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How long will I be away from home as a Pipeline Welder?
I am wanting to pursue my career as a Pipeline Welder and was wondering about the time I would be away from home.
#career #welding #pipeline #bluecollarboys
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Brian’s Answer
I grew up with my father working in the oilfield industry and we moved 6 times before I got to high school. My brother followed him into the oil industry becoming a pipe welder and even earning his water certifications to weld offshore. While the opportunities for pipe welders are abundant within the field, you should expect to be on "assignment" most of all of your career if you are in the oil industry. As a young person, this is a fantastic way to make big money and gain experience outside of your hometown working in ever-changing remote work locations. If you manage your early career finances well, (don't buy that brand new fully loaded & lifted F-250), you will have more leverage in determining how you will transition from nomadic early adulthood to more stable family life. My brother blew lots of his money chasing all the fun of early adulthood and taking on too much debt. Now he has a home and a growing family (and bills) and is still leading a similar nomadic lifestyle to keep up. In the past two years, he has spent most of his time away from home living in his RV building gas pipelines in remote areas Wyoming, western PA, and southern New Mexico while his children are growing up fast without seeing him as often as he would like.
Being a pipe welder is a great way to initiate a career in the energy sector and you will have many opportunities to remain in the industry and even level up to positions within the industry that don't require travel.
Being a pipe welder is a great way to initiate a career in the energy sector and you will have many opportunities to remain in the industry and even level up to positions within the industry that don't require travel.
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Dirk "Dutch"’s Answer
Typically you will be away for weeks or months at a time with short trips home. You can also be unemployed at home for long periods if you manage your money right.