AtvStunter Posted January 10, 2005 Report Share Posted January 10, 2005 Anyone .. im thinkign about takeing the class for pro welding , b/c i wanna open a body shop but say i just wanted to weld .. how much do welders get a hour ? and would it be a good job to make a living off of Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gargamel Posted January 10, 2005 Report Share Posted January 10, 2005 It all depends on the degree of welding you do. A structural welder makes more than a manufacturing welder and an underwater welder makes a killing compared to others. If you like to weld that is what you should go off of. Just because you make good money doesn't justify a career. I can only talk for a manufacture welder in my area but between 10-18 an hour is what we get here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bansheefreestyler Posted January 10, 2005 Report Share Posted January 10, 2005 i coudlnt even imagine what an underwater welder makes. it would prolly be super hard to even get that job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bansheefreak Posted January 10, 2005 Report Share Posted January 10, 2005 biggest problem with welders is getting a job... the welders out there today have been around and don't plan on qiuting there jobs so i'd say it be hard to find a job.. plus it don't really pay all that well for the job you would find... there are better jobs out there if your just looking at it in the way to make money... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNBRAD Posted January 10, 2005 Report Share Posted January 10, 2005 I know a lot of professional welders that are doing other things to put bread on the table. I also know 2 that have to do a lot of traveling if they want to stay busy. It's like anything out there, you have to be good and dedicated to get the money paying jobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red ore Posted January 10, 2005 Report Share Posted January 10, 2005 Go to school to learn how to weld, and be a good welder...My advice though, DO NOT plan it as a career or get sucked into it as a career. Sure its good honest work, and youll be able to live off of it, but its HOT dirty work most of the times. Once you do it for a living, youll hate it for a hobby. My dad is a welder and has been for almsot 40 years. I was working in a manufacturing plant and I told him I was thinking about going into the welding department, and he told me NO NO DONT DO IT!!!! I do alot of welding at home, 99% of it on my racecar, but Im sure if I was a welder by trade, I wouldnt "enjoy" it so much... The welders in my area make $8-$15 hr....Not really worth the 2 years of college and withstanding all the heat, dirt, noise and shitty conditions. I make as much as my dad sitting on my ass driving truck...and I didnt spend a penny on college to drive that ugly truck.... food for thought....just my opinion, take it for what its worth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PyRo_ZaCh Posted January 10, 2005 Report Share Posted January 10, 2005 I took it as an elective in school, seems like a good thing to know how to do, from what my teacer says it pays good but you need like 10,000 hours of pratice to be "certified" like the first 1000 hours are just running beads across a piece of metal till you can do that perfect, then you start puttin 2 peices together for 1000 hours ect. . .i might be off on the number of hours but it was alot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtvStunter Posted January 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2005 welders in my area gets alot like some over a 100$ and hour so im a take that .. i gotta take some course and then i take a test and they will nys certify me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boonman Posted January 11, 2005 Report Share Posted January 11, 2005 welders in my area gets alot like some over a 100$ and hour so im a take that .. i gotta take some course and then i take a test and they will nys certify me 304796[/snapback] I don't know where in NYS you are, but here in Buffalo, the only $$ in welding is underwater welding. ABout $40/hr. Good friend of mine was into it for awhile. Untill he fell off a roof and busted himself up pretty good. What certification do you want to go for? there are ALOT of certs out there. Do you want to be DOT, field DOT? For a field DOT welder, you need to re-cert every 6 months. $$ is good on rate jobs, but I don't know what you make otherwise. I believe "tungsten" on the HQ here resides in Rochester area, and welds for a job. I weld at work, quite a bit. But it isn't the only thing I do. I am not certified, I haven't been to school for it. But I can do a damn fine job of it. Certification is merely a test. If you fail, you fail. Try again. However, if your field DOT, and you fail a re-cert, you prolly just lost your job..... There are too many certifications to list. And the money usually isn't worth it unless you go gung ho with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolman Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 This what i do for a living as Boonman said there are many types welding jobs and certifications. That is what set's the pay scale. Cininnati Oh.area shop welders up to 15.00$ doing mig welding a little more if you can stick and tig weld.Construction welders up to 25.00$ hr. with certifications that is working outside in the weather with low benefits.But it is a good trade in the long run in this area we can not find quality welders there are alot of people that think they can pick up a mig machine and call them self welders.But it take many years of experence to be a good welder in all phases of the craft.It can be hard work some days also hot dirty and you will get burn't many times also some people have eye problems but after 24 years i still have near perfect eye sight. Bottom line a welding class does not make a welder it take many years on the job in all phases welding to make a welder. Just my 2 cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kartracer92 Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 "welders over $100.00 hour" !!!! I really find that hard to beleive. I have been a IBEW Union Electricion for 25 plus years and even at a government prevailing wage job I have never been over $50.00/hr straight 40 hours. Been around "many" union welders/fitters never heard of any ever that doubled the electrical wage benifiets. I would be hard pressed to find any tradesmen that made that kind of money outside the midwest/upper state that are typical the "union" states. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boonman Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 a welding class does not make a welder it take many years on the job in all phases welding to make a welder. 305324[/snapback] There couldn't be more of a precise statement than right there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PyRo_ZaCh Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 "welders over $100.00 hour" !!!! I really find that hard to beleive. I have been a IBEW Union Electricion for 25 plus years and even at a government prevailing wage job I have never been over $50.00/hr straight 40 hours. Been around "many" union welders/fitters never heard of any ever that doubled the electrical wage benifiets. I would be hard pressed to find any tradesmen that made that kind of money outside the midwest/upper state that are typical the "union" states. 305437[/snapback] its possible but from what i heard rare, my teacher was tellin us the one nuclear plant needed and underwater welder/skin diver. they only could find one, he wanted a grand an hour, they agreed, and it was goin to take less than a day, he demanded a weeks worth of time on the job then, so he wound up making $40,000 for a few hours of work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.