If you’re looking for a job that pays well and offers you a decent amount of job security, then it’s definitely worth learning your way around welding equipment. Skilled welders are always in demand. You can start with the basics and work your way up to precision welding with a welding positioner, climbing the pay-scale and getting more interesting jobs as you gain experience.

Most colleges that offer vocational and trade courses have a decent shop where you can experiment with the most common pieces of equipment, and learn by practicing the most common tasks. This is a much safer (and cheaper) option than trying to learn as you go and making a shop in your garage!

Welding equipment comes in all shapes and sizes. The most common types of welding are TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) and MIG (Metal Inert Gas). When you’re first learning, you’ll start with simple, big welds, but as you gain experience you’ll learn to work with a welding positioned, producing smaller, more precise welds.

Welding positioners vary from large frames to comparatively small, free-standing devices. They are capable of holding very heavy pieces of metal, allowing you to operate your welding equipment safely and precisely. A welding positioner is usually used when a clean, precise weld is required, so you’ll need to know your way around welding equipment quite well before you can take full advantage of one.

A Whole Host of Career Options

A skilled trade such as welding presents a huge range of career options. If you’re interested in motor sports then you could use your skills to assist in the fabrication of vehicles. Welding also presents options to work offshore, and there are lots of openings for welders in the construction industry. There are even jobs for divers capable of welding. They’re physically demanding, but for some people they’re the perfect combination of two lifelong passions.

In a time when many jobs are being outsourced to foreign countries, or being made obsolete by advances in technology, having a trade skill – such as the ability to operate a welder, is invaluable. If you’re considering college options now, or reaching a time in your life where you are thinking of training, then it’s definitely worth contacting a trade union or looking into a welding scholarship. You may find that you are able to train part time, and work in a shop doing basic tasks while you complete your training. This kind of experience can be invaluable when you’re just starting out, and can also help you to climb up the career ladder that little bit more quickly than you would if you took a traditional classroom based qualification.

Learning to use welding equipment can take a while, but thanks to apprenticeship programmes it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune – in fact you can be getting paid while learning on the job. Once you learn how to use more advanced tools such as a welding positioner, you’ll have opened the door to working in a huge range of industries.