When as a whole are we going to force the issue and make welding a recognized trade on a FEDERAL level. I hate the feds in general but the electricians and plumbers have been playing this song and dance for many years.....in general they whoop our butts in wages....just looking at avg starting and journyman.
Just went and rescued a local welding contractor on simple structural work that got cobbed up by an inexperienced hand....how they let him destroy 75% of the job is another conversation entirely. Point being the contractor, detailer, prints etc. just pointed to done to AISC standards. In explanation this means they refer to D1.1. code as a reference point and if you want third party inspectoin they recommend you adhere to this standard.....other then that it is just sound advice and left the the engineer/archetect. THis is every day structrural work happening all over dependent on local civil codes. NOW i repaired it to pass a visual inspection by ....local civil building inspector......in other words likley un qualified civil servant building inspector.
I was asked to cap incredibly bad welds...downhill 7018, cold lap everywhere, all welds full of porosity, trapped slag/flux,,,,,90% of welds needed removal to be sound....NOPE lets use a larger rod and more heat and burn that **** to the surface. End result welds three times larger then called for mechanically and generally not good.
WHEN is this trade going to be a TRADE and not just a skill as far as the regulators in charge are concerned? Or even do entities like the AWS, ASME want it to remain a dark territory just so there revenue streams do not get disturbed>??? Food for thought and I have been wondering for over 20 years what the right answer is.
This issue goes back to the time before WW1, when Uncle Sam declare welding to be a tool of the trades rather than a skilled trade to prevent welders from forming a labor union.
Al
Yeah but what will it take to rectify that?
Tyrone
The industries kind of self regulate as needed. Some welding jobs pay $9 to $15 an hour. Why? That's all they're worth. The skill set and training required to do those jobs is minimal. Ask the welders why they're using a particular shielding gas or SMAW electrode and you'll receive answers you never thought possible. However, they may be stellar performers where they work. As the need for more knowledge and skill set increases, typically pay does as well. What is the base line demonstrated aptitude going to be? Is it an overkill for one application yet not enough for another? Unqualified management making uninformed decisions is more the issue in my opinion. Welder pay being one of those decisions.
I think never. The Steam Fitters, Boiler Makers, Iron Workers, Carpenters, and on and on will not want to give up ownership and control of their own welder and welding work.
Something I think would be a step in the right direction would be if welding schools, college or otherwise, would only test guys that have successfully completed a quality formal course of study in welding.
I don't think it is in anyone's best interest to flood the market with guys who "just want to get certified". It drives down wages and loads the field with guys who lack an understanding of welding and metal working fundamentals. To say nothing of the toll it takes on an institution's reputation in industry.
I believe some companies only think they want an inexpensive welder, and this is in large part because they have never hired a high quality educated one. The inefficiency of some of the guys I have worked with over the years is staggering.... Yet nothing seems to change because it seems to those doing the hiring that there is no alternative. In many cases the solution is "we just won't pay them much" - which leads to self-fulling failure.
I believe the pay and quality will eventually flop on a large scale. As for right now as stated before it's currently paying what some are worth. When I finished college will every certification in my hand I needed, local shops wanted to pay me $14 an hour because that's the quality of job needed. I found other jobs that needed the greater skill with equaled more $$$.
I'm not so sure it's the AWS or any programs similar that are the greedy ones(not fully at least). I think it's the large companies that do not have any standards when it comes to a lot of structural jobs. Next time you're in a big box store like Wal-Mart or K-Mart, take a gander at the welding. It's not much to look at. I'm sure the welding came from a shop that paid $12 an hour and was happy it didn't fall apart leaving the shop.
Now that I think about it I guess you could route the problem to the customer. If they are accepting mediocre work then why would the shop try any harder. They are saving money on bids, but you get what you pay for. You have customers that are looking for the cheapest so some shops are prospering on cheap labor and cheap bids.
All in all I believe the industry will eventually be so short of craftsmen that they'll have to pay more overall to get the job done, and if the industry is paying more then they will be more picky which should weed out the "wire burners". How long will that take? and how long has that slowly been going on? I do not know. That's just my opinion.
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