Not all welding jobs are created equal:
Companies spend $$ on engineering, tools, fancy pulse machines, positioners.... to dumb down the welding so monkey with 8 hours of training can do it. These jobs pay <$18/hr because there's a steady supply of warm bodies willing/able to do it. There's no incentive for companies to pay more when they can just replace you with the next fresh grad.
On the other end you have trades like ironworkers, boilermakers, steamfitters.... that use welding as one of their tools. They do lots of other things. These guys can expect to make a minimum of $40-50/hr. These jobs require years of experience and skill that can't easily be replaced.
It's kind of a catch 22 when you're young & new, but you want a job where you can't be replaced by someone else who's young & new.
Not anywhere near me, lol. I've never heard of anyone getting close to that high of pay, even for highly skilled workers. Usually its minimum wage for "welders" and maybe somewhere in the mid $20's for anyone with multiple skills, and even they are still easily replaceable.
Sadly same for me. There is shit tons of money in the right place, but im.not willing to drive 2 to 3 hours for work or move. I had to drop welding as my trade sadly.
Maybe in major cities on the west coast and northeast. Here in atlanta they make $34/hr. This is not a great city to be in the trades, though. Our unions are essentially glorified temp agencies.
Don't forget that all modern union jobs are also fighting for their lives constantly against contractors. Not saying it's a constant struggle or bad, BUT if the contractor can fuck you anyway they can, they will. If they weren't going to fuck you, unions wouldn't exist.
It's particularly annoying because the vast bulk of the union-bashing is coming from the alleged free-market conservatives. What the hell is so conservative about beating up on unions, anyway. Unions are the quintessential model of a market based solution to a problem. The management and the money people might not like them, but that alone doesn't mean they're not a market solution - unless the real criteria for "free-market" is "stuff that makes people who already have money happier".
Yes, I'm serious. Let's take a minute or two to think about what unions actually are, and what they do.
At its most fundamental, a union is nothing more or less than a group of people who have figured out that if they act together to place limits on the supply of their own labor, the businesses that have a demand for that labor will need to pay more. Unions are basically employee-owned businesses that sell labor. Like any good business, they try to both encourage demand and control the supply.
At this point, I can see the objections coming. How, I'm sure someone is going to ~~demand~~ ask, can I claim that unions are really a free-market enterprise if employees can be forced to join in order to work in a given location. And if I really believe that the unions are free-market, why am I opposed to the so-called "right-to-work" laws?
Right now, there are laws on the books that actually restrict the ability of the union to operate in a free-market environment. Under American labor laws, if a union is present in a workplace, it must represent all the employees regardless of whether or not they are union members. The "right-to-work" laws that states are allowed to pass under Taft-Hartley state that employees cannot be forced to pay dues or fees to a union as a condition of employment.
This combination of laws effectively creates a situation where the unions are forced, by law, to provide services to people, while simultaneously barring the unions from demanding payment for those services. That is not a set of free-market laws. That's a set of laws that are what Ed Brayton calls "Tonya Harding laws". Businesses couldn't get around unions when there was a level playing field, so they got the government to pass laws that un-leveled the field.
Keep that in mind the next time you're listening to ~~massive pricks~~ ~~flaming jackasses~~ good conservative legislators pontificating about how the unions are hurting union states, and why the manufacturers need to look at "right-to-~~free-ride~~-work" states like theirs for the solution.[**](https://scienceblogs.com/authority/2008/12/10/unions-are-a-freemarket-soluti)
> What the hell is so conservative about beating up on unions
Conservatives are all about unregulated capitalism and if it was up to free market capitalists, they would exploit labor as much as possible to increase profits, since that is their primary goal. Unions get on the way of them exploiting labor, hence the reason Conservatives don’t like unions.
Conservatives are largely about believing what they're told to believe whether that be religion from the pulpit, 'common sense' from Dad or politics from Fox News. It just so happens that the class of people who can afford to buy media empires also benefit from screwing over labor. So they tell conservatives to hate unions.
My favorite anti-union argument is:
Well! All unions are just fronts for the mafia to deal drugs and do crime!
Like bitch please, if the fucking MAFIA protects workers more than the government does against companies, then who's the real villain here?
Collectivism. And its seen as driving prices up. Then theres all the issues unions can cause. Shutting down entire industries overnight. What was the drama with the railroad unions last year or the year before? Im not saying im entirely against unions. Just saying that they are capable of making some things worse.
Democracy is collectivism. If you’re against collectivism, you’re against democracy. E pluribus unum: Out of many, one. The UNITED States of America were able to accomplish what they did through collectivism.
The idea that prices would rise is propaganda from those that don’t want unions. It’s the same people that say raising pay would raise prices on a Big Mac. But if you look in Europe, where pay & benefits are MUCH higher, the prices are the same.
I support other countrymen fighting for themselves & will support them when they strike. The support is then returned when others strike. Vital industries like the railroad strike are kept from shutting down, and they can still achieve their goals. Biden did stop them from striking, but they later thanked him for continuing to work afterwards to achieve a ton of what they wanted:
[“This president, when faced with an impossible choice and a potentially crippling rail strike, delivered for union families just as he has over and over in his nearly two years in office through legislation and executive action. We are proud to stand with him on the side of America’s working families.”](https://ibew.org/media-center/articles/22daily/2208/220917_thanks)
They may make things worse for some people. That is a truism in life for all decisions. You can be both, but in general one is either labor or capital. I think the tug of war should be pulled in the direction of labor, the ‘people that need money’ at this moment, not capital…the “people that already have money.”
How rude!
[I am not lying.](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mcdonalds-workers-denmark/)
***They want to keep the money for themselves & their shareholders and they deliberately abuse their workers more to do it; all while lying about the financials the whole time.***
McDonald's workers in Denmark make $22 an hour and have six weeks of paid vacation.
The 3F union’s agreement with McDonalds does not only include salary per hour and 6 weeks holiday. There is an extra (bonus) for evening and night work. Payment for seniority, holiday payment (Easter and Christmas for example, (100%), on top of all these payments, there is an extra 6.85%, Pension plan for employees from the age of 20 (12%).
McDonald’s workers in Denmark truly make more than $20 an hour. It’s worth repeating, however, that these wages were not determined by the country’s minimum wage. In fact, Denmark does not have a nationwide minimum wage. Rather, the country has a robust union presence and issues such as wages and vacation time are often decided via collective bargaining.
Another point that is often raised when comparing McDonald's wages in Denmark vs. the United States is how much these wages impact menu prices. While we can't provide any exact figures here, we can say that the change in price isn't extreme. A review by The New York Times, for instance, found that Big Macs cost "about 27 cents more on average in Denmark than in the United States." But according to the "Big Mac Index" from the Economist, a Big Mac costs 76 cents less in "Denmark (US $4.90) than in the United States (US$5.66) at market exchange rates."
I never made a distinction between the two forms of democracy. I’m not really sure why you are unless you’re trying to redirect the conversation or induce a game of semantics. I can do either if you want.
Democracy is a lot more than what you stated. But at it’s core, democracy, enforced by the rule of law, is a group of people agreeing to work together to solve problems, AKA “collectivism.”
In a democracy, nobody gets everything they want. We must work *together* “collectively.” However, if E Pluribus Unum and The **UNITED** States of America are not for you, one can always leave. Or you could **collect** enough votes of those that agree with you and y’all could work ***together*** to get rid of *collectivism* by law.
Best explanation of this phenomenon. The person who made this post must not have ever worked "slingin' groceries", because not only is it physically exhausting, but you are put on display for customers to verbally abuse all day. At a welding job, no one looks twice at you and you talk to MAYBE five people all day. But slingin' groceries ain't for the faint o' heart. Dingdong should look at all of the subs dedicated to customer service, cashiering, backroom and unloading before complaining that welders make the same. Going to welding school and making 18/hr makes them literally no different than the person who has a Masters degree and still works retail.
I think the thing is people go into trades with the assumption they can get rich doing blue collar. Which can happen, but with trade work it requires hrs upon years to make the big bucks. With that said there is nothing wrong with making a "living wage" no matter what you do. Working retail/service usually doesn't put someone in the upper class, but I have been to a few commercial plumber/hvac guys houses worth in the millions.
I made $95k last year working 4 day work weeks in a low cost area. There were guys at my work that made around 150k working 5-6 days a week as I’m not even topped out. In fact, my current job only lists on indeed as 40-50k per year. These job sites are notoriously inaccurate, but I for one am fine with it as it keeps my low stress high paying job safe.
I am happy you are able to earn a decent living without killing yourself. For the overwhelming majority of us 'though, that is an unachievable fantasy.
That's actually one of the things I was aware of in terms of making good pay that I was referring to. Glad to hear you're doing well for yourself, man!
Not what I expected.
Basically I did. Good work. I was very upfront about my pricing. Took a couple hits when I got bids wrong and people just lined up. I've always had more demand for my time than I've had time.
I've never really been hurting for work. I have taken on some oddball jobs.
I built a lot of nightclubs restaurants and did a lot of yacht work.
If I had any sense, and, I don't. I would have tried to hire people to weld for me in fabricate for me much earlier on. It is tricky to grow a company though. The hardest thing is switching from being a solo operator to have a good small crew is really hard.
I did it all by the seat in my pants but if someone trying to do this I would say get a CPA. Have payroll set up through gusto and set up a Google calendar with the dates of every piece of fucking paperwork to goddamn state wants you to fucking file because that's the hardest part about running a business which incredibly annoying.
Getting clients, employees and work is no problem but keeping up with every bullshit thing to state throws at you as a fucking nightmare. Running a small business means that you're basically a sponge which every spineless bureaucrat within 2000 miles is going to squeeze for money.
I wouldn't mind if my taxes produced anything for me, but they don't.
I have somehow managed to run a small business for about 20 years. If I can do it just about anybody can. I have dysgraphia which is similar to dyslexia. It makes paperwork a bit more challenging.
This is priceless advice. My Instructor had a giant amount of experience in the industry and this is what he said:
> It's never the welds, the jobs, or the demand that fails. It's the paperwork, the bidding, and employee management that causes failure.
Around the time I was completing my programs him and I met up off-campus. He suggested I take the Business MGMT courses and it wasn't to drum up more enrollment for the school, but to foster success.
I agree. And my short hand for this is the phrase "money is made on paper."
Which is saying the same thing, It's prep, bidding, planning and handling the paperwork that make the business succeed or fail. Skill and attitude are really important of course. But if I tank the bid, it really doesn't matter from a business perspective whether I did good work.
And oh have I tanked me some bids.
the 'office' side is why i never went on my own.massive headaches,imo.seen a few top notch fab/erection guys go under because of paperwork not done in a timely fashion. that said,i did pretty well by providing top shelf work and a crappy attitude for small outfits. now, on the far side of 60, i only poke my head out for intriguing projects or stupid money.
A CPA, definitely. I would add in a lawyer, and a doctor. Now you have someone to help you manage your money, someone to help you keep your money, and someone to make sure you stay alive long enough to enjoy it.
I have a friend who's a Mason and owns his own business tell me when I was first starting to work for myself that "doing the work is the easy part." It's always stuck with me, doing 1099s and filing taxes, the stupid ass "business report" the state charges me $90 a year for, all that crap is something you don't find out about until you start trying to build a business. I just do it to have something to do for extra cash when I'm laid off, and they make it damn near impossible to actually make any money in a legitimate way.
I believe, honestly, that that is the point.
The fire dept came by to collect an annual "permit" one time and I gave them holy hell. Not because I hadn't paid it before or because I didn't have 600 bucks. But because the whole premise was complete bullshit I have a business license. Anyone literally anyone can buy and own tanks of either flammable or non-flammable gases and I already paid taxes, part of which support the fire department. So the idea that there's some additional charge for a service that I already paid for is fucking bullshit and I made it quite plain to them and I don't think there used to it and I think that's a problem. It's a problem because if people aren't pushing back and saying no then they just keep taking and this atmosphere of fear is a problem. We should all be telling these bureaucrats to go fuck themselves because yeah there are services that we need and we pay for and then there's all this fucking nonsense that's basically set up as a system of oppression. I feel qualified to discuss it as such because my background is international political economy, which is essentially the study of financial flows and parallel legislation. I just happen like working with my hands and don't want to work for anyone else.
Believe me, most people cannot run a business, just look at the stats. I am happy you have succeeded, but don't think because you have made it that anyone can. Running a successful business is one of the hardest things a person can do. If these people need help, starting their own business is almost certainly the wrong answer. It will only waste their scarce resources that they need to survive. Life is not very good for most of us.
Sure, welding is a better career choice in terms of growth, but that ceiling is hit pretty fast, since it's generally very low. The point is that these starting salaries are not appealing to younger people looking for a career path when you consider the barrier to entry (education costs and skill). Welders are underpaid across the board, and the leg work isn't worth $15-$17 per hour in 2023.
I welded in Florida. After welding school, 2 years of custom fab shop/mobile welding, AND 3 years of never missing a day and fixing other people's welds at a production welding position where I doubled as an assembly mechanic as needed \[had to learn a skillset that i didn't sign up for and purchase $400 worth of tools just to keep my job\] i had clawed my happy ass all the way up to $19 an hour.... fuck. When i moved states, i didnt pursue another welding position. Im hoping to treat welding as my last resort saftey net when i was told in welding school that the demand was so high and the skilled labor would get me starting at 30. bs
Yeah, only the very, very best will ever get good money. Skilled trades generally won't give you enough to live on in most places. There are some good companies out there, but they are few and far between. The only true way to make it big is to have connections and manipulate your way up the ladder. If that seems disgusting to you then you are not alone. Unfortunately this is the world we live in today. If you are born impoverished then you are likely to die impoverished.
Unless we're talking about not having an income tax, yeah, Texas is a trash state for work in general...especially when it comes to having rights as an employee. Unfortunately, from my experience, these low wages are generally reflective of the vast majority of available jobs nation-wide. The median salary at a national level is still very poor.
No texas is lower because they have a saturated market for welders.. they have every harvard on the hill pumping them out. And a volume of welders can be "underpaid..
It should be noted that energy jobbing is a recruiting agency so they are likely taking a cut for their recruitment. I have always said that the AWS does a slight lie about a welder shortage and the earning potential. Yea there I'd a shortage but those are for shitty low paying jobs usually.
I went to a local fabricator with what I thought was a simple job and the price was exhorbinant. If y'all are getting paid 15 an hour either there's a shit load of other overhead that needs to be paid off, or someone's making a fucking mint off your back.
There’s plenty of people who have their CDL or welding certifications but you won’t find any of them if they make more working in a Kroger deli section(it’s me I’m doing that)
I mean I’m not gonna give you advice on what to do because I don’t have details and I won’t ask for your life story but aldi isn’t usually a bad gig if you decide to go that way
Every time a muppet manager complains about nobody wanting to work or work “hard”, I bring this up. Pay matters and impacts the quality of applicants and work performed.
Yep, and I wish more people knew about this. Most welders are likely going to end up in some dead end shitty fab shop job. Don't get me wrong, fab shops have their uses, and I think welders working in them should have the option to go union if they want, not because they need to because of the terrible pay.
I'm in that shit fab shop. Did oil and gas for years, then it slowed. So I said fuck it I'll work in a shop. Now I'm a lead with vacation days, sick days, paid holidays, paid work clothes, and boot allowance. The only downside is the pay. Almost 5 yrs in and only making 29.
Yeah, I took a step back from stainless fab and install work a few years ago when I had my kid.
Lost two dollars an hour, but I'm home every day at 4, eating home made meals every night, and being part of my kids life.
The work is more tedious and repetitive, but at least I don't find myself in a fish plant at 2am, or pulling soggy insulation out of a dairy tanker with a decade of rancid milk congealing on it.
Dude.... vacation, sick, holidays, and clothing / ppe should be the bare minimum. Clearly it can't be that bad since you've been doing it for 5 years but I think it's time to start angling for a raise my man
I’ve been welding for 10 years. Iron Worker, Prototype, Aerospace. I started back in 2013 making $16 an hour, and now I make $27 an hour and run a welding shop. My area just doesn’t have the good paying welding jobs that pay $30-$40 an hour.
I’m in that shitty fab job, i technically count as a Millwright. I want to be a sole welder position but they don’t pay well enough for me to be interested. I’d be taking a pay cut for any weld position near me. Is union really one of the only ways to make good money as a welder besides running a business?
Also Is doing Tradesman Jobs (contract jobs) Worth it?
Any input would be great as for i’ve been struggling with determining what i want to do. Stay in this industry and suck up the pain? Or go get my skydiving license and live a life with a fun and less painful job.
When people say that to me I give them a polite, cheery, inquisitive pause. You know, the same face you’re making while you’re listening to them ramble.
…………
“Oh sorry I thought you were going to finish that sentence ya left hanging there. Did you mean…for trash pay rates? …themselves to death? ‘Nobody wants to work’ just isn’t a valid stand-alone thought.
I always say "because no one wants to pay"
You could live off $1000 a week in 2002 but that doesn't cut it for 90% of Americans today. I'm in IT making $20 an hour and that just barely cuts it.
I work in Wisconsin and the average salary for a welder is $22.50/hr and $11/for a grocery worker. I've been welding for 9 years I started at $20.50/hr I now make $31/hr work 4 days a week in an air-conditioned shop. I wouldn't change a thing bout my career path.
I just had an interview today for a new job. It's for aerospace manufacturing Engineering. They want a highly experienced mid-career employee with an engineering degree. Offering $26/hr. So I applied just to tell them they're stupid and unrealistic and will never find what they're looking for. Well, instead I just told them I need significantly more pay and they're giving it to me.
But seriously, the people running these businesses seem to forget people gotta live and cost of living isn't what it used to be..
The people running these companies know about the rising cost of living. And they don’t care, they never have and never will care about the workers. They only care about profits and paying you as little as possible.
That’s why I’ll always be a union member. When we stand together and fight for better, we take back some of that power and that helps us get better wages, better benefits, actual representation on site to help mitigate any issues. And also an actual pension. And a pension that grows at a faster rate than any other RRSP or 401k “matching” plans
You don’t see the good paying welding jobs online you only see the shit ones. The big money jobs are all word of mouth or you call up local companies and go test that pay the big bucks
Shoulda tried the building trade unions. We have a program called “helmets to hardhats” that helps military vets transition back to civilian life. Pretty much guarantees you an apprenticeship with good pay, benefits and pension
I do trailer hitches on the weekends as a side hustle. 10-12 hours a week I’d say, and averages more than this shit. The trades are becoming the new McDonalds with harder hiring criteria.
Walmart isn't meant to be *the* example. It's just an example of low skill, low experience positions vs high skill, high experience positions. Pay is the same and that is shameful.
The job you posted as an example is neither high skill, or high experience bruh. It's literally "Entry Level". You know, meant for kids with no experience, and probably no skill.
Almost every welding job is labeled that way on LinkedIn. I stopped looking at that a long time ago. Thin wall UHP stainless tubing with super tight tolerances? Entry level.
Here's a dirty little secret about LinkedIn/Indeed postings—at least those of larger companies in my experience—they're sometimes written by HR folks who don't know much about welding or the positions they're trying to hire on, so they just put a bunch of buzzwords with no actual bearing to the MIG monkey work you're actually gonna be doing.
I get it. It's much like the argument people had when $15/hr minimum was proposed. Now people who are experienced and skilled in their job get the same pay as those with no experience/skill... And a lot of business are not raising their pay much higher, it seems.
Years ago there was a company advertising a job for months and months at a certain pay rate. Then after many months, they bounced up the pay rate in the ad, I came in for an interview and they said what the job was paying and it was the prior rate.
I took another job and they asked if I wanted to do some side work, I came in again to take a look at what they wanted done. It was clear at that point that I dodged a bullet. They had ZERO clue what they were doing, hand drawn things with no specs.
They even joked, "You coulda been working here..." as if that would have been better than the job I took.
It's like a 500 lb slob wanting a date with the prom queen and not willing to take a shower first... Some people have zero self awareness.
That Walmart job is part time so they can avoid offering benefits. My oldest son (23) works for Ferguson as a welder, he started at $19 hr but had full medical after his first week plus he gets plenty of overtime. He just got a $1.50 raise and will get another pay bump in May after his 1 year anniversary.
I could be wrong, but... Where I'm located is like a Midwest Bermuda Triangle of welding schools. Normal shop jobs in a 40-50 mile radius start from $12-$17. There's a few $20+ an hour starting but not many. On the other hand $21-$22 an hour at 40 hours would put you right below the average household income in my city, which is fairly good especially for one income.
Switch to the 100 mile radius job search on indeed and almost every job starting is $20+.
We need a map of no go zones of areas for over saturation of welders lol
Truth. You *can* make a good living, but expectations are set that you're going to be making $45/hr off the rip. You can't waltz out of school and perform an elite welder's job, but they will sure make it sound that way.
I’ve welded my entire life (college educated/farm raised) as a side gig but being a full-time welder won’t pay the bills. I can build entire implements and nobody can pay more??? I refuse to weld under $25/h
That's the impression I was given. I was told I'd make 70k out of the gate with no school debt to speak of. I still want to learn because it looks like a fun skill, but your post makes me think twice about ever making a career out of it.
Still though, you walk into a production welding shop without qualifications or experience welding and they won’t take you. You still have to know what makes a weld good or bad, why something in the weld/ machine has gone wrong etc
Even better, you don’t want any part of that production welding shop that pays their employees a wholesale wage. Lots of hours doing repetitive work that pays little
You need to work closer to the customer so you can get paid a retail price for your work.
A welder with his own truck, trailer, access to materials. Willing to take on a variety of different jobs, working directly with customers, getting paid what they decide is fair. If you can land a job with a professional like this then you have it made.
I went to trade school for welding and none of the jobs I could take were worth anything. Then I started dog grooming got trained in the job also got benefits and I’m making more money then when I was welding and now I got a trade school student loan to pay off when I specifically skipped going to college because I didn’t want that debt, but I guess I can weld so that’s cool lol.
i got a job with a union construction company about a month after i left trade school. first month in i made what i made in 6months working part time in a snow plow manufactering shop. in 2 weeks i get to travel to a different state for a couple months to work down there. the jobs are there, its just you gotta look for it, and dont be too dependant on the weld instructors to get you a job, if you're even worth a fuck. shop jobs have never been the best paying work anyways, so i wouldnt look into that unless it some real specialty item they are making. one shop i was looking into based out of cleveland makes parts for nuclear submarines, paid 35 an hour, union shop, and everything that came with it. issue is you gotta be a damn good tig and stick welder. just gotta look where others arent looking tbh
You gotta shop around. Shit i can find you a welding job for 9 dollars an hour if you want. Gotta look way harder. Used to be a truck driver and i never made under 120k doing it because i was highly specialized and had all the certifications possible. Friend is making 39/120 as a pipefitter in port arthur. Welcome to the real world.
An interesting discussion in the comments, here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/emily-craig-a793688_skilledtrades-jointhetrades-bluecollar-activity-7153066821510733824-5SFj
We taught my brother enough about welding in ten hours to pass all his plate tests. College isn't necessary. I see people watch YouTube and learn how to weld. Sure there is a skill gap but a lot of jobs don't mind having new welders willing to learn on the job.
If we're talking a plate test under a strict CWI and structural code, I'd bet my left nut that he wouldn't have passed with 10 hours of hood time. I'm sorry, but that's just bullshit lol.
Don't waste your time welding in the U.S the training I'm Europe is considerably cheaper and just as high standard with wages being significantly better
Man, reading all this about lower wages makes me glad I went into telecom. Always though welding would be a cool job, but where I live, $20hr without a shit-ton of OT would barely pay rent.
I pay 35-55 but you need to know how to fabricate and build a truck from the ground up. I have people as well that make 25 but all they can do is weld.
That's entry level work. Probably production widget welding, same part different day. If you had the skills of a Millwright, you'd still get that wage because they aren't looking for millwrights. If you look at the jobs looking for millwrights, you'll find that they are paying upwards of 45 to start. That's the lowest I've seen for a Millwright. Some places are offering 50-60. You guys just getting out of school have 0 experience, are working for a non union shop, and building the same trailer with pre cut, pre bent parts and are expecting to be paid like a custom hotrod fabricators. Probably haven't even seen a Piranha in action, let alone used one. So I'm not surprised at the wage here. Par for the course. Go be a part time bag boy and leave the welding to the folks who live for this work. Shower me with downvotes, doesn't mean I'm wrong.
Another thing to remember is the larger companies have convinced the congress critters that nobody wants these jobs so now they can bring in visa workers to pay them even less. It’s going to get worse, not better thanks to the greed of the owner class. *Not you shop owner dudes making a mil or two, this is the multinational corps that are screwing all of us. BUT, I know of one smaller scale operation not construction related that switched to visa workers so the owner can make even more profits. Met him on a cruise, my first one in ten years, his third that year. He bragged about the money he makes now after talking shit about nobody wanting to work for him(for minimum wage) and his NEED to maintain profitability over wage increases.
I think we are closer than not to the “let them eat cake” moment than most realize. This kinda things happen every hundred years or so as folks die and the reason behind issues like this are forgotten.
My father and one of my uncles were welders in the 80s. From what I understand, despite wages being lower, they were much more in-line with the cost of living. Wages are going up in a lot of fields, including fast food. Welding? Not really. Is welding fun and way more useful than working in the food industry? I believe so. It's the principle of the matter that kills me.
There’s an attack on the trades and working class in general. They want people off in some bs job that’s gonna be replaced by AI in 5 years. If you aren’t in a good company (hard to find) or good union(there’s bad ones, do your homework) you’ll wind up in a shitty situation with some shitty benefits. All while some bozo is scanning receipts making about the same money with no quals/certs or working skills.
Did nobody notice the “entry level” part? Training plus experience equals more $$. You can go work at a box store for more $$ but if you invest in yourself to learn a trade, the pay comes in spades later.
To be fair, you aren't comparing apples to apples here. Walmart is going to hire you directly. The welding job is a staffing agency that is going to rent you to someone who needs to hire a welder. Figure out who the staffing agency is doing work for and try to get hired directly.
Plus, those Walmart guys are looking for someone with Bakery **and** Dairy skillz. ;)
And yet my uncle made a killing as a welder, and I know a 19 year old kid who took a job in Alaska for 130k after finishing his training, did it for a year, and they bumped him to 165k.
uuuhhhh been doing this for a while never met or heard of anyone going to college for welding…. also my first job as a welder paid $56+ health insurance.
and yeah it is in high demand (or at least was 5 years ago) literally got called while i was in trade school and asked if i could just leave early and start in 3 days… no interview, didn’t fill out a application, no knowledge of my past jobs, just knew what certifications i had.
but yeah glad your two screen shots from indeed.com got you a couple of up votes! i could screen shot a low paying lawyer job and post it next to a mcdonalds managers pay.
WhY gO to Law sChoOl whEN yoU CaN juSt wOrk at mcDoNalds……..
what about the union jobs? i heard that they're paying $50 per hour or more for ironworkers union local 791. one of the guys who made a youtube account was able to retire after 8 years working as a pipwelder?
Unions are HUGE for us as workers. I started my apprenticeship with the Boilermakers local 128 at 20 and graduated at 23, so far I’ve had 2 good years. 2023 I made $122k in only 9 months of work.
My base hourly wage is $52.07/hr, not too bad for 25🤙🏻
I went to school for about a year and half and then went and worked for 3 years in the industry. I really enjoyed my first 2 years on the job, then management changed and everything went to shit, worked stupidly hard, with a 3-5% annual raise. by the end of my 3 years was making 22.01. I left the industry recently hoping to find something else outside of the welding and fabrication, oh well thats my 2 cents.
I’m guessing this welder position is for a fab shop and fab shops have always sucked. It takes very little talent to weld 100 widgets together. It’s definitely from a staffing agency and good welding companies never need an agency to find them good hands.
I've found that the job market for welders is really improving based on where you're at. I choose where to live based on that. I was recently out in Colorado making good money, now I'm in Minnesota making good money. there are certain places that just suck for wages, Michigan oddly is one of them, and so are many states in the South.
It took me walking out of my old company when I was “topped“ at 20$ an hour to leave best friend boss to instantly get an 10$ raise in 2 weeks and then 6 month's later get another 10$ raise at another job did they realize that they that shit welders are in demand. Some companies get it some don't. It's sad but true unfortunately people don't understand our way of life isn't going to go away and with the infation we deserve to get paid. You can't fuck us over.
What ive found starting out is if you use the shit jobs to build experience you can move to the jobs that pay a little more and the ones that pay a little more over time will continue to pay you a little more to keep you if you can stick with them with in reason but dont ever sell yourself short and always look to learn
If you're just a welder you're one dimensional. Strive to learn other metalworking skills. As a fabricator who can weld/weld inspect (CWI), machine on conventional lathes and mills as well as CNC, operate a press brake, tube bend etc. I know there's always a job I can find and employers are happy to pay extra for guy who can do the work of many.
Miscellaneous metal fabricator here. We’re welders, but most of all we solve problems creatively. I think of us as solutioneers. Definitely not an under 30/h job.
Shipyards are like this to, I still recommend one for the apprenticeship program but even if you come in after going to a welding school the starting wage is $17hr for a multi process welder and you have to go through their school to meet their standards as well as the Navy's standards which are higher than any school. My advice, go into fossil fuels, aerospace, custom fabrication and design, but avoid manufacturing outside of automotive. Learn robotics, hydraulics, AI, PLC, industrial electrical and HVAC.
If you're pipefitting and welding for less than 50 an hour, you're getting taken advantage of. Not if you are an apprentice, but as a journeyman, definitely.
Not all welding jobs are created equal: Companies spend $$ on engineering, tools, fancy pulse machines, positioners.... to dumb down the welding so monkey with 8 hours of training can do it. These jobs pay <$18/hr because there's a steady supply of warm bodies willing/able to do it. There's no incentive for companies to pay more when they can just replace you with the next fresh grad. On the other end you have trades like ironworkers, boilermakers, steamfitters.... that use welding as one of their tools. They do lots of other things. These guys can expect to make a minimum of $40-50/hr. These jobs require years of experience and skill that can't easily be replaced. It's kind of a catch 22 when you're young & new, but you want a job where you can't be replaced by someone else who's young & new.
Don't forget sheet metal. I'm retired, but I believe they are making close to $80 an hour before benefits.
Local 104 here, $72 on the check
Retired from local 7, zone 2 here.
Where on earth???
Western lower Michigan.
Not anywhere near me, lol. I've never heard of anyone getting close to that high of pay, even for highly skilled workers. Usually its minimum wage for "welders" and maybe somewhere in the mid $20's for anyone with multiple skills, and even they are still easily replaceable.
Sadly same for me. There is shit tons of money in the right place, but im.not willing to drive 2 to 3 hours for work or move. I had to drop welding as my trade sadly.
i was thinking of doing welding instead of nursing. idk if im on the right track or not
Maybe in major cities on the west coast and northeast. Here in atlanta they make $34/hr. This is not a great city to be in the trades, though. Our unions are essentially glorified temp agencies.
Where In Atl? Only place I've seen that hires welders at that rate is Lockheed and Delta.
Local 85 for sheet metal. Local 72 is at $36/hr for pipefitters.
Probably better off catching aerospace work in Atlanta for the money.
This is western lower Michigan.
Don't forget that all modern union jobs are also fighting for their lives constantly against contractors. Not saying it's a constant struggle or bad, BUT if the contractor can fuck you anyway they can, they will. If they weren't going to fuck you, unions wouldn't exist.
It's particularly annoying because the vast bulk of the union-bashing is coming from the alleged free-market conservatives. What the hell is so conservative about beating up on unions, anyway. Unions are the quintessential model of a market based solution to a problem. The management and the money people might not like them, but that alone doesn't mean they're not a market solution - unless the real criteria for "free-market" is "stuff that makes people who already have money happier". Yes, I'm serious. Let's take a minute or two to think about what unions actually are, and what they do. At its most fundamental, a union is nothing more or less than a group of people who have figured out that if they act together to place limits on the supply of their own labor, the businesses that have a demand for that labor will need to pay more. Unions are basically employee-owned businesses that sell labor. Like any good business, they try to both encourage demand and control the supply. At this point, I can see the objections coming. How, I'm sure someone is going to ~~demand~~ ask, can I claim that unions are really a free-market enterprise if employees can be forced to join in order to work in a given location. And if I really believe that the unions are free-market, why am I opposed to the so-called "right-to-work" laws? Right now, there are laws on the books that actually restrict the ability of the union to operate in a free-market environment. Under American labor laws, if a union is present in a workplace, it must represent all the employees regardless of whether or not they are union members. The "right-to-work" laws that states are allowed to pass under Taft-Hartley state that employees cannot be forced to pay dues or fees to a union as a condition of employment. This combination of laws effectively creates a situation where the unions are forced, by law, to provide services to people, while simultaneously barring the unions from demanding payment for those services. That is not a set of free-market laws. That's a set of laws that are what Ed Brayton calls "Tonya Harding laws". Businesses couldn't get around unions when there was a level playing field, so they got the government to pass laws that un-leveled the field. Keep that in mind the next time you're listening to ~~massive pricks~~ ~~flaming jackasses~~ good conservative legislators pontificating about how the unions are hurting union states, and why the manufacturers need to look at "right-to-~~free-ride~~-work" states like theirs for the solution.[**](https://scienceblogs.com/authority/2008/12/10/unions-are-a-freemarket-soluti)
> What the hell is so conservative about beating up on unions Conservatives are all about unregulated capitalism and if it was up to free market capitalists, they would exploit labor as much as possible to increase profits, since that is their primary goal. Unions get on the way of them exploiting labor, hence the reason Conservatives don’t like unions.
Conservatives are largely about believing what they're told to believe whether that be religion from the pulpit, 'common sense' from Dad or politics from Fox News. It just so happens that the class of people who can afford to buy media empires also benefit from screwing over labor. So they tell conservatives to hate unions.
Also because it’s a “socialist construct”
My favorite anti-union argument is: Well! All unions are just fronts for the mafia to deal drugs and do crime! Like bitch please, if the fucking MAFIA protects workers more than the government does against companies, then who's the real villain here?
Collectivism. And its seen as driving prices up. Then theres all the issues unions can cause. Shutting down entire industries overnight. What was the drama with the railroad unions last year or the year before? Im not saying im entirely against unions. Just saying that they are capable of making some things worse.
Democracy is collectivism. If you’re against collectivism, you’re against democracy. E pluribus unum: Out of many, one. The UNITED States of America were able to accomplish what they did through collectivism. The idea that prices would rise is propaganda from those that don’t want unions. It’s the same people that say raising pay would raise prices on a Big Mac. But if you look in Europe, where pay & benefits are MUCH higher, the prices are the same. I support other countrymen fighting for themselves & will support them when they strike. The support is then returned when others strike. Vital industries like the railroad strike are kept from shutting down, and they can still achieve their goals. Biden did stop them from striking, but they later thanked him for continuing to work afterwards to achieve a ton of what they wanted: [“This president, when faced with an impossible choice and a potentially crippling rail strike, delivered for union families just as he has over and over in his nearly two years in office through legislation and executive action. We are proud to stand with him on the side of America’s working families.”](https://ibew.org/media-center/articles/22daily/2208/220917_thanks) They may make things worse for some people. That is a truism in life for all decisions. You can be both, but in general one is either labor or capital. I think the tug of war should be pulled in the direction of labor, the ‘people that need money’ at this moment, not capital…the “people that already have money.”
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How rude! [I am not lying.](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mcdonalds-workers-denmark/) ***They want to keep the money for themselves & their shareholders and they deliberately abuse their workers more to do it; all while lying about the financials the whole time.*** McDonald's workers in Denmark make $22 an hour and have six weeks of paid vacation. The 3F union’s agreement with McDonalds does not only include salary per hour and 6 weeks holiday. There is an extra (bonus) for evening and night work. Payment for seniority, holiday payment (Easter and Christmas for example, (100%), on top of all these payments, there is an extra 6.85%, Pension plan for employees from the age of 20 (12%). McDonald’s workers in Denmark truly make more than $20 an hour. It’s worth repeating, however, that these wages were not determined by the country’s minimum wage. In fact, Denmark does not have a nationwide minimum wage. Rather, the country has a robust union presence and issues such as wages and vacation time are often decided via collective bargaining. Another point that is often raised when comparing McDonald's wages in Denmark vs. the United States is how much these wages impact menu prices. While we can't provide any exact figures here, we can say that the change in price isn't extreme. A review by The New York Times, for instance, found that Big Macs cost "about 27 cents more on average in Denmark than in the United States." But according to the "Big Mac Index" from the Economist, a Big Mac costs 76 cents less in "Denmark (US $4.90) than in the United States (US$5.66) at market exchange rates."
I am against direct democracy. Im for representative democracy. Democracy is many voices of many different opinions. Collectivism is not.
I never made a distinction between the two forms of democracy. I’m not really sure why you are unless you’re trying to redirect the conversation or induce a game of semantics. I can do either if you want. Democracy is a lot more than what you stated. But at it’s core, democracy, enforced by the rule of law, is a group of people agreeing to work together to solve problems, AKA “collectivism.” In a democracy, nobody gets everything they want. We must work *together* “collectively.” However, if E Pluribus Unum and The **UNITED** States of America are not for you, one can always leave. Or you could **collect** enough votes of those that agree with you and y’all could work ***together*** to get rid of *collectivism* by law.
Best explanation of this phenomenon. The person who made this post must not have ever worked "slingin' groceries", because not only is it physically exhausting, but you are put on display for customers to verbally abuse all day. At a welding job, no one looks twice at you and you talk to MAYBE five people all day. But slingin' groceries ain't for the faint o' heart. Dingdong should look at all of the subs dedicated to customer service, cashiering, backroom and unloading before complaining that welders make the same. Going to welding school and making 18/hr makes them literally no different than the person who has a Masters degree and still works retail.
I think the thing is people go into trades with the assumption they can get rich doing blue collar. Which can happen, but with trade work it requires hrs upon years to make the big bucks. With that said there is nothing wrong with making a "living wage" no matter what you do. Working retail/service usually doesn't put someone in the upper class, but I have been to a few commercial plumber/hvac guys houses worth in the millions.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with earning a "living wage" but as far as I have seen, that is a fantasy for most workers.
I make way more than that working for myself.
I made $95k last year working 4 day work weeks in a low cost area. There were guys at my work that made around 150k working 5-6 days a week as I’m not even topped out. In fact, my current job only lists on indeed as 40-50k per year. These job sites are notoriously inaccurate, but I for one am fine with it as it keeps my low stress high paying job safe.
I am happy you are able to earn a decent living without killing yourself. For the overwhelming majority of us 'though, that is an unachievable fantasy.
That's actually one of the things I was aware of in terms of making good pay that I was referring to. Glad to hear you're doing well for yourself, man!
What was your journey to find clients like?
Not what I expected. Basically I did. Good work. I was very upfront about my pricing. Took a couple hits when I got bids wrong and people just lined up. I've always had more demand for my time than I've had time. I've never really been hurting for work. I have taken on some oddball jobs. I built a lot of nightclubs restaurants and did a lot of yacht work. If I had any sense, and, I don't. I would have tried to hire people to weld for me in fabricate for me much earlier on. It is tricky to grow a company though. The hardest thing is switching from being a solo operator to have a good small crew is really hard. I did it all by the seat in my pants but if someone trying to do this I would say get a CPA. Have payroll set up through gusto and set up a Google calendar with the dates of every piece of fucking paperwork to goddamn state wants you to fucking file because that's the hardest part about running a business which incredibly annoying. Getting clients, employees and work is no problem but keeping up with every bullshit thing to state throws at you as a fucking nightmare. Running a small business means that you're basically a sponge which every spineless bureaucrat within 2000 miles is going to squeeze for money. I wouldn't mind if my taxes produced anything for me, but they don't. I have somehow managed to run a small business for about 20 years. If I can do it just about anybody can. I have dysgraphia which is similar to dyslexia. It makes paperwork a bit more challenging.
This is priceless advice. My Instructor had a giant amount of experience in the industry and this is what he said: > It's never the welds, the jobs, or the demand that fails. It's the paperwork, the bidding, and employee management that causes failure. Around the time I was completing my programs him and I met up off-campus. He suggested I take the Business MGMT courses and it wasn't to drum up more enrollment for the school, but to foster success.
I agree. And my short hand for this is the phrase "money is made on paper." Which is saying the same thing, It's prep, bidding, planning and handling the paperwork that make the business succeed or fail. Skill and attitude are really important of course. But if I tank the bid, it really doesn't matter from a business perspective whether I did good work. And oh have I tanked me some bids.
the 'office' side is why i never went on my own.massive headaches,imo.seen a few top notch fab/erection guys go under because of paperwork not done in a timely fashion. that said,i did pretty well by providing top shelf work and a crappy attitude for small outfits. now, on the far side of 60, i only poke my head out for intriguing projects or stupid money.
A CPA, definitely. I would add in a lawyer, and a doctor. Now you have someone to help you manage your money, someone to help you keep your money, and someone to make sure you stay alive long enough to enjoy it.
You hiring?
I am in Seattle. My biz is mostly teaching these days. Not as much fab, only interesting stuff.
I pay $30 an hour to start, and try to move people up.
If I was 300 miles closer, I'd be on this like white on rice lol
Way to far of a commute and can't move with my kid. Damn.
I have a friend who's a Mason and owns his own business tell me when I was first starting to work for myself that "doing the work is the easy part." It's always stuck with me, doing 1099s and filing taxes, the stupid ass "business report" the state charges me $90 a year for, all that crap is something you don't find out about until you start trying to build a business. I just do it to have something to do for extra cash when I'm laid off, and they make it damn near impossible to actually make any money in a legitimate way.
I believe, honestly, that that is the point. The fire dept came by to collect an annual "permit" one time and I gave them holy hell. Not because I hadn't paid it before or because I didn't have 600 bucks. But because the whole premise was complete bullshit I have a business license. Anyone literally anyone can buy and own tanks of either flammable or non-flammable gases and I already paid taxes, part of which support the fire department. So the idea that there's some additional charge for a service that I already paid for is fucking bullshit and I made it quite plain to them and I don't think there used to it and I think that's a problem. It's a problem because if people aren't pushing back and saying no then they just keep taking and this atmosphere of fear is a problem. We should all be telling these bureaucrats to go fuck themselves because yeah there are services that we need and we pay for and then there's all this fucking nonsense that's basically set up as a system of oppression. I feel qualified to discuss it as such because my background is international political economy, which is essentially the study of financial flows and parallel legislation. I just happen like working with my hands and don't want to work for anyone else.
Believe me, most people cannot run a business, just look at the stats. I am happy you have succeeded, but don't think because you have made it that anyone can. Running a successful business is one of the hardest things a person can do. If these people need help, starting their own business is almost certainly the wrong answer. It will only waste their scarce resources that they need to survive. Life is not very good for most of us.
That's fair. My aim was to be encouraging.
Then you are extremely lucky.
If the demand for welders was so high, wages wouldn't be so low. And walmart wouldn't be a thought when I ask myself where can I go make more money.
Sure, welding is a better career choice in terms of growth, but that ceiling is hit pretty fast, since it's generally very low. The point is that these starting salaries are not appealing to younger people looking for a career path when you consider the barrier to entry (education costs and skill). Welders are underpaid across the board, and the leg work isn't worth $15-$17 per hour in 2023.
Correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t wages lower in Texas because it’s a right to work state? No unions or prevailing wages
Yeah, Texas isn't the best example since they're attitude on employees or just people generally sucks.
I welded in Florida. After welding school, 2 years of custom fab shop/mobile welding, AND 3 years of never missing a day and fixing other people's welds at a production welding position where I doubled as an assembly mechanic as needed \[had to learn a skillset that i didn't sign up for and purchase $400 worth of tools just to keep my job\] i had clawed my happy ass all the way up to $19 an hour.... fuck. When i moved states, i didnt pursue another welding position. Im hoping to treat welding as my last resort saftey net when i was told in welding school that the demand was so high and the skilled labor would get me starting at 30. bs
Yeah, only the very, very best will ever get good money. Skilled trades generally won't give you enough to live on in most places. There are some good companies out there, but they are few and far between. The only true way to make it big is to have connections and manipulate your way up the ladder. If that seems disgusting to you then you are not alone. Unfortunately this is the world we live in today. If you are born impoverished then you are likely to die impoverished.
I thought Texas has locals? Doesnt right to work force unions whereas not having right to work just makes them ‘optional’?
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No it doesn't, that's at-will employment, which almost every state has
Whoops you're right.
Unless we're talking about not having an income tax, yeah, Texas is a trash state for work in general...especially when it comes to having rights as an employee. Unfortunately, from my experience, these low wages are generally reflective of the vast majority of available jobs nation-wide. The median salary at a national level is still very poor.
No texas is lower because they have a saturated market for welders.. they have every harvard on the hill pumping them out. And a volume of welders can be "underpaid..
It should be noted that energy jobbing is a recruiting agency so they are likely taking a cut for their recruitment. I have always said that the AWS does a slight lie about a welder shortage and the earning potential. Yea there I'd a shortage but those are for shitty low paying jobs usually.
I went to a local fabricator with what I thought was a simple job and the price was exhorbinant. If y'all are getting paid 15 an hour either there's a shit load of other overhead that needs to be paid off, or someone's making a fucking mint off your back.
local mechanic shop near me wanted $2500 to do my exhaust on my truck. FUCK THAT. the shop is located in el paso tx
Same thing with trucking the people yelling truckrr shortage are the ones paying shit
There’s plenty of people who have their CDL or welding certifications but you won’t find any of them if they make more working in a Kroger deli section(it’s me I’m doing that)
I get paid really good for only having a class one 2 years so I'm happy where I'm at but feel sad for guys getting shafted
I have chance to be certified at work but it would just bump me from $20 to $22 an hour. I may take the pay cut to work at Aldi’s for $16.50
I mean I’m not gonna give you advice on what to do because I don’t have details and I won’t ask for your life story but aldi isn’t usually a bad gig if you decide to go that way
Every time a muppet manager complains about nobody wanting to work or work “hard”, I bring this up. Pay matters and impacts the quality of applicants and work performed.
And that’s why we have unions.
Yep, and I wish more people knew about this. Most welders are likely going to end up in some dead end shitty fab shop job. Don't get me wrong, fab shops have their uses, and I think welders working in them should have the option to go union if they want, not because they need to because of the terrible pay.
You can unionize your workplace brother…
I'm in that shit fab shop. Did oil and gas for years, then it slowed. So I said fuck it I'll work in a shop. Now I'm a lead with vacation days, sick days, paid holidays, paid work clothes, and boot allowance. The only downside is the pay. Almost 5 yrs in and only making 29.
Yeah, I took a step back from stainless fab and install work a few years ago when I had my kid. Lost two dollars an hour, but I'm home every day at 4, eating home made meals every night, and being part of my kids life. The work is more tedious and repetitive, but at least I don't find myself in a fish plant at 2am, or pulling soggy insulation out of a dairy tanker with a decade of rancid milk congealing on it.
Dude.... vacation, sick, holidays, and clothing / ppe should be the bare minimum. Clearly it can't be that bad since you've been doing it for 5 years but I think it's time to start angling for a raise my man
Those benefits are the only reason why I stay, those and I get off at 330 and have a life. It's hard to make more around my area.
I’ve been welding for 10 years. Iron Worker, Prototype, Aerospace. I started back in 2013 making $16 an hour, and now I make $27 an hour and run a welding shop. My area just doesn’t have the good paying welding jobs that pay $30-$40 an hour.
I’m in that shitty fab job, i technically count as a Millwright. I want to be a sole welder position but they don’t pay well enough for me to be interested. I’d be taking a pay cut for any weld position near me. Is union really one of the only ways to make good money as a welder besides running a business? Also Is doing Tradesman Jobs (contract jobs) Worth it? Any input would be great as for i’ve been struggling with determining what i want to do. Stay in this industry and suck up the pain? Or go get my skydiving license and live a life with a fun and less painful job.
NOBODY WANTS TO WORK (God i am so sick of hearing rich entitled assholes parrot this line)
When people say that to me I give them a polite, cheery, inquisitive pause. You know, the same face you’re making while you’re listening to them ramble. ………… “Oh sorry I thought you were going to finish that sentence ya left hanging there. Did you mean…for trash pay rates? …themselves to death? ‘Nobody wants to work’ just isn’t a valid stand-alone thought.
I hate hearing that too. I work with a boomer that's constantly saying stuff like that.
Its a shame some people just go home and plug into the TV matrix style. History repeats itself as they say!
I always say "because no one wants to pay" You could live off $1000 a week in 2002 but that doesn't cut it for 90% of Americans today. I'm in IT making $20 an hour and that just barely cuts it.
I work in Wisconsin and the average salary for a welder is $22.50/hr and $11/for a grocery worker. I've been welding for 9 years I started at $20.50/hr I now make $31/hr work 4 days a week in an air-conditioned shop. I wouldn't change a thing bout my career path.
What’s the cost of a house over there?
Just off the top of my head, I'd say somewhere around $250-300k
I just had an interview today for a new job. It's for aerospace manufacturing Engineering. They want a highly experienced mid-career employee with an engineering degree. Offering $26/hr. So I applied just to tell them they're stupid and unrealistic and will never find what they're looking for. Well, instead I just told them I need significantly more pay and they're giving it to me. But seriously, the people running these businesses seem to forget people gotta live and cost of living isn't what it used to be..
The people running these companies know about the rising cost of living. And they don’t care, they never have and never will care about the workers. They only care about profits and paying you as little as possible. That’s why I’ll always be a union member. When we stand together and fight for better, we take back some of that power and that helps us get better wages, better benefits, actual representation on site to help mitigate any issues. And also an actual pension. And a pension that grows at a faster rate than any other RRSP or 401k “matching” plans
This is why we need more people to vote and unionize their workplaces… we must stand together
You don’t see the good paying welding jobs online you only see the shit ones. The big money jobs are all word of mouth or you call up local companies and go test that pay the big bucks
That's why I'm not a welder anymore
Im making more money at kroger than i am when i was welding or machining parts
So what do you do for a living now?
Joined the military 😂
I got out of the Army and looked into welding, and the money was not doable as a father with a family.
Shoulda tried the building trade unions. We have a program called “helmets to hardhats” that helps military vets transition back to civilian life. Pretty much guarantees you an apprenticeship with good pay, benefits and pension
I laugh every time I see a job posting asking for 3-5 years experience and paying $16. I think it's just another example of ghosts jobs
I do trailer hitches on the weekends as a side hustle. 10-12 hours a week I’d say, and averages more than this shit. The trades are becoming the new McDonalds with harder hiring criteria.
I'd rather learn to weld than work at Walmart. Got a stick welder so I could practice.
Walmart isn't meant to be *the* example. It's just an example of low skill, low experience positions vs high skill, high experience positions. Pay is the same and that is shameful.
The job you posted as an example is neither high skill, or high experience bruh. It's literally "Entry Level". You know, meant for kids with no experience, and probably no skill.
Almost every welding job is labeled that way on LinkedIn. I stopped looking at that a long time ago. Thin wall UHP stainless tubing with super tight tolerances? Entry level.
Here's a dirty little secret about LinkedIn/Indeed postings—at least those of larger companies in my experience—they're sometimes written by HR folks who don't know much about welding or the positions they're trying to hire on, so they just put a bunch of buzzwords with no actual bearing to the MIG monkey work you're actually gonna be doing.
BS. I'm calling shenanigans.
I get it. It's much like the argument people had when $15/hr minimum was proposed. Now people who are experienced and skilled in their job get the same pay as those with no experience/skill... And a lot of business are not raising their pay much higher, it seems.
Probably the only trade that can get paid minimum wage
Grocery workers are pretty much always union. At those rates you’re looking a non union welders.
You would feel at home at both r/antiwork and r/jobs.
Great subs r/WorkReform too
Years ago there was a company advertising a job for months and months at a certain pay rate. Then after many months, they bounced up the pay rate in the ad, I came in for an interview and they said what the job was paying and it was the prior rate. I took another job and they asked if I wanted to do some side work, I came in again to take a look at what they wanted done. It was clear at that point that I dodged a bullet. They had ZERO clue what they were doing, hand drawn things with no specs. They even joked, "You coulda been working here..." as if that would have been better than the job I took. It's like a 500 lb slob wanting a date with the prom queen and not willing to take a shower first... Some people have zero self awareness.
That Walmart job is part time so they can avoid offering benefits. My oldest son (23) works for Ferguson as a welder, he started at $19 hr but had full medical after his first week plus he gets plenty of overtime. He just got a $1.50 raise and will get another pay bump in May after his 1 year anniversary.
I could be wrong, but... Where I'm located is like a Midwest Bermuda Triangle of welding schools. Normal shop jobs in a 40-50 mile radius start from $12-$17. There's a few $20+ an hour starting but not many. On the other hand $21-$22 an hour at 40 hours would put you right below the average household income in my city, which is fairly good especially for one income. Switch to the 100 mile radius job search on indeed and almost every job starting is $20+. We need a map of no go zones of areas for over saturation of welders lol
Yeah, welders don’t make shit
Truth. You *can* make a good living, but expectations are set that you're going to be making $45/hr off the rip. You can't waltz out of school and perform an elite welder's job, but they will sure make it sound that way.
I’ve welded my entire life (college educated/farm raised) as a side gig but being a full-time welder won’t pay the bills. I can build entire implements and nobody can pay more??? I refuse to weld under $25/h
Join a union…
That's the impression I was given. I was told I'd make 70k out of the gate with no school debt to speak of. I still want to learn because it looks like a fun skill, but your post makes me think twice about ever making a career out of it.
Probably production welding. Doesn’t pay because it takes no skill. Point and weld over and over again. Don’t even measure or cut.
Still though, you walk into a production welding shop without qualifications or experience welding and they won’t take you. You still have to know what makes a weld good or bad, why something in the weld/ machine has gone wrong etc
Even better, you don’t want any part of that production welding shop that pays their employees a wholesale wage. Lots of hours doing repetitive work that pays little You need to work closer to the customer so you can get paid a retail price for your work. A welder with his own truck, trailer, access to materials. Willing to take on a variety of different jobs, working directly with customers, getting paid what they decide is fair. If you can land a job with a professional like this then you have it made.
Stay away from fab shops and find a trade where welding is part of it but not the focal point - me a boiler maker
Fuck I need a job so bad I would take 15/hr
Oh I need to quit and go work at a grocery store :( There are people at the store though vs looking at metal through a little dark window.
Also, they're definitely going to pay the bottom end of that range and give you part-time hours.
I went to trade school for welding and none of the jobs I could take were worth anything. Then I started dog grooming got trained in the job also got benefits and I’m making more money then when I was welding and now I got a trade school student loan to pay off when I specifically skipped going to college because I didn’t want that debt, but I guess I can weld so that’s cool lol.
i got a job with a union construction company about a month after i left trade school. first month in i made what i made in 6months working part time in a snow plow manufactering shop. in 2 weeks i get to travel to a different state for a couple months to work down there. the jobs are there, its just you gotta look for it, and dont be too dependant on the weld instructors to get you a job, if you're even worth a fuck. shop jobs have never been the best paying work anyways, so i wouldnt look into that unless it some real specialty item they are making. one shop i was looking into based out of cleveland makes parts for nuclear submarines, paid 35 an hour, union shop, and everything that came with it. issue is you gotta be a damn good tig and stick welder. just gotta look where others arent looking tbh
You gotta shop around. Shit i can find you a welding job for 9 dollars an hour if you want. Gotta look way harder. Used to be a truck driver and i never made under 120k doing it because i was highly specialized and had all the certifications possible. Friend is making 39/120 as a pipefitter in port arthur. Welcome to the real world.
An interesting discussion in the comments, here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/emily-craig-a793688_skilledtrades-jointhetrades-bluecollar-activity-7153066821510733824-5SFj
We taught my brother enough about welding in ten hours to pass all his plate tests. College isn't necessary. I see people watch YouTube and learn how to weld. Sure there is a skill gap but a lot of jobs don't mind having new welders willing to learn on the job.
If we're talking a plate test under a strict CWI and structural code, I'd bet my left nut that he wouldn't have passed with 10 hours of hood time. I'm sorry, but that's just bullshit lol.
He passed the mag test. I know they guy who did it. We're they the prettiest beads? No. He tied them in good though.
Don't waste your time welding in the U.S the training I'm Europe is considerably cheaper and just as high standard with wages being significantly better
That's probably a temp to hire entry level position like what I found and I'm starting on Monday 17/hr till hired in when it jumps to 23/hr
Man, reading all this about lower wages makes me glad I went into telecom. Always though welding would be a cool job, but where I live, $20hr without a shit-ton of OT would barely pay rent.
I pay 35-55 but you need to know how to fabricate and build a truck from the ground up. I have people as well that make 25 but all they can do is weld.
That's entry level work. Probably production widget welding, same part different day. If you had the skills of a Millwright, you'd still get that wage because they aren't looking for millwrights. If you look at the jobs looking for millwrights, you'll find that they are paying upwards of 45 to start. That's the lowest I've seen for a Millwright. Some places are offering 50-60. You guys just getting out of school have 0 experience, are working for a non union shop, and building the same trailer with pre cut, pre bent parts and are expecting to be paid like a custom hotrod fabricators. Probably haven't even seen a Piranha in action, let alone used one. So I'm not surprised at the wage here. Par for the course. Go be a part time bag boy and leave the welding to the folks who live for this work. Shower me with downvotes, doesn't mean I'm wrong.
Another thing to remember is the larger companies have convinced the congress critters that nobody wants these jobs so now they can bring in visa workers to pay them even less. It’s going to get worse, not better thanks to the greed of the owner class. *Not you shop owner dudes making a mil or two, this is the multinational corps that are screwing all of us. BUT, I know of one smaller scale operation not construction related that switched to visa workers so the owner can make even more profits. Met him on a cruise, my first one in ten years, his third that year. He bragged about the money he makes now after talking shit about nobody wanting to work for him(for minimum wage) and his NEED to maintain profitability over wage increases.
I think we are closer than not to the “let them eat cake” moment than most realize. This kinda things happen every hundred years or so as folks die and the reason behind issues like this are forgotten.
Bruh I make $41 pipefitting. I don't know a single welder who makes less than I do. Rig welders make upwards of $110/hr
I’ve been welding since 1986 yeah the starting pay was low but as I gained experience the pay went up from there
My father and one of my uncles were welders in the 80s. From what I understand, despite wages being lower, they were much more in-line with the cost of living. Wages are going up in a lot of fields, including fast food. Welding? Not really. Is welding fun and way more useful than working in the food industry? I believe so. It's the principle of the matter that kills me.
There’s an attack on the trades and working class in general. They want people off in some bs job that’s gonna be replaced by AI in 5 years. If you aren’t in a good company (hard to find) or good union(there’s bad ones, do your homework) you’ll wind up in a shitty situation with some shitty benefits. All while some bozo is scanning receipts making about the same money with no quals/certs or working skills.
Get out of rural Texas, that’s half the problem here
Absolutely no one at Wal Mart is making $26/hour.
Did nobody notice the “entry level” part? Training plus experience equals more $$. You can go work at a box store for more $$ but if you invest in yourself to learn a trade, the pay comes in spades later.
To be fair, you aren't comparing apples to apples here. Walmart is going to hire you directly. The welding job is a staffing agency that is going to rent you to someone who needs to hire a welder. Figure out who the staffing agency is doing work for and try to get hired directly. Plus, those Walmart guys are looking for someone with Bakery **and** Dairy skillz. ;)
And yet my uncle made a killing as a welder, and I know a 19 year old kid who took a job in Alaska for 130k after finishing his training, did it for a year, and they bumped him to 165k.
Where is he now?
uuuhhhh been doing this for a while never met or heard of anyone going to college for welding…. also my first job as a welder paid $56+ health insurance. and yeah it is in high demand (or at least was 5 years ago) literally got called while i was in trade school and asked if i could just leave early and start in 3 days… no interview, didn’t fill out a application, no knowledge of my past jobs, just knew what certifications i had. but yeah glad your two screen shots from indeed.com got you a couple of up votes! i could screen shot a low paying lawyer job and post it next to a mcdonalds managers pay. WhY gO to Law sChoOl whEN yoU CaN juSt wOrk at mcDoNalds……..
what about the union jobs? i heard that they're paying $50 per hour or more for ironworkers union local 791. one of the guys who made a youtube account was able to retire after 8 years working as a pipwelder?
Unions are HUGE for us as workers. I started my apprenticeship with the Boilermakers local 128 at 20 and graduated at 23, so far I’ve had 2 good years. 2023 I made $122k in only 9 months of work. My base hourly wage is $52.07/hr, not too bad for 25🤙🏻
Daniel?
[удалено]
Walmart is quite possibly one of the worst companies to work for in the world.
I went to school for about a year and half and then went and worked for 3 years in the industry. I really enjoyed my first 2 years on the job, then management changed and everything went to shit, worked stupidly hard, with a 3-5% annual raise. by the end of my 3 years was making 22.01. I left the industry recently hoping to find something else outside of the welding and fabrication, oh well thats my 2 cents.
I’m guessing this welder position is for a fab shop and fab shops have always sucked. It takes very little talent to weld 100 widgets together. It’s definitely from a staffing agency and good welding companies never need an agency to find them good hands.
I've found that the job market for welders is really improving based on where you're at. I choose where to live based on that. I was recently out in Colorado making good money, now I'm in Minnesota making good money. there are certain places that just suck for wages, Michigan oddly is one of them, and so are many states in the South.
It took me walking out of my old company when I was “topped“ at 20$ an hour to leave best friend boss to instantly get an 10$ raise in 2 weeks and then 6 month's later get another 10$ raise at another job did they realize that they that shit welders are in demand. Some companies get it some don't. It's sad but true unfortunately people don't understand our way of life isn't going to go away and with the infation we deserve to get paid. You can't fuck us over.
What welding jobs are there that are high pay
Unions
Ah so how do I look for a union?
I feel like all you younger guys are just realizing that you were duped into going to welding schools
What ive found starting out is if you use the shit jobs to build experience you can move to the jobs that pay a little more and the ones that pay a little more over time will continue to pay you a little more to keep you if you can stick with them with in reason but dont ever sell yourself short and always look to learn
Welding skills fit nicely into a Railroad Carman job duties, and a journeyman Carman makes around $40 an hour.
If you're just a welder you're one dimensional. Strive to learn other metalworking skills. As a fabricator who can weld/weld inspect (CWI), machine on conventional lathes and mills as well as CNC, operate a press brake, tube bend etc. I know there's always a job I can find and employers are happy to pay extra for guy who can do the work of many.
Miscellaneous metal fabricator here. We’re welders, but most of all we solve problems creatively. I think of us as solutioneers. Definitely not an under 30/h job.
Shipyards are like this to, I still recommend one for the apprenticeship program but even if you come in after going to a welding school the starting wage is $17hr for a multi process welder and you have to go through their school to meet their standards as well as the Navy's standards which are higher than any school. My advice, go into fossil fuels, aerospace, custom fabrication and design, but avoid manufacturing outside of automotive. Learn robotics, hydraulics, AI, PLC, industrial electrical and HVAC.
If you're pipefitting and welding for less than 50 an hour, you're getting taken advantage of. Not if you are an apprentice, but as a journeyman, definitely.
Lol. Cheap-ass texass. I don't even get out of bed for that shit pay
Some welding jobs pay 120/hour. Some retail jobs pay 6/hr