOB took a liking to me because I was really trying to improve my skill and he taught me a lot. After 30 years of being a mechanic/welder I had a brain fart and went to college. Got a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing and became an RN in the hospital emergency department. Two years there then worked at a clinic for another 8. Finally retired and now I am getting back into welding just for something to do. Slowly building my skills and tooling back. When you work for a big company they usually have all the tooling, saws, torch, welding machine etc. The one thing I learned after all that is I should have started my own business. You will never get anywhere working for someone else. You cannot run your own business if you are lazy or only want to work 40 hours a week. Keep doing what you do and know I'm watching you. wink wink
I've been a welder in a fabrication shop for a year and really wish I saw this video before I had started You're exactly right with it only being 10% of the work and I didn't even know about warping and all this stuff beforehand cuz nobody ever told me in welding school and it's good to hear someone mentioned the money cuz my girlfriend tells her friends that I'm a welder and they're all like oh he must make a lot of money well that's just not the case for a lot of welders
My buddy went to a county college that had a welding program. They taught all the processes and how to get your certs. When you finish you get a associates degree. It’s not a bad setup they have.
💯 best decision I made yet lol they payed me to learn etc. It took two years total though 😉
nobody give 2 fucks about a silly Ass Degree. Can ya weld and show up on time every day???
@@davidspin5353 that part! Thats how it works in the real world
fuck at this point, can ya just show up lmao
in ny state you thir are guys that could run a bad in str line
Agree with everything you said…but what other professionals teach you how to troubleshoot or work through a process? Reality is…they teach comprehensive theory and the “how-to”…experience teaches lessons and lessons grow maturity and maturity grows experience. You have to know what you are doing with anything!! Another great video for the guys starting out. I took welding in Vo-Tech…my instructor was a 30-year Navy Retiree and taught us his experiences!! Walked away with all of the Certs and blueprint reading the high priced useless schools taught, for FREE!’ Ended up landing my first job at a company called Frog n Switch…building snowplows…from cut to paint…I was involved. Company paid for my Bachelors and Masters in mechanical engineering! A bit of knowledge goes along way…but those lessons, experiences and maturity take you somewhere!
I did not go to welding school, I was just a helper in one shop. Theres a guy asked me if im interested to learn welding and fittings. He taught me, I learned, I quit there find better place to improve my new develop skills. Now I make 120k to 140k a year or even more if i want to.
This has really made me think more on the school. Knowing the money you make and no school, I understand, and I want to learn more than just welding, just knowing how to tear down, rebuild, reinforce or build is just amazing
Good stuff Anthony! Especially the measuring comments!
Man are you located in ga & in need of an apprentice I’m the one & truly interested in learning the tricks of the trade to welding & know a little about it aswell
na im in central Florida, soon to be in Montana
Buddy needs a hair dresser lol.
I went to 3 night classes at the local community college 4 years ago. I was disappointed that there were 35-40 people and one instructor. Most of the kids (I am older btw) were 6-7 weeks in and couldn’t even do a decent bead on flat plate with no filler (with tig). It was unbelievable. Most of the kids graduating with a 2 year degree in welding couldn’t weld as good as I could in stick, and I only had 14 weeks of practice (1 day a week 3 hours).
The tape measure hit home with me. I tried to hire some people to help me do some carpentry on my house. 3/4 of the people that showed up to interview couldn’t even read a tape measure. A tape measure is the simplest but invaluable tool. If you can’t read one you are unbelievably limited.
I am so confused. How do you test for this? This is just so alien to me that I am trying to figure out how you test for this. I have proof that somedays I don't know how to read a tape measure by the fact that piece that I made is off a 1/4" or more but I think that is different than what you and Anthony is saying. :)
@@nmopzzz fastest way to check if someone can read a tape is to say cut me 3 pieces of wood at the lengths written on a piece of paper. 1 at 10 and 5/8th, 1 at 6 and 3/16th, and one at 4 and 3/4. Many people say the can read a tape that actually can’t, if they can read it the cutoff pieces will match what you want. Reading a tape measure isn’t hard, it just takes practice.
Dropped out after I v seen the teacher keeps messing me around the circle for to long at same level .. the more they keep u , tge more the school makes money .. I v been already welding at my job professionally.
How old are you bro? You look my age but like with my grandfathers maturity
I’m 29
I agree 100%. another point to make is: Being self employed If I need a degree or certs of any type I'll hire them..;)
How to weld I know from experience.
Tony you are not a welder . Your a Mickey mouse welder. Big difference.
got Mickey Mouse money too 😉
You americans are funny. Where I live, we don't have welding schools. We only have weldin & fabricating schools, and everyone gets PAID to go to school.
where are you
@@MeltinMetalAnthony Finland. One co-worker who moved here from US few years ago said this is heaven. 😄 I don't see it that way, maybe coz I have lived here 39 years.
I've been looking at welding as a change in careers for awhile. I'm thinking of taking a $250 class that ends in certificate that can land me a job. Everyone where I am is wanting cert. And I can already read a tape. Seems better than 30k Although my community College is rated very highly in their welding program, 4k in "training" and equipment seems a reasonable alternative. (Equipment so I have some after work potential.)
Semiconductor silicon sucks. And even after 16 years at it, it pays well, but it is not what I want to do. I knew that from the start but it pays enough. The company I work for is big, but only because of their parent company. They would have folded decades ago if they managed like this without them... but your videos seem to be authentic. You spell out the downsides to things (no one else does that (that I've seen), it's always a happy place filled with money on other channels) and I'm still thinking this is what I'd want to do. I haven't welded before, but think (not like I've been wrong before.... right? We all have.) This would be a good course of action. I've got family that welds, but they are union, so they don't share much as it violates the union rules. Long winded, but thanks for the videos. I Normally pride myself on technical writing....... But not today!
I made the mistake of going to my nearby community College I did learn alot but it was kinda ass I only spent 5k but all they pushed was pads pads and welds not really focusing on all the sides if the job it was just Get your cert get your cert and I'm still rusty at fitment now that I'm gonna start doing some side work I wish I would've been sat down and learned alot if the things I needed I'd feel alot more confident obviously I'm Learning now but I also wish it was what I got with the payment
My dad was in the army. He showed me one day how they taught him to weld with a car battery if you're ever in a pinch. He is the best welder I have yet to see. He's 87 now and doesn't do much welding anymore. He told me one day something I will never forget. He said, "Any moron can lay a bead. Just like any moron can spray paint. 99% of making a good weld, or good paint job is in the prep work."
Your absolutely right. Especially about knowing how to measure, square, level and find angles. Allot of people don't understand the difference between fabricating and welding or even worse, they think that welding is a higher skill set than fabricating bc they don't know what fabricating actually entails.
Can you explain the right processes to square, leveling and such, is this more comprehensive than using a spirit level from one point only.
@@ryanb1874 can you be more specific? If you are leveling and squaring from a fixed point that you already know to be level and square then it's pretty straight forward... No pun intended. Are you talking flanges on pipe or building a table surface or what?
I couldn’t agree more. I worked with two guys at a fabrication shop, one in his 60’s and one 19 years old and neither one of them could read a tape unless it was the half in or inch mark. I went to school for 2 years welding and 1 year machining at NDSCS and I learned how to weld, how to fabricate, how to read a tape and dial caliper. Learned how to tig, mig, and stick weld all types of metal. Only cost me around $35,000 for 3 years including all tools I bought.
Ant, you need to cut your hair bud. You were looking sharp with that short buzz cut, but this 80s rocker look is not doing you any justice hombre.
Let the man do his thing grandpa
@@imacaryay7628 haha
That's right. AWS has determined that every weld process is generally 90% set up and only 10% welding. These weld schools that teach a person to stand in one place and weld all day is ridiculous. They don't have 90% of what it takes to be a welder.
Dude 100% so I decided to go to welding school. Granted I learned a lot about welding and got certs in all the main processes and in most positions. 6g 2in. I had high hopes for a career after. But the school basically had no real world connections. And I'm not taking no 18 dollars when I can at least make 25 doing carpentry. So I have decided to keep practicing and do own thing.
The schools are trying to sell an unnattaible dream to kids and It sucks!!!
For less than the price of welding school, you could buy a nice welder, all the metal you need to practice, youtube some stuff, then go test
Hey Anthony I'm in full agreement with the majority of what you said in this video. I'm a Welding Technology Instructor at my local community college. Any education is always better than no education. There are shitty schools out there like Tulsa up in Jacksonville. I guess the comment that I didn't agree with is the part about a community college instructor making $30000.00 and were you good anyway. With me I wanted to give back so it wasn't all about the money it was about turning out good welders. I and others that instruct were good welders but I choose to instruct to help young men and women true my learn this craft. We're striving to raise the bar by being NCCER certs, osha 30, AWS accredited facility, AWS testing facility, compete in skills usa welding competition, confined space cert, rigging and signalling, etc. I constantly stay in touch with companies to ask what skills they are needing and we tailor ours to accomadate those request. We try. I know this is your channel and you have the right to feel the way you do, say what you want because it's yours. In the future maybe consider not knocking community colleges. Some kids have to get scholarships, Pell grants just to be able to go to school and that's there only choice is the community college or no college. To go to my local community college for 2 years to get a degree in a welding Technology costs about 6000 00 and that's not bad. I did take at least 40 grand cut to teach but I still do well much higher than 30,000.00. The benefits do make up the difference in pay. Long story short if no-one ever taught what kinda opportunities would these kids have. Some of us do it for the future of these young welders trying to do good. Carry on with the good work and great videos my friend
Is uti good? I’m just afraid of 15k debt
In the grand scheme of life $15k isn’t shit. Idk how uti is . Interview them. Remember it’s your future, not there’s don’t be afraid to make it awkward and ask hard questions
I couldn’t agree more. I worked with two guys at a fabrication shop, one in his 60’s and one 19 years old and neither one of them could read a tape unless it was the half in or inch mark. I went to school for 2 years welding and 1 year machining at NDSCS and I learned how to weld, how to fabricate, how to read a tape and dial caliper. Learned how to tig, mig, and stick weld all types of metal. Only cost me around $35,000 for 3 years including all tools I bought.
I was amazed in my welding school when they asked who could read a tape, and I was one of only five out of thirty that could.
when i heard 13 a hour to weld and i realized where you're located i think i worked at one of those places
Hey Anthony. I’m in Englewood Fl. I know you are somewhere north of me. Can you recommend anyone to teach me how to TIG aluminum? I don’t need to do anything else. I just want to fix gulf cart frames and some small marine stuff. I’m a handyman that needs to work on gulf carts from time to time.
What should someone do if they want to be a robotic welder programmer?
I went to a community College for there 2 year welding course. I had been doing mig and stick for a few years before that, but I wanted to see what I didn't know. Turns out I already knew about of what they were teaching.
But what I seen were the students that were only half interested in doing the work.
you drove the point home. Luckily im having my courses paid off through wioa, but my main issues with schooling are the fact the class im in is lazy as fuck and piss the teacher off to the point he doesnt want to teach us how to use tools and measuring things or fitup and all that. stuff we actually need. granted the teacher does have cancer so he is a hair trigger temperament wise but its valuable stuff we need to learn instead of just being under the hood at times. need to learn how to measure, cut, factor in loss from cutting and angling. all that ontop of reading schematics for various things give or take and. atleast for me i cant cause of people who take the class for granted. would LOVE to learn the other stuff even tho i am dyslexic and just started about 4 months ago in welding. so im trying my best regardless even tho i suck at math lol. can vaguely read a tape measure tho i really wanna learn how to fabricate and all the stuff that entails welding. getting the job done from point a to b is the biggest valuable asset ever to yourself. just sucks cause im limited fund and space wise to learn on my own in alot of degrees lol.
I never heard of anyone who welded didn't read a tape measure!! Unbelievable!! ,, accuracy is a must , i mean when your welding, the material will move some , but i believe maybe doing preheating can help that movement be a bit minimal
You cannot teach GMAW welding in 10 minutes, you need to understand the machine settings, voltage, amperage, slope, pinch effect, penetration, push vs pull, open root groove welding, distortion etc.
Framers get a lot of sideways looks. A good framer holds a lot tighter tolerances than a lot of people think. It all comes down to square plumb and true. It can all be learned, plenty of places.
I got it for free lol. Did a school program. I'm certified for MIG, Stick, and Fluxcore. Didn’t have time for any TIG certs. We barely went over metal fabrication and blue print reading. ALL WE DID WAS WELD. I was one of the lucky ones who stayed behind and would build shit out of the scrap yard in the back of the school during the year. All they focused on is welding and IT WAS INFURIATING DUDE. Only half the kids passed their free weld cert test for STICK. Someone was sleeping in CLASS for god knows how many days. It truly is something. I couldn’t imagine paying $15,000 for that class. Rip off dude.
If you are a youngster try to get a free ride with a trade school. Before welding though take a few woodshop classes. You'll learn to work with your hands, learning how to manufacture with wood will give you confidence in metal fabrication once you take that next step.
Learn to read a tape measure, learn fractions and basic arithmetic. The amount of people I see try to get welding/metal fabrication jobs and still can't do basic math is astounding.
i bought a buzz box used it’s like 70 years old works perfect and i taught myself how to weld and fabricate. i’ve used 6011, 6013 and 7018 so far
Very cool!
@@MeltinMetalAnthony I made a hitch cover for my jeep all from sheet metal. i made the 2x2 tubing and a cut out a jeep grill it turned out awesome
I went to a community college for a year, as like a career and technical education thing last year in high school. The instructors were maybe 5 years older than me, (I'm 17) and I never really picked up much from them. I learned how to lay a mig weld down, i learned how to lay a TIG bead down. That's about all I learned. They made it seem like they were the best, and the end all be all. Well, this summer, I decided to go and intern at the local fabrication shop. Within a week, I had learned more than I ever had at welding school. I was put into the Heavy Fab department, and spent a month getting used to it. I got exponentially better at TIG welding, good enough that they moved me from Heavy Fab over to what we call "The Die Side" (Just TIG fab and die welding department), they let me do some little odds and ins, and then they told me "Hey kid, we see it in you, we like the way you work, what do you think about being trained to be a die welder?" Of course, I happily accepted, and now I'm working on alloys that most people have never even heard of, and learning more and more every day. Moral of the story, even if you're young, sometimes welding school isn't the best way to get into it. Often times these younger instructors show up, and they'll let just about anyone teach, and it wont always be the best way to learn, because their only concern is taking your money and filling seats. After experiencing both sides, honestly if you wanna learn, go to a fabrication shop, that way you're gonna learn what to do and when, how to fabricate and repair, and get that hood time with people that actually know what they're doing and will teach you the right way.
I learn quickly can I pay you to prep me for a certification i do punk soldering already for drones wanna upscale
my school (just a community college) had the best teacher ive ever seen. we learned mig, tig, flux, stick 7018 and 6010, all processes flat, vertical and overhead, pipe in all processes, using torch, plasma, cnc plasma table, break, shear, you name it. it was a welding program but you learn a TON of fabrication skills also. It was actually a really hard program and I was a welder for 10 years prior to taking it. I am grateful for that teacher.
this helped me a shit ton im 18 i needed this knowledge thank you!!!
I'm a welder at a motorsports fab shop, run a mig all day welding parts. Gotta stack dimes and make it pretty, which is probably the only reason I get paid as much as I do.
Anthony is 100% right. Mig is brainless if you just need it to hold, if you need it pretty it's quite a bit harder, which is the only reason I enjoy my job as much as I do.
Another stellar video Anthony! Totally agree with everything you said. Like the old saying goes......"those who can't DO....TEACH".
So i dont need s school to get recert. I dont have my card anymore, cert. In five states i think , that was years ago.. but id like to learn tig
thank you for this video. i'm curious about welding and never had the chance to give it a try. I grew up in a big city & didn't get any hands on technical skills. I'm 33 now & going to back to community college for a free intro to welding class. For the first month we're getting an amazing lecture on material sciences, physics, engineering.. subjects I never got a chance to explore in high school. learning about safety and some of the extreme dangers, the risk that welders go through is really crazy. there should be more appreciation for the people that do this as a profession!
Definitely! Good luck on your journey
Same age here. About to start in a week
Agreed. I learned mig welding in a trailer factory, you'd be surprised how many people go into that job not knowing how to read a tape. Plan on going to the local career center to get certified, might as well take the basic course and advanced course while I'm at it since it'd be under a grand for all of it