Gerald,
there's a particular reason taking your kind response to thank you, as well as all the other good fellows, that is:
- Shane
- Lawrence
- Tommy
- Carl
- Allan
- Dave and last but not least... the great John Wright(!)
for the congratulations and good wishes. You won't believe how much this means to me!
You know, now, finally it's time to disclose a secret.
Would you believe me that it was this forum which has pushed me to begin and accomplish the study?
Certainly, I have started it because welding is my life and as others like fishing, collecting stamps or playing chess I have chosen welding to be MY hobby.
I have to watch out! One of the most crucial things I had to learn over the past two years was: "Be concise!".
Hence, the initiation for beginning the program was a discussion we had here in the forum in 2008.
Those days we have argued with a colleague called "weld39". You remember? The correspondence was a tough one and you were even close to leave the forum.
The argumentation chosen by "weld39" at that time was such as:
http://www.aws.org/cgi-bin/mwf/topic_show.pl?pid=114025#pid114025or
http://www.aws.org/cgi-bin/mwf/topic_show.pl?pid=114039#pid114039 That, actually was it, what has brought me to consider beginning an academic study.
But it was not only the fact that I really love to learn, no way.
No, what hadn't let my mind rest those days was also the haunting question:
"Is arrogance something, being tought at the university?"
What has additionally amplified this approach those days was also another experience.
You must know, I have a colleague, being an engineer, a real good one, by the way.
One evening at that time, I was out with some colleagues for dinner and a good friend of mine (a welder, by the way), occupying the chair quite next to me left for searching the rest-room as this - particular - engineer stepped into the room.
He saw the free chair quite beside me and entered the seat. I mentioned the chair to be already occupied by my friend, the welder.
His reaction was: (Quote) "He (the welder) should be happy of the fact, an academic will use his chair!"
And exactly that was the point in time I have decided to apply for the MSc study.
I thought by myself, if this arrogance is something being tought through a study, then, I thought, I will find it out.
However, now, two years later I can say: "No, it was definitely not tought through all the tricky lectures and lessons!"
Here I am again. A human being, blessed by the Good Lord to have found his "desitination" - welding.
And hence, now I am in the situation to be capable of 100% agreeing with what our appreciated fellow Carl (ctacker) had responded through the forum discussion mentioned above, namely:
http://www.aws.org/cgi-bin/mwf/topic_show.pl?pid=114036#pid114036It makes no difference! So I finally found: "Arrogant behaviour seems to arise from a person himself but should rather not be assessed a topic dealt with through a specific form of education."
I am happy about this outcome! :-)
I must admit however, to have enjoyed the study extraordinarily. Really, I have enjoyed every single second and I would never want to miss any single second!
I was blessed to have wonderful teachers, excellent professors and... fellow students. One of which, by the way, is also an appreciated AWS forum fellow-member.
In my eyes, a second to none metallurgist whose thesis on duplex stainless steel welding is - to say the very least - o v e r w h e l m i n g!
I guess he'll know who's meant when he'll read this!
Thank you again for your congratulations Gerald and may God bless all of you!
Stephan
P.S. Good to be back! :-)
A formal Congrats is in order...WTG Stephan!
What's all this racket about "being concise? :) :) ;)"
Congratulations Stephan! I had no Idea welding and Cambridge went together, that's awesome. 
