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Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / CWI jobs
- - By William Lewis Date 04-24-2017 14:16
Hello everyone. I am new here on the forum and just had a coupke questions about the CWI exam and the opportunities that come with it upon receiving my certificate. My questions are this. Upon taking the exam and receiving you certification how hard was it to find work for those that are just starting out? I keep hearing you have to know someone to get your foot in the door or you have to do a lot of traveling to gain experience. As a husband and father of 2 and one more in the way traveling isn't something me or my wife or kids would be to excited about. I'm in the Houston area so wondering if I could easily find work as a CWI here or have to travel? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Parent - By TimGary (****) Date 04-24-2017 15:28
Lots of oilfield and construction work in the Houston area.
Check rigzone.com and inspectionjobs.com
The best bet is to check with your local AWS section. Ask for info on where to look and most importantly, where to avoid.

Tim
Parent - By pipewelder_1999 (****) Date 04-29-2017 01:53
I think the opportunities that are opened up are highly dependent upon the experiences you already have and how you can apply any subsequent "credentials".  When I 1st certified, I was not aware of any advantage to be gained other than me thinking it would be cool to have a piece of paper that confirmed what I already knew about a trade that I really enjoyed.

If your experiences were in structural steel erection, then look towards geotechnical firms that are often on the "ground floor" of steel construction. I imagine there is plenty in your area however I imagine there are plenty of CWI's also.

Focus on the industries you are in as far as researching the opportunities.

Keep your eye on jobs using jobs searches such as Indeed.com.  Maybe contact companies you have worked for in the past. A "New" certification for a proven employee can be something that attracts a company to you.

Understand that sometimes a certification is just a piece of paper. Sometimes it helps, sometimes its just paper. Moving forward in your knowledge and abilities is ALWAYS a good thing.
- - By 803056 (*****) Date 04-25-2017 21:04
Without knowing what previous experience you have, there no good way to provide meaningful advice. Do you have 20 years experiece as a fabricator, 2 years of experience as a pipefitter/welder, of did you just graduate college and pass the CWI? It matters.

Al
Parent - - By William Lewis Date 04-26-2017 04:07
Sorry Guess I should provide my previous experiences for a better response. I have 12 years of pipe fitting and welding experience mostly welding with GTAW but also used GMAW and SMAW.  I am certified in GTAW in 6G position with 6" schedule 40 pipe and also 2" schedule 80 pipe in both carbon and stainless steel. I work for a company now that manufacturers flow control valves and liquid level controls for the oil and gas industry. Mostly I fit and weld flanges to the valves that we manufacture when a machinable flange isn't available but we also make bridals for our level controls that are made out of pipe with weldolets or threadolets and end caps welded in place. Everything I weld is hydro tested but other then that we at the company don't do any other kind of testing on the welds. Hopefully this information can help you answer my question better. Thank you
Parent - - By welderbrent (*****) Date 04-26-2017 22:53
So, you don't have the CWI yet.  Just wondering if it were worth it and what kind of work you would be able to get. 

Even with the added info that can be difficult.  Depends upon your contacts, reputation, home location (even if willing to travel), how much you want to be home, how much you want to make, how much you have to make, how much you are willing to spend to get started, and much more. 

You have a great background.  Some good study time should prepare you for the exams.  But hit the real world job market and see what doors would open up for you if you had that CWI

He Is In Control, Have a Great Day,  Brent
Parent - - By 803056 (*****) Date 04-27-2017 01:44 Edited 04-27-2017 03:38
Your work experience sounds like it will mesh very nicely with the CWI. A CWI with a good back ground in welding will find that experience very beneficial when inspecting the actual welds.

The first place I would look is the job board available on the AWS website. A lot of companies list their job opportunities there, not only for CWIs, but welding opening, engineering positions, etc. It will give you a good chance to see what type of openings are available. While there might not be one in your home town today, there might be a week from now.

Just because you earn your CWI credential, I would not up an quit my job, but I would keep my ears open to any opportunities that do come up.

I continued to work as an Ironworker for a few years after I got my CWI, but when the opportunity came up, I was ready to make my move.

Actually, your current employer could have an opening or may even make an opportunity for you once they see what you can do. The CWI isn't necessarily the golden key some people think it is, but it will definitely open a lot of doors would be otherwise closed.

Good luck - Al
Parent - - By welderbrent (*****) Date 04-27-2017 03:07
I think Al meant he WOULDN'T up and quit his job immediately upon passing. 

BB
Parent - By 803056 (*****) Date 04-27-2017 03:40
You are right, as usual. Thanks for catching that. The brain works at one speed and the finger another much slower speed.

Al
Parent - - By Tyrone (***) Date 04-27-2017 10:56
would not = WOULDN'T  ?
Parent - By Northweldor (***) Date 04-27-2017 13:08
Exactly????????
Parent - - By welderbrent (*****) Date 04-27-2017 13:24
I tend to do a lot of my writing without contractions, but, I do not hesitate to use them either. 

Yes, 'would not' = wouldn't.  So, why the question mark?????  I only capitalized it and put it in bold to set it apart and make it noticed for emphasis. 

ya'll need to know it won't happen agin as I'll be usin contractions as oft as I can to make sure I don't confuse any of ya'll with my usually more formal sentence structure.  LOL..  Okay, so I lied.  That will never happen.  I find leaving out contractions, generally, takes some of the confusion out of what is said. 

So, please forgive me for the slip and consider it to have been:  I think Al meant to say he WOULD NOT quit his job immediately upon having gotten the CWI

edit: and now he has gone and changed it so no one will even know what these last couple of posts were all about.  LOL.

Happy now????????????

BB
Parent - - By Tyrone (***) Date 04-28-2017 10:54
LOL

I was just a little confused.  I thought you were trying to correct Al, not emphasizing his statement.
No harm done.

Yep, happy now!!!!!! :smile:
Parent - - By Lawrence (*****) Date 04-28-2017 12:16
I tried to correct Al once,

It was right after the Great Flood;  The attempted correction was related to a difference of opinion between the architect and the engineer on height limitations on the Tower of Babel.

We all know how that worked out.
Parent - By welderbrent (*****) Date 04-28-2017 14:53
See, that was the problem, it wasn't the height limitation per se,  it was all about inadequate foundation.  It all starts with a good base.
Parent - - By William Lewis Date 04-28-2017 14:23
No I don't have the CWI yet but I am signed up for the 10 day preparatory course with Real Educational Services in August and will be taking the exam that following Saturday. I wanted to sign up early to give myself plenty of study time before the course starts cause with anything else in my life if I'm going to do it I'm going to do it to my full potential and I refuse to fail. I do have some contacts in the inspection field that I'm sure I could contact but I'm the type to try on my own before I ask for help. I'm sure if I asked them they wouldn't have a problem lending a hand because my reputation is in good standing with pretty much anyone I have contact with. I'm a hard worker and I always try to do my job right the first time. I do plan to stay with the company I am at now and continue to weld for them while I search for an opportunity that fits my future. I know my first step is to gain experience so the pay rate doesn't have to be great st first although making $15 an hour or something wouldn't cut it. I'm really hoping to not have to travel much although I know some travel may be required from time to time with pretty much anyone. I live in Houston Tx so I know there are a lot of refineries and vessel shops in the area. I think the CWI will be a great pay off for my family and I in the end but like anything it's gonna take some hard work and persistence to get there which I'm not  afraid of. Thanks for everyone's post I really do appreciate it.
Parent - By welderbrent (*****) Date 04-28-2017 14:55
Back on topic,  You will do fine William.  That's the kind of effort that is truly successful in all of life and this test and opportunity is no exception.

Brent
- By KrispianWW2 Date 05-08-2017 19:26
:)
Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / CWI jobs

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