Any aspies here have a welding career?

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I'm about to be getting certified soon any aspies here also welders? If so what do you do? And with what process? Metal type? And do you have any advice?

I don't have a career in welding but, I've taken a "familiarization" course during my training to be an Electrician. Also about 6 years ago I was working on a steel frame 30ish story high rise structure in Bellevue, Washington. That job used quite a few welders to erect the steel frame. We got to help them maintain their welding skid wich was a platform that hung off the side of the building. Very exciting. Not a job you want to do if your scared of heights. On that same job I was running a Plasma Cutter to cut out holes for some electrical boxes I was installing in the pan decking. I felt kind of a kinship for those guys because we were doing simular work. Construction Ironworkers can generally be a pretty rough and tumble group of people but, some of them where actually pretty nice to me.

As far as actual welding that I've done in the 2 week "familiarization" course. I was garbage with the wire fed weilding but, didn't actually do too bad with the stick welding. Welding takes a lot of practice to get and stay good at. It's definately an art form. I always thought there was kind of a "Zen" aspect to it because being good at it requires you to enter a zone where your hand motions are in harmony with the type of welder you are using and the object being welded.

Beyond that the ability to create useful things is always good. I recently did a job where I was helping a carpenter convert an old welding shop into a carpentry shop. We both marveled at the fun and creative ways the previous owner used welding to create useful things in his shop.

I don't have any specific advice. I just wanted to ramble about my thoughts/experiences on welding. I wish you good luck in your Welding career.

I do not, but I do know that welding, if you are good at it, can be an extremely lucrative career and is a great path to take if you don't want to go to school for very long. I'll wish you the best!

When I graduated high school my case manager pulled some strings and got me into one of the top three welding programs in the country. I freaked out and dropped out before the first week was up. That was the extent of my welding career.

I don't know why I freaked out. I mean, I can speculate, but I can't pin down the precise reason(s) why. Part of it was, it wasn't really my decision to be there, so I had this crushing feeling that my whole life was being determined for me. Also, at the time I was convinced I was going to be a preacher. Now here I am, a bitter agnostic. I guess I also found all the fire and stuff to be intimidating. The first several days were all about basic safety before they would even let us within 15 feet of a primitive oxyacetylene torch. All the ways in which you can blow yourself up, etc. etc. And I was all but convinced it was going to happen to me.

I do not have a welding career, but I have heard of it being a good career for someone with Asperger's.

I used to be a full time welder-fabricator with both workshop and site jobs.

I was made redundant less than 2 years after finishing my training, there was a major recession at the time and I left the country to travel and work casual jobs. When I finally came back 5 years later I was not really employable in the same sense.

I still keep my experience level up with occasional welding jobs. I currently have a small MMA and TIG set that is fine for what I need.
Most experience in MIG on steel and aluminium. I have also experience with Gas welding/brazingand MIG brazing.

I really enjoy it, the closest thing to alchemy in the real world, being able to melt and re-form metal right under your nose. I like the minute focus needed and the technical aspects. I have built a few steel bike frames for fun and this is where I would like to concentrate in the future. I also have back problems from years of humping heavy materials so another good reason to avoid industrial work.

So enjoy, keep practicing, look after your back and your lungs. Good Luck.

I re enrolled for the Journeyman Electrician courses here at a well known school in Boston MA (Wentworth) and will be taking welding starting in the fall.

My question is this -

How do you find a job in either (even as apprentice) with NO experience particularly when you probably the oldest one in the class (I will be 38 in June) and already having a college degree in another field.

I checked indeed.com for entry level/apprentice positions here in the state of Massachusetts -- in the past 30 days a total of SIX positions and entry level is listed at $12 an hour and they want you to have at least 2 years of experience BUT all I hear on the radio and read on most of the major news sites is that there is this huge shortage of people needed in these trades and how younger people are 'not interested' or not qualified.

I already own a business absentee in the NYC area (but live outside of Boston) where I net around $1000 - $1200 a week after all expenses and weekly payroll so please don't think I am choosing not to work and sit on the 'dole' of gov't teat.

FYI, I just paid close to $6,000 in business taxes just for the first quarter. Haven't even filed personal taxes or taxes on S corp yet..