Send me in the right direction!

By BBeck001 Date 04-12-2008 16:27

Hi guys, new to the board and looking for some advice. I've been welding for 3 years in the industry. I'm an aerospace welder and certified through GE. I weld 1"-5" .028-.035 inconel and stainless tubing. I started out at the bottom of the payscale ($14-$23) right out of high school. I was fine with this making great wage for my age. My problem is the raises that I'm getting. They are not bringing me up to the correct pay for my experience. Guys are coming in with no aerospace experience starting out more while im training them. Now that the welding market rate has risen the guys coming from vocational schools are climbing the payscale pole past us experienced welders due to the welder shortage. I've complained and complained but can't get them to budge a dime. There are not many jobs in aerospace in my area, so I can't bounce around companies to widen my aerospace experience and raise my rate. I'm just stuck with the 60 cent raises. Maybe you guys can give me some advice to what kinda field I should move into next. Pipefitting? Sheetmetal? I've found a few jobs for pipefitters but they want B31.1 Pipe Welding Code and a 6-G in stainless steel certs.; have or have had. Are they asking for these just to prove weldability? My company owns my certs so it's not something I can haul along with me.

Thanks for all the pointers and advice in advance,
Brian
S.W. Ohio

By 803056

Date 04-12-2008 17:23

Your new employer will have to qualify you to their welding procedures before you can perform any production welds. The question is, "How do you show them that you have the skills required to pass a qualification test?" You can spend the money and go to a commercial laboratory and take a test with them, but you will be charged for the test (pass or fail) and it isn't cheap. Then again, some people spend a tidy sum to hire people to write their resumes. Nothing worth doing is cheap or easy.

The next question is what test do you take? The answer to take depends on the type of work your prospective employer does. You can't go wrong if you take a pipe test on stainless steel using the GTAW process. If you are up to it, take the test on pipe in the 6G position, open root, i.e., no backing ring. One inch heavy wall would be the option I recommend. That test is applicable to aerospace, piping, and any other welding that requires GTAW. The cost of the test can vary widely depending on the location of the testing facility. Here in the Northeast, the cost of testing is higher than it is in the Southwest (based on some of the postings I've seen here). Bear in mind that many shops expect the welder to have the ability to use more than one welding process and base the welder's pay on their versatility and experience.

The number of different qualification tests given by industry is nearly infinite. You could take tests on aluminum, titanium, nickel, etc., but the chances are it will not be the alloy welded by the prospective employer. The intelligent employer recognizes it is nearly impossible for prospective employees to be tested on the exact base metal, product form, process, and position as they are using in production. However, an applicant that has recently passed a standard test has demonstrated the basic skills needed to weld regardless of the specifics of their production requirements. The prospective employer should be interested in whether the applicant is "trainable" and whether they are a good match for the type of work they specialize in.

Best regards - Al