Welding in the states

[MTHias]

Hi!

Recently turned my whole life upside down. I have been studying paramedics here in Finland when i realized that welding
is what i really want to do, and i did go to welding and machinery school in my twenties, approaching 30 now.

So i happened to see a job application near my area on the last date of applying, so i thought what the heck-applied for the job, went there
and did the welding test and they hired me.

My goal here is to gain experience as a welder and eventually after a few years i want it to be my ticket traveling the world.


Question: This goes out mainly to you american people, others are welcome to answer aswell of course;

How difficult is it for a foreigner to get some kind of contract to come work in the usa?

[thegary]

This is just my opinion and should be taken as that. I do not believe there is a big need for foreign welders to come here. The only reason I have ever heard of them being here is to do the job for less cost than what they could be hired for locally or nationally. I know several years ago There were several jobs in California that brought in Chinese welders. If I remember correctly one was a bridge. I am sure there are some very specialty welding jobs that they have brought someone in for but very few. I do not know if you have any Turbine maintenance companies in Finland but I know several men that travel the world as Blade/ diaphragm repair , steam path repair welders. Welding is only part of what they do along with shaping and blending their welds into the surrounding areas. They also do blade replacement when needed. The guys I know that have done that work that live in the states can make 6 figures and still have 3-4 months off.

There are companies here that will hire and train . The pay takes about 7-10 years to get to the top. It is almost all tig welding. Most find the traveling gets old after a while. It is repetitive after you have done it for several years . I have filled in and done some of their work from time to time when on turbines where there was not enough work to warrant bringing one in.

To get the highest pay you need to work for one of the companies that make the turbines like GE, Mitsubishi, Seimans. There are a few European makers of turbines also but I am not familiar with them since there are few of their turbines installed in USA. At least in the midwest area of the USA where I did turbine work.

[Bonzoo]

daGary got it right.
Try hard to get into the alternative energy sector.Shower them with applications. Go anywhere. I have a buddy of mine in Africa right now. With Siemens.Another friend is in Brazil with a solar outfit.They all need welders but their welders are more "fabricators", unlike a lot of iron slinging or upside down pipe welding during an Apocalypse-USA.
Most of the guys working for those companies can do most ANYTHING construction related. Great work.
Fences, gates, mezzanines, actual windmill parts, cranes, backhoes, trucks trailers and other equip, towers.Never boring. Yup. Some pipe and structural too. Gets extra $$$ if you take the test and pass for the project.
If I were young again I'd be building in ASIA somewhere. Just for gits and shiggles

[vwguy3]

If you brought every welder you could find to Elkhart county Indiana you would be a hero. Every where you look there are help wanted signs.

[thegary]

If you brought every welder you could find to Elkhart county Indiana you would be a hero. Every where you look there are help wanted signs.

All that shows is how poor they pay in that area. They think $15 hr gets you hundini .

[tracymobilecnc]

you can always get a job welding damn near anywhere, for a livable wage. 20-35/hr most those guys do one thing decent. stare at the bright light. and everybody says they are a welder. there is no weld card i know of that would travel well.

where i'm from i would tell you to be an underwater welder them guys seems to always be in demand an $100/ hr min. needed all over the world. everytime i worked with the local guys 'global diving' (i was a pile-buck/ welder) they had stories of all the places they been to.

[vwguy3]

Wrong.
There simply are not enough able bodies to fill the spots.
I know some young people working here bringing home 1,100 to 1,200 a week, not to shabby to me.

[WNY_TomB]

you need to file for Permanent Resident status "green card" to work legally in the USA. that is if you want to follow the law and not be illegal. also means you will pay income taxes again to follow law.
.
they once had a criminal call Al Capone who they could not find he broke any law until they prosecuted him for tax evasion. basically it was easier to prove he was getting income and easy to prove he paid no income taxes on it.

[Hobbytime]

Hi!

Recently turned my whole life upside down. I have been studying paramedics here in Finland when i realized that welding
is what i really want to do, and i did go to welding and machinery school in my twenties, approaching 30 now.

So i happened to see a job application near my area on the last date of applying, so i thought what the heck-applied for the job, went there
and did the welding test and they hired me.

My goal here is to gain experience as a welder and eventually after a few years i want it to be my ticket traveling the world.


Question: This goes out mainly to you american people, others are welcome to answer aswell of course;

How difficult is it for a foreigner to get some kind of contract to come work in the usa?

If you want to legally come to the USA with a skill and support yourself and pay taxes, then come on down and give it a try, if you want to be like the illegals for a free ride stay where you are...if you are good at whatever skill you do then there will be opportunity for you here in the USA...IMHO

[One1]

Until democrats take power again, the free rides are limited for immigrants. Coming over here to work will net you average pay. You can make average pay where you are. If you just want to see the world, become a flight attendant paramedic.

[thegary]

My understanding was that he is not looking to Imigrate. He wants to see the world and make money at the same time. Finland is not a 3rd world country and I am sure he can do as well there as here being a welder.

In the USA the term welder is very generic. It is used by anyone who does everything from a production spot welder to aerospace specialty welding. The days of a good versatile welder that can do about anything are about over. Everyone is specialty and limited to one process for the most part. Just look at most of the young guys on WW. Most only want to tig weld and want some fancy special welding job that they think everyone will be enveouse of or they want to be the guy that is on the history channel that does the metal work on old custom cars and again be in the spotlight . In reality most welding with good pay is dirty , filthy, poor working condition with no glamor involved and when they die or retire some othe guy will come in and do it and he will be long forgotten. But he will have made a good living without recognition.
Sure there are a few that because of their colorful Tatoos or good looks and bad manners get in the lime light and are made to look like they are something special on some specialty cable TV show but for every one of them there are 1,000000 that do the same thing and maybe better that are just making a living.

[HT2-4956]

If you're goal is just to see the world and be able to support yourself along the way I'd have to say that there's a lot better choices out there than being a welder. As mentioned already a flight attendant with paramedic skills would be a good choice. Being in the "Merchant Marine" would probably be another good one. If you wanted to try and do it by flying under the radar being a good short order cook could have its advantages.

[MTHias]

Thanks for the answers! A bit overwhelmed by all the replies, seems like this is a very good and helpful community

First of all, no i am not looking to immigrate illegaly or otherwise, should probably have specified that.

I want all of my experience, especially that gained in other countries to be legal; because it is the right thing to do and because the experience will not serve me in the future if i cannot document it.
I have been looking at jobs in central and southern america aswell as europe, and even asia. I believe there is alot of discussion on one of the next big finnish cruise ships maybe being built in china but no one knows yet.

I am also not just picking up welding again for the sake of traveling, i really do want a good craftsmanship skill under my belt and welding seems to be my jam. There are some companies here that recruit people for international gigs, but it
seems coming overseas to work in the us is always a bit more complicated so i wanted to gain some insight on the matter.

There is a very high standard on craftsmanship jobs in finland, and we are definitely not a 3rd world country, atleast not yet, although our new government does not seem to know what the hell they are doing.
The pay is okay, but as always in this country if you want to earn money you have to go elsewhere. First things first the plan is to work a few years to gain experience since all the international jobs require it.

[Hobbytime]

Thanks for the answers! A bit overwhelmed by all the replies, seems like this is a very good and helpful community

First of all, no i am not looking to immigrate illegaly or otherwise, should probably have specified that.

I want all of my experience, especially that gained in other countries to be legal; because it is the right thing to do and because the experience will not serve me in the future if i cannot document it.
I have been looking at jobs in central and southern america aswell as europe, and even asia. I believe there is alot of discussion on one of the next big finnish cruise ships maybe being built in china but no one knows yet.

I am also not just picking up welding again for the sake of traveling, i really do want a good craftsmanship skill under my belt and welding seems to be my jam. There are some companies here that recruit people for international gigs, but it
seems coming overseas to work in the us is always a bit more complicated so i wanted to gain some insight on the matter.

There is a very high standard on craftsmanship jobs in finland, and we are definitely not a 3rd world country, atleast not yet, although our new government does not seem to know what the hell they are doing.
The pay is okay, but as always in this country if you want to earn money you have to go elsewhere. First things first the plan is to work a few years to gain experience since all the international jobs require it.

can you get a job with your state dept? and become an ambassador for Finland, you will definitely travel the world and live in many countries that way, you will just have to learn whatever language of the country you are an ambassador in..my sisters friend does that now for the US state dept. every 2 years hes in another country, good pay and benefits...

[One1]

There is a very high standard on craftsmanship jobs in finland,

Not too bad of drivers either "if you wanna win, employ a fin"

[evan]

Own your own mobile rig

[lotechman]

Look for a company that does international work. Last summer I met two Dutch welders that worked erecting and welding water storage tanks for green house operations here in Canada. Their jobs ran from a month or two to six months long. They were both married but the money was just too goo to turn down. The contracting company arranged all the work permits.