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I've noticed that when people talk about not needing a college degree, they always mention welding. I've personally never met a welder, but it seems they're the gold standard of blue collar work. Why is that?
I've been a welder. It's a big field with lots of variety. It all mostly sucks. Super hard on the body. Lots of bad fumes and dust.
If you're actually looking to get into it, learn to weld pipe. Best pay and job opportunities.
Can’t recall where I saw it, but I have run across a welding helmet that doubled as a respirator for exactly those conditions. Looked kinda like a full-face respirator only with a permanent clear plastic front and a welding mask that was in front of that and could be flipped up. Capable of working with beards, positive-pressure so no shroud needed over the nose and mouth that would otherwise muffle the voice.
Now granted: stupidly expensive. But the filter was on the helmet, not on the back or the waist (no hoses to get in the way). And it had a normal power-tool battery slot with adapters for the common ones like Milwaukee or Bosch.
The best set up I came across was a pump that mounted on your waist, it pumped in filtered air and kept a positive pressure under the mask. I snaked the tube up under my leathers between my shoulders. Wasn't too cumbersome.
I've seen the one you're talking about. I thought it was too much weight to be carrying on my neck all day.
But unless you're prepared to go full hazmat you're getting exposed to foul air.
Welding is like sewing. Any old mug can darn a sock… but to repair a historically important high quality silk sock to such a high standard that the repair is invisible to the naked eye takes an elite level of crafts(wo)manship that very few would ever attain. Not a perfect analogy but close enough…
I understand that welding takes skill. But I'm more wondering why I've personally talked to several parents/grandparents with kids about to graduate highschool with poor grades - and nearly everyone of those people has said that college isn't the right choice for their kid, so they're going to go into the trades and become a welder.
So far, none of the kids I'm referring to have actually become a welder. Are those family members saying their kid is going to become a welder because of the skill involved at the highest level of the craft? Is welding the blue collar equivalent of becoming an artist?
My childhood friend became a welder. But my suspicion is that it's a skilled trade that doesn't sound gross (plumbing) or super dangerous (electrician). Everyone knows we need welders, they understand what they do too. All this makes it the perfect thing to assume your kid is going to do when they decide not to go to college. Actually going to trade school and apprenticing on the other hand…
Yeah, I think not sounding gross or dangerous is part of it - combined with the skill level. Personally, my in-laws encouraged my nephew not to go to college, but instead to become a welder - or an electrician as a backup plan.
He did neither and now works for the city cleaning sewers. It's a needed job and pays ok, but no one ever says "you don't need to go to college, you can clean a sewer." It's always "you can be a welder."
Because the argument is bullshit, and most tradespeople are going to struggle, but that doesn't let people romanticize the past and divide the present.
And it's hard on the body and the culture is super toxic just like the materials and environments you may be subjected to.
The only reason I mentioned welding, is I did some welding and plasma cutting in college and actually enjoyed it. I would have gone into the specialty welding like pipe or something like that for the higher wages.