I am from Arizona, raised in Flagstaff, moved to Phoenix when I was 18 and worked over 25 years, mostly fab shops there. After moving to WA., I started where Darrell worked, in late 2005, as a welder. After a couple of years their CWI quit, and thats when I took the exam. So If it hadn't been for Darrell getting laid off, I may have never went this route. I Too was laid off in '09 after the economy took a dive. They recently called me back asking if I would be interested in coming back as an inspector/welding supervisor, but I have gone on to better things now. I'm now employed at an inspection company doing third party inspections and learning NDT.