Is welding a good career to take if I'm looking to be in engineering?

Hi,

From your question, I assume that you are in a welding program now or thinking of entering one. If your ultimate goal is to become an engineer, welding would certainly be a good area if you like welding. As you may know, there is a branch of engineering called Welding Engineers. Welding Engineers are basically Mechanical Engineers with a specialty in welding. Which means that you would most likely enter a mechanical engineering program in college or university (4 year program) and after the basic engineering courses you would take electives related to the joining of materials. A quick inquiry on the internet on "Welding Engineering" came up with the following definition which I think is quite good: The Welding Engineering program provides the mathematics, science, and engineering education needed to function in the welding industry. The welding engineer is concerned with all of the activities related to the design, production, performance, and maintenance of welded products.

If, on the other hand, you wish to become a welding technician and actually perform the welding to join materials together, that is obviously related to a welding engineer, but requires different training.

I suggest you search the internet for Welding Colleges and Welding Schools. Once you decide whether you want to be an engineer or technician, you can research the requirements of both fields and see which is most appealing to you. The actual day to day job of a Welding Engineer verses a Welding Technician would be quite different. One would basically be in an office or factory designing and/or directing work while the technician would be actually performing the work (welding).

Hope the above is helpful. Good luck.

Doug