Turn Your Welding Hobby into a Thriving Career or Business

Have you already turned welding into a fun and productive hobby? Many men and women learned to weld at home in order to build furniture, perform small repairs, and even produce works of art. As a matter of fact, this trade has been a crucial element of societies around the world for thousands of years.

• Welding is an ancient trade: Did you know that the practice of welding is practically as old as civilization? Archeologists have uncovered welding tools in ancient Egyptian tombs that date back to 3,500 BCE. As a profession, welding has been growing for over 5,000 years.
• Welding is critical today: Fifty percent of products on the market require welding, while almost half of US companies say they have trouble finding qualified welders at all levels from trainees to engineering specialists.

These are only some of the interesting facts about welding. If you enjoy welding for fun, you should know that your hobby could also be the basis of a thriving career or business. Here’s what you need to know in order to become a professional welder:

How to Become a Professional Welder

Hobby welders may not be quite ready for prime time in this in-demand career. However, if you really enjoy the hobby, you probably already posses the traits that make a good welder, namely good coordination, vision, and stamina. While some employers, including the armed forces, provide on-the-job training, an article in the Houston Chronicle emphasizes that most private employers want to hire formally trained welders.

Our professional welding certification training program at Tulsa Welding School, offered in both Tulsa, OK, Jacksonville, FL, and Houston, TX can be completed in as little as seven months. During this formal welding training program, you only spend one day a week in the classroom and enjoy hands-on instruction from professional welders 80 percent of the time. This training program opens doors to careers in structural, pipe, alloy, aircraft, pipeline, and thin alloy welding.

After completing the Professional Welding courses, students have the option to earn an Associate’s Degree in Occupational Technology in Welding Technology at our Tulsa campus. Including time spend in Professional Welding program, the total time to earn this degree is only 15 months. Students who have completed this welding degree program are ready to find jobs as a welding quality assurance and control inspector.

How Much Money Do Welders Make?

There is a demand for professional welders at all skill levels in all 50 states and all over the world. Average salaries vary by skill level, industry, and part of the country, but the US Bureau of Labor Statistics ¹, BLS, says that average US salaries for welders and related professions are greater than $36,000 a year. According to ONet Online, average salaries for quality control inspectors are greater than $44,000 a year.

The BLS also reports that welders with good training should expect plenty of good job opportunities. The demand for welders is projected to grow: Even though welding is an established and mature profession, Total Materia states that the industry has continued to grow by about 6 percent each year, and this growth is expected to continue.

Why Consider a Career in Welding?

If you enjoy welding as a hobby, you already have a head start. Since professional welders are needed all over the country, and the demand for welders is expected to keep growing, why not take the next step? Get the professional training you need for a career with a long and proud history and a good future.