after i get out of my collision school i am going to the local college and take my welding certification test. i do not want to be an underwater welder just a welder or work for a fabrication shop. you guys have any advice for me on what path i should take ive heard there is good money in welding.what kind of money do they make?

a Union Pipe welder, depending on the state can make 80k+ a year easy. Just being a mig and stick welder doesn't really cut it anymore...Tig helps and welding stainless and aluminum helps alot..

I'm a supervisor for a piping company so definitely get your pipe certs. A tube welder probably makes the most money and that depends on how willing you are to travel. I worked on an expansion project for a powerhouse on the Ohio River and they were paying tube welders $39.00/hour and $125.00/day per diem. Also make sure you get all the pipe certs (carbon and stainless stick, carbon and stainless TIG, exotic metals(Hastalloy, Inkinel, etc.)) I did ironwork for a while before I got into pipefitting and pipefitters say the reason they are ironworkers is because they can't weld pipe. If you can pass a 6G pipe test you will also have your structural certs, so don't waste your time on structural. If you don't mind travelling let me know and I will get you some numbers of a few contractors that work nationwide and some are worldwide. I know a guy who is building water parks around the world right now. He is currently in Abu Dhabi. A couple welders I know who work for Zachary Construction only work 9 months a year and make $150,000/year. They travel up and down the Ohio River working powerhouse shutdowns from around Louisville to just east of Cincinnati.

Listen to the advice given above. It's all sound advice. Around here, welding jobs are generally low paying so I think it will depend on where you live. I see welding jobs advertised all the time for $9 and $10 an hour, and they want you to work weekends, midnight shift, 12 and 13 hour shifts etc.

Listen to the advice given above. It's all sound advice. Around here, welding jobs are generally low paying so I think it will depend on where you live. I see welding jobs advertised all the time for $9 and $10 an hour, and they want you to work weekends, midnight shift, 12 and 13 hour shifts etc.

That pay sounds like some tight wad manufacturing company...:yes:

i work in a metal fab production shop, and our welders only make around $15 if they've been welding a while... new hires generally make $10 or so, and maybe $11 if they went to welding school.
as already stated, the real money in welding seems to be in the pipefitting area. if you aren't going to stick it thru and do the big $$$ jobs, then don't bother with the schooling unless you don't mind wasting time and tuition money just to make yourself feel better. take a lower starting wage someplace and get on the job training...

i work in a metal fab production shop, and our welders only make around $15 if they've been welding a while... new hires generally make $10 or so, and maybe $11 if they went to welding school.
as already stated, the real money in welding seems to be in the pipefitting area. if you aren't going to stick it thru and do the big $$$ jobs, then don't bother with the schooling unless you don't mind wasting time and tuition money just to make yourself feel better. take a lower starting wage someplace and get on the job training...

He is correct about paying for welding classes. My company's welding school is about $13,000 to put yourself through it. If you start with the company as a helper you will make $12- $16 at the beginning. You can go to our shop on Saturday's, on your own time, and take welding or pipefitting classes. So, if you consider the cost of the welding school vs. going on your own time it actually raises your per hour rate. When I mentioned $39/hour, that is an extreme, but it can be made if you are willing to travel. I think most of our all cert welders are making at least $25/hour unless we get a prevailing wage job and than they make more.

I'm a supervisor for a piping company so definitely get your pipe certs. A tube welder probably makes the most money and that depends on how willing you are to travel. I worked on an expansion project for a powerhouse on the Ohio River and they were paying tube welders $39.00/hour and $125.00/day per diem. Also make sure you get all the pipe certs (carbon and stainless stick, carbon and stainless TIG, exotic metals(Hastalloy, Inkinel, etc.)) I did ironwork for a while before I got into pipefitting and pipefitters say the reason they are ironworkers is because they can't weld pipe. If you can pass a 6G pipe test you will also have your structural certs, so don't waste your time on structural. If you don't mind travelling let me know and I will get you some numbers of a few contractors that work nationwide and some are worldwide. I know a guy who is building water parks around the world right now. He is currently in Abu Dhabi. A couple welders I know who work for Zachary Construction only work 9 months a year and make $150,000/year. They travel up and down the Ohio River working powerhouse shutdowns from around Louisville to just east of Cincinnati.


I have know several pipefitters and they make good money, need to be willing to travel though.

Ever thought about the refrigeration industry? Guys that work around here make around $36-$39/hr as a union journeyman, I think they start at or above $20/hr as an apprentice.

Most of the work is at night remodeling supermarkets, so they make time and a half for that, around $55/hr average. Not bad for a glorified plumber who brazes pipes together. It's harder work(than I do anyway) since they have to move cases in/out of the store, replace compressors, etc. One health risk is the gases from the torch and silver solder together, but welding is a risk anyway.

Bad part is most of them think they're better than everyone else since they make more $$$.....fortunately for me, I know their stuff doesn't work until my stuff works(electrical):yes:. They don't get to go home until I'm done:D.

Welding is a good skill to have, but to be honest, I would not go into that trade these days.

As others have said local fab shop/manufacturing welders are on the low end of the scale. The good paying jobs as tube or pipe welders do require a lot of travel, and many times do NOT have benefits other than a per diem rate for food and lodging which doesn't allways cover your travel cost.

If you do go into pipewelding strive to make it into supervision, at that level companies usualy have a benefit package. :thumbsup:

I was strongly considering this line of work a while back also but found the same things that have been posted already. Plus, there also seems to be plenty of weldings jobs that are on an assembly line so to speak. You just lay beads on the same part after part all day long. Very repetitive and pay is typically not very well.

I'd look into the natural gas pipeline they are ramping up for on the north slope of Alaska. They work two weeks on two weeks off so you can live where ever you want to. During the oil pipeline, a lot of people did very well for themselves.