How to Become a Welder

A welder is a professional who works with metal. They may join, cut, or shape items including pipes, composite materials, or other metalwork. They could work across industries, with vacancies in construction, aerospace, and many more. Being a welder is a hands-on role, and the tasks can range from simple to much more developed.

Welders work with metal. They might join two parts of metal together, cut it, or shape one piece of metal to a specific shape. They deal with various types of metal and they can be employed in many different sectors. 

The duties of being a welder may include: 

• Looking at the engineering drawings for each job and being able to translate them into the physical project. ,
• Safely dismantling pre-welded structures.
• Maintaining and cleaning tools.

A welder may work across industries; common sectors that they may work in are aerospace, civil engineering, offshore oil and gas, and coal. There are a few ways to become a welder. Candidates could take a college course which will give them a welding certification. They may also attend a welding school and take a specialist course. However, the most common way into becoming a welder is via an apprenticeship. People doing a welding apprenticeship will receive full training from a particular company. They will usually be expected to work for the company for a while after they are trained. 

The ideal candidate will be someone who is thorough with work and has attention to detail. This is crucial because they will be responsible for ensuring that any structures that they create are safe for general use. Welders should have competency in maths, science and technology. They should also be able to use and do basic repairs on welding tools. 

There is scope for progression in this career. Welders could become workshop managers or quality testers. If they take diving training, they could even apply to become an underwater welder.