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Up Topic Welding Industry / Inspection & Qualification / Getting started
- - By JRA Date 09-05-2004 04:07
I have had my CWI for about 18 months. I have been a pipeline welder and welder /fabricator for 25 years.I would like to start pipeline inspecting, and have sent out several resumes.Everybody is looking for someone with experience. My question is how do you get experience if no one will hire you because you have no experience? Any suggestions?
Parent - By jon20013 (*****) Date 09-07-2004 12:14
Don't give up. You may have to be willing to accept an inspection position paying somewhat less than you've been used to but in my experience it will pay dividends once you gather the required experience. Keep sending those resumes; check into sites like monster.com, flipdog.com and ndtcabin.com and I'm sure you will land something relatively soon! Best of luck!
Parent - By dlmann (**) Date 09-07-2004 22:04
JRA: From where I sit you have 26-1/2 years experience. During your 25 years of welding you made some contacts. Network with them. Read the post by CHGuilford when he responds back to SRW2506 on the subject "who backs up the CWI". That is some good stuff! I think it applies in every field where sombody strikes an arc. If you had a good reputation as a welder, they'll love you as an Inspector. Good luck!
Parent - - By bamaCWI (**) Date 09-24-2004 00:29
I know how you feel I have had my CWI 17 months with no luck. I have went to work for three companies as a fabricator with the promise to move into QC after I learn about there products. It seams it is difficult to find fabricators because i have yet to move into QC.
Parent - By jwright650 (*****) Date 09-24-2004 15:47
How do you feel about doing field inspection? Send me an email explaining(I would have contacted you but, your email is hidden). Jwright650@aol.com
Parent - - By JRA Date 09-24-2004 23:59
I have had a lot of those promises also. It sometimes feels that you are penalized for being good at what you do. Its like someone else said on the welding forum, rod burners are a dime a dozen, but someone that can fit and fabricate with any precision are hard to find, so when these companys get someone like that it seems like they do not want to promote you because you are hard to replace.
Parent - - By bamaCWI (**) Date 09-29-2004 21:27
JRA here i go again. a company has called, i wrote on about 20 pages of paperwork, and i haven't heard anything back. I am begining to think this CWI was a waste. I have spent around $3000 already and just now working on my NDT, It seems self education doesn't amount for much. Oh well! I am the only fabricator in the shop that knows what NDT is.
Parent - By thcqci (***) Date 09-30-2004 13:50
To both of you, don't give up yet. That CWI is worth more than you are giving it credit for. Perhaps it means you will have to expand your circle of looking for a job. I drive 100 miles a day getting back and forth to work. There are closer jobs but, at the point in time I accepted this position, not at the level I wanted to work at. If there is not a job in your local area, perhaps you will have to drive further or move to where the job is. If you are not willing, then maybe you did waste your money.
Parent - - By RonG (****) Date 09-30-2004 14:40
Read over what you just wrote and think of the logic in it. Would you? Take the Human factor out and think of resourses.

It would appear you are more valuable as a producer of marketable product than as an Inspector I don't think "penalized" would be correct. Uncareing maybe but the managment proably has different concepts of quality than you. There vision of quality is in dollers and cents.

Can you convince them you can be an asset as an CWI?
Please don't think I am trying to be a smart a---. I have been down the same road and I succeeded but it was a battle all the way. I built up a lot of momentum and over shot QA and wound in Engineering.

Point being You have to do it, don't expect management move with out some serious nudging.
Parent - - By CHGuilford (****) Date 09-30-2004 16:26
You bring up a good point Ron. It doesn't do any good to try to sell something that a customer simply does not want to buy. It's easy to forget that what we feel is valuable may not be what an employer wants.

Patience, perseverance, and salesmanship will usually get us where we want to be. "Luck" doesn't hurt either.

Chet Guilford
Parent - By bamaCWI (**) Date 10-01-2004 00:45
The owner of the company I work for talked with me about AWS and my certification. I told him the benefits and the sacrifice's. He was very interested, then asked if there were a sticker he could place on his product, then I failed at the task at hand. I do not know. I refered him to the affilate company membership and he hasn't said anything else about starting a QC program. So It seems the only thing I have sold is an affiliate company membership.
Parent - - By cpjames Date 09-30-2004 16:14
Try looking on Inspectionjobs.com also. They are posting jobs on there daily.
Parent - - By bamaCWI (**) Date 09-30-2004 22:10
Thanks for all the advise. I have been searching the entire southeast for a starting point. I believe it will be in my best interest to finish my NDT first. If anyone knows of any websites on UT education i would be grateful .
Parent - By jwright650 (*****) Date 10-05-2004 11:44
I took the Krautkramer course for UT several years back because they made the UT machine that I would be using at work. Jim Fauth is a great instructor and keeps things lively with some humor throwed in the mix. They have changed their name several times but they are still in Lewistown PA.
http://www.geinspectiontechnologies.com/services/Training/training_price.html

John Wright
Up Topic Welding Industry / Inspection & Qualification / Getting started

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