recently got CWI

Date 01-23-2011 19:43 Edited 01-24-2011 06:21

When I took my seminar and test, out of the 34 people there, only 4 of us were paying out of our own pocket, employers were paying for the other 30. That kind of shined a light on my own situation. Probably going to do see about getting Mag Particle and Penetrant Certs next.

By welderbrent (*****)

Date 01-23-2011 22:01

Chuck,

Which code did you qualify to? D1.1 or API 1104?

You should have a certain amount of qualifications from your previous background that qualified you to even take the exam.

As stated previously, many either already work for companies adding qualifications to their QC program or for inspection agencies. You may need to consider going to work for an agency or finding a company that needs a CWI for their QC dept. It may pay less than you want. It will also be difficult to work with floor personnel and management. Companies don't always want to do things right and the floor personnel seldom care. And neither want you slowing down production.

Good luck and congrats on passing.

Have a Great Day, Brent

By kkfabricator (**)

Date 01-23-2011 22:58

Brent,
I tested to D1.1 because that is where all of my experience has been. There isn't much building going on, and the companies here in Denver either don't want a CWI, or they already have one. Would it be worthwhile to take the API 1104 exam as an endorsement?

By welderbrent (*****)

Date 01-24-2011 00:11

It can't hurt to take the API 1104, but you will run into the same problem. Trying to get unto a pipeline job without experience will be a difficult task.

My only suggestion is to keep trying. Hopefully things will open up soon, for all of us.

Have a Great Day, Brent

By Superflux (****)

Date 01-24-2011 04:58

Aerotek and a couple of other headhunters have been advertising in the Denver area off and on for several months. Mid 20's per hour if I remember right. Have you tried Terracon, they have an office in the front range. Times are still tough and all the "good jobs" get scooped up rather quickly. Try to get some NDT added on to resume. Most all the ads I see are wanting multiple certs.
North Dakota is hiring if you can just find the right door to get your foot in. The climate is so brutal that help is hard to get. Smith posted an ad on RigZone late last year and they are wanting CWI's for Schlumberger support in Williston, ND. They do have 3 seasons up there...last winter, this winter, and next winter.

By welderbrent (*****)

Date 01-24-2011 14:20

Thanks Super,

Your 'three seasons' comment made my day. I'll be laughing ALL day on that one. Thanks for the info as well.

Have a Great Day, Brent

By joe pirie (***)

Date 01-24-2011 14:20

Your absolutely right trying to get your foot in the door is tough.
I've took a cut in pay from being a welder , but im not killing myself
anymore lol. I thought just having a CWI would be enough but every company wants
more for their dollar. Alot of testing agencys like Mactec,Twining, etc want you to also have
masonary, rebar, soils certifications which i think is a bunch of crap. Just because i can
study and pass an ICC Masonary test with absolutely no experience does it qualify me to be
an inspector. I was lucky enough to land a job at a fabrication facility where I befriended there
level 111 UT inspector. They were training a couple other cwi from different plant locations
and i was able to get my training for a few lunches and got hands on training every day.
Im noticing Quite a demand for AP! 510 , 570 and 635 inspectors that will be my next goal as i already have
my 1104. I've worked several pipeline jobs as a welder and none of the inspectors had a CWI or API cert of anykind
and were making BIG BIG money go figure. Apply at aerotek they seem to always be looking for inspectors
there not really a testing agency there more like a staffing agency thats why ther wages are lower
there just like a PIMP lol. Get all the training you can afford and learn from every job you go to
check out the posts here a couple times a week and you will learn from the best. some of the people
on here are incredible with the amount of knowledge their willing to share. Getting your CWI was a great move
It took me six months to get my first inspection job. Im currently working 3,000 mi away from home lol
and have been getting quite an education as you will find out. Some contractors are very cooperative
and professional and have got there **** in order then theres those who don't follow the codes plans specs
dwgs and plain don't give a **** . imagine being told to leave a jobsite for trespassing when you ask for a copy
of a WPS or welders cert lol one guy let his pitbull loose on me and another inspector for failing a UT.
sending you a PM Joe

By Platinumbased (**)

Date 01-24-2011 23:25 Edited 01-24-2011 23:31

Sorry to break the news to you but don't expect any job offers anytime soon. I did the same thing you did. Took the CWI exam and seminar on my own dollar and studied for months in order to pass on the first try. Then the bottom fell out of the metal trades and it's only getting worse. We (you and I) are competing with CWI's with 20 years or more of inspection experience and many thousands of them are unemployed thanks to the oil industry and the power plants being targeted by the EPA. I know nuke and oil patch inspectors who are asking ME, the lowly welder, for job hunting tips! The AWS CWI mill is still pumping inspectors out at record pace. It's sort of like the 'welder shortage' myth perpetrated a few years back. The USA is flooded with qualified welders, NDT techs and CWI's. There's just NO WORK.

I'm working in a job I hate (but still pays decent) and not welding much these days. There's no work out there in welding or metal fabrication that pays decent. None. We fight for scraps and the back stabbing is off the charts. My fellow union members are on the verge of leaving the trade and ALL of them will never allow thier children to enter our trade. I'm so glad I'm not working with them anymore. It's so sad really. I love the welding and metal fabrication trades but it's been replaced by China and Mexico laborers. Our trade is on par with vegetable pickers and the pay is rapidly falling to those levels.

One more thing: ASME code does not require a CWI to inspect welding! Our local union hall picks family members and connected people and makes them inspectors with ZERO training. These guys are inspecting super-heater element welds, header welds and steam drum repairs in power plants with zero training.

By dbigkahunna (****)

Date 01-25-2011 00:14

You are right. There are no good jobs out there. You are going to have to take a piece of crap job and it may be 3000 miles from home. Lord you must live in Miami and work in Seattle.
But no never mind. The jobs are there. You just have to kick on doors, send out resumes and make phone calls.

Those pipeline inspectors talking about that are making BIG money?
Aint their first rodeo.
And chances are they got called to go on the job by someone they know. That is the way the business works.

You get to be one of those people that know someone.
It is called networking and it is how the business has worked for years.

From what I hear North Dakota fits the bill for people wanting to break into inspection. If I wanted to break out as a inspector I would be looking up there or companies that were working up there. Somebody that would head to Williston or Mandan this time of year has to have the passion.

I can give you a list of crap jobs I took the first three years I did this. But I wanted to be a inspector. And I was willing to do an take what was necessary. I did coating, ditch, and cleanup inspection on pipelines. I got to know people that could help me. I took a tank job that I did not know at the time would wind up being where I wound up having a career in tank inspection.
You do have to have some experience though. If you have been a shop welder doing D1.1 you are at a disadvantage with a welder with 10 years pipeline welding experience. But in the same vein if you are doing bridge inspection, you have a advantage over the pipeline welder.

When you get the company that give you the break, dont blow it.
Yes it is tough. but if being a inspector is what you really want to do, you make the sacrifice, keep making the calls and sending out the resume's.

By Platinumbased (**)

Date 01-25-2011 01:26 Edited 01-25-2011 01:31

dbigkahuna: I hear you and I'm not trying to start trouble. Not sure what years you were looking for work and pounding on job trailer doors but I bet it wasn't when the entire oil industry was under assault from the EPA, drilling was shut down in the Gulf of Mexico, coal fired power plant permits are denied, etc. Construction trades, especially METAL trades have close to 25% unemployment rates which is on par with the Great Depression of the 1930's. The same goes for CWI's and NDT's

Some people are telling a new CWI to pack up and drive from job site to job site in the frigid wilderness of North Dakota. This is NOT the responsible thing to do. It will most likely cost him thousands of dollars and severe strain on his family with zero to show for it.

Any openings for inspectors in ND or elsewhere will be filled with the tens of thousands (yes it's that many!) of unemployed, experienced inspectors. They will line up the work via prior connections, family members, etc. Anyone working in the field today knows this. I know outstanding inspectors who tell me they can't find work anywhere. Just the facts.

By tim105

Date 01-25-2011 02:04

If you really want to get in with a company, you go to them and meet them face to face. They are probably getting thousands of resumes by fax or email and yours could be in the same pile never to be looked at again. When you show up at the door, they give you more time. I have traveled thousands of miles not knowing if I have a job when I get to my destination. You just have to believe in yourself and it will work out. The glass is half full not half empty.

By Superflux (****)

Date 01-25-2011 03:36 Edited 01-25-2011 08:16

Platinumbased,
I must disagree with you. The early 1980's were pretty darn tough. GOM was slower than cold molasses, most of the Nukes were built and laying off thousands, Auto industry was about belly up (remember the first Chrysler bail-out with Lee Iacocca, while Ford, GM were streamlining and how Japan had practically flooded the US auto market?). All the KOA's from Houston to Morgan City, LA were half filled with Michigan License plates. Reagan had broken the PATCO union strike and thus begun the gelding of unions in this country. The worlds largest construction project here in Wyoming was winding down and oil field work was in a slump. 1982 10,000 men in Rifle Colorado were fired in one morning when the Oil Shale project collapsed. My rig welding friends were selling off stuff and other oil field hands I knew were working in grocery stores.

A MAN NEEDS to do what a mans gotta do to feed his children.
I'll stand behind the advise to the gentleman I gave to head up to NoDak. I know men up there right now that did "cold calls"/beating on trailer doors and are happily employed making far more than unenjoyment pays, and buying toys. You may or may not get the job you're looking for, but you CAN get work and you will meet people and most likely move into what you want eventually. Sounds better than hiding the truck at the in-laws house so the repo man can't find it.

By DaveBoyer (*****)

Date 01-25-2011 04:13

'82 was tough, I stayed employed, but only because I was making about $2 less than the machinist apprentices, and I was a journyman tool & die maker.
I didn't know their pay scale when I hired on.

By dbigkahunna (****)

Date 01-25-2011 04:08 Edited 01-25-2011 04:30

The companies that are hiring for inspectors in ND are based in Tulsa or Houston.
These are project inspectors. The guys that do pipelines and compressor stations. You are right there is a lot of competition.
So what! ND is not a plum job. I disagree there are thousands of inspectors all willing to take work in North Dakota.
But all you need is one company needing you.
You do not get a job as a project inspector sitting at the house waiting for your resume to get to the top of the pile.
You make phone calls. Ask the person you are talking to if they don't have something do they know who may.
You chase leads, and you sell yourself.
You get to be a pest. Annoy the crap out of the engineering companies.
Every inspector starting out needs to have at least 10 to 15 companies they are selling themselves to.
These are off the top of my head;
http://www.ctsinspection.com/
http://www.onshoreqcs.com/
http://www.englobal.com/
http://www.qisinspection.com/qis_contacts.aspx
http://www.audieprice.com/
http://www.tulsainspection.com/
http://www.mustangeng.com/Careers/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.manta.com/c/mm0fgm7/mbf-inspection-services-inc
http://www.wilcrest.com/
http://www.hayesfieldservices.com/home.aspx
Here is 278 hits that you could get 100 contacts
http://www.manta.com/mb_35_AA18505T_000/pipeline_and_power_line_inspection_service
Back in the days I was hustling for work I would sent out 10 to 20 resumes a week and this was before email. I followed up at least four times per company. If it looked promising, twice to three times a week. I would hear we have a project, just wait "x" weeks. Thanks, hang up and go to the next one.
Keep a name of the person you are talking to so when you follow up you ask for that specific person. Ask if they can circulate your resume.
Be sure you have a nice resume. One page with a cover letter is all you need. Don't fluff the resume. Sell yourself with the cover letter.
Let the looser's worry about the competition. If you are confident in your skills and abilities, don't hold back.
Yes you are going to get a lot of rejection, SFW!
Me I had a family to feed and a roof to keep over their head. Check out what the oil business was in 1990. Damn sure was not a boom! I was 33 years old with 8 years experience pipeline welding and had inspected on two cross country pipeline project before I started full time third party. I was going up against guys with 20 plus experience with Mason rings. If you do not understand what that used to mean in pipelines, you have no idea what competition is.
But somebody WILL give you the break. It took me 6 months to get my first third party inspection job.
But I never whined about the old men that did not have the CWI that were working and I was not. At least today the pipeline companies recognize CWI as training to meet the requirements of 1104 and DOT.

By Superflux (****)

Date 01-25-2011 01:01 Edited 01-25-2011 01:57

Another trick is to use the "save as" on microsoft word. Have yourself a basic resume and CV, but be prepared to tweak it sightly (or drastically if you wish) and tailor it to each and every different prospective employer. I have (as many of us in here) worked in many different venues in the metal trades. If I were to include every project and it's unique experience and codes, my CV would be 20 pages long. No one wants to sift through all that just to see if you are what they are wanting. Less is more.
That Smith gig I mentioned from rigzone....and it pays pretty danged good.
If that don't pan out for ya, just fire up the pickup, go to N.D. and pound on trailer doors till you find the right one. Stop by in Montana on your way up and I'll give ya some more info over a couple or 20 beers and point ya off on the right track. I've had 3 calls for the Williston Basin since middle of Dec., and Ive just handed one to you. So I know if a man was serious, all he's gotta do is be there. ND has 1.2% unemployment rate. That 1.2% is either brainless, worthless scum and dope heads.

By 803056

Date 01-25-2011 04:56

Always use spell check when writing your resume. You are entering a field where you are expected to be a professional. You are expected to write reports that are coherent using proper English, correct spelling, and proper punctuation.

I used to have my daughter who was in Junior High School check my reports before submitting them to the owner, Engineer, and contractor. I learned more from her than I did from my English teachers and professors. You might find work as a welder even if you cannot string more than five words together to form a complete sentence, but as an inspector, you are expected to be professional and write like a professional. Inspection involves so much more than simply looking at welds. You have to describe what you observe using technical terminology and the terminology has to appropriate for the welding standard you are working with. What do I mean? Simple, if you are working to API 1104, it is “lack of fusion.” If you are working to AWS D1.1, it is “incomplete fusion.”

You have to be able to use a welding standard and know how to apply the requirements in a fair, consistent manner. You have to be diplomatic and resist the urge to tell the fabricator what to do and how to do it. You are not a consultant if you are representing the owner as the third party inspector. There is a lot to learn once you’ve earned the CWI credential that isn’t taught in the classroom.

Stay with it and look in job offerings listed at the AWS website. Be prepared to go where the work is. Don’t expect to find a job at the corner welding shop. Some inspectors work for local inspection agencies and a few work with large fabricators, but a fair share work as TPIs where travel is a major part of the job.

Best regards -Al