The comments below are not from a current CWI however I played one at various jobs for 12 years and may be required by contract to "Upgrade" myself again.

I have gone back and forth from welding to qc and back again depending on the jobs available that allow me to stay at home and the situations available. I think a job market that is weak as far as fabrication/construction goes, see's cuts in QA/QC before you see them in production.

Thats just my opinion with no data to back it up other than a recent 3 year inspection job that ended 1-1/2 years early. The fabrication is still going on but the QA/QC has cut back. (It could have been me though!).

I enjoy doing both. I can weld and whine about the inspectors being a pain then I can inspect and complain about the welders whining (I sometimes exhibit the bad traits of both but usually forget later) .

I don't know if I consider moving to inspection a move UP. A move OVER maybe but its a position due no more respect or even wages than a that of a highly skilled welder. You can go from a Non CWI to CWI in a week of "training course" with a little background in welding. It's a little bigger jump to go from a person who welded in high school to a welder that has the ability to make welds in postions that only allow you to see the joint with one eye and having to hold the stinger at arms length. There is no "one week prep course".

Whatever you do, do it professionally and if you see any smoke on the bridges you cross. Stop and put the fire out. 8 years is a good investment of yours and the companies time.

Hopefully more advice/opinions will soon follow from some people with varied experience and knowledge. I would read it all and value it all the same.



Have a good day and I hope this helps.
Gerald Austin
http://www.weldinginspectionsvcs.com

Mr. Austin gave you some real good advice.
I just want to give you another point to ponder. If you are thinking that changing over to Inspection will remove stress from your job, that may not be true. Doing inspection work and sticking to your guns while everyone around you is trying to get you to lighten up a little or cut them some slack, to me, is very stressful. What's even worse is when you make a rejection that really upsets somebody and you wind up being proven wrong after much argument. Every body makes mistakes but that really hurts.
Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that moving over to Inspection is an excellent career decision that you will never regret. Any time that a person puts forth an effort to broaden their horizons and learn new things they are growing in character and knowledge that will help them in more than just one avenue. Not to mention how good it looks on your resume.
Just prepare yourself before taking the first step as what you are considering is no simple task.
Good Luck,
Tim

I made the switch almost two years ago. I can say that working as a CWI demands alot more responsibility, knowledge and in my case time. I remember the days when I too was a foreman, thinking how fun and exciting it would be to work as an "Inspector". That novelty has long since faded. There is so much more to learn about the field once you actually get involved, for example, I was never taught how to deal with conflict situations, in my own experieces those conflicts situations are very common.

Also, there are far to many substandard practices out there. I worked for a large fab shop where I was asked to sign for welds that had not been inspected before the products had been shipped and when I refused, I was told that I was not a "team player" and I was approached by the VP who gave me a heart felt lecture on how I needed to be profit minded and help the company out when they asked me to. Needless to say I do not work for that company any more.

I guess what I am trying to say is there is much more to it than most people think, and it is not always easy to make the right decision.