Pressure vessel pipe welding course

[Merlen]

Hi there,

As of now, I am working as a sales executive (marketing field) representing Canon. It was fascinating at the outset, however, turns into somewhat troublesome at this point. I am tired off with this work. It is not easy to get the clients as before and I have to hear the scolding from the manager if the sales go down. These continuous scoldings and pressure making me down, and it is reflecting in my works as well. 

 I require a change. I have plans to change my profession to welding. I have a welder with me, one that had been utilized by my dad quite a while sometime recently. Also, I know little basic about welding since I had gone to a workshop on it. Be that as it may, I am befuddled about doing a course. Regardless of whether I need to learn online or offline? I am wanting to do the course alongside my employment, so which one would you think is better? I have seen 5 days pressure vessel pipe welding certification in an online portal. I am interested since it is 5 days course. Can you all share your insights regarding this? 

[Glenn]

Anything that you can learn will improve your life in some way.  A 5 day welding course will expose you to new material and give you some basic information. It will not make you an experienced welder. Only practice can do that.

A carrier change is a personal decision as it will affect both your life and lifestyle. No matter what we suggest, it is your choice to choose what is best for you.

[JHCC]

A career change is definitely a big decision. I would recommend that you find a local trade school and talk with the welding instructors and guidance counselors. Get a sense of how much of an investment you'll need to make in the training (both in time and money) and what the job prospects are, both locally and otherwise. Think about your family situation: are you willing or able to move to a different area for a job? Think about the resources at your disposal right now: can you quit your current job and still pay your bills while you're learning, or will you need to keep working in sales and do your learning in the evenings and weekends? When evaluating a training program, ask what kind of certification they offer and what percentage of their graduates get work in the field (and how quickly). Take lots of notes, and dig deep. Talk to everyone you can, whether here, in more welding-specific forums, or in person. 

Are you familiar with the "informational interview"? It's not a job interview, but one where you call up a company or an individual and say, "I'm thinking about switching careers to welding. Could you spare me half an hour of your time for an informational interview, for me to learn more about the field/your company/your experience/etc?" If you get the right person, you'll learn a LOT, very quickly. 

[Eli Taylor]

36 minutes ago, JHCC said:

Are you familiar with the "informational interview"? It's not a job interview, but one where you call up a company or an individual and say, "I'm thinking about switching careers to welding. Could you spare me half an hour of your time for an informational interview, for me to learn more about the field/your company/your experience/etc?"

I've had good luck with this several times by walking in and just saying exactly what you are up to.

I've been on several very cool 'shop tours' via this method (one a fabrication shop).

[John in Oly, WA]

From my little bit of research on the subject, welding is a pretty major field of study. It makes me think the 5 day pressure vessel certification course would be something for a journeyman welder looking for extra certifications rather than a beginning course. But I'm not a welder, so I may be wrong there.

[Latticino]

There is an excellent welding school in my city, with a variety of class levels, systems and certifications available.  I suspect that you will have something similar near you, but if not Rochester, NY and Ontario are not that far apart https://www.rocafc.com/pages/welding.  I personally would not recommend an online course in welding, unless there was nothing else available.  In person training is a better option for learning trade skills in my opinion, and you might be able to pick up something more of what actual work in the field is like (though I'm sure it is very different depending on what type of welding you might end up doing.

You have already gotten good advice, but I would also caution you that a career in welding, while laudable, is not necessarily going to be as attractive from the inside as it is from the outside.

[JHCC]

4 minutes ago, Latticino said:

[A] career in welding, while laudable, is not necessarily going to be as attractive from the inside as it is from the outside.

"Your family needs you to do as needs must; 
To the mercy of metal and madness you're thrust,
In the keels and the girders, the darkness and dust,
And a deadly concoction of sweat, fumes, and rust...."

Jez Lowe, "Black Trade"

[bubba682]

Have you got any welding experience like plate welding cwb or open root cause if you dont i can;t see ya gettin a pipe ticket off a 5 day course not to be rude but i think those courses are made for guys who have alot of experiance doing other types of welding.But hay who am i to tell ya not to try ya never know man ya might come out and be a natural so go for it,your the guy payin for it.

[Frosty]

Merlen: If you want to learn the welder's craft you're going to discover nobody will hire you if you try short cutting the schooling necessary to be competent in the trade. I'm pretty sure the only way a person could actually earn a pressure vessel welding certification is if they are already a certified or at least very skilled welder.

In reality, think trade school, THEN a welding certification course in the specific type you wish. If you are already competent some companies will train and provide certification testing. My old employer did but it was more a legal hoop. I stopped by to see what the crowd in the yard was doing one day and caught the tail end of a talk by a welding "instructor." He was demonstrating a vertical weld with the compani new mig welder and he, the INSTRUCTOR, kept cold lapping one side of the joint. Easy to see from the back side. It was the city's electric current that was at fault of course. Anyway, I stood there for about 20 minutes and a couple days later I was given my "pipe and structural," welding certificate. Suitable for framing you know.

Thinking welding is just pointing a mig gun at the join and pulling the trigger is in the same reality as thinking buying an anvil and hammer makes you a blacksmith. To earn a basic welding certification there's more than 5 days of classwork plus shop time.

I'm not trying to discourage you but you're fooling yourself if you think you can take a class and get a high paying job. It's a popular myth presented by "educational" organizations telling you you'll earn a million dollars more in a lifetime with a degree. Well, maybe. Examine what it is you don't like about your job now. The boss rides you. The patrons yell. You have to show up when you hate it, it's hard work.

Welcome to the real world if you find a job that doesn't fill the above conditions you're one in a million winner. I had to suck up the nastiness for about 20 years before I had enough time, seniority and PROVEN expertise I could tell the boss to pound sand and keep my job.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

[bubba682]

Well said Frosty i dont tell them to pound sand anymore i just look at me watch and say my 3 favorite words ''im draggin up'' and like Frosty says welcome to the real world.Heres some more real world high pressure weld'n truths every job you go to you have to test and pass a visual and xray ,on the job you have to pass visual and xrays along with ultrasound test sometimes together.They can call for 10% to 100% on xrays once on the job and theres the ever popular rule 2 failed xrays and down the road ya go also call skidding.Real weldin is not what you see on tv shortsleves or backyard weldin its high stress cause in the real world your only as good as your last xray yes the money is good but so is the stress.

iM not tryin to deteer ya from weld'n and i don't know what your experiance is but it takes alot time to be a pressure welder i know cause i got 25yrs of it under my belt.Anyway there some of the things we go thru good luck and i hope ya do well...

[forgemaster]

Hi I've been a ticketed welder for most of my trade career as well as a tradesman blacksmith, I have had in that time weeks upon weeks upon months of welding experience in all situations, indoors and out, on the ground and in the air, on dry land and on the water and I still have not been able to crack the stick pipe pressure welding classification of the pressure weld regime.  If you can crack it in 5 days straight from being a fax machine peddler, then you are truly "a better man than I Gungadin".

[BubbaNash]

Im not sure if Canada works the same way, but check your local community college or vocational school for welding programs. Also check with your version of an unemployment office for late life job training options where you might be able to curb some of the financial hit of changing careers. Or you can start at the bottom and get a job in fab shop that will teach you some rudimentary welding. remember that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. There is crappy stuff in every job, even the "best jobs". 

 

If youre good at sales, sell public safety equipment. Try LN Curtis to start

[David Edgar]

I heard some good advice on the TV the other night  ,Old guy to young guy, Don't train for anything that you are not prepared to do all day every day.