Where are the jobs?

[Linepipe]

Question: what specific parts of the metal fab industry are working right now? Which ones are not?

[obewan]

You would get a better answer by just using Google to search for jobs.

Try www.simplyhired.com or www.indeed.com to search multiple job boards with one keyword search.

But, if you just want an opinion, I think all the hype about hundreds of thousands of welding jobs going unfilled is just that - a lot of hype trumped up by people who have a vested interest in cranking out more weldors - like those who run welding schools.

I was at Tulsa Welding School for an AWS meeting a couple of months ago, and they told me they crank out 500 new weldors every 12 weeks. That is more than enough to quickly saturate the market. Jobs for weldors on the web in Jacksonville, FL have been maybe 2 or 3 in the entire last 6 months.

[farmall]

But, if you just want an opinion, I think all the hype about hundreds of thousands of welding jobs going unfilled is just that - a lot of hype trumped up by people who have a vested interest in cranking out more weldors - like those who run welding schools.

Some outfits hire green weldors, but there are plenty of experienced people in line for any job that pops up.

None of the jobs for green weldors is going to offer the benefits of a military career. If you are a good weldor, and meet the other requirements, it would be insane to waste that talent in the civilian world where you are at the mercy of the economy and are totally expendable. Working with metal in one of the services offers benefits civilian outfits can't match. Wait out the economy for 20 years, then go play with a military retirement check and be ready for the next recession, and the one after that, and the one after that.

[obewan]

Originally Posted by farmall

Some outfits hire green weldors, but there are plenty of experienced people in line for any job that pops up.

None of the jobs for green weldors is going to offer the benefits of a military career. If you are a good weldor, and meet the other requirements, it would be insane to waste that talent in the civilian world where you are at the mercy of the economy and are totally expendable. Working with metal in one of the services offers benefits civilian outfits can't match. Wait out the economy for 20 years, then go play with a military retirement check and be ready for the next recession, and the one after that, and the one after that.

Navy nuclear weldor is a good path to go.

One of the guys at the AWS site was a career navy nuke. He retired from the navy and became a welding educator. He can probably tell you better than me, but I don't think he has any regrets.

Yes, I would really like to have that navy retirement check right now.

[DesertRider33]

The jobs are in China, in manufacturing.

[obewan]

Originally Posted by DesertRider33

The jobs are in China, in manufacturing.

Yes, or Mexico, Thailand, Korea, yada yada yada...

My friend who is a welding engineer in Houston says that virtually all of his work is out of the country now. He is quite disgusted but happy to at least have a job. He works for a consulting firm that does the procedures by remote control I guess. He claims that the oil rig that just went down was made in Korea and that he has some inside knowledge on quality issues - but it was the BOP that caused the accident though.

I worked for GE in my last job and spent a good part of last year outsourcing work to Mexico. I had to train the Mexican "welding engineer" to do my job. When the outsourcing was nearly complete, I got my layoff notice. They are sending jobs that paid $23 an hour USD to Mexico for less than $4 an hour. But they have a problem - the weldors who make $4 an hour in Mexico cross the border to earn $10 as soon as they are trained so they can not keep enough trained weldors around to do the work,

[farmall]

Until reduction in jobs forces reduction in wages forces reduction in cost of living, the US won't be competitive. The wage differential is going to have to shrink, and that won't be fun.

Meantime, the first thing to consider when planning a career is LONG-term survival. You'll read that on average, many military retirees make less (total) than civilian retirees. That's FINE with me. Instead of having to work until I die (of course, with time, there is or used to be the expectation of increased wages), I bailed out debt-free and comfortable. Most important, the much longer civilian career span means much more at risk when the job goes away. Having 28 years in towards a 30 year retirement when the company collapses is bad news. To Hell With That! Spending a couple or three years on Sandbox deployment isn't squat next to being broke, foreclosed, and homeless. It's quite nice having a life and being job-optional before age 50.

Being fond of metal is a match made in heaven for a military career because not only are there a bunch of interesting technical jobs, but because gearheads are less common in the "video game generation" they are more valuable. I could train kids who grew up fixing farm equipment to fix fighters easily.

That's pretty relevant to any career thread, and why I post it. A career in the auto industry looked good before it imploded, a career in construction looked good before it imploded, and careers in IT looked good before there was a surplus of paper MCSEs and offshore outsourcing.

Had someone told me this when I was younger, I'd have enlisted at 17, retired in my early forties, and had the same mostly-enjoyable and thoroughly satisfying career with an even earlier payoff.

[tyrone shewlaces]

It may be a matter of diligent searching so you're there to see it at the right time.
About a year or so ago, a neighbor of mine was talking to me about a local union "push" for hiring new blood. They listed the promised pay and benefits, etc. One just had to go in and apply, then go through some training thing (fairly short), then if it went well you were hired.

I chose not to since I wanted to stay in my field of expertise which is not welding. He went through the steps and got hired after all. Note that he isn't particularly good with mechanical things, though he did have some residential construction experience. And he still really can't weld, but he's in the union doing gofer stuff at the job, which changes locations from time to time. At first it was construction on a new power plant being built (about two hours away I think). Now he's involved in some maintenance crew at the local power plant and will eventually be going back to the new one, so there's a bit of roving to do.

Anyway, the wage is very high ($30+/hr) and has a solid benefits package. While at the distant jobs, they are provided with housing and per-diem in addition to the wage.

So I guess the place to go to find out about this kind of job is the local union. You need to be persistent as far as staying in touch so when things come up, you are there ready to jump in.

With 6 billion people on the planet and millions of Mexicans moving to the US every year, power demands have nowhere to go but up, so utility plants can be a decent source for solid jobs. Just have to time it right.

p.s. this is less permanent and more short-term than a military career of course, but it's an option if you're not inclined that direction or maybe too advance in age to be an interesting candidate for military service.

[Jay O]

tyrone shewlaces,

"With 6 billion people on the planet and millions of Mexicans moving to the US every year, power demands have nowhere to go but up, so utility plants can be a decent source for solid jobs. Just have to time it right."

What an ignorant statement, what's up with that? Come on now, you forgot to include the Canadians, Asians, Middle Easterners, Europeans and all the others from countries bellow Mexico. Not all illegals are Mexican you gotta be fair.

[tyrone shewlaces]

Well I didn't mean to be racist, just stating facts based on my experience. It's not ignorance, it's reality.
In my town, what used to be a regular mixed bag of all kinds of people, but in the past 20 years the Mexican population has grown so much that most anywhere you go they have to accommodate the language now. There are now several businesses that don't speak English at all, and we're a few states away from the border, not Texas or the like. This is a huge deal around here, not just slightly noticeable. Since that's usually an issue with only first generation immigration, it is obviously due to a huge influx of new population, and from what I hear this is happening all over. What is extremely rare around here is even foreign visitors speaking anything other than Spanish (or English), thus my focus on Mexico.
I'm not saying they need to leave or something, though it is annoying that there is now a language barrier, while folks coming here used to simply learn to speak the local language, like I would do if I was the stranger in a strange land. Oh well.

Anyway, my point is that human population is booming (I have thoughts on that which are more appropriate for an OT thread). We're busting at the seams, which is bad, but if you want to have a good job and you're a welder, then there is a measure of stability getting into an area that has to grow in an effort to keep up with the unfortunate increase in population.

Overpopulation is good for rich folks. The glut of people forces wages down because there's always another body just around the corner to take your place. Prolly ought to get your foot into the door of something that is above the "competitive wage" threshold as soon as you can, and a strong union can sometimes help keep you somewhat insulated.

[RWFWelding]

I am looking for welding work within California, Nevada, Utah and Oregon. I have my own Rig and looking to travel for the right contract. Can anyone help out a welder with some current job openings?
RWFWelding

[farmall]

"Not all illegals are Mexican you gotta be fair. "

A VAST number are. Mexico is an absolute social and economic failure, and that failure dumps refugees into the US in massive numbers. The rest of Latin America is backward and incompetent, so their failure pushes more people across the Mexican border.

The solution is simple. Arrest the persons responsible for hiring illegals and fine the companies that do it so severely they have to liquidate.

EVERY job should require a passport, not just a drivers license, and all jobs should require an immediate background check performed at a police station so lawbreakers and illegals would be instantly arrested. The illegal competition for employment could be erased by removing the illegals. A simple hundred-dollar bounty would lead to lots of turn-ins.

[Jay O]

Originally Posted by farmall

"Not all illegals are Mexican you gotta be fair. "

A VAST number are.

Can you give an actual figure for what the amount that are Mexican and what are from other countries? I can't tell the difference until I speak to people from the Spanish speaking world and I ask where they a from. Not all of them a from Mexico. I can't wait for the days that the government will have to subsidize labor for farmers and restaurants because everyone was quick to pull the trigger to end a problem instead of finding a good solution.

[tyrone shewlaces]

You're right. We should sit and think about it for a few decades.
And we can be entertained by listening to politicians and talking heads orate so skillfully. That seems to do the trick.

While you're off doing that, I'll continue to keep trying to accomplish useful things as quick as I possibly can since I probably have about 5 years before I'm fully indentured. Wish me luck.

[lfs]

My name is Lisa Stackhouse and I am a recruiter for Randstad North America. We are currently recruiting for Welders in the Savannah, GA area. Local candidates preferred. Must have TIG welding experience and previous work history on CNC equipment is a plus. These jobs are for a large manufacturing company moving to the Savannah area. If you are interested please go to www.randstad.com. Click on find a job and click on create an account. Then apply for the welding opportunities you see. Or you can email me your resume at lisa.stackhouse@us.randstad.com.

[farmall]

Can you give an actual figure for what the amount that are Mexican and what are from other countries?

Here ya go! Why the excessive fondness for Mexicans? Choose a country, either one, and stand by it openly.

According to the DHS's report, Mexicans continue to make up an ever-increasing share of the illegal-immigrant population, with 74 percent of all illegal immigrants who took up residence between 2000 and 2008 coming from Mexico.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...down-slightly/

I can't wait for the days that the government will have to subsidize labor for farmers and restaurants because everyone was quick to pull the trigger to end a problem instead of finding a good solution.

Cut the welfare net and force the poor to work instead of keeping them in housing projects for reasons of political patronage. BTW I live in an area with plenty of farms. Higher food prices would be good for small farm sustainability.

[forties]

Originally Posted by Linepipe

Question: what specific parts of the metal fab industry are working right now? Which ones are not?

VACANCY @ OFFSHORE OIL TRUCKING JOBS !!! APPLY


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[forties]

Originally Posted by obewan

Yes, or Mexico, Thailand, Korea, yada yada yada...

My friend who is a welding engineer in Houston says that virtually all of his work is out of the country now. He is quite disgusted but happy to at least have a job. He works for a consulting firm that does the procedures by remote control I guess. He claims that the oil rig that just went down was made in Korea and that he has some inside knowledge on quality issues - but it was the BOP that caused the accident though.

I worked for GE in my last job and spent a good part of last year outsourcing work to Mexico. I had to train the Mexican "welding engineer" to do my job. When the outsourcing was nearly complete, I got my layoff notice. They are sending jobs that paid $23 an hour USD to Mexico for less than $4 an hour. But they have a problem - the weldors who make $4 an hour in Mexico cross the border to earn $10 as soon as they are trained so they can not keep enough trained weldors around to do the work,

VACANCY @ OFFSHORE OIL TRUCKING JOBS !!! APPLY


Fortiesoil Fields (UK) is proud to support U.S./ NATO military personnel in various contingency environments such as in UK Northsea oil region, Gulf regions,Dubai,Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Japan,Germany.

A challenging world calls for adventurous workers. If you are looking for a job that requires courage, determination,quick and clear thinking.Fortiesoil Fields (UK) has a place for you.This is part of BP-Fortiesoil fields oversea employment programm to combat the growing unemployment problems in the USA with excellent pay, paid vacation benefits and free housing units for married and single workers.


Fortiesoil Fields services is currently recruiting at the (UK) Northsea region with list of support roles such as Heavy Trucking drivers,Crane operators, Welders, HSE officers, logistics support, security jobs, firefighting opportunities, Electricians, food services support, maintenance jobs, and power generation. We provide the Army with the logistical supports.Project plan is 2010-2015.

All safety and personal protection equipment is supplied by Forties oilfield Services (UK) and Full benefit package- life, health, prescription card, dental and optical insurance, Paid Vacations are available.


For your applications and more details send in your updated resume/CV via email: hr.wulloilfields@live.com

[e-rok]

I was working for a place out here in Seattle for a whopping 3 weeks before getting laid off. Cant find anything here!

[Pasto76]

dude, just cause someone passes the a welding test at a school does not mean they are ready to go out and do structural welding, pipefitting or something on real jobs. Ive known 6 apprentices who come in with "certs". Zero of them made it through the first year. To cast a wide net,. they all thought that having papers would make them special. great, you can weld in a shop, but right now we have to shake out a few tons of big *** bent plate, and get it installed ready for backweld tomorrow. None of them seemed to like that too much. The market is not saturated. Even quality welders blow tests on site, and are cashed out.

A good question for the AWS school guy is how many of his 500 welders per twelve weeks is actually welding for his paycheck in 6 months? In 12 months? I bet it is very few.