Job prospects for welders are really hot

Heat from a welding arc may reach upward of 10,000 degrees — but these days it's the job prospects for those handling such tools that are really hot.

"Over the last three to four years we've grown 100 percent — and we're three times bigger than we were in the mid-'90s," says Lee Nuwgent, apprentice coordinator for Pacific Northwest Ironworkers and Employers Local 86. "We've gone from 50 apprentices a year about 20 years ago to more than 300 today."

Some potential welding apprentices, he adds, are waiting anywhere from five months to a year to get into the program.

Meanwhile, national projections from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics call job opportunities in welding "excellent" at least through 2010.

Those hiring forecasts — combined with some of the highest wages in the construction trades — are pulling people into the field. Armed with skills through a certified school or apprentice program, welders are finding jobs.

"Locally, structural-welding jobs could be building bridges, buildings or any number of types of structures," says Ben Taves, a Lake Washington Technical College (LWTC) welding instructor.

Nationwide, 521,000 tradespeople utilize skills in welding and related soldering and brazing, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Welders can earn anywhere from about $11 to $29 an hour, plus benefits, depending on their experience, the employer and whether they belong to a union.

About 75 percent of welders work for companies connected to transportation equipment; industrial machinery and equipment; fabricated-metal products; and in-service-industry jobs in repair shops and through personnel supply agencies.

"This is a diversified occupation," Nuwgent says. "It went from just putting up structures and laying down rebar to installing metal window panels and creating more art-type projects like EMP (Experience Music Project) and those at the (new downtown Seattle) library."

"By and large, I can get most of my students jobs if they have the work ethic that employers are looking for," Taves says. "They need to be on time every single day, have excellent attendance, work well with other employees, be ready and willing to learn new things, read and write clearly, and have a good attitude. Those are the foundation skills; the welding skills are the gravy."

In the past three years, welding-course enrollment has ballooned at Kirkland-based LWTC — the only school in King or Snohomish counties certified by the American Welding Society's SENSE (Schools Excelling through National Skills standards Education) program. Eleven other schools in the state also are SENSE-certified.

At LWTC, welding courses include electrical theory and hands-on study of all gases and metals. Separate classes cover blueprint reading and processes used in aerospace and structural welding, fabricating and shipbuilding.

"There's a common misconception that welders only weld metal together," says Sean McKagan, 27, of Seattle, a recent LWTC graduate. "But we also have knowledge of electricity, metallurgy, chemistry and weld inspection — all these things put together. On top of that, I get an intense satisfaction, a real pride in what I do."

McKagan knew little about the trade or its career potential when he signed up for a few welding classes last year. But he says employers began greeting him with "open arms" even before he finished his one -year of full-time course work.

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Formerly a maintenance machinist who worked seasonally in the seafood industry, McKagan had figured some welding classes would allow him to "add a few new skills. But I didn't realize how much I would fall in love with it."

"One of the major myths about welding is that it's very low-tech, low-skilled kind of work, almost a backyard activity," Taves says. "There are many different types of welding careers — welders, inspectors, welding engineers, engineers who are designing the newest welding processes, all the way up to people who have Ph.D.s in welding engineering."

These days, says Jeff Hufsey, American Welding Society deputy executive director, the key to securing the best jobs in welding is training through a certified program and taking classes that cross-train in various welding styles and skills.

"In the past, the industry would hire people right out of high school," Hufsey says. "But if you only know a single process and that employer has to shut down, that's not good. That's why the SENSE program makes sure the curriculum trains welders in multiple processes and materials so they can do a number of things, giving them the best chance that they would never be unemployed. They're well-rounded."

McKagan, who landed a job even before graduation, is a believer.

"It's a mix of science, technology and art," he said.

That mix also requires good hand-eye coordination and, according to Nuwgent, some physical strength.

"You have to be strong or the job will make you that way," he said. "It's one of the most physical trades there is because you're climbing around and pushing iron that can outweigh you 10-to-1."

However, said Taves, some of the tasks involved in welding are "no more strenuous than vacuuming the house." Some of the work may involve sitting and doing fine, delicate work.

"Welders come in all shapes and sizes," he continued. "There are quite a few welding jobs that don't require heavy lifting, but when you're working with liquid metal, you're often defying gravity and working over your head. Welding requires you to work in all sorts of different positions."