How to get into a welding career?

You need to realise that different types of welders do very different work. As an ironworker-welder, you'll be sitting on a float scaffold, hanging off the side of a high rise in the middle of winter and welding column splices with a wire feeder. A pipe fitter is going to be stuck in the basement, never seeing the sun, and doing a lot of layout and pipe math. Boilermakers are always inside powerhouses, doing extremely high end skilled welding around big machinery (they're probably the most skilled welders in the trades).. Dockbuilders are always working in the mud...if you don't like getting dirty, it's not the job for you. A skilled TIG welder might be doing fabrication in a shop or factory where as a stick welder will be moving around from job to job, often outside. Do research into the various union trades online and by calling their apprentice training schools and asking questions. Talk to union tradesmen and try to figure out which line of work would suit you best All of the New York/NJ area skilled trades will train their own apprentices in welding, so I wouldn't recommend taking the time and expense to attend trade school. However, if you do go that route, I can recommend that you AVOID Apex Tech. I graduated there in 1998 in welding tech and it was a complete waste of time and money. If you must pay for your own trade school, go to Hobart Institute of Welding and take the basic welding program.

I too started welding in high school. Loved it from the first time I struck an arc. If you want to be known well for your school Hobart is the best. I went to a small trade school in Cincy and it took me 15 years to get to where a Hobart student was at in 5 (respect wise). Hobart is expensive and I could not afford to go there. I started in ironwork/structural steel, what a mistake!!! I am 5'4" tall 130lbs and I learned real quick that I was not built for structural steel. I now work in the aerospace industry and love it. Good luck! here are some sites that may help or be of interest to you, http://www.khake.com/page89.html http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/index.html http://careersinwelding.com/salary_information.php http://welderworld.com/ http://www.mig-welders-tig-welder.com/default.htm http://www.thefabricator.com/