For those who want a good career that takes skill and training, welding can be a good choice. However, the thing about welding is that it is similar to a lot of manual labor jobs that require a lot of skill and experience. This is why training to become a welder is the best way to learn how to become one. But is welding hard to learn?
Welding isn’t easy, but it isn’t hard as well. That’s because the most important part about learning how to weld is the training you need to undergo and the experience you need to earn. As long as you put in the time and effort to train how to weld, then this should not be a difficult skill to learn.
Like any kind of profession that focuses on manual labor, the thing about welding is that it is reliant on skills that you can only learn when you are properly trained for it. As such, this isn’t something that you can learn in the classroom or by reading books. This is why it really isn’t easy to determine whether or not welding is something that is hard to learn.
Is Welding Hard To Learn?
You might not know it, but the truth is that there are plenty of manual labor jobs all over the country that pay really well because of how manual labor can actually be quite expensive. As such, a manual labor job that relies heavily on skills like welding can actually be a good career that pays sufficiently enough.
However, like any manual labor job that relies on skills, the thing that you need to know about welding is that it isn’t quite as easy to learn as some people may think it is. Then again, it also isn’t the most difficult thing to learn as well. That’s because welding is something that you don’t easily pick up in school or by reading books, even though there are welding schools.
Welding is something that you learn through training and experience, and that means that you need to pour in the time and effort to learn how to weld. As such, it is difficult to completely gauge how difficult it is to learn how to weld because of the very fact that it all depends on how much time and effort you want to put into your training.
It might be true that there are books and instructional manuals and videos that you can use to learn to weld, but nothing beats going out on the field to learn on the spot or to train under a supervised professional welder who already has enough years of experience under their belt.
How To Properly Learn To Weld
As mentioned, it takes training and experience to learn to weld. That is why we are here to give you some of the ways that you can use to learn how to weld.
1. Work As A Welder
The first and most obvious way to learn how to weld is to work as a welder. Get a job as a welder. It seems so simple, but it really isn’t as easy as it sounds.
However, when we talk about getting a job as a welder, we are not talking about being a welder because no one will hire a welder with no experience and just a bit of skill. Instead, we are talking about working as an apprentice under a professional welder with the kind of experience and knowledge that are more than enough to help you learn how to weld.
There are plenty of different apprenticeship websites that you can go to when it comes to learning how to weld. However, we recommend that you use these websites because they are either owned or sponsored by the US Department of Labor:
Using those websites can be quite easy because all you need to do is to search for welding in either or both of them so that you can see a good list of the different apprenticeship opportunities that you can try.
2. Weld In Career Paths That Will Allow You To Learn
It may sound like it is a bit too simple, but you don’t actually have to be a welder or an apprentice to learn how to weld. We do recommend that you learn from an expert so that you will be able to learn how to weld faster and with proper guidance. But those who don’t have the luxury of learning how to weld by working as an apprentice can still learn by simply welding in career paths that will allow you to learn how to do so.
Here is a good list of career paths that often incorporate welding.
- Assemblers and fabricators. Getting a job as an assembler or fabricator will allow you to learn how to weld. These are the jobs that usually put the finishing touches on a lot of different things such as toys and electronics or even larger things such as boats.
- Boilermakers. Boilermakers are those who are responsible for making steel fabrications from tubes and plates. That means that there is some welding included in these jobs.
- Machinists. The role of a machinist is to use welding tools that are used for transportation and construction.
- Plumbers or pipefitters. Even though it takes another kind of training to become a plumber, those who are already working as plumbers but also want to earn money as welders can learn welding on the job because there are some plumbing jobs that allow you to weld.
- Sheet metal workers. Sheet metal workers do a lot of welding by welding together large sheets of metal to make larger sheets that can be used to produce other types of products such as boats and airplanes or even structures like buildings.
3. Go to School
Finally, the third path you can take to learn how to weld is to go to school. While it might be best to learn and gain experience as a welder while on the job, going to school will allow you to learn the theoretical side of welding. There are also schools that will provide you with plenty of learning opportunities.
The downside of going to school to learn how to weld is that it can be expensive to do so. Unlike learning as an apprentice or choosing a career path with some welding, you won’t earn money by going to school.
Still, if you do want to learn how to become a welder by going to school, you can do a simple search on the internet to find the nearest welding schools in your area.
Pro Tips On Learning To Weld
As someone who is still learning how to weld, here are some of the best tips that you can use to make the most out of your time while learning to weld:
- Always practice. It might sound cliché, but it really is true that practice makes perfect. Take the time to practice and do things the right way whenever you are learning how to weld.
- Learn from your mistakes. Everyone will make mistakes at the beginning of any kind of learning journey. But if you do make mistakes while learning how to weld, learn from all of them.
- Sleep. When you are learning how to weld, you are working with dangerous equipment. Take care of your health first so that you will be in the best condition to learn welding. Getting enough sleep will allow you to stay in top shape both mentally and physically.
- Challenge yourself. Always find a way to challenge yourself. If you have already progressed enough with a certain skill, take the next step. Or, better yet, test yourself.
