Welcome to the forum Contrail...
There are many many threads right here on the forum that talk about wages.. You can use the search function and get a pretty good idea.
Pay is based on skill and region for the most part.. There are always exceptions.
Some of the best entry level jobs that are good places to learn don't always pay top wage.. Generally you need to earn some stripes before the big bucks roll in...
Union apprenticeships are a good route to explore if any are available.
60 an hour for a welder that owns their own business is pretty common, but it takes years of experience and lots of equipment to command that.
Usually right out of school a very good student/welder can make 15-20.... But right now times are hard and those jobs usually filled by beginners will have experienced welders competing for them as well....
Others will have some words about all the different types of welders etc.
Stay in touch.
Get a job as a helper. :)
If you wrangle a job as a helper, don't make the mistake I made...
I 've been welding for 20 years and running my own shop and rig for about 8 years . I charge $60.00/ hr. probably put $20.00?hr. in my pocket .
Welcome to the forums! I don't know if I can help you out much, but here's a little bit of information.
First, making a hole shot out of high school as a welder is going to be tough. You need to get some real world experience behind you first, some real hours under the hood beating deadlines. Second, high school, even a good voc-tech, will give you the basic tools you need to take that next step. However the next step is very rarely getting top dollar for skills. Lawrence perhaps put it best when he said you have to earn your stripes. This is very true; very few, if any companies are going to risk their reputation and schedules on the untried. Third, there is a whole lot more to our trade than TIG welding sheets. I think the best advice I have ever heard anyone give on this or any other forum is to get out and look around a little at the various industries and what they have to offer, and then make a decision as to what kind of welder you would like to be. There are a good many ways of doing this, and getting hired on as a helper is certainly one of the better ones, IMO. There are other avenues; trade colleges, formal learning institutions, apprenticeships, etc. My advice to you is to look around and jump into something as a helper. Don't go out there expecting top dollar right out of the chute. Most guys have to struggle for years and years before they make really good money. Here in San Antonio you might start as a trigger puller (MIG) for $11-$13/hr. if you know what you're doing; reading blueprints, making proper welds, low defect rate, etc. Otherwise, fence welders here start at or just above minimum wage. Don't let this deter you. If you really want to have a career in welding you're going to have to work your way up, just like anywhere else. Good luck, and oh, keep up on the forums because there is a ton of knowledge here that you just won't find anywhere else.
By mightymoe 
Date 07-06-2009 23:09
Edited 07-06-2009 23:11
I work at a union pipe shop in SC. top pay is 22.25.
Can you weld pipe?(Carbon and Stainless) Can you run a slick tig root? 6010/7018 Good at these too?
If not, then I'd recommend going to a good tech school and finding an entry level welding job, or join a union.
With the union, if you pay attention, you'll be able to fit pipe and weld it. Most Tech schools don't spend too much time on fitting.
Check Career Builder. Most pipe welding jobs are paying between 18 and 26/hr. and most require years of experience. There are job's that pay better but you'll have to be able to weld more exotic metals and have years of experience doing so.
I went to a technical college out of high school and got my associates in welding and fabrication. Even that is only a foot in the door, my classmates with a 2 year degree made between 16-22/hr out of the gate but a lot of that depended on experience.
The best advice i could give you is to continue your training in some way or another. Right now is a slow time for everyone so I wouldn't expect good pickings, a lot is based on location too. If you want to stay holed up wherever you are now, you might limit yourself to a lot of options that are in other states and regions.
Personally, after I got my A.A in welding and did my time as a welder I went on and got my degree in welding engineering and couldn't be happier.
WELCOME to the forum contrail.
The guys have pretty well touched all the bases for where you are currently at. There might be one other problem. Are you already 18? Or about to turn 18? Most shops insurance won't let them hire before 18 if you are going to be around power equipment. At least that's what my agent tells me for our shop.
Otherwise, try to get your foot in the door any way you can. At your age, don't be afraid to move around a little to find something that really interests you. Just don't move too often. Even if it turns out you don't like one, stay and learn all you can. You'd be surprised what you can pick up and use later. I always tried to stay at least a year everywhere I went.
$60/hr is mighty high unless you work for yourself or are very specialized at something high tech. $15-20 would be higher than I believe you will be able to make without some experience behind you. Especially in today's market. If you can find a spot for $9-10 take it. Do your best. And watch, listen, and learn. Don't be afraid to ask questions, just don't neglect your assigned responsibilities to ask questions when you should be working.
Have a Great Day, Brent
Fellow AWS'ers
Underwater welding is something I have patents in. been recognized as a world class expert in and I have worked in the management in the company that had the worlds largest diving contract for the worlds largest petroleum producing company and am a trained marine diver engineer CWI. The game is the take the marine professional diving course money from 10. The last I heard one of the ten worked in field. It is fun but petroleum prices are down and related work underwater welding is down. Welders do make good living getting more education is suggested
. I hope this is helpful.
Sincerely
Len Andersen BSChE CWI
914-237-7689
212-839-6599
212-839-4042 FAX
www.lenandersen.com
POB 1529 / NYC 10116 ( $990 per year Caller
Box GPO NYC )
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Welcome to the forum. That was confusing.
hows it going welcome i highly recommend you to get in at a fabrication shop hire in as a tacker they make any where from 12-16 dollars an hour here in south east texas and its fairly easy to move up you will get alot of welding experience in a short time also if you go straight to the field try to get on a long new construction job so you can get some contacts they make any where from 26-30 an hour time and a half 60 -100plus perdiem a day if you work shut down work with specialty companies jv piping , turnaround welding etc they pay 31-35 an hour double time after 8 and 60- 100 perdiem the only bad thing is that you got to work your way up to the specialty companies and the only way to do that is if you have a very good contact or you are a pretty good worker /welder. i think though where the most money is at is in pipeline guy i know just got back from arkansas or nebraska he was making 60 an hour arm plus rig i forgot how much perdiem he said he was bringing home 5,500 plus a week just remember the more money they pay the harder it is to get in
Welcome,
I'm the guy you meet when you apply for the job of a welder or fitter and I give you your weld test to see if you can pass the test.
Now we would have talked a little before I just handed you the coupon and let you go, asking you what projects have you worked on, what prcesses have you done, what positions and such. The more experience you get the better "all around" welder you will be.
I don't know what training youv'e had, but consider is it all bench work? or can you set up a machine in the field vs in the shop?
What I'm very poorly trying to say is while your young, grab every chance you can to get different types of experience. I've had guys come straight out of school and not pass a basic 1" unlimited test. Then I've had guys who can't weld anything unlees its flat position on the bench. We start our new guys around $15-$16 to start, it won't go up too much more from there, but they have the stability of basically a 9-5 job, (actually it's 6-2:30 but you get my point). My experience is when you get paid higher dollars, they expect alot more out of you because that's why they are paying you so much. Don't get yourself in a situation and promise them the world and you can't deliver. If you want to travel on a pipeline or do outages, yes you'll make more money, but you'll be away form home. Your young it may not matter, but when you get older I'd rather be around the house than out on the road, but thats a personnel choice. Good Luck
