One or two year welding degree?

[Johnson]

I'm getting near the end of my one year welding degree and thinking about going back to turn it into a AAS. Anyone out there have a Associates in welding or more? was it worth it? What job did you score that a one year couldn't?

[youngnstudly]

I thought of getting an Associates degree in welding but from my experience, it seemed like all the available jobs at the time didn't require the additional schooling, nor did you get any compensation for it. Employers were more concerned with how skilled you were, not how much schooling you had.

Many of the guys that I went to the JC with were more than able to get employment based solely based on the fact they finished the advanced welding class that was taught by my instructor. He had been teaching for 40 years when I finished his class, and every employer around knew that his students were capable, knowledgable, and knew better than to show up late for work (he'd lock the door at 7:00am sharp!). That was enough to get you a full time job in the welding industry in this area, and you could move up (the ladder) from there if you chose to.

The one positive note about getting a degree was that the instructor I had in HVAC trade school was able to get 10% more pay than the other journeyman in the trade (who were also instructors) due to his additional schooling. If you were thinking of teaching later on or working for a large scale company that acknowledged your degree, I'd say "Go for it."

Other than that, I don't see much incentive to continue schooling. In this economy, who knows though? You really have to ask yourself what you want to do, and where you want to go with this trade. There are many people who are exceptional welders that have no problem staying employed for a decent wage, yet they don't have any welding degrees. Check around in your area and see who's hiring and what they are paying.

[Johnson]

Thanks for the input man. I'm on the fence about it. My instructor said he would allow me to take a Titanium cert test if I took the class next year. That itself might be worth it. I'll see what happens for work over the summer....

[DVA]

Thanks for the input man. I'm on the fence about it. My instructor said he would allow me to take a Titanium cert test if I took the class next year. That itself might be worth it. I'll see what happens for work over the summer....

Taking a titanium cert test has no use at a school unless they are paying you to do a job. Titanium experience would be good depending on the type of welding you will be doing but may mean nothing. Just an FYI, certifications are only good for a specific employer with a welding program. If you are not employed by a company with a welding program, you have no certifications as they end when any welder is de-hired.

As for school this all depends on what you are looking at doing. If you want to get into a company, it is best to have some type of back ground as some employers like mine require Journeymen to attend classes. If you have an AA with specific classes you may be able to get out of going back to school depending on an employer’s requirements. But to my understanding, most employers do not care about a welding degree. If you have higher aspirations than just welding, I would get all the schooling you can afford.

The real deal is what type of welding are you practicing and where do you want to work? For example, just to get a foot in the door at many power plants it will take a duel certification for carbon steel (CS) and stainless. Most have a heavy wall pipe and the test is in the 6G position. We start with a GTAW root pass and hot pass for CS and then stick the weld out with 7018. For stainless, it will either be the same with GTAW and stainless stick or a GTAW weld all the way out. Both of these samples are typically radiographed. Why duel certification, because most welding in power plants are pipe welds and power plants have a lot of CS and stainless piping. Just for a reality check, today we had less than a 20% pass rate on the CS and 50% on the stainless. Most welders must have very little stick time as is evident in the abundance of porosity.

If you want a good paying job it really comes down to your skills and are you paying attention in school and getting the practice required? If you know what industry you want to work in, call them up and ask what type of tests are required. If your school is not teaching you how to pass the tests or providing the practical experience needed, it will be hard to find a good paying job. This will be on your own time if you school is not teaching the correct information and providing the required experience.

[No1up]

I'm getting near the end of my one year welding degree and thinking about going back to turn it into a AAS. Anyone out there have a Associates in welding or more? was it worth it? What job did you score that a one year couldn't?

You'll get more TIG under your belt, and do a lot of tig on pipe, which is big money. You should also get some orbital welding experience with the degree. You also get metallurgy classes, which to me helps you distinguish yourself from the "rod burners"

[agent4573]

Just an FYI, certifications are only good for a specific employer with a welding program. If you are not employed by a company with a welding program, you have no certifications as they end when any welder is de-hired.


For example, just to get a foot in the door at many power plants it will take a duel certification for carbon steel (CS) and stainless.

Maybe I'm reading it wrong but those two sentences seem to contradict themselves. If you lose all your certs as soon as you're no longer employeed, how can you have certs while applying for a job at a power plant?

[DVA]

Maybe I'm reading it wrong but those two sentences seem to contradict themselves. If you lose all your certs as soon as you're no longer employeed, how can you have certs while applying for a job at a power plant?

When you change employers you will need to re-qualify to the new program. Most welders show up and are testing the first few days. If they fail, they have no job. Many power plants typically require both stainless and carbon steel tests. If there are carbon heavy jobs or stainless heavy jobs they may keep some welders around who only pass one of the tests. A plus for duel cert welders they typically get paid more.

[breakneckmot]

If certifications only count where you are currently working what is the point of taking a class that offers the chance to take a cert test upon completion? Is it just so you have some experience with certification testing?

[youngnstudly]

If certifications only count where you are currently working what is the point of taking a class that offers the chance to take a cert test upon completion? Is it just so you have some experience with certification testing?

It depends. I do know of some guys that got certifications with me in welding class and were able to go directly into a job at some of the large scale local wineries. My instructor trained a group of the guys that got hired by the wineries, and pretty soon those wineries sent their non-certified guys to the JC to get their certifications soley based on the instructors knowledge and 40 years of experience. Of course my instructors brother was one of the "big wig" welding inspectors, so my instructor was highly spoken of. Plus the 2 of them worked together as a team to get guys certified, so I'm sure that had something to do with it.

Then again this is sort of like going to your doctor and him sending you in for a scan. If you go to another doctor for a second opinion, he may want you to repeat that scan with whoever he uses when patients need a scan. Regardless, your knowledge will come in handy when taking another cert., assuming it's similar to what you prepped for in the first place. The more times you certify, the more it becomes second nature to you.

[breakneckmot]

It depends. I do know of some guys that got certifications with me in welding class and were able to go directly into a job at some of the large scale local wineries. My instructor trained a group of the guys that got hired by the wineries, and pretty soon those wineries sent their non-certified guys to the JC to get their certifications soley based on the instructors knowledge and 40 years of experience. Of course my instructors brother was one of the "big wig" welding inspectors, so my instructor was highly spoken of. Plus the 2 of them worked together as a team to get guys certified, so I'm sure that had something to do with it.

Then again this is sort of like going to your doctor and him sending you in for a scan. If you go to another doctor for a second opinion, he may want you to repeat that scan with whoever he uses when patients need a scan. Regardless, your knowledge will come in handy when taking another cert., assuming it's similar to what you prepped for in the first place. The more times you certify, the more it becomes second nature to you.

Good to know, I'll be taking the beginners course next semester. I intend to take all the courses and get all the certs they offer. I'm an IT guy currently and I'm not looking to change careers right now, but I want to have options if the need arises.

[performance]

Not 100% true, though there's a lot of truth to it. If you work for yourself, the certs are yours or if you pay for the testing...Some places allow you to keep the certs if you are employed by them and they pay for them. Some are job specific. Though there's a technical definition of certfications, the term can get confusing as it is thrown around a lot.

[TheGary]

If certifications only count where you are currently working what is the point of taking a class that offers the chance to take a cert test upon completion? Is it just so you have some experience with certification testing?

DVA is right and wrong at the same time. Many states have certifications for welding and many companies accept them. I live in wisconsin and have been dual certified several times. I am a millwright and when we certify, the instructor ( who is state certified )sends the paperwork in to the state with the fee and we recieve a cert for whatever test we took from the state and he also gives us a cert card from the union. That said a lot of companies or customers of companies demand an on site test. Especially for pipe welding witch millwrights do not do any of. He is correct that a degree means nothing for welding. Pass the weld tests for the work you want to do and you are good to go. Time on the job counts more than schooling. Now if you have to go through a personel interview with an idiot from outside the welding field they will give more creedence to a 2 year degree .