Perhaps you’ve worked in a position that required some welding skills or have gained some knowledge about this craft in the past. Maybe it’s a career in which you’ve recently developed an interest. However, can a felon become a welder? Let’s consider this question.
Yes, you can become a welder even if you have a felony conviction on your record. Welding is an industry that has a long history of employing convicted felons. It is critical to be truthful about your backstory to succeed as a welder.
Falsifying your conviction can ban you from welding. If you aren’t honest, you may be denied entry into a welding training program. This blog post will discuss what a welder is, how much training a welder requires, and other pertinent information.
What Exactly Is a Welder?
A welder is a trained artisan who uses extreme heat and gas to join and mend metal.
Welders must be familiar with the welding properties of a variety of metals. The ability to work from a blueprint or specification is required for welding.
Welders are skilled in various methods and operate in industries such as manufacturing and construction.
They must possess a variety of abilities, including the ability to read blueprints, knowledge of metals and tools, math aptitude, and adequate physical dexterity.
If you’ve worked as a pipefitter or in a variety of other sorts of construction, you may be qualified to become a welder.
What Are the Many Kinds of Welding?
There are numerous welding techniques. While in training, you will need to select a discipline to focus on.
MIG welding utilizes a metal wire, and the wire is repeatedly put into the flame in order to connect two different pieces of metal.
TIG welding joins metals by passing a current through an electrode. Generally, TIG welding does not require the use of a metal filler.
Although these are the most common types of welding, there are others to learn and explore. Arc welding is another sort of welding.
Arc welding is a highly specialized process that utilizes an electric arc generated by a power source to generate tremendous heat and combine the metals.
What Kind of Training Does a Welder Require?
A welder must typically have a high school diploma or a GED. While on-the-job training is possible, most firms prefer to hire someone who has had professional welding training.
A welding curriculum may take up to nine months and incorporates classroom and on-the-job training. Some available courses include welding tools and procedures, blueprint reading, algebra, mechanical drawing, physics, chemistry, and metallurgy.
To master the fundamentals of welding, vocational schools and community colleges offer classes. Additionally, the American Welding Society provides education and certification.
Many people who enter the welding field begin as a welder’s assistant or apprentice, learning the trade fundamentals and acquiring the skills necessary to advance to the level of a certified welder.
As a welder’s apprentice, you can prepare yourself to pursue welding certification in fields such as arc welding.
It is easier to secure employment as a welder’s assistant while completing the necessary training to become a certified welder.
How Does a Welder Make?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, up to 420,000 welders earn up to $41,000 per year, which is quite acceptable for this type of task.
Additionally, it is dependent on the region of the country in which you live. The biggest earnings potential for welders is found along the East Coast and in Texas, California, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana, home to several industrial centers.
Welders are in greater demand than ever before due to the ongoing construction and industrial operations. Additionally, as people are now employed in the welding trade age, more skilled welders must take their place.
Working conditions are generally favorable, yet welding can be an extremely hot vocation due to welding torches. Because so many welding tasks occur on construction sites and in other hot environments, it can get quite hot.
Background Check
You cannot avoid a background check. Due to the great demand for competent welders, breaking into the welding industry is typically not problematic.
A background check is necessary for two instances. To begin, admission to a welding training program would generally require a background check.
Regardless of the institution, whether it is a community college or a vocational school, a background check will often focus on convictions that occurred within the last seven years.
However, even a felony conviction may not automatically disqualify you. Trade schools have a reputation for welcoming students who have had prior contact with the criminal justice system. Thus, this is not too horrible.
How Can I Assist a Convicted Felon In Becoming a Welder?
What if you are not a felon yourself but know one and wish to assist him in his pursuit of becoming a welder? If such is the case, then continue in that manner.
It would be best if you were their pillar of strength throughout their darkest hours. This is especially true at the beginning, when they may still lack the confidence to confront the outside world.
Assure that you continue to encourage your loved one while he works tirelessly to turn over a new leaf and pursue his dream.
If you think your loved one should go the extra mile, then go with him on his journey to become a welder. This provides them with an opportunity to demonstrate that their sentence does not accurately describe who they are.
Additionally, they can demonstrate their diligence, dependability, and responsibility as human beings. Always assist them in realizing their aspirations, regardless of how difficult it may appear or how difficult it is.
An Opportunity for Felons
Do not let this opportunity pass you by. You may conduct a self-check to determine what a welding program or potential employer would discover if they ran a background check on you.
Get your criminal record cleared to increase your chances of becoming a welder. So you can say on an application that you’ve never been convicted of a felony.
It would be prudent to determine whether you are entitled to have your record wiped. Give yourself every edge available.
You have made numerous errors, but they do not have to define you. You are defined by your ability to recover from mistakes.
