[WHughes]

If I were you, I would try contacting a local in a state with better wages. Alabama is a very low wage state because they screwed it up by making it a 'right to work' state. AL is about 25 bucks an hour and in Washington you will see double that. Do you have a military background? You seem to have good qualifications. There are pros and cons about union membership but I would say that the pros far outweigh the cons. Everyone will get vocal on this soon. Just do your homework and figure out what will work best for you.

 

[WHughes]

Ironwerkers post is a general idea, its not like that everywhere. UA apprentices that have welding certs make full scale in most places. Here it is 44 an hour, 65 with fringes added. With a degree and a union apprenticeship, you can be into several hundred thousand dollars a year. Think piping superintendent. Waiving the apprentice period and testing straight in is generally called "buying your book" and will be looked down upon by many tradesman and could work against you. I would consider thinking about the job offers in Washington. There is a company here that sends their guys to Alabama for projects and pays them Washington scale while the AL guys make their usual scale.

 

[WHughes]

It also cost about 1/10th to live in alabama vs washington.

Not of the east side of Washington, Soco. We enjoy one of the best cost of living ratios in the country.

Ive worked for Bechtel WTP project, unless you hire on as an engineer (non union, low pay) getting work has to go through the hall. Its not a name call thing and its not a seniority thing. They have been taking guys steady (7 pipe fitters/welders last week) and plan on increasing their manpower. In the next few years they will go from 160 pipe hands to 1000, I am told. And a Journeyman pipefitter working 40 hours makes about 90k here in eastern Washington. The average house in this area is about 150,000 (3bd, 1800 sq ft)

 

[WHughes]

Spokane scale is about 36 an hour plus fringes. Spokane has a little higher cost but its not obscene.
Regarding Boogers post above, I have to say that a journeyman pipefitter goes where he wants to. I have friends that work at home and make bucks, and friends that do nothing but travel and chase money making upwards of 300k a year. The union doesnt send you anywhere. You are your own boss to an extent and can talk to your business agent when you want to travel and he will locate jobs around the country for you to work if you want. Its the beauty of being a pipe welder.

 

[WHughes]

Good luck. Should be pretty easy to get interview and stuff. Most likely, you will have to take a piss test, and a compass or some other college placement type test and score in a certain range. Then when thats good, they will send you a certified letter with your interview date. After that, you will receive a letter in the mail with your position on the list for entry. Good luck.