INFO PLEASE?

Is she creative or artistic at all? I loved going to art school, which is where I first started welding. Huge support for women in the metal arts.

Is there a community college nearby? She could easily find the welding classes, and visit, and talk to both the other students and the faculty. I live in central Texas, and the Austin Community College has a great curriculum, ending in certification and usually it seemed to me that everyone was able to get a job before they got through the courses.

I applaud more women in welding, but she should be aware that this might be the last bastion of sexist old men. Maybe not, I don't want to get into this discussion, but it is something she ought to ask other women welders she runs into.

It would take less than $500 to get a portable oxy/acetylene setup at your local big box store - be a good dad and buy it for her, along with a pile of steel, and let her go at it. It might just be a passing fancy, and you would not only help her figure that out, you would also end up with a welding kit!

Many community colleges run welding courses year-round and on weekends. Fund her the next available intro course, and she will either love it or hate it. As far as books go, get the text the college uses.

Bob

wrote: (clip) Sometimes it's difficult for young kids to find something that

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Congratulations for recognizing this as an opportunity. I buy my supplies from a store that recently opened a welding school, and I have seen the first wave of students come through and graduate. The school management started getting requests for the graduates before they even completed the course. Some of the students were female and some were minority. I saw no sign of discrimination in how they were treated in class, or in being referred to prospective employers.

One of the instructors is a welder for a prominent boat shop in the area, and he has risen to a position where he supervises most of the work in the multimillion dollar restoration of a historic old boat. Welding can be the beginning of a good career and a good life.

Hi Leo,

I agree. I started off as an investment casting mold maker in my late teens/early 20's after a one year stint in a manufacturing and engineering company where I was trained as a machinist.

Although I would (regrettably) not advise kids to get into the machine tool trades because there is just so few places that will pay a machinist a living wage anymore (at least here in New Jersey) , I feel that there is far more flexibility and opportunity in welding in general , and deriving a sense of satisfaction from your days work as well as a days pay is something a working welder can achieve consistantly if they are true tradesmen.

This story of the welding school employment opportunities is encouraging to hear.

Of course, there are years of practice, deep understanding of metals and heat ranges and a thousand other considerations, but the only way anybody gets this understanding is by doing. Day by day.

What type do you do?

Walt

wrote: (clip)What type do you do? ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I am an untrained amateur with years of practice and lots of bad habits. My main skill is in knowing what I can't do, so I stay out of trouble.

Yes, my daughter is artistically inclined, as I myself was and am. She loves to draw and sing. How she arrived at welding is kind of a mystery, but she finds something interesting, and for a kid to find something....anything in which they can apply their interest is a big part of what a parent hopes for.

The child that does not get some inner spark of interest in something is very common, and frustrating when you are constantly looking for where their inner talents and enthusiasm may be molded into a viable career.

The possibility of harassment exists, but

Where are you? I went to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts of Boston, (SMFA), but there are a bunch of art schools all around. If she does it right, she ends up with a BFA, which is a college degree, without actually doing more than a handful of required courses. I remember "Laughter in French Literature", for example...

This art school background actually became a strong differentiator when I finally grew up and applied to business schools -- they are happy to get students from a diverse background. Not saying that she would ever go that way, but artistically inclined =>welding => art school => Bachelor's degree is as good as any other kid will come up with. And if she luvs the welding, then sure, lots of career choices, but if she ends up deciding to work in a gallery, she could do that too...

My sister got a BFA as well, and we always talk about how great a way it was to go to college. Fwiw, I ended up in the software business and she ended up in advertising -- my point is that if you graduate from trade school with a welding cert, you can be a welder...

Just one parent of a student to another...

Walt asked for info on welding schools etc. and to this I say: Check out the Hobart school of welding. They also sell many text books and videos on welding. They have been around for decades and appear to know there stuff. Than there's always the school Ernie teaches at. She could do no better than to be instructed by the maestro of welding himself!!

H.R. "My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there." Charles F. Kettering

Most communities have courses in their towns or nearby. As an aid for getting a better job and a having a fast learning curve, they are very good.

Steve