I try and leave facebook alone, but I can't. My phone is ancient by standards, (my 10 year old says).
First of all....those of you that know me, you know I've cried foul on AWS.
Well, seeing the strutting, brainless, low wage, typical 20's black lung candidates that I see strutting around the internet.....
I see that the trade is destroyed....left to nothing more than competition with grease monkeys changing oil, or an alternator. Hell, it pays the same now. You could orchestrate a job, but someone else can do it for half the price, except do it three times....before its finished.
Goodbye welding. Hello China/USA.
IT'S OVER. THANKS AWS!!
like so many other trades!
The fallout of the trade is just another opportunity for the last generation of it. Take advantage of the lack of knowledge and leverage it to your own devices. It is really what me and you have been doing all along. The game may be slightly different nowadays but the rule is still the RULE. Those that adapt and make it happen succeed and oversee those that struggle with it more then us. Love you *******, we are not done yet.
I live in a 'farm code' area and when a real job comes by it's funny to see the harbor freighters fall flat on their faces. They've gotten by on Miller 210 migs and little plasma arcs and Dynasty 200s and MAYBE a Victor super-range so when multiple pass welding comes along with an inspector or two they step aside while management searches out rig welders or someone who remembers how to arc gouge or run stainless stick on a pipe.
SMAW on SS pipe ....been forever since someone has asked me to do that. Probably good reason. But with the right rods you can do it as easy as lohy.
Dough, I have to respectively disagree. This industry has changed since I started welding in 1984. I sit on a advisory board at a local junior college that has a outstanding welding program. We have 60 slots open ever quarter. By the end of the quarter we have lost 20-25% of the students. But at the next quarter, it fills up again. The emphasis is on a well rounded training program for a 1 and 2 year certificate program and a Associated degree. If you follow the 2 year certificate program you will be proficient in all common process both structural and pipe. There are about 15% of the students who get the 2 year certificate and all can pass a Section IX test. Most of the 1 year students are looking for a fast way into the workforce. There is a huge demand for single hand welders in production facilities. Entry level pay is $16-18 plus benefits. One to three years raises $21-24 plus benefits and a 401K. Out of the Permian Basin that is not to bad and most get 8-10 hours overtime.
What has changed is the technology of the machine. I could never weld aluminum. However with new equipment it takes a lot of the "Skill Level" out of it because you don't have all the crud to mess with on the equipment. I am not a LoHigh welder by any means but I ran some rod on a new Miller, and "Damn!" Smooth and slick.
And those who have the capital, rigging out and chasing pipelines is still the big money. But pipelines have changed. The day of the "getterdone" mentality is over and done. The consequences to a company are too steep to put up with ignorance. Safety is the most important issue with any job. If you do a job that comes in 30% under budget and a month ahead of schedule but you have one recordable, you may not be asked back.
This year will mark my 40th year in this business. And I am still excited about getting up every day. Some days it takes longer to get up than it used to though. But I see in the next few year a lot of positive changes. But for those not willing to change and adapt, you are 100% correct. Except it will not be China.
The days of cheep labor there are gone. Today is Vietnam and India. And it wont take long for them to become China. I know a business man who opened a oilfield equipment repair shop in Ho Chi Min City Vietnam with equipment from Germany, Italy and China. The same equipment he has in his shop in Houston. The shop in Houston has 9 employees and the one in Vietnam has 6. He is a pioneer in developing the shop in Southeast Asia because the companies working in that region had to transport broken equipment to a international airport, ship it to Houston for repairs, then ship it back to SE Asia.
To me what things like this say is the future is promising. But it will be different. Those who seize it will have a good chance to succeed.
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