The U.S. is the largest economy of any single country on the planet.
U.S.manufacturing has declined, but the U.S. remains the biggest manufacturing company in the world, with about 20% of all world manufacturing. Soon, the U.S. will be the largest producer of oil.
Yes, oil. Relatively recent shale oil discoveries, coupled with the invention of the technologies to get it out of the ground, will soon result in the U.S. having the largest reserves, and oil production numbers of any country on our little planet.
Oil – extracting it, moving it and using it involves a lot of pipe, every bit of it has to be welded by somebody. You may be thinking robots do that. Wrong. Funny as it may seem, it still takes the skilled hand of a 6G code pipe welder to get the job done.
How is the supply of pipe welders in the U.S.?
The supply is slim and about to get slimmer as the U.S. cranks up capacity. The U.S. Department of Labor projected a labor shortage of 250,000 welding professionals by the year 2010, as baby boomers retire. Well, the economy was booming when the FEDs said that. I’m sure we’re not short so many now.
Follow the money.
Pipe / rig welders (pipe welders with their own welding in their truck) are making about $70 an hour is North Dakota. It’s hard to find statistics specifically about pipe welders. However, if you can weld pipe well, and you’re willing to go where the work is, you’ll have a busy, well paid career. Why?
Only about 5% of all welders (about 5 out of 100) can weld pipe to code. This means they are certified to weld pipe by passing a difficult welding position test known as 6G. The test joint is in a fixed 45 degree angle, and it is a pipe joint (typically 6″).
Many countries require certain education courses before a welder can weld pipe.
The U.S. has no education requirement for pipe welders. For example, let’s say your dad is a pipe welder, and he taught you at home, to weld pipe. You were able to master it with a lot of practice.
Does that make you a pipe welder? Just about. You’d still need some field experience, working as a helper to a pipe welder, while welding part of the time. Why? It is because correcting your mistakes is very expensive. Pipe welders work on an allowable failure rate of about 2%.
If everyone could do it, everyone would do it, and it wouldn’t pay very well.
Not everyone can juggle or do a back flip. Pipe welding is a hand-eye skill. It is possible to learn to weld pipe without knowing much about what you’re doing. I’m not saying that’s a good idea. I’m saying that to show you where the “Money Shot” is – it isn’t in a bunch of book learning, when it comes to welding pipe. The money is in your ability to weld a round object in any position possible.
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