By Mat
Date 05-05-2011 01:38
Edited 05-05-2011 01:53
Depends on the employer, I guess. We just hired a kid with no cutting/welding/fab experience to do clean up. We've got him practicing torch cutting on cutting up scrap that doesn't fit into the scrap bin as is, which is good experience for him. He came up to me and commented "Torch cutting is neat!" Hopefully we can get him welding/practicing welding on easy stuff within the next few weeks. The guy swept the yard (!) and it had never been as clean as it now is since before I started working for the company. It says a lot about gumption.
A lot of the time, if you are willing to work when you are needed to work (weekends, afternoons, days, nights, 4 days, 5 days, 10 days, 7 days, 3 days, 2 days, 12 hour days, 10 hour days, 8 hour days, 14 hour days [mill has to run come monday!], etc....), you will have a good chance at being hired, regardless of experience. There are generally jobs for any experience level and a willingness to learn/endure is always a plus. You might look into taking a welding course to give you the basics, but I wouldn't rely on it for much more than that. Gouging/cutting and putting objects back together is a lot different then welding a single bevel with a backing strip out and gouging said backing strip off in the flat. If you can't fit, don't even dream of pressure welding. Start from point A and work towards point X. My two cents.