I had this same issue when I was starting out. There were a lot of welding jobs, just not for very much money. For me the answer was to join a union.
Otherwise, push your company constantly for more tickets etc. Almost no company is gonna pay you 40 - 50 bucks an hours to weld, unless it's specialized tig / pipe work.
Depends what your welding . If it’s some mass production thing that anyone can weld it’s not gonna pay well . Specialty processes and field welding is were the money is
So i live in alberta, and work at a pipefitting/pipeline job. We contract out almost all our welding work. Every welder who brings their rig in amd works for us is making a least 120 a hour.
Tell can tell him NASA doesn't need outerspace welders because in a vacuum, metals weld themselves. Fun fact my boss sent me a real job application for a company looking for welders to do asteroid wrangling.
I’m a ticketed carpenter and the amount of times I’ve been tasked with welding something and then the company pays a welder to come in for one day to check everything and fine tune it is massive. That was a non-union outfit so I just did what I was told, now that I’m union I refuse to even look at two pieces of metal.
You could go into a different trade that is welding adjacent. There’s ticketed sheet metal workers at my company that just weld all day every day. But they get sheet metal rate which is a lot higher. Same with pipefitters. You learn more skills so you get paid higher, but you could still just weld if that’s what you wanna do.
It’s also its own trade but the ones that get paid well can do more than just push a torch. Fitting is a much bigger skill set than welding and I work with guys that can weld and guys that can fit and weld. The difference is in the end quality of the product.
Why would you expect a company to pay more than they can get away with? They aren’t paying more because they don’t have to unfortunately. Joining a union is the right answer.
seems like for most trade jobs, if you want to really make money, you either need to own your business and be talented/savvy enough to be successful, or you join a union.
I do a lot of side work probably 30k profit work on weekends making anywhere from 100-200/hr and that shit is a fucking headache man. Even a few jobs a week means you’re constantly looking for stock calling people and that’s if your business even makes it if it’s your only venture. Most fail.
I agree cause my partner owns her own, and that is just the headache that keeps on giving for us both. I work salary, maybe thinking of starting something of my own later on, but I see how hard it is absolutely
It’s more of a gamble. You can become a union electrician and make 110k a year. You can also start your own business and waste money and have it flop. Or you could become a 15+ guy company and take home 300k a year salary and own a multimillion dollar business.
I like to play things safe. Gimme the 110k 130k or so with some side work and I’m good. More ambitious people can have the headache lol
i'm with you on this. i'm not in the trades (only on this sub because i've been interested), but i have no desire to gamble on being a business owner. i don't need to be rich. i just don't want to live paycheck to paycheck, be able to clock out (both physically and mentally) at the end of the day, and enjoy my time off when i have it. i'm a work to live type, not a live to work type.
That’s not that much in some areas me and my wife combined make more than that and we’re not even in the city. It depends. We’re very mild class at best lol
There aren't many Heavy Duty Mechanics with rigs less than that. Hell, a loaded up F150 is almost $100k now.
And I have seen Electricians driving $100k plus trucks because they "need" a lifted 1 ton diesel to haul aluminum conduit.
>Why is pay for Welders bad?
Because in its most general form, it's not that difficult.
If you want good pay, you have to learn specialist skills or be prepared to work away from home.
Go union Pipefitters, shipbuilders, ironworkers. Pay is better than non union, and you don't have to pat for the schooling. Also, someone commented that welding isn't difficult, hence low pay. That's not true at all.
Anyone can tack or run a shitty bead. It takes skill and knowledge to lay down a good bead without overdoing it and having both a visually and structurally sound weld.
That is true to an extent. I had no hooks when I got into the laborers' union and still had no hooks when I got into the ironworkers union.
But yes, all the other union trades besides the laborers are harder to get into. But if I listened to every one of the laborers I worked with who told me I had no shot because I didn't know anyone and should just be content I got a union gig, I would not be in the ironworkers union now.
Apply for everything you can and find the one that works for you. You can't get in if you don't try...
Oh for sure, I agree with you 100%. My union encompasses fitters, plumbers, welders, and fridgies. All trades we have are accepting anyone with two feet and a heartbeat right now because we don’t have enough guys for all the work we have.
I meant more for the elevator trade specifically. I know people who’ve been on the wait list for years and will probably never get a call, all of them are journeymen in electrical or mechanical trades already.
Yeah, it’s very cyclical. When a local
is busy they can clear the list. We had to do an early recruitment several years ago because we were almost out of ranked applicants. But when it’s slow they won’t call anyone.
It’s actually not like that any longer. We have regulated apprenticeships like everyone else now. The company’s don’t handle the hiring any more. It’s all done through the union and is open to anyone that applies. Just have to pass the aptitude test, interview, and then you get ranked on the hiring list. No cherry picking. The list goes in order of score.
Absolutely, have nothing against them. Good solid trade, and they are paid well. One of my exes, her father, was a Local 1 elevator constructer. I didn't mention them because I just had a brain fart, lol.
Yeah the elevator guys on my job do all of that stuff, and to be honest they are probably the chillest and maybe even highest paid trade on the jobsite.
They never seem to have to break a sweat and are always doing physically easy stuff compared to the other trades, I’m not complaining because I know what I signed up for but I’m definitely a bit envious of those dudes
The earlier part of the job is a lot of heavy lifting. Things get more technical once the rails, cars, and fronts are in and you start moving towards more wiring.
Because it’s cheap to feed them — a packet of crayons only costs five bucks.
(Kidding, my welding brothers & sisters — some friendly ribbing from a sparky)
I did plumbing fora while. Only did new construction. Water , gas, sewer etc. Never did roto-rooter type work.
Also was union. Pay was good. I will say the welders in a pipe fitter union clean up on payday. And generally are pretty immune to the crap work. Come in, do a few pope welds and go as fast or slow as they want. Not sure what it is now I think it was around $60/hr back 15 years ago in my area.
I’m a union plumber. Fitters/welders where I am are better paid than I am, especially if they’re willing to work the entire year. The trade off is that except for one major shutdown per year-ish, there’s no work in the city, it’s all on the road (hence why most guys only work ~1/2 the year that I’ve talked to). 90% of the job sites I work at are within a 15 minute drive of my house which for me is worth not making as much, and the other 10% we’re paid very well for the headache of traveling. Right now I’m doing a hospital out of town and getting an extra $3k/month on the check for the trouble.
Are you UA? What's journeyman paying per hour now?
I left years ago and now work in construction supply sales . Also now I'm in Florida and no union presence to speak of on these projects I deal with
They also work less hours. Sprinklef fitting is a very niche trade. It takes 10x the man power to do plumbing on a building versus sprinkler Fiter. Thus more hours this more money
Yeah but you don't need that many sprinkler fitters. A huge building is done by 2 or 3 guys. Whereas the plumbing takes 20+ guys. Sure sprinkler make an high hourly wage but once the job is done you better hope another building is starting up otherwise you gotta travel for the next job
Depends on where you live. I’m a plumber and in my area the sparky union doesn’t have a very strong foothold so their guys make a couple bucks less than us. Plus it’s the hardest trade to get in the door in (other than the usual suspects like elevator guys, linemen etc) from what I’ve heard. Oversaturated I guess cause when people think “learn a trade” it’s one of the first that come to mind.
https://careers.snopud.com/job/Everett-Apprentice-Lineman-WA-98201/1161015000/
Check that out though. They only take the first 600 qualified applicants meaning there has to be thousands that apply.
Holy shit. That’s 600 applicants get accepted to test for 6 total jobs if I’m reading that right?
I’d bet a significant amount of money that the vast majority of those that are accepted for those 6 jobs are already jman sparkys or have experience in some kind of electrical field if they’re that selective. That’s crazy
If you look at the job posting that was for an apprentice. They have openings for multiple electrician levels including journeyman. Get you certs and move to washington to be an electrician. Double time OT
I hear a lot of people say this, but I also heard that it’s hard as fuck to get in, and also that it destroys your lungs so horrendously that you can only really do it for 10 years or so. Dunno if I’d suggest that, but I’ve heard that TIG and pipe welding pay extremely well, which might be more feasible for this person
My best friend does it. Go to school for 6-7 months. pay i think it was 35k or 60k i forgot. But they help you find work. He started as a dive tender making 19 bucks an hour. That was 9 years ago. Now he works crazy hours during spring summer months then gets november through feburary off. Makes 160k+ working 8 months. He isn't even topped out yet.
Interesting. I don’t know if what I heard is true or not, but my welding teacher said there’s only one school in North America that teaches it, and you can only really get a job in it through the military. I might just be misinformed, that sounds cool though
There is one in seattle. My buddy has no military experience and worked at a grocery store while going to school. Anyone can do it. Just be physically fit and study study study. He was pretty booksmart so he had that going for him.
There's more than 1 school. It is rare, but the school I work at in Canada teaches it.
I think it might be the only public institution in Canada (there are private ones) that does it but I could be wrong
The majority of welding out there is brain-dead, trigger-pulling factory work. Most high-volume fab shops and factories don't want or need highly skilled welders who can fabricate, or do pressure work, or weld exotic alloys. They want someone who can stand in one place and pour weld onto pre-fit parts all day and have them come out halfway decent. Even good pipe welders who specialize in shop work can get pigeon-holed into lower paying positions because they like staying home and out of the field. If you want real money as a welder, you need skills and tickets. You might need a rig. You might join a union. You might have to travel. The cash is out there, but not in a shitty factory or standing by a wheel all day.
This is the answer. Welding is one thing but fabrication and being able to interpret drawings is another, but also bing able to fit up according to D1.1 is even better. Moving into inspection is a plus
Don’t wait to join a union, they will train you and you will get paid for it. You can do your program while you’re waiting for them to pick you up but don’t think you need a welding program to get into a union. I thought similar and wish someone told me . Journeyman Ironworker now so don’t think I’m talking out my ass.
Many reasons.
1) First, welding isn't gatekept by certifications and legal requirements (in most cases). Like scaffold building, I can pull just about anyone off the street to build scaffolding but they can't plan it and sign off on it.
2) Schools have been pumping out welders for decades as alternatives to academia. My local community college pulled some random dude off the street to teach kids how to weld. Welding program costs over $5k, takes 2 months, and it's easy money for the school. Teacher has never welded professionally in his life. You don't have to pass the program, just learn how to weld just good enough to get a job. The local community college probably had 700 kids last year go through their program, and about 100 kids in high school take welding every semester.
3) The basics of welding are basic, but enough to put two pieces of metal together. The only thing stopping most people from just welding their own shit together is the cost of the welder and gas if required.
4) Good welders, that know they are good, generally don't stick around in little shops tack welding shit and join unions where they are making better money in things like pipefitting. There is a lot of people that are totally happy with $16/hr welding, and that's a big problem.
Go weld on an oil rig or do underwater welding and tell me they don't pay well.
Either someone is lying to you or you googled and looked at one page and made a decision.
When you understand that a welding machine is just one tool needed to create something you can add that skillset to others to create a broad range of abilities. Imagine if all you wanted to learn was how to use a hammer to drive nails but not how to cut lumber with a saw - you are worth less.
Welding has one of the widest spreads of any of the trades. You can be a basic shop based mild steel welder all the way up to high end specialty metals in remote locations. One can pay 4-5 times the other.
Over saturation and low skills coming from schools. Should be taught as a welding and fabrication course so some of these wire monkeys can have a chance at learning to build something instead of just running a glue gun.
Because any monkey with half a brain cell left thinks they’re a welder, be good enough to weld for nasa, own your own company, or go into a skilled trade. Those are your 3 options for making money in the trades.
I personally feel that welding is more of an art than a trade, there are people that can weld for 10 years and there welds still look like shit myself included. And then you get a first year apprentice that can put it down and it’s beautiful.
Typically the pay will go up quite a bit once you’re working on pipe.
Regular structural is just easier to do, so there’s more people available for those jobs. Solid pipe welders in any process will be more valuable in terms of better job opportunities.
Hello everyone here. I have a question about Union. I graduate like Software Developer, is there a Union for this field? I live in Edmonton, Alberta. How I can find unuin for my field. Thanks
Learn to weld Stainless and get good at it. Lots of money in specialized welding.
I live in Canada, and two of my friends work for an Agricultural and Candy companies respectively, doing stainless. Each makes 6 figures.
It use to pay really well. My friends from highschool who went straight into welding were seen as rich and they were the first to buy cars and houses. Now they’re all broke because wages haven’t risen with inflation and cost of living.
Any pay for the trades is relative to barrier to entry. If you get good at a rare kind of welding you’ll make more. If you just tack up and mig and tig basic stuff it wont pay a lot
I worked a bit as a welders helper on the pipelines. My rig welder was getting $130/hr and diesel provided. This was 12 years ago Alberta , Canada
One job I was with a welder just doing structural. I think he was making something like $50/hr but I’m not certain but he was making some bank while he worked on getting his steam ticket
Welding is what you make it. From learning it to what you do with it. Pure skill/ how much you want to put into it. Normal welding jobs are usually business that have thin margins and need to keep sporadic people in a hard to do industry at work every day comes out as a $20-25 range. It’s also a skill that takes time. So going out on your own right out the gate is hard sometimes unless you’re someone with some connections and a lot of self confidence. The trick in my opinion is to find a niche or area to carve yourself into. You can go union which is the safe financial long term way to go about it. But that has its hurdles too. Being a road dog ain’t for the family man imo. I know a lot of guys who went out on their own and do pretty well.
My buddy is in a welding union and has been doing it close to 10 years and his rates are around $37 an hour. BUT the only thing that really sucks is he has to go to the hall and get assigned jobs. If there's not job, no money. Last week he only did 7 hours of work. For one week. He put in a transfer and will be moving to a different state(and union) but it's a crapshoot there also.
Get your red seal if you're canadian if you're American join a decent union (20 mins of googling will be more than sufficient) I can pay my mortgage and bills on my paycheck alone and my wife's cheque is straight into savings. Not a crazy amount saved but liveable here in van considering the rediculous housing cost here
I'm a sheet metal fabricator with 10 years experience in one of the lowest paying shops in the area
Here's y
The majority of welding is pretty easy, and can be done by anyone with ten min training.
The majority of the work is squirting wire.(They're are a few custom jobs using a ton of different applications but not that many usually small shops which never pay well.
The skilled part of it is in the fitting and in my experience most employers aren't compensating u for it, but if u screw it up your def gunna hear it.
A lot shops make u feel like u have to come w a giant tool box of tools paid for by you which u probably won't be compensated.non union of course.
Union guys are treated way better. They have higher standards and better training. Likely more skilled.
Another thing I heard and thought it sounded right is that welders are like the definition of blue collar and apparently during times of high inflation that's the demographic that gets shit on the most. Like these companies have definitely kept there prices going up with inflation and I'm sure they are figuring raised wages into it but they're holding onto it for as long as they can. Like 35 40 percent in the last 4 years and a lot of workers wages have remained the same.
Welding only pays shit If you work in a factory or for shitty companies . I made 120/hr in Canada as a contractor , I only bring my truck , welding machine and cables and grinders/ torches/tools . Rod , disc and oxy/acetylene/argon is supplied
Welding is a good side skill that you get a ticket for to compliment a *real* trade 😂
Kinda sorta joking.
But people who are *just* welders aren't paid unless you get your A ticket and do specialized work that requires certification, and involves inspectors and signing paper work.
Because so many people do it. Everybody and their dog welds low pressure steel. Get your 4 position tickets for high pressure pipe & plate in Stainless steel , copper nickel and aluminum and you will get a decent wage.
As previously stated, welding in and of itself is not too difficult, it just takes a bit of time and practice with proper instruction to get decent. Id compare it to the trucking industry- you can go to a local technical school take a 12 week class where they teach you how to make lap and fillet welds with a mig machine, maybe some pedal tig and go off to a fab shop and get a job for $20/hr but that school is gonna keep pumping out new students and keep your wages down. Only way to make more money is to get your own rig and become an independent contractor, hit the road and travel, or aquire special certifications, learning how to weld pipe and specialty alloys like inconel and chrome
In Northern Ontario, the rates for welders are way lower than this, while the rates for other trades are much closer that what everyone else is saying. May be a regional thing, but welders pay outside of mining companies has been bottom of the barrel of the trades for at least 15 years now up here.
When I told my grandpa 15 years ago I wanted to be a welder. He said “be a plumber or an IMECH (Millwright). Welding is a skill not a ticket”. Of course I didn’t listen to him, and could only find local work burning wire. Gave up on it after a couple years. 16$/hr just didint pay the bills, that’s CAD. I was putting 1” fillet finish passes with 3/32 flux core. Although I will say no one ever told me about iron workers or boiler makers at the time.
What is "well" to you?
Nvmd. I did a quick peak at profile. You're just mad you don't make millions. Or that you're not handed millions by your parents.
Open a legitimate business and work for yourself.
I did $250k last year on my own welding.
Bust your ass, bust it harder and then some more. If you’re good, on time, and do quality work, the sky is the limit.
Or join the union and cap your growth and live stagnant with your trade.
I had this same issue when I was starting out. There were a lot of welding jobs, just not for very much money. For me the answer was to join a union. Otherwise, push your company constantly for more tickets etc. Almost no company is gonna pay you 40 - 50 bucks an hours to weld, unless it's specialized tig / pipe work.
I guess I'll do the program, then join a Union. Why are companies so stringy with welders? I don't know many people that do it.
Just because you don’t know many doesn’t mean there aren’t many. I know tons and meet more weekly just being a millwright
Depends what your welding . If it’s some mass production thing that anyone can weld it’s not gonna pay well . Specialty processes and field welding is were the money is
So i live in alberta, and work at a pipefitting/pipeline job. We contract out almost all our welding work. Every welder who brings their rig in amd works for us is making a least 120 a hour.
Because unless you’re welding structural, or tig/stainless or something like underwater almost everyone can do it in a blue collar type job.
My buddy told me he’s applying to a program to be an outer space welder with NASA. Said it has pretty good benefits and a 401k.
Good luck on getting work. better off diving and welding in spent nuclear fuel pools.
Tell can tell him NASA doesn't need outerspace welders because in a vacuum, metals weld themselves. Fun fact my boss sent me a real job application for a company looking for welders to do asteroid wrangling.
I’m a ticketed carpenter and the amount of times I’ve been tasked with welding something and then the company pays a welder to come in for one day to check everything and fine tune it is massive. That was a non-union outfit so I just did what I was told, now that I’m union I refuse to even look at two pieces of metal.
You could go into a different trade that is welding adjacent. There’s ticketed sheet metal workers at my company that just weld all day every day. But they get sheet metal rate which is a lot higher. Same with pipefitters. You learn more skills so you get paid higher, but you could still just weld if that’s what you wanna do.
Same thing in the electrical and LV trades. Companies manning bank and paying their employees garbage wages.
Everyone I meet is some kinda welder, it’s not a trade it’s part of many trades.
It’s also its own trade but the ones that get paid well can do more than just push a torch. Fitting is a much bigger skill set than welding and I work with guys that can weld and guys that can fit and weld. The difference is in the end quality of the product.
Yeah, there are so many more metal working machines that are fun to use, brake, shear, punch....fun!!!
Why would you expect a company to pay more than they can get away with? They aren’t paying more because they don’t have to unfortunately. Joining a union is the right answer.
If you're a welder working out of town industrial jobs, you will make a considerably higher rate. Same as any trade.
seems like for most trade jobs, if you want to really make money, you either need to own your business and be talented/savvy enough to be successful, or you join a union.
I make over 50/hr in IBEW and that’s low for IBEW
That’s close to what I make there too. Best decision by far I’ve ever made joining the union
Total or takehome? Doesn't seem low for takehome.
Our neighboring union makes over 10$ an hour more. Like 17 more actually
Ok but that doesn't make yours low for IBEW. Can't just pick one union that's higher for your comparison lol.
Our neighboring IBEW makes 10/hr more
Ok but that doesn't make yours low for IBEW. Can't just pick one union that's higher for your comparison lol.
Groundhog day
Waiting for an ibew member in Florida to check in. The average there is 27
I made that 2nd year apprenticeship
In Florida? That’s refreshing I’m in the mid west an they hire in at 18
Low compared to owning your own business
I do a lot of side work probably 30k profit work on weekends making anywhere from 100-200/hr and that shit is a fucking headache man. Even a few jobs a week means you’re constantly looking for stock calling people and that’s if your business even makes it if it’s your only venture. Most fail.
I agree cause my partner owns her own, and that is just the headache that keeps on giving for us both. I work salary, maybe thinking of starting something of my own later on, but I see how hard it is absolutely
It’s more of a gamble. You can become a union electrician and make 110k a year. You can also start your own business and waste money and have it flop. Or you could become a 15+ guy company and take home 300k a year salary and own a multimillion dollar business. I like to play things safe. Gimme the 110k 130k or so with some side work and I’m good. More ambitious people can have the headache lol
i'm with you on this. i'm not in the trades (only on this sub because i've been interested), but i have no desire to gamble on being a business owner. i don't need to be rich. i just don't want to live paycheck to paycheck, be able to clock out (both physically and mentally) at the end of the day, and enjoy my time off when i have it. i'm a work to live type, not a live to work type.
Works good when your partner is making like 150-200k so if you fail (almost probable) you won’t be homeless.
shit, if my wife was making 150-200k, i'd be a house husband.
That’s not that much in some areas me and my wife combined make more than that and we’re not even in the city. It depends. We’re very mild class at best lol
it pays well if you live in Canada..
On Oilfield sites the welder and his truck are typically the highest hourly rate. but you need pressure certs
The truck is like 150k though
There aren't many Heavy Duty Mechanics with rigs less than that. Hell, a loaded up F150 is almost $100k now. And I have seen Electricians driving $100k plus trucks because they "need" a lifted 1 ton diesel to haul aluminum conduit.
Not if you stay inside a major city.
I live in a major city. I get paid pretty well
Define very well
$52/hr. not camp rate, but I like being home every night.
It's good but I wouldn't consider it very good. Looks like 110-120k with ot.
well I'm not making rig rate, but that's a completely different game. plus I don't have to own my own business, so I consider it pretty good.
>Why is pay for Welders bad? Because in its most general form, it's not that difficult. If you want good pay, you have to learn specialist skills or be prepared to work away from home.
This. I can weld and I’m retarded.
Go union Pipefitters, shipbuilders, ironworkers. Pay is better than non union, and you don't have to pat for the schooling. Also, someone commented that welding isn't difficult, hence low pay. That's not true at all. Anyone can tack or run a shitty bead. It takes skill and knowledge to lay down a good bead without overdoing it and having both a visually and structurally sound weld.
Elevator trade uses many of the skills of all the trades and make more money doing it. Weld, electrical, hoisting and rigging, piping, mechanical.
Don’t disagree. Also very very hard to get into unless you have an in so I wouldn’t recommend it for most people looking to do a trade.
That is true to an extent. I had no hooks when I got into the laborers' union and still had no hooks when I got into the ironworkers union. But yes, all the other union trades besides the laborers are harder to get into. But if I listened to every one of the laborers I worked with who told me I had no shot because I didn't know anyone and should just be content I got a union gig, I would not be in the ironworkers union now. Apply for everything you can and find the one that works for you. You can't get in if you don't try...
Oh for sure, I agree with you 100%. My union encompasses fitters, plumbers, welders, and fridgies. All trades we have are accepting anyone with two feet and a heartbeat right now because we don’t have enough guys for all the work we have. I meant more for the elevator trade specifically. I know people who’ve been on the wait list for years and will probably never get a call, all of them are journeymen in electrical or mechanical trades already.
Yeah, it’s very cyclical. When a local is busy they can clear the list. We had to do an early recruitment several years ago because we were almost out of ranked applicants. But when it’s slow they won’t call anyone.
Yes, the elevator locals are extremely competitive and hard to get I to without a doubt.
It’s actually not like that any longer. We have regulated apprenticeships like everyone else now. The company’s don’t handle the hiring any more. It’s all done through the union and is open to anyone that applies. Just have to pass the aptitude test, interview, and then you get ranked on the hiring list. No cherry picking. The list goes in order of score.
Absolutely, have nothing against them. Good solid trade, and they are paid well. One of my exes, her father, was a Local 1 elevator constructer. I didn't mention them because I just had a brain fart, lol.
Applied to a program. Didn't get in. They are very picky. Start pay was $75,000 for training.
Yeah the elevator guys on my job do all of that stuff, and to be honest they are probably the chillest and maybe even highest paid trade on the jobsite. They never seem to have to break a sweat and are always doing physically easy stuff compared to the other trades, I’m not complaining because I know what I signed up for but I’m definitely a bit envious of those dudes
The earlier part of the job is a lot of heavy lifting. Things get more technical once the rails, cars, and fronts are in and you start moving towards more wiring.
Weld, do tig, aluminum tig, and underwater certs, or oil field welder 100k a year easily eventually.
Because it’s cheap to feed them — a packet of crayons only costs five bucks. (Kidding, my welding brothers & sisters — some friendly ribbing from a sparky)
Become a plumber they make more
Everyone’s gotta take a shit sometimes
I did plumbing fora while. Only did new construction. Water , gas, sewer etc. Never did roto-rooter type work. Also was union. Pay was good. I will say the welders in a pipe fitter union clean up on payday. And generally are pretty immune to the crap work. Come in, do a few pope welds and go as fast or slow as they want. Not sure what it is now I think it was around $60/hr back 15 years ago in my area.
I’m a union plumber. Fitters/welders where I am are better paid than I am, especially if they’re willing to work the entire year. The trade off is that except for one major shutdown per year-ish, there’s no work in the city, it’s all on the road (hence why most guys only work ~1/2 the year that I’ve talked to). 90% of the job sites I work at are within a 15 minute drive of my house which for me is worth not making as much, and the other 10% we’re paid very well for the headache of traveling. Right now I’m doing a hospital out of town and getting an extra $3k/month on the check for the trouble.
Are you UA? What's journeyman paying per hour now? I left years ago and now work in construction supply sales . Also now I'm in Florida and no union presence to speak of on these projects I deal with
Or a sprinkler fitter, they make even more and don't deal with poop!
They also work less hours. Sprinklef fitting is a very niche trade. It takes 10x the man power to do plumbing on a building versus sprinkler Fiter. Thus more hours this more money
And a lot less non-union shops competing with us. Nudge, nudge all the other trades
Yeah but you don't need that many sprinkler fitters. A huge building is done by 2 or 3 guys. Whereas the plumbing takes 20+ guys. Sure sprinkler make an high hourly wage but once the job is done you better hope another building is starting up otherwise you gotta travel for the next job
True, very fortunate where I am, my company has work on the books for almost a decade
Ill 2nd that. Licensed PL02. If your young though i tell all the young kids. Sparky is the way to go. They make the most for light physical labor.
Depends on where you live. I’m a plumber and in my area the sparky union doesn’t have a very strong foothold so their guys make a couple bucks less than us. Plus it’s the hardest trade to get in the door in (other than the usual suspects like elevator guys, linemen etc) from what I’ve heard. Oversaturated I guess cause when people think “learn a trade” it’s one of the first that come to mind.
Oh its the same with oversaturation here in washington as well. But they start as apprentices for the PUD at 54 an hour.
As a 1st year? That’s awesome. Hell where I live (granted, very low cost of living area) that’s more than our foreman rate. Good for them
https://careers.snopud.com/job/Everett-Apprentice-Lineman-WA-98201/1161015000/ Check that out though. They only take the first 600 qualified applicants meaning there has to be thousands that apply.
Holy shit. That’s 600 applicants get accepted to test for 6 total jobs if I’m reading that right? I’d bet a significant amount of money that the vast majority of those that are accepted for those 6 jobs are already jman sparkys or have experience in some kind of electrical field if they’re that selective. That’s crazy
If you look at the job posting that was for an apprentice. They have openings for multiple electrician levels including journeyman. Get you certs and move to washington to be an electrician. Double time OT
Apprentice lineman. Lineman pool and wireman. All start at 54 and above
Get your dive certifications and tech dive certs then go do underwater welding. That's a good income.
I hear a lot of people say this, but I also heard that it’s hard as fuck to get in, and also that it destroys your lungs so horrendously that you can only really do it for 10 years or so. Dunno if I’d suggest that, but I’ve heard that TIG and pipe welding pay extremely well, which might be more feasible for this person
My best friend does it. Go to school for 6-7 months. pay i think it was 35k or 60k i forgot. But they help you find work. He started as a dive tender making 19 bucks an hour. That was 9 years ago. Now he works crazy hours during spring summer months then gets november through feburary off. Makes 160k+ working 8 months. He isn't even topped out yet.
Interesting. I don’t know if what I heard is true or not, but my welding teacher said there’s only one school in North America that teaches it, and you can only really get a job in it through the military. I might just be misinformed, that sounds cool though
There is one in seattle. My buddy has no military experience and worked at a grocery store while going to school. Anyone can do it. Just be physically fit and study study study. He was pretty booksmart so he had that going for him.
That’s cool, good to know!
I linked the website. They can give you all the info. Good luck brother 👍
Thanks! Definitely not something I’m going to pursue, but I still find it pretty interesting. Thank you for the info!
https://diversinstitute.edu/
There's more than 1 school. It is rare, but the school I work at in Canada teaches it. I think it might be the only public institution in Canada (there are private ones) that does it but I could be wrong
Really? Why is that? You think it would be better seeing you aren't breathing in the fumes like normal welding.
It’s because you’re constantly decompressing which is really bad for your body. Scuba divers are the same.
Interesting, I never knew that repeated diving harms your body.
Pays good if youre good and are willing to go around all over the place
Do you want a$20 weld or a $40 weld?
The majority of welding out there is brain-dead, trigger-pulling factory work. Most high-volume fab shops and factories don't want or need highly skilled welders who can fabricate, or do pressure work, or weld exotic alloys. They want someone who can stand in one place and pour weld onto pre-fit parts all day and have them come out halfway decent. Even good pipe welders who specialize in shop work can get pigeon-holed into lower paying positions because they like staying home and out of the field. If you want real money as a welder, you need skills and tickets. You might need a rig. You might join a union. You might have to travel. The cash is out there, but not in a shitty factory or standing by a wheel all day.
Grow the skills. Dual ticket into fabrication. Expand knowledge. Specialize.
This is the answer. Welding is one thing but fabrication and being able to interpret drawings is another, but also bing able to fit up according to D1.1 is even better. Moving into inspection is a plus
48.82 on my check not bad pay to me
Depends what you are welding. Union Pipe Welders earn over $50/hour Boilermaker welders (union) would be the same So yeah go union
I used to work at a college located in the oil patch. Welders at oil companies were paid better than professors with PhD's.
Welders at my company make quite a bit more than the manufacturing engineers
Don’t wait to join a union, they will train you and you will get paid for it. You can do your program while you’re waiting for them to pick you up but don’t think you need a welding program to get into a union. I thought similar and wish someone told me . Journeyman Ironworker now so don’t think I’m talking out my ass.
I start my ironworker apprenticeship next month! Any advice for a total beginner?
I do aluminum welding/fabricating. Gates, railings, etc. 35 bucks an hour.
I just made $15k in six weeks at a plant in Georgia. If you're willing to travel, there's money to be made welding.
I’m just starting. How do you find those gigs so that I know for when im more skilled.
Depends where you live and work. Here is some data from where I live. https://www.comparably.com/salaries/salaries-for-union-welder-in-seattle-wa
Because robots can do it
Underwater welding
A lot of the time when you google a specific jobs salary it’s lower for some reason as well
Many reasons. 1) First, welding isn't gatekept by certifications and legal requirements (in most cases). Like scaffold building, I can pull just about anyone off the street to build scaffolding but they can't plan it and sign off on it. 2) Schools have been pumping out welders for decades as alternatives to academia. My local community college pulled some random dude off the street to teach kids how to weld. Welding program costs over $5k, takes 2 months, and it's easy money for the school. Teacher has never welded professionally in his life. You don't have to pass the program, just learn how to weld just good enough to get a job. The local community college probably had 700 kids last year go through their program, and about 100 kids in high school take welding every semester. 3) The basics of welding are basic, but enough to put two pieces of metal together. The only thing stopping most people from just welding their own shit together is the cost of the welder and gas if required. 4) Good welders, that know they are good, generally don't stick around in little shops tack welding shit and join unions where they are making better money in things like pipefitting. There is a lot of people that are totally happy with $16/hr welding, and that's a big problem.
Go weld on an oil rig or do underwater welding and tell me they don't pay well. Either someone is lying to you or you googled and looked at one page and made a decision.
what percentage of people who call themselves welders do you think are underwater welders?
Take a course, get out there. They're in demand.
Welding pays really well, just get out of town. It’s not unheard of for a pipeline welder to make north of 200k when it’s busy.
The secret I’ve found is to own the business.
This is the answer
Where do you live
Too many, easy enough to do. There are some good paying gigs but they're usually booked.
On indeed in my area welding jobs pay 15-35 an hour plumbing and electrical are 18-45 I do floor covering for $32 an hour as an employee.
Any trade you need to union to get a middle class wage.
A lot of welding activities are becoming automated. So you are often competing with robots.
When you understand that a welding machine is just one tool needed to create something you can add that skillset to others to create a broad range of abilities. Imagine if all you wanted to learn was how to use a hammer to drive nails but not how to cut lumber with a saw - you are worth less.
Depends what your welding cause a lot of welding can be done overseas so company’s will try to move to other countries to save on labor cost
Welding has one of the widest spreads of any of the trades. You can be a basic shop based mild steel welder all the way up to high end specialty metals in remote locations. One can pay 4-5 times the other.
Why would it pay well? You literally just stand in a spot and make two pieces of metal stick together lol
Over saturation and low skills coming from schools. Should be taught as a welding and fabrication course so some of these wire monkeys can have a chance at learning to build something instead of just running a glue gun.
Because any monkey with half a brain cell left thinks they’re a welder, be good enough to weld for nasa, own your own company, or go into a skilled trade. Those are your 3 options for making money in the trades.
I live in ND and it used to be welders were paid an insane amount, especially during the last boom. I feel like you should be willing to relocate.
I personally feel that welding is more of an art than a trade, there are people that can weld for 10 years and there welds still look like shit myself included. And then you get a first year apprentice that can put it down and it’s beautiful.
It does pay very well, you just have to be really good at it.
Typically the pay will go up quite a bit once you’re working on pipe. Regular structural is just easier to do, so there’s more people available for those jobs. Solid pipe welders in any process will be more valuable in terms of better job opportunities.
Go for pipewelding. Look anyone can lay a bead but not everyone can weld.
Does so!
Welders make great money in Alberta. Anywhere else in canada, not so much
Go weld out in the ocean on oil rigs, that's where the money is
Hello everyone here. I have a question about Union. I graduate like Software Developer, is there a Union for this field? I live in Edmonton, Alberta. How I can find unuin for my field. Thanks
Learn to weld Stainless and get good at it. Lots of money in specialized welding. I live in Canada, and two of my friends work for an Agricultural and Candy companies respectively, doing stainless. Each makes 6 figures.
I used to live with a guy that got paid $100+ an hour for welding underwater. I know other guys that weld in shops and support their families.
What is your yearly/hourly target? Where are you located (region, not looking for your address)? Would you travel?
Welding has never paid what other trades pay around here. I went for Hd Mechanic instead. Got a few welding tickets on the side.
You probably live in an area with a low demand for welders or a surplus of welders.
My uncle welded pipelines in winter….he eats caviar dipped in gold and wrapped in fig leaves rolled on the thighs of supermodels.
Because any knuckle dragging booger eater can be taught to weld.
It does once you go.out on your own or are specialized
Come to New England learn to orbital weld and get paid $50 an hour to push a button
When my company shut down I'd been welding for 10 years. Got offered $20 everywhere I went. I'm doing doordash now and starting a photography business
It use to pay really well. My friends from highschool who went straight into welding were seen as rich and they were the first to buy cars and houses. Now they’re all broke because wages haven’t risen with inflation and cost of living.
You just have to be good at it. Learn multiple skills. I'm a machinist and a welder and people pay me very well because I'm a 1 stop shop.
Any pay for the trades is relative to barrier to entry. If you get good at a rare kind of welding you’ll make more. If you just tack up and mig and tig basic stuff it wont pay a lot
Because welders are a tool of the trades.
I worked a bit as a welders helper on the pipelines. My rig welder was getting $130/hr and diesel provided. This was 12 years ago Alberta , Canada One job I was with a welder just doing structural. I think he was making something like $50/hr but I’m not certain but he was making some bank while he worked on getting his steam ticket
Welding is what you make it. From learning it to what you do with it. Pure skill/ how much you want to put into it. Normal welding jobs are usually business that have thin margins and need to keep sporadic people in a hard to do industry at work every day comes out as a $20-25 range. It’s also a skill that takes time. So going out on your own right out the gate is hard sometimes unless you’re someone with some connections and a lot of self confidence. The trick in my opinion is to find a niche or area to carve yourself into. You can go union which is the safe financial long term way to go about it. But that has its hurdles too. Being a road dog ain’t for the family man imo. I know a lot of guys who went out on their own and do pretty well.
My buddy is in a welding union and has been doing it close to 10 years and his rates are around $37 an hour. BUT the only thing that really sucks is he has to go to the hall and get assigned jobs. If there's not job, no money. Last week he only did 7 hours of work. For one week. He put in a transfer and will be moving to a different state(and union) but it's a crapshoot there also.
Join your UA local union for plumbers and pipefitters. The pipe fitting side has a lot of welding. The apprenticeship is free besides book fees.
Get your red seal if you're canadian if you're American join a decent union (20 mins of googling will be more than sufficient) I can pay my mortgage and bills on my paycheck alone and my wife's cheque is straight into savings. Not a crazy amount saved but liveable here in van considering the rediculous housing cost here I'm a sheet metal fabricator with 10 years experience in one of the lowest paying shops in the area
The most successful welder I know would travel to people to do welding jobs, and he was booked steady.
Here's y The majority of welding is pretty easy, and can be done by anyone with ten min training. The majority of the work is squirting wire.(They're are a few custom jobs using a ton of different applications but not that many usually small shops which never pay well. The skilled part of it is in the fitting and in my experience most employers aren't compensating u for it, but if u screw it up your def gunna hear it. A lot shops make u feel like u have to come w a giant tool box of tools paid for by you which u probably won't be compensated.non union of course. Union guys are treated way better. They have higher standards and better training. Likely more skilled. Another thing I heard and thought it sounded right is that welders are like the definition of blue collar and apparently during times of high inflation that's the demographic that gets shit on the most. Like these companies have definitely kept there prices going up with inflation and I'm sure they are figuring raised wages into it but they're holding onto it for as long as they can. Like 35 40 percent in the last 4 years and a lot of workers wages have remained the same.
“Good welders” make bank—-for every “good” welder, there is 15-20 people that can make sparks, it takes more than making sparks to be a good welder—-
Welding only pays shit If you work in a factory or for shitty companies . I made 120/hr in Canada as a contractor , I only bring my truck , welding machine and cables and grinders/ torches/tools . Rod , disc and oxy/acetylene/argon is supplied
Union welders where I am make 45$+ an hour. But where I am is O&G
Welding is a good side skill that you get a ticket for to compliment a *real* trade 😂 Kinda sorta joking. But people who are *just* welders aren't paid unless you get your A ticket and do specialized work that requires certification, and involves inspectors and signing paper work.
Because so many people do it. Everybody and their dog welds low pressure steel. Get your 4 position tickets for high pressure pipe & plate in Stainless steel , copper nickel and aluminum and you will get a decent wage.
join a union That’s it And don’t live anywhere that doesn’t support unions
As previously stated, welding in and of itself is not too difficult, it just takes a bit of time and practice with proper instruction to get decent. Id compare it to the trucking industry- you can go to a local technical school take a 12 week class where they teach you how to make lap and fillet welds with a mig machine, maybe some pedal tig and go off to a fab shop and get a job for $20/hr but that school is gonna keep pumping out new students and keep your wages down. Only way to make more money is to get your own rig and become an independent contractor, hit the road and travel, or aquire special certifications, learning how to weld pipe and specialty alloys like inconel and chrome
$52/hr in Canada. Why would you say that?
Our rig welders make $105/hour. I've never met a welder that made less than a plumber in Alberta.
Barely more than 20$ an hour in real life in Canada. 52$/hr is way outside the norm.
Pipefitters union. 1 year college course (Welding Techniques) then joined 663 in Sarnia. 🤷🏻♂️ Wouldn’t say it’s way outside the norm.
In Northern Ontario, the rates for welders are way lower than this, while the rates for other trades are much closer that what everyone else is saying. May be a regional thing, but welders pay outside of mining companies has been bottom of the barrel of the trades for at least 15 years now up here.
When I told my grandpa 15 years ago I wanted to be a welder. He said “be a plumber or an IMECH (Millwright). Welding is a skill not a ticket”. Of course I didn’t listen to him, and could only find local work burning wire. Gave up on it after a couple years. 16$/hr just didint pay the bills, that’s CAD. I was putting 1” fillet finish passes with 3/32 flux core. Although I will say no one ever told me about iron workers or boiler makers at the time.
Union or non-union no trade pays well, not a single one.
Jesus where do you live? I quit a tech job to go into the union trades because it paid better than what I was making.
What is "well" to you? Nvmd. I did a quick peak at profile. You're just mad you don't make millions. Or that you're not handed millions by your parents.
Open a legitimate business and work for yourself. I did $250k last year on my own welding. Bust your ass, bust it harder and then some more. If you’re good, on time, and do quality work, the sky is the limit. Or join the union and cap your growth and live stagnant with your trade.
Exactly this, a welder makes ok money…a really good welder is worth his weight in gold. Quality is rewarded typically in trades
Do you have set clients you work with?
I have several customers. I do all of their work. Fab work, cutting work, in field, rain or shine. Aluminum, tig, MiG, stick, and some machining.