The average welder is now 56 years old.

Young people are not becoming welders because the welding shop at school has been replaced by a computer lab (which is crazy, because welding is the glue that holds our world together).

At the same time, a real and sustained boom is beginning in the US For many reasons, a boom that will last 20 years, a boom that will scream (and pay off) welders. Why will the boom happen? What can you do to earn $ 100 an hour? Why are welding wages still so low? Get the answers here.

What’s good about soldering?

Welding is one of the few arts and crafts that can be used in a long list of other crafts and places that you don’t normally think of. For example: I started welding at 13 to repair motorcycles and cars.

At 19 he was building doors (doors that are still there and beautiful 40 years later). I became an industrial electrician and welded as an electrician. Artist uses solder.

The injection molds used to make plastic parts are repaired by welders. Stainless steel pipes in food grade factories are installed and repaired by welders. And there are some welders who make $ 100 an hour doing these and other specialties in the welding industry …

Why are the prospects better than ever for welders?

The boom is on. It’s the oil and gas boom: New technologies extract oil in such large volumes that the United States is once again the world’s number one producer.

Manufacturing is returning to the US.

3D Printer and Other New Technologies and Labor Cost in China – It’s Driving Manufacturing Home Forever. By 2020, the hourly rate for a Chinese worker will be $ 6.43 an hour.

porcelain It will soon be more expensive than the US to manufacture.

Few people understand that American workers are 3 times more efficient than Chinese workers. Add in the cost of shipping to the US and it’s easy to see why the US will add 2,000,000 (two million) manufacturing jobs by 2020.

What 3 things can you do to make sure you are a well paid welder?

Action one of highly paid welder:

Start or enhance your welding career by mastering the hardest, oldest welding process FIRST. Stick or SMAW (Shielded Metal Arc Welding) is about 100 years old and the hardest process to master. It came into its own during WWII because it adapted to ship building – it allowed Kaiser Steel to build a new ship every 3 days – no wonder the Germans lost!

Stick welding is considered a dinosaur in some circles. Don’t listen to that! It is easy to set up and very portable. It is extremely durable because it is simple. Can be used in a light breeze, most other processes cannot. You can weld almost anything. And you will have more opportunities to earn more money.

Highly Paid Welder Action Two:

Discover rod welding. Tube welders are king of the hill in welding. They make the most money, and they do it for the least work. Don’t get me wrong, pipe welders work hard. However, good tube welders do not prepare the tubes. They do not grind. Their skill is valuable enough that they often sit in the truck until the next joint is ready. They cannot risk injury if they do anything less than weld pipes.

Highly Paid Welder Action Three:

Get your own platform. A welding machine is a truck with a welder. A good rig includes all the support tools, cable reels, and more. A welder with a platform is a platform welder. A team welder will make more money because companies will rent their equipment and employ it at the same time. Equipment welders generally earn between $ 65 and $ 150 per hour.

Being a rig welder is also a flexible move.

Think about it: a welder without equipment (welders without equipment are called “bachelors”) can also take the job as a single – they simply park their equipment and weld with the company welder if that is how the job is structured. However, when a business needs to rent equipment, an equipment welder is the best solution, and the welder who owns equipment can cover the bill. The reverse is not true (obviously). A one-handed welder who does not own a team cannot take a job as a team welder.

What is the other benefit of becoming a team welder?

The management of a team (maintenance, repair and care) initiates any welder in the world of “You Inc”, in the logistical and strategic thinking about welding, almost like a business. Why is business management a benefit?

A self-managed welder (as well as one or two workers and a welder’s helper) can hire any federal facility (such as a military base). Contractor’s license is not required. It is not uncommon for a welder to be hired to earn $ 1,000 a day.

WHY is the pay so low for so many welders?

The low pay that many welders experience is associated with MIG welding. MIG is often used in factory situations where trailers or elevators or custom construction trucks (for example) are being built. Why is the salary of MIG welders so low?

Here’s why: If you walk into a factory and apply for a job and have a good interview, and they have a vacancy for a welder, you might be trained to be a MIG welder in one day.

Generally, any skill that can be learned in one day will not be profitable.

That being said, I don’t want to run over MIG or MIG welders in this article. MIG is an amazing process. The lower end of the MIG pay scale involves a welder doing the same simple, non-critical welds over and over again (and you can see why the pay is low).

Conclution:

A certified structural MIG welder is worth more money than a person who welds after a day of factory training. Unfortunately, even the qualified and certified MIG welder won’t make a lot of money. Stick pipe welding must be mastered, and when you do, a welder can earn between $ 74,346 and $ 200,000 or more a year.

What should you do next?