I agree with Lawrence.

If you have the qualifications, i.e., education and the grades, some experience is helpful; it is a wise move to take full advantage of an apprenticeship program for a skilled trade. Most of the apprenticeship programs are union run, so you become a member of the union. You will earn apprentice pay while you are learning the trade. You are required to attend classes in the evening after normal working hours. That means if you are working an overtime job, you have to forgo the overtime and the overtime pay to attend the classes.

Be aware that welding is not considered a skilled trade by the US government. Welding is considered to be a "tool of the trades", as such; you will be a member of the Ironworkers, Boilermakers, Pipefitters, Carpenter, or Electrician's union. You will learn more than how to weld. You will learn a trade; of which welding is a part of the training you receive. The length of the apprenticeship varies from one union to another.

As a union journeyman, you will be expected to travel from one project to another. Most local unions have territories they service and you are expected to go where the work is. Thus the name, "Journeyman".

There are number companies that will hire you as an entry level welder, but most of them expect you to know how to weld before they hire you. To learn entry level skills you can go to one of many commercial welding schools or you can attend a state funded vocational school in your area. Few commercial companies have approved apprenticeship programs. They teach you what you need to know as a production welder and little else.

It is a decision you have to make. No one can make the decision for you. Only you know what you want to do with the rest of your life.

I serve my apprenticeship with the Ironworkers Union. I worked in the trades for twenty years and attended college while I worked at the trade. I earned enough money to buy a home, put food on the table, and put myself through college as well as my two daughters. The work was hard, dirty, and involved a lot of travel. However, the work was always interesting. I got to see a good portion of the US in my travels, and I earned a good living.

My experience as a welder, as an Ironworker, and my education permits me to make a pretty good living in my waning years. Now I get to teach welders how to weld, I teach upcoming inspectors how to inspect welds, and I have the pleasure of teaching young engineers what they need to know about welding to make good decisions about how to design with welding in mind. It is the best of all worlds.

Good luck - Al