What it means to be a "Certified Welder"?

[OnaMcD]

Hi ,

Name is Steve. I am planning to get into welding business. Looking forward to finding some guidance on this here. 

Nice to meet you all!

 

[OnaMcD]

Hey everyone, 
This is my first time here, and I hope I am posting this in the right forum. I have asked this in a few other forums too, and I hope I can find some answers here. I am having doubts about what it means to be a certified welder. I thought of starting a small welding business and would like to get certified in welding. I did some research online, and asked a welding instructor, what a welding certification was. He explained a few welding coursers I could get certified in and told me that I could get certified in specific processes, at a particular position, on a certain thickness, etc. I searched through the AWS and CWB website and found that if I get certified, I can be a certified welding inspector and a few other things. Still, I couldn't find anything specifically about being a certified welder. I can't quite figure out what I'm missing.

Could you guys help me out here? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
 

[Glenn]

A certified welder in which country of the world?  Which type of welding?

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

I believe in the U.S. you need to have a high school diploma or GED then go to welding school and or serve as an apprentice for a number of years, then apply to the AWS to get a certification. Did you try searching Google for an answer?

[Chris Williams]

When I am looking at credentials, I am typically only concerned with whether a welder is qualified (not certified) -- for the process(es), position(s), metal group(s), thickness(es), etc., for the task(s) to be worked and per the specification(s) in the contract and/or drawing.  Of course, I've always worked in a niche field, and may not have experience in what you want to accomplish. 

What credentials you need for a welding business will depend on what sort of welding you intend to perform, who you will be welding for, and where you intend to perform that welding. These three detail will help you to identify any laws, regulations, or typical contract terms associated with those welding applications, for your customers, and for your location. Like everything else in welding, the right answer here depends on the details of your specific situation. 

[ThomasPowers]

It might also be helpful to ask people who might be your customers what they expect.

[arftist]

There are 1000s of different certs. Around here a test is administered by an engineering firm. 

There is no way to know what cert you may (likely not) need. Certs only last for 6 months and unless you can provide proof that you have been employed using that exact cert during that time, then you must be recertified ( pay the at least $350) per cert. 

That you don't know any of this suggests you should get a job welding for a while. There is no end to the danger an unqualified welder can wreak upon innocent lives.

Many good sized shops will help you get certified in the processes they use. That is honestly your best bet. 

FYI, the fellows I have seen who got certified on their own spent many months practicing every day, hour after hour. 

[bubba682]

Go to school get a job welding figure out what kind of welder you want to be actually get tested in those procedures and work in the field for awhile then get your journeymen ticket certified welder does not happen overnight.Alot of people think there great welders cause the can stick two metals together but untill you actually had your welds inspected,xrayed,die tested or ultra-sounded or various other test and your welds are passed by a qualified inspector you are not certified as a welder.You will just be a person who can stick two peices of metal together so go to school  then get a job welding and so on.It takes alot of hours to get certified as a journey men good luck enjoy the journey it takes about 7500 hrs to get there give or take i know i just retired but ya never really retire lol....I just checked the dept of labour site up here its been lowered to 6000 hrs up here don't know what it is in the states.

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard Steve, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might receive better answers, a great deal is location specific.

You're confused about welding certs because there are literally thousands of them. It's not possible to provide meaningful information to such a general question. 

Many years ago, 1970-71 to be specific I took 3 welding courses in trade school and earned what at the time were the bare bones certifications: "Pipe and structural," "Plate and thick section" and "pressure vessel."  I made good grades and Aced the tests and was awarded my welding certifications, had them laminated and was off to find me a job. That's when my education began, there wasn't one shop that'd hire me because I was a certified welder, even a muffler shop wanted me to pass THEIR tests. 

Without knowing where you are or what kind of welding shop you wish to open how do you expect anybody to tell you what you need? 

I don't know if you're even still monitoring this or anything on Iforge. Regardless I'll try to help you as much as I can. You'll have to give us some information though.

What do you mean by welding shop? Do you want to do: repairs and what kind, large, small, ?  Do you wish to build things? Trailers, Semi, travel, utility? Tanks and what kind, fuel, water, septic, etc? There is good money in all these things and this doesn't scratch the surface. 

I worked for a tank manufacturer in Anch, many years ago and some tanks anybody who could run a competent bead was good to go but a trailer mounted or a fuel tank? Insurance demanded they be welded by personnel certified to do THAT specific type of welding. 

I don't want to discourage you Steve but you REALLY need to do some research and planning. I strongly suggest you find a job in a welding shop, you don't need to be a welder, there is plenty of work without striking an arc. Lean the nitty gritty of the trade and in your off time take business courses until you can fill in in the shop office. It's not a joke a business of any kind is first and foremost a business.

Frosty The Lucky.

[John McPherson]

OK, you asked to drink from the firehose of knowledge, hang on to your socks. This is what I have done for the last dozen years: teach the whole spectrum of welding (basic to fully automated) at a community college, and do AWS Certified Welder (CW) testing at several Accredited Testing Facilities (ATF'S).

The fact that you even ask the question means that you are not ready to take a test. IF... you have been working 3-10 years in a fab shop, or with a mobile crew, and think that you have ALL the mad skillz, savings account, and the client base to get your own shop or $100K mobile rig, business license, insurance ($1 million umbrella minimum, $5M would be better) then by all means get yourself down to the nearest ATF and take the appropriate test. You'll know which ones you need to serve your market, whether that is filthy, greasy digger repairs in quarries or food grade cleanliness thin wall SS pipes in distilleries. Some job sites require a current copy of your CW card and Insurance paperwork to even bid on the job. You may need to have a General Contractor License for each state you work in, or agree to be a sub and have somebody take a cut out of your lunch money.

If not, go to work for somebody and get those job skills. Working for The Man, the company is responsible for testing and record keeping of their employees, the qualified welders. (Small Q) Whazzat mean? When you drive out of the parking lot, your qualifications remain in a locked file cabinet. Your skills acquired on the job, paycheck and reputation are all you take with you. Also, the headaches of tax preparation, filing, phone calls and emails, etc. to run a business are their problem, not yours.

As others have stated above, CW status is only good for 6 months until recerts are due: use it or lose it. Recerts are only a sign-off by a client, boss, supervisor, or inspector if you are actively working in that process. BUT: ya gotta do it for each process, every 6 months.

Let's say that you have Paid Your Dues by being a journeyman, and know what you want to do next. How do you go about choosing an appropriate test? Here is how my ATF does it under AWS rules, which are the most copied and modified worldwide. Some states and cities have their license requirements, Canada has a whole 'nuther system.

The most common structural tests taken are 3/8" plate and 6" heavy wall pipe with stick rods, however, there are many more available. We prepare the pipe by turning the bevel on the lathe, and the plate by saw cutting the angle. The applicants are responsible for the remaining coupon preparation before welding starts: cleaning off any mill scale and setting the lands at the root opening with your own grinders or file. Grinding, power wire brushing or other mechanical cleaning is permitted during welding under most codes, but not under the D1.5 Bridge Code.

The main items that we need to know to select the proper test for you to take are:

Job Type: There are many different AWS codes and code books for specialties such as Structural Carbon Steel - D1.1, Structural Sheet Steel D1.3, Bridges - D1.5, all the way up to Aerospace D17.1. Other codes that we can not easily test for, such as Section IX of ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code or the American Petroleum Institute API 1104 may govern the job.

Metal alloy: Low carbon steel, high carbon (tool) steel, high carbon to low carbon, stainless, or other, more exotic metals

Metal thickness: Tests are normally good for double the thickness tested, so a standard 3/8" plate will qualify for up to 3/4", weld testing on 1" plate or Schedule 80 pipe will qualify for unlimited thickness, 1/8" is the minimum certified thickness for non-sheet metal tests.

Metal type: Sheet metal up to 10 gauge, plate 3/8" to 1", round stock 2" or 6" diameter Schedule 80 pipe or tubing.

Joint Type: Fillet weld, groove with backing, open root groove.

Position: Flat, horizontal, vertical up, and/or overhead for plate, vertical, horizontal or 45 degree angle for pipe. "All position" (F,H,V,OH) certifications for carbon steel require either two plates (vertical & overhead) or one 45 degree pipe.

Qualified Welding Procedure: The AWS has 60+ different prequalified Standard Welding Procedure Specifications (SWPS) to choose from, and there are many more privately developed and qualified procedures that are treated as proprietary Trade Secrets. (You would not believe how many Non-Disclosure Agreements that I have had to sign over the years.) 

Process: GTAW (TIG), SMAW (stick), FCAW (flux core MIG), GMAW (MIG) spray transfer, or a combination. ***Note: There is NO AWS certification for GMAW-S (short arc MIG), except in sheet metal, or as a root pass followed by another process for plate and pipe.***

There is a wealth of information and photographs on the certification process at http://gowelding.org/Welding_Certification.html

I hope this answers most of your questions, if not feel free to ask. I drop in when time permits, so I may not see it for days.

[Steve Sells]

In case you havent looked, the OP has not returned to the site since starting this thread. Not sure what is up with that.  We dont even know which country he needs certs for

[Frosty]

19 minutes ago, John McPherson said:

(flux core MIG)

Is flux core actually classified as MIG now?! (Metal Inert Gas) welding? I know things have changed and most folk can't tell one wire feed from another but it's an AWS term? Please tell me it's not true John, is it? A typo would make my day. Honest! 

  

5 minutes ago, Steve Sells said:

In case you havent looked, the OP has not returned to the site since starting this thread. Not sure what is up with that.  We dont even know which country he needs certs for

Pre teen attention span?

Frosty The Lucky.

[John McPherson]

Nah, I have just gotten so used to dealing with HR folks who are trying to send their knuckle dragging wire burners in to take "the welding test" that I despair of having a conversation using proper technical terms ever again. If they had a welding engineer or inspector on staff,  they would never condescend to be talking to the likes of me, figuring me for a flunky as well.

They may be right, in a school setting the Instructors are valued lower than Housekeeping. But I am a flunky with multiple degrees and certifications and awards, dang it! Those letters after my name, (and $5) will get you a cup of coffee almost anywhere.

So company phone calls and emails about Requests for Service are pushed off to what used to be called secretaries, now "Office Administrators." And we go back and forth, playing telephone and email tag, up and down the chain of command. Until someone with actual authority makes up their mind, or the conversation falls into a black hole, never to be seen again.

And I did not do it for the OP,  I did it for future reference. I realized that I could not find where I had ever broken down the process for the masses on this site. Maybe it will show up in search functions and help someone one day.

[Frosty]

It wasn't till my first trade school they had the mig hooked up, helium was too expensive and argon wasn't really in common use. We had to pay extra to run the Tig or heliarc welder. 

I still point out I'm running 75/25, it isn't a mig welder just to watch the blank expressions. I don't teach welding so I'm not as sick of hearing it. 

What worries me are how few "welders" can tell the difference between a good weld and a pretty one. Nothing cold laps a weld like a mig gun. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[OnaMcD]

On 7/5/2020 at 10:54 PM, Glenn said:

A certified welder in which country of the world?  Which type of welding?

I am from Ontario, probably would like to get certified in MIG and TIG

On 7/14/2020 at 4:05 PM, John McPherson said:

There is a wealth of information and photographs on the certification process at http://gowelding.org/Welding_Certification.html

Thanks for the insight!

[C-1ToolSteel]

I like the way Chris Willams put it - looking for someone who’s *qualified* but may or may not be certified.  Of, course some specialized welding jobs with higher risk/liability will require certain credentials, but  I think for the “general welding” you mentioned, whether or not you choose standardized schooling over good ol’ long and sometimes frustrating hours in your garage is up to you.  I took a 1 year combination welder course in Tennessee which covers basic stick, MIG, TIG welding in various thickness and positions as well as plasma, oxi-torch, grinders, print reading, etc.  I am now a full time welder, and although I can’t say my employer would’ve turned down a competent welder without a cert, getting the cert has definitely taught me the knowledge and skills to be qualified for a variety of welding/metalworking tasks.

[ThomasPowers]

Hopefully it taught you where to go and how to look up the details when you hit something you don't know!