3 answers
Blake
Student
Lexington, Kentucky
3
Questions
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What are your main responsibilities as a welder?
#welding
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3 answers
Christopher Kennedy
Welder
1
Answer
Renton, Washington
Updated
Christopher’s Answer
I am currently a welder within the aerospace industry and thus I have to have certifications for this industry. These certificates would be different for pipeline welding or structural welding and so on and so forth. It would really benefit you to maybe job shadow some welders in different industries and figure out what type of welding you would like to pursue. Once you figure that out, you can better understand what responsibilities falls under that particular welding career path. Your local trade school may have some good resources for you to look into as well.
Hope this helps and good luck with your future career!!
Job shadow welders in different industries.
Talk with instructors at your local trade school in the welding department.
Hope this helps and good luck with your future career!!
Christopher recommends the following next steps:
Andrew Sheed
Welder
2
Answers
Olympia, Washington
Updated
Andrew’s Answer
There are several different career paths in welding, and each one has different responsibilities. For example, if you choose to get into fabrications you will need to be able to read and understand blueprints and drawings to make sure your build is to the correct specifications. You will need to learn and understand how the type of metal you are welding reacts to the heating and cooling that happens with welding because this will case parts and pieces to shift and move and can throw off measurements and square.
In the oil and gas industry (pipeline) you’ll need to be familiar with reading and making sure you adhere to a WPS (welding procedure specification). This document outlines things such as what electrode to use on each weld (6010 for root, 7018 or 8010 for fill and cover as an example), what amperage range to use, and in a lot of cases there are standards regarding how long you can wait between welds as to not let the metal get too cold.
The responsibilities of a welder vary greatly between each welding career, however if you work hard to learn and produce the best work possible in whichever field you enter it will make learning those responsibilities much easier.
Research different welding fields and their job markets
Find a local shop or outfit and ask to schedule a time to sit down and ask more questions about their specific work
Try to get your foot in the door by taking an entry level job, even if it’s just pushing a broom. Make it clear from day one that you want to learn and become a welder and you’ll get real on the job training without the cost of a trade school.
In the oil and gas industry (pipeline) you’ll need to be familiar with reading and making sure you adhere to a WPS (welding procedure specification). This document outlines things such as what electrode to use on each weld (6010 for root, 7018 or 8010 for fill and cover as an example), what amperage range to use, and in a lot of cases there are standards regarding how long you can wait between welds as to not let the metal get too cold.
The responsibilities of a welder vary greatly between each welding career, however if you work hard to learn and produce the best work possible in whichever field you enter it will make learning those responsibilities much easier.
Andrew recommends the following next steps:
Heather Kaiser
Artist
3
Answers
Indiana, Pennsylvania
Updated
Heather’s Answer
Blake,
This is a difficult question to answer because it really depends on what type of welding you are doing. For example: If you are doing welding on pipelines then you will have to be able to meet the requirements and standards to ensure that you are properly welding the metal to meet the standards/requirements so the pipe functions properly. If you are a fabricator, your responsibility is figuring out how to build something and weld and finish it in a specific amount of time for a customer. Maybe you want to be an underwater welder and that's a whole separate career field. What type of welding are you interested in? There are few different paths you could take.
Learn about the different types of welding (industrial, fabrication, etc.)
Decide on whether you are interested in a specific type of welding.
Seek additional information from a technical school that teaches welding.
This is a difficult question to answer because it really depends on what type of welding you are doing. For example: If you are doing welding on pipelines then you will have to be able to meet the requirements and standards to ensure that you are properly welding the metal to meet the standards/requirements so the pipe functions properly. If you are a fabricator, your responsibility is figuring out how to build something and weld and finish it in a specific amount of time for a customer. Maybe you want to be an underwater welder and that's a whole separate career field. What type of welding are you interested in? There are few different paths you could take.
Heather recommends the following next steps:
Great answer Heather!
Christopher Kennedy