I call bull$hit, whatever keeps the competion out, LOL thats what the oldtimer said at coffee this morning. Anyway I have 3-4 good kids/guys that I want to train, because they want to learn the trade. That IMHO is the key, money hungry ba$tards can eat it. My guys honestly want to be in this trade, so we train them. I am just rambeling rightnow as a continuation of coffee, but the guys I have "went to school" to be weldors. We are in the process of re-training them, but they are accepting the real world. Anyway long story short welding ain't that bad I been in it since I was 15 and am training the next generation as the previous generation(so sad I have learnrd so much in my few years) retires and tained me. I am only 27 but the 19 year old kids make me feel 50, and the "old guys" of 50-55 feel like my buddys. I don't know these days, the "old guys" are my boys an the "new guys"  are clueless. There is no way I was this bad when I was 18, I think about it every day , no way. I guess they don't make em' as smart as theu use to.

Here's what I wrote to the reporter:

Dear Ms. Needleman:

I enjoyed your article "Doing the Math to Find Good Jobs" in which you
report about the new job ranking site that uses statistics and a
mathematical algorithm to calculate that the best three jobs are
statistician, actuary, and mathematician.

I am sure that the people who developed this formula were happy that their
own career choices were validated. Thank you for showing the other side of
the story with your interviews with two people whose jobs, though they dwell
at the bottom of the list, seem to be providing great satisfaction.

I am sure that many workers, like the dairy farmers, seamen, and welders who
are ranked among the bottom, would agree that the scoring criteria used by
the website favors a total (and unhealthy) lack of physical activity and
sunlight.

"Welder" appears as number eight on the "10 Worst Jobs" list. America's
welders are passionate about the fulfillment they receive as major players
in our progress toward energy independence and rebuilding of our aging
infrastructure. Their work is artistic and satisfying. The modern welding
environment, aided by computer-assisted equipment, automation, and high-tech
air filtration, has nothing in common with the outdated image of this
profession.

The list also underestimates the income and job outlook for welders. An
article in your own paper, "Where Have All the Welders Gone?"
(http://webreprints.djreprints.com/1531490511822.html), refers to Labor
Department statistics that show a 10% decline in the number of welders from
2000 to 2005, which has led to the forecast of a 200,000-welder shortage in
the U.S. by next year. As an employer told the WSJ, "We need welders like a
starving person needs food."

Demographics are driving this shortage. The average age of a welder in the
U.S. is now in the mid-fifties, and they are retiring faster than new
workers are entering the welding profession.

This critical shortage is occurring just as the country prepares to pump
billions of dollars into infrastructure projects that will require tens of
thousands of skilled welders.

There is an interesting story to be told about specific career categories,
like welding, that will be the first beneficiaries of the upcoming economic
stimulus program.

A recent CBS Evening News story portrayed a stockbroker who changed his
career to welding and is thriving in the nuclear power plant industry
(http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/21/eveningnews/main4537720.shtml),
which is providing welders with six-figure incomes.

Again, I enjoyed your article and I appreciate the balance you provided, but
a list that places welding near the bottom of a career ranking is doing a
disservice to anyone who wants the real story about opportunities in
welding.  Please let me know if you would like to speak to welders who can
tell you how rewarding this career is.

You can also hear first-hand what three young welders have to say about
their careers in a short video at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eRVqfO1o8w

Ross Hancock
Director, Marketing Communications
American Welding Society

In the FWIW dept. I don't know if we have any openings right now but the company that is our major competitor up north just fired a guy who has been posing as a CWI for over a year!!!!  It just came out that he is only a CAWI and even that certification has expired.  I'm getting ready to head back to work on the 20th and I can only imagine the audits, procedure changes etc. this will mean for inspection in general.  On the flip side my company may get more work.  I have to wonder what the HR dept. not to mention the QA dept. are going to say when they are asked how this got by them????   I don't have enough experience yet to do QA but believe me if I ever do I'll be checking the qualifications of the inspectors I'm checking.  Hey Bryon if you want them to hurry up with that application just let them know your a friend of mine that should speed things up for ya!!!!   ROFLMAO. . . . One thing I've noticed they are pretty up to speed on is cashing your check or sending out renewal notices for memberships!!!!  And if you think welders are lazy just wait til you get around a bunch of us inspectors!!!