The most frequent method for permanently joining metal parts into one piece or unit is through welding. The strength of the bond is such that welding is utilized in a wide range of industrial usages – from making automobiles to toasters…and multiple options in between.
While six in 10 welders perform work in industrial positions, and another 11 percent in construction, a significant number of welders work in non-traditional jobs. Everything from designing, manufacturing and selling jewelry as precious stone and metal workers…machinists, tool and die makers, or metal and plastic machine workers, to plumbers, pipefitters and boilermakers, sheet metal workers, and the assemblers/fabricators who put finishing touches on parts and projects.
Unique Opportunities for Welders
In fact, welders specializing in metal fabrication may find themselves on the NASCAR Circuit, working with pit crews to repair and build race cars and associated equipment. Another in-demand option is underwater welding, in which skilled professionals work underwater to construct and repair structures beneath an ocean’s or lake’s surface. That’s a job the combines two careers into one and requires highly skilled people.
Welders are needed by the military to help build critical infrastructure and repair the equipment used by our armed forces. Pipeline installers may be asked to work in wild, remote areas such as Alaska or Canada, and some welders could find themselves cruising around the world if hired to live and work aboard cruise ships, replacing or repairing the vessel’s pipe systems.
And, as a traveling welder, there’s good money to be made going from place to place to help complete industrial shutdowns, doing contract work for the military, performing industrial pipe work in a variety of locations, or undertaking the underwater welding others aren’t trained…or equipped…to do.
Advances in Technology in the Welding Industry
Roughly 20- -25 percent of the welding done today is automated, and that’s expected to grow another 20 percent in the next few years. As the reliance on robotic welding increases and more manufacturing process include high-powered lasers and electronic beams, welders skilled in these new technologies will be in higher demand than ever.
Welding is a growth occupation, and the experts predict it will continue to grow, especially with forecast employee shortages on the horizon and as new technologies emerge. It’s an excellent time to take advantage of the various opportunities to become part of a growing profession.
Welding also is a very “hands-on” occupation, one for which Fortis provides hands-on welding learning and training programs at campuses in Georgia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. To learn more about the varied opportunities welding affords, and how to get started in the career, visit our site.