When Kaleb McCartney graduated from high school, he knew that he wanted to
build things, and according to the Sequim Gazette, welding quickly became his dream career. After putting in significant time at Port Angeles College, he began to explore welding job options. McCartney had a variety of AWS certifications, and he took them to the underwater welding program at the Divers Institute of Technology in Seattle.
After graduating from DIT, he had four job offers, and he chose to do salvage
work in the Gulf of Mexico, which is the ideal stepping stone for his long term
welding career.
McCartney offers the following advice to those seeking a career in
welding: “Talk to people that have been doing it for a while and make sure it’s
a good fit for you. Welding is a great skill, but being a ‘welder’ doesn’t mean
that’s all you do. You have to be flexible. Welding is sort of like diving in
the sense that a ‘welder’s’ job is typically 90 percent preparation and set up
and 10 percent welding. The more feathers in your hat the better off you
are.”
Welding Industry
NASA Unveils New Welding Equipment: “NASA officials on Friday
unveiled a new, three-story, 165-ton cylindrical welding machine that will be
used to assemble the massive core stage of a new heavy-lift rocket slated to be
built at the Michoud Assembly Facility in eastern New Orleans.
The equipment, called the vertical weld center, cost between $10 million and
$15 million. It uses friction stir welding to piece together the core stage more than 200 feet tall, with a diameter of 27.6 feet — for NASA’s Space Launch System, a new mega-rocket designed to transport astronauts into deep space, an Obama administration goal.”
Welding Jobs
Demand for Jobs Leads to New Welding Training Center Near
Houston: “In about six months, Western Area Career and Technology Center
will open a new welding shop building that will help the school and the area
meet a burgeoning demand for welders that began several years ago and shows no signs of letting up…
Dr. Joe Iannetti outlined plans for a new 11,500-square-foot building that
will train students in welding, fabrication and machining for the center’s
manufacturing cluster.”
Louisiana Construction Boom Creates Demand for Welders: “When
these young men finish the program at SOWELA, they’ll likely be able to make
between $24 and $32 an hour. SOWELA Technical Community College is working to
meet massive training needs of Southwest Louisiana’s economic boom.”
Idaho Job Fair Targets Welders: A recent job fair in Idaho
brought six welding companies in search of qualified welders.
Welding Education
$1.5 Million Grant Adds Fire to Welding Program: “Gov. Steve
Bullock said Monday that Great Falls College-Montana State University has
received a nearly $1.5 million federal Economic Development Administration grant
to boost its welding program and help area residents fill the growing demand for
good-paying jobs.”
Welding Veteran Restarting Welding Program in Gary, IN: “A
twice-retired welder plans to help get a welding program off the ground this
fall at the Gary Area Career Center.
Harry Miller, who lives in the Westville area, said he worked for local
unions as a pipefitter and welder for many years before he took jobs teaching
welding at Ivy Tech Community College, a technological firm in LaPorte and an
academy in South Bend. Now he wants to revive a program at the Gary Area Career Center.”
Welding Gone Wrong
This week we can only share a small portion of the news stories covering
welding accidents, which are primarily fires at this time of year. With dry
land, hot sun, and welding sparks, fires are sure to follow. Make sure you weld
with a fire extinguisher handy and that you review your surroundings for
anything that could be flammable.
Wildfire Scorches Butte, Montana Home: “A wildfire caused by
sparks from a welding job burned seven acres and scorched the roof of a home
Saturday. Carl Robinson was welding in a shed on his property Saturday afternoon
when some of the sparks lit a small fire that spread quickly up his property and
caught the roof of his house.”
Cell Tower Burns Down After Welding Spark Ignites Fire:
“Welders were working 70 feet in the air on a cell phone tower in Bensalem,
Bucks County when sparks set off an intense fire ten feet above them. They tried
to put it out, but ended up having to race down to get help…
The fire spread quickly and left the tower, which stands nearly 10 stories
high, leaning over precariously. Authorities were afraid gravity would win out
and it would come crashing down on top of the township’s Public Works Building.”
