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Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / why is it so hard for a FEMALE?
- - By thagoodstuff Date 10-23-2008 20:08
what does it take for a female to get on at a pipeline job for a welder helper? i have done everything from got up at 5am to be at the yard and called the welding bosses or foremans all during the day. i would be more than happy to work in the louisiana/texas area until i get more experienced. i have tried union and contract and all i ever get is "were all full up" or "we got all we need." is there any real MEN out there that can help and thats not sexist??????
Parent - - By Cactusthewelder (*****) Date 10-23-2008 22:08
Where are you and what kind of money are you looking to make ? Do you have a Rig ?
Parent - - By raftergwelding (*****) Date 10-24-2008 01:25
she wants to be a helper cactus read her post again
Parent - - By Cactusthewelder (*****) Date 10-25-2008 21:49
I guess she doesnt want a job too  bad. I ask her to send me her info and I would consider putting her in as a helper.  I got NO response. Maybe that is why she is having trouble.
Parent - - By ctacker (****) Date 10-25-2008 23:16
another one that wants Obama in office maybe?
Parent - By thagoodstuff Date 10-31-2008 23:37
obama could rot in hell for all i care mccain is my man
Parent - By thagoodstuff Date 10-24-2008 03:40
I JUST WANT REGULAR HELPER PAY WHICH RUNS AT LEAST 10 OR MORE I KNOW OF AND PER DIEM. I HAVE MY FIFTH WHEEL PARKED OUT HERE IN HAUGHTON, LA SO IF I COULD GET ON SOMEWHERE OUT HERE OR WITHIN AN HR AWAY THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL. WOULD TRAVEL FOR BETTER PAY THOUGH! I JUST WANT MY FOOT IN THE DOOR TO LEARN TO BE A HELPER STARTING OFF. OR EVEN IF ITS  A DIFFERENT POSITON SUCH AS FIRE WATCH OR SOMETHING ITS AT LEAST IN THE PIPELINE TERITORY AND MY FOOT IN THE DOOR!
Parent - - By Black Wolf (**) Date 10-24-2008 03:43
Never figured out what the big deal was with having a woman helper (or welder)..... By that I mean, the grinder or stinger doesn't care who is holding it.  It's what is under the helmet, not under the shirt that matters.

I'm all for giving a female a shot at it.  If she is willing to show a little respect, and is willing to listen and to learn, then that is a lot more than I have seen out of MANY male helpers/welders over the years.

Besides.... Female welders are Hot!
Parent - - By thagoodstuff Date 10-24-2008 04:02
OK THANKS LOL. IM PRETTY SURE THAT NOT ALL OF EM ARE THAT HOT THOUGH! WELL IM IN LOUISIANA RIGHT NOW CLOSE TO SHREVEPORT/BOSSIER CITY SO IF ANYONE NEEDS A HELPER, LET ME KNOW!
Parent - By Sourdough (****) Date 10-29-2008 15:12
Best thing you can do is talk to the contractors, not the companies.

A contractor will give you a shot before a pipeline company will. Just a thought...

A final thought: If you're smokin hot, don't ask a married contractor for a job. That might be a bad situation.............
Parent - - By chris2698 (****) Date 11-01-2008 03:15
I'm in Louisiana to just north of New Orleans and I went to welding school with a girl she was totally cute but a total redneck but cute
Parent - - By thagoodstuff Date 11-02-2008 23:12
oh ok lol. arent we all just a bunch of rednecks around here? lol
Parent - By chris2698 (****) Date 11-03-2008 01:03
lol don't give up
Parent - By Weldrwomn (*) Date 10-23-2008 23:39
In my experience, a woman welder has to be twice a good as a man in order to be considered half as good by the men.  I don't have any pipeline experience, but that seems to be the way it is in the industry IMO.
Parent - By Jeffrey Grady (***) Date 10-24-2008 00:42
I think cactus just gave you the answer you may be looking for. He is Hiring folks. Give it a try.
Parent - - By leterburn (**) Date 10-24-2008 03:27
I've got a woman helper...  best helper I've ever had but she is an exceptional person - really pays attention!  Give it a shot guys....  works for me (and no, I'm not dating her - damn it) LOL
Parent - - By JTMcC (***) Date 10-24-2008 05:09
If you make a call to 798 they will probably send you an application, then you can get on the out of work list.
They might not take your application if there are currently helpers on the wheel, if so, keep calling.

Women helpers get a bad rap because some of them can't do the harder work and the welder ends up doing part of the helpers job. Running a 9" grinder can be tiring to a lot of people man or woman.
That said I've worked with some jam up women helpers.

Good luck,
JTMcC.
Parent - By Sberry (***) Date 10-24-2008 15:47
I ask my bud about women in the fire dept, he says they have trouble as a lot are just not strong enough. Having enough strength prevents me from being really good at a couple things on a continuous basis but a lot of experience has led to doing things the easier way. Like the man said, overhead grinding is a case in point as is turning big wrenches or wearing a belt with lots of additional weight or factor in climbing.
  I seen the apes, 2 full bolt bags couple pins, couple spuds and a 4# or bigger beater hike it up a pretty big column or a roll of cable over the shoulder with belt on and a couple turnbuckles.
Parent - - By BryonLewis (****) Date 10-24-2008 16:10
I think that I can speak for all men on this.  I am not afraid to address this in my usual frankness.  This is the reason that it is so hard for Females:

Girls have cooties!  I have been saying that since I was a child.  Now that I am a man-child I will stand by that whole heartedly.  I am married but as long as you cross your fingers its ok.
Thanks!  LOL
Parent - - By jwright650 (*****) Date 10-24-2008 16:40
"Girls have cooties!  I have been saying that since I was a child.  Now that I am a man-child I will stand by that whole heartedly.  I am married but as long as you cross your fingers its ok."-quote

LOL....My wife and I celebrated 16 years of marriage yesterday...we have been together for 21.5 years so I can agree with you here on the cooties....<fingers crossed that she doesn't read this>
Parent - By BryonLewis (****) Date 10-24-2008 16:44
Exactly.  Oh, happy anniversary.  I am on # 15 as of June 08
Parent - By sbcmweb (****) Date 10-24-2008 21:15
Congratulations John!! S.W.
Parent - - By G.S.Crisi (****) Date 10-24-2008 20:39
Here in Brazil female welders are preferred to males. Employers (contracting companies, plateworking and structural steel prefabricating shops) say they're better welders, more responsible and care more to the work they're doing. What employers don't say is that female welders accept less pay, and this is possible the main reason for the wide acceptance they enjoy.
Giovanni S. Crisi
Sao Paulo - Brazil   
Parent - - By R Mitchell (*) Date 10-28-2008 19:35
Here in the midwest, I have an intern program through the local collages and of all the applicants I have ran through, the only job offer I made was to an excellent female welder.(she also have fabrication skills) I do believe that these opinions are solely based on the experiences each one of you have had on a one time basis. Yes females may be a little weaker in physical abilities but they can make up for them in other skills.
Parent - By chris2698 (****) Date 10-30-2008 00:09
alot of woman welders where I work but it isn't for a pipeline
Parent - - By darren (***) Date 10-30-2008 06:28 Edited 10-30-2008 06:31
isn't the question about "real MEN" sexist?
just an observation.
good luck
darren
Parent - - By alumtig (**) Date 10-31-2008 16:39
Quite frankley it has been my experience that women do have to work harder than a man to be accepted in "a man's world". I've never done any pipeline work however I have worked in assorted fab shops as a welder for the last 30 years. When I began welding I was "picked on" unmercifully, I definately had to stand my ground and earn the respect of the guys I worked with. When I started welding I barely weighed a hundred pounds and was not your typical bruiser type gal. Generally speaking some of the guys wanted to take care of me, lift the heavy stuff and do my job for me (I had to carefully remind them of equal work for equal pay!), more often than not though there were the ones who wanted to embarrass me or run me off. I have on numerous occasions told someone that when I left it would be because I was ready to go and not because they didn't want me there. One example was being sent out to sandblast. We had a portable pot and 100# bags that had to be lifted and dumped in from the top, they thought that would definately be the end of me. However if you take a pallet of those bags put them on a forklift and lift the pallet climb up on the pallet, you then split the bag with a chipping hammer and roll it over to empty it. hmmm takes a lot less time than single bags lifted over your head. Which I could never have done. Mostly I evaluate what I do and incorporate a lot of planning rather than using brute force. As the years have passed my experiences have been many.
I have earned my way and I am good at what I do and I love it. I don't actually weld anymore :) I've acquired a CWI/RI certification and currently supervise a group of great welders. I do all of the welding QC and monitor our code program at my job. It didn't come easy and no one gave me a free ride, not management or my fellow workers. However I do earn a decent living and enjoy what I do. Working in this industry is not for every lady out there but for those of us who can "fit in" its worth it.
Parent - - By DaveBoyer (*****) Date 11-01-2008 03:04
   "I evaluate what I do and incorporate a lot of planning rather than using brute force."

   Men have to do this too, at least when they get older. I noticed it in My Dad as He got older, and now find I am doing the same.

    At the auto frame plant there were female production welders on the line, it was a piecework job, everyone on the line got paid [equally] for the line's production. They all worked hard and made a lot of money.

   
Parent - - By Mat (***) Date 11-04-2008 11:35 Edited 11-04-2008 11:56
Sexism is a b*tch.

Not being female, but having worked with them I know this much.

In a perfect world (it's a sad fact, but a lot of people can't get past it), Woman have the same odds of success as anyone else, and it is ALL in the mindset.  I've worked with guys that couldn't weld or work or were a total waste of space.  At the same time, I've worked with woman that worked like a damn work horse!  Alas, some of them were of the "Oh, I can't do it, do it for me! variety!"  But they've been far and few between, and damn straight that it works both ways.

When the coveralls go on, as far as I'm concerned, we're all the same.  Female, Male, as long as you work hard and get it done, who gives a ****?  If you know what you're doing and expect someone else to work for you, you're in the wrong field. 

If you're starting out and learning, keep positive, leave your personal life at home and listen to the people that offer advice.  Do your thing, work hard, learn from your mistakes and go with it. 

Don't make the same mistake I made...

To say, if you get a helper job in the field, never tell the welder you were working with off due to stresses outside of the job.  That was a few years back, fun stuff...I'd give anything to go back.  I can't change the past, but I can learn from it.
Parent - By chris2698 (****) Date 11-05-2008 00:38
what is the pay for being a helper?? what can it top out at??
Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / why is it so hard for a FEMALE?

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