Originally Posted by
Kevin Morin
Ty, you've had plenty of great information offered, so I'll move back to basics and provide some questions for Ty to ask himself.
Do you have techie inclinations? Are you a computer builder, programmer, gamer, CAD guy? Do you fiddle with them for fun or are you a hands on mechanical guy? I'm asking you to sort out if you're going to grow into a low voltage controls electrical guy? That's been mentioned as one of the biggest paying and most sought after skill set in the electrical trades.
I've been an oil and gas controls and automation contractor since '90 so I have a little knowledge in the subject. Both instrument techs and electrical apprentices come in three categories. Pipe and Bracket Electrical guys don't do much control programming they're very close to the pipe trades in welding and in instrumentation they're somewhat limited to valve repair and other more or less mechanical work. Both groups are one part of the trade.
Next are the electricians who pull wire, terminate and calibrate devices in the field and these correlate the the middle group of instrument techs who do similar work. This group could have both the industrial and commercial electrical groups, and in the industrial there would be lines and transmission, power /motors and lights, and then toward controls or low voltage.
Last are those in both groups who understand programming well enough to work directly on the controls systems regardless of the system being controlled- these guys work with engineers and are paid the most. But the last group are those who are most interested in the math, logic, and details involved in controls theory and not as focused on the pipe, hardware, power and construction parts of the trades.
Ty, do you see yourself interested in the high end? or the more mechanical trade side? Good NEW! Most guys in stage 3 of their trades started in stage 1 and 'grew' so you may find that in yourself as well- few people start at the top of their trades.
Next, in welding is the same series of questions.
(I've had welders work for me as well as worked in pipe offshore, various fab shops and had my own boat building bidness and designed and built pressure rated ASME B31.3 control sub-assemblies in my own company)
Beginning welding even for someone with a pipe cert might be grinding stringers for someone else while they look you over? But at the high end of the trade may be running an NC welding cell unit in some factory? So like electrical work there's a spread in the trade.
Yes, there is some romance to being the traveling rock star who moves from job to job- but that seriously depends on your hands. I'm pointing out that several people have noted this decision on your part is not as open to everyone as you may think? The level of skill in a hot bluegrass band is not purely practice and that is true of pipe welding too. If you don't have hands- somewhat a gift from God- then you're going to struggle to deliver the work, and you'll never keep up on the firing line of a pipe crew- if you ever got there?
So I'm just summarizing a bit what's been said. There are levels to the trades, where each trade has people that work from primary skill and mechanical/bodily actions to those who work more with their minds -all levels trained in the same basics of that trade. Farther, the farther you go in pipe welding them more skill you'd need to have 'born-n-bred' to keep going. The farther you go in tech end of all the trades the more you're working with your brain power than your body power.
Last, the brain usually wears out less and at much lower rate than the body. So if you're young and still bullet proof (I fondly recall those days) then body work and skill (guitar hero) seems more attractive. But if you've got some miles on your back ( bending over and pulling the stringer up a joint in the ditch at 20deg F in some little tent,your feet in mud, your back wet- when you're push'in 50 won't be near as much fun as it was at 25!).... then the brain power goals look more appealing.
One of the Good Lord's most frustrating aspects of our lives is to ask us to make good decisions about life-long forks in the road while we're young! What is it that makes a good decision? Well experience is about the most effective contribution- so we're asked to make life-long choices when we have the least amount of the most important element of good decisions! Experience.
I'd ask myself if I was techie or a mechanic and go from there- regardless if you have the hands to weld- both trades have a more mechanical level and a more advance level so each one could be interesting challenging and fulfilling as a career.
I've enjoyed being both, approaching the upper ends in controls, automation, programming, NC and automated or semi-automated welding process are all work I've done. Since I have decent hands but not "steelsurgeon's" or ZtFab's ( and the rest of the Z-men! on here) and since I could program 'OK' but not like the code-jocks I could hire ; my solution was to be a contractor. I had to know about all these processes to lead the company, and to help troubleshoot when we all fell on our noses. But I wasn't the best welder, programmer, or controls electrician/technician; but I sure got a clear picture that if you don't like what you're doing- if you're not willing to work long hours to get 'there'- find something else as soon as you can.
All I've said here has been said above by others more informed than me. I just tried to correlate the tread into a rough summary for you.
One last thing. Some guys like being home every night, other are good to "gypsy-around". I did plenty to be able to stay home and not work offshore in the Cook Inlet, camp jobs here in Alaska, or the North Slope, even when it meant I'd have been paid more. That's another matter to consider.
Best of fortune to you.. Remember; if you get a few steps down the wrong path - it's time to turn around as soon as possible- don't wait! - correct your errors the minute you realize them- if possible!!
Cheers,
Kevin Morin
Kenai, AK