It's one of those "not everybody needs a Bachelors degree" stories http://finance.yahoo.com/news/140-000-welding-job-193900082.html
The pay for welders is so good that I strongly considered talking some welding courses at one point. And that was AFTER earning my MBA.
Usually the first kind of welding people learn is Shielded metal arc welding, more commonly known as stick welding. Depending on what you're welding it's not especially hard. If you wanted to build dumpsters for a living I could teach you in less than an hour. If, on the other hand, you wanted to work on a nuclear reactor you'll find it remarkably difficult and some people just aren't ever good enough. The equipment is relatively inexpensive but it's rather dirty and you need LOTS of ventilation.
But if he has truly installed a jet engine on a golf cart, might he not be a candidate for a Darwin Award?
So here's a story of a new development - water resistant metal. The cool thing is that it's not a different metal, it's a process. Water-Resistant Takes On Whole New Meaning With This Metal – The News Ledge
OK. We could start another sub-forum, "Kizmet answers welding questions." Or I could just give an answer and you'd have to tell me the question. Here's the answer: approximately 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit so what's the question?
Q1 - What qualifies someone as a welder? A1 - People learn to weld in many ways. Lots of people begin in high school metal shop/auto shop classes. You don't need more than that if all you want to do is construct dumpsters or other similar simple products. If, however you want to pick up some welding certifications, typically required for certain projects/products then you need an opportunity to practice those techniques and there are tests involved. Welding pipelines, pressure vessels, defense contract products, nuclear products all require certification in specific welding techniques. Mastering these techniques leads to improved employment opportunities and wages and you gradually move up the welding food chain. Q2 - Approximate temperature of lightning? A@ - You're thinking along the right lines. It's actually the approximate temerature found at the tip of a plasma torch.
Cheers, great answer. Q3 - What are your thoughts on the potential differences between a multi-craft maintenance technician who can weld versus a journeyman or professional welder?
There really is no "should" in this equation. It just depends on what you want to do. I know a guy (Jimmy) who works for a company that does electron beam welding. Jimmy and I welded a chunk of gold to a chunk of stainless steel with no buttering (I love all this technical jargon) and that piece went on a bunch of space missions until the last space shuttle was deactivated. Now Jimmy works in a nice clean laboratory. It looks like a hospital x-ray room. He wears polo shirts and moccasins at work. I've even seen him wear a lab coat. He is a certified electron beam welder and that's all he does. He doesn't work on pipelines or oil rigs. No submarines or nuclear reactors for him. It's just Jimmy and his ray gun and the very specialized jobs that he does. So all those other certifications, even if he could pass the tests, would be wasted on him because he'd never use them. I started out arc welding and my first certifications were arc certs using 6011 and 7018 welding rods. I started there because that's the place that was near my home, that's the place that hired me and that's the work they did. Because I was superfantastic I moved into MIG welding (it's actually easier AND it's cleaner) and then into TIG welding. The TIG welding was the catapult as it's used in lots of fun and exotic applications. MY TIG certs in aluminum and stainless steel were my ticket up the ladder. I eventually got to the point where I was training/certifying other welders. But the TIG welding certs would have been useless if I didn't have an employer who had contracts that required TIG skills.
Kizmet, I love conversations like this. Most people on a forum like this have never and will never work in the trades. Understandably they think in terms of necessary certifications. In the trades it is generally about "can you do the Job or not." Certifications may get you in the door, but it is really all about results, and it does not take long for a foreman to figure out if you have the skill or not. I have worked as a Lineman for 16 years, and for the most part hated it, but it pays extremely well. Building trades such as welding are not for the faint of heart, but they do pay well if you can stomach the work.
Another welding story, this one from the NY Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/11/business/economy/as-demand-for-welders-resurges-community-colleges-offer-classes.html?ref=education&_r=0
Welding is an art. Many skilled trades apprenticeships have incorporated welding as part of their curriculum, but I've hear the Iron Workers Union's welding training is suppose to be the best. I have a flux core welder that I use for my various projects. Currently I'm doing a rest-mod 1967 Jeep, as well as a mini bike from the late 60's. My neighbor is a metal fabricator so I have him mig weld stuff for me on a as needed basis.