Everything you need to break into welding -- from your first bead to journeyman certification. Tools, certs, pay data, and insider knowledge from working welders.
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❝I went from making $14/hr at a warehouse to $32/hr running 6G pipe in two and a half years. The UA training center had brand-new Lincoln welders and instructors who actually worked the trade for decades.❞
❝Best decision I ever made was skipping college and going into the Ironworkers. Zero student debt, full pension vesting at 55, and I clear six figures every year with overtime on bridge jobs.❞
❝Started my Red Seal apprenticeship in Alberta and worked my way up to Certified Welding Inspector. Now I earn $110K inspecting pipeline welds and I set my own schedule. The apprenticeship gave me the foundation for everything.❞
❝Pipeline welding is hard and the hours are brutal, but nothing else pays like this. I made $185K last year running X-ray-quality welds on 36-inch pipe. Started as a helper four years ago making $16/hr.❞
❝Did my apprenticeship non-union, learned fab and field welding, saved up, and bought a Miller welder and a trailer. Now I have three employees and we gross over $400K a year doing custom fabrication and mobile repair.❞
❝I was nervous being one of the only women in my class, but the Boilermakers local was incredibly supportive. The pay is unreal -- I'm already making more than friends who finished university, and my benefits are insane.❞
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