Anything welding

The short answer is you have to do your time no matter how hard it sucks. Attitude counts. So does quality.

 

Workplace longevity is important in my eyes. I do some of the shop hiring for the company I work at, and if I see much job hopping the resume goes to the bottom of the pile. What's to say they won't leave right after wasting time and money training them. Put in the time to build a quality work history before dumping your first job.

 

Thanks for the recommendations. Still in the early stages of starting to look. Its kind of a new adventure too since Im getting into hunting too so would use it for a base camp for that mostly.

The trailer is down the road aways. Like you said there are some key welds that would take some practice before attempting!

It seemed a bit high but it was also pretty much unused equipment. So basically save a few bucks and sales tax which isnt to bad in my mind.

But I dont get home till end of April so i plan to just keep on looking for the time being. Being able ot check San Diego and the Seattle area (dad could pick up in seattle for me) i should find something!

Think it depends what sort of shipyard you work at. I work at a shipyard and havent met a welder here who dislikes his job. We are federal employees so you wont make as much as on the oilfields but you get the security of the job.

Plus if you are a good welder you can get into all sorts of pretty special jobs. Welding primary valve's, CDRM's, piping, valves, ect. Sure theres production welding they do too and youd start with that but if you are good you progress pretty quick

 

Having just bought a welder, I'll add my $0.02.

For those that may not know (I didn't when I started looking at welders) Hobart welders are owned by Miller. The low-end Hobarts are made on the same assembly lines as the low-end Millers - identical machines, other than the auto-set that is on the Miller's.

I ended up with a Miller 211 auto-set. It was a little more money, but my thoughts are this machine will do everything I will ever want to do. I considered getting a cheaper machine and upgrading later, but figured that would be more costly in the end.

My suggestion is to stick with of the big 3 - Miller, Lincoln, Hobart, and error on the side of a (slightly) bigger machine rather than smaller one. Of course, don't mortgage your house to buy one!

 

How old are you if you don't mind me asking ?

 

Had my 3rd day of welding class today, should be out of the classroom and into the shop in a week.
Had a few issues learning how to read prints, but after some time I'm slowly getting it.

 

23. I'm an aggressive worker and have been in management roles since I was 18.

 

Impressive.

 

I was at my first job for over 2 years, worked hard, and became an assistant manager. It's easy to do that at a retail store, not so easy to do that at a fab shop. But with that experience I became a shop foreman after a year, even though there were guys that knew more than I did. I was better at leading the crew and getting shit done though. You gotta be aggressive and show your boss that you want to learn more parts of the process and take control in certain situations. They probably aren't watching if you don't make yourself known. Don't be annoying about it, just find opportunity to to tackle other jobs. Pick up a broom or take out the trash without being told. Bonus points almost guaranteed.

 

Selling taco. Buying a dually to put a welding machine (hopefully a SA200) in the bed and do some mobile welding on the side and days off.

Finding the truck is gonna be easy. The machine is gonna be the difficult part lol.

 

Is it easy to get work on the side like that in your area?

I know a lot of businesses in my neck of the woods won't even consider paying anyone unless you've formed an LLC and have proof of insurance, etc.

What's you current work schedule? Are you going to have enough time to devote to side jobs and still go into work on time?

What about just fabricating a trailer to haul around your rig for the interim. It'd suck to commit to an expensive diesel dually and an SA200 - then determine that there's not enough "side work" to support the investment that you've made in your equipment...

What's your business plan?

 

Don't have time to type out business plan right now but I do have one and there's nothing but ranches around here so work is there.

I was gonna buy a diesel soon any say so that's not a business expense if I don't get any work.


And yes I got enough days off work to make it work.

 

Good luck. I hope you make it work!

I'd suggest a sit down with a good tax accountant; they can run your through the advantages of LLCs, S-Corps etc.

Beats the hell out of a lot of the type of advice you'll get online, "Well my buddy did this..."

 

The insurance on mobile welding can be ridiculous. The liability is high since you may be welding in a flammable zone or what have you. I've heard anywhere from $3000 to $8000 per year. My LLC was only $350 to set up so that's a moot cost.

North Dakota had openings for mobile welders but most of them require 5 years of experience. And you need the business and insurance.

You're all over the map here. Pull back on the reins a little, keep working and getting experience, and apply for other jobs when the opportunity arises. You chose welding as a career and it takes due diligence to get somewhere with it. Slow down there turbonetics. (Diesel joke)

A couple hundred here and a couple hundred there isn't going to pay the bills. I found that out. Now I work for someone and it pays the bills.

 

Any welders in the charlottesville/Fredericksburg Va area?

 

There are some really good guys over on Welding Web; that are willing to share their wisdom...

http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?390621-Start-up&highlight=getting+sued

I don't think anyone is trying to discourage you from starting a business, Kase - all good things come with time.

I always thought the line of, "Driving a boat is the easy part..." was pure bullshit.

But it's totally true.

 

^Damn those guys went into some deep explanations. I don't have the motivation to type that, so it's a good read. They covered everything and I learned a thing or 2. I would assume a truck used for business would need business auto insurance. That was not cheap when I looked into it on my truck. Damn insurance is what kills you as a little guy.

 

Its not so much as starting a business. Not gonna have a name or company and will only get paid in cash.

I was gonna buy a diesel anyway and ive always wanted my own welder so I figured I'd advertise for repairing cattle pens and building fences and gates to kill time and make some money on my days off. Not going as extreme as y'all think I am lol.

 

Just food for thought... Ranchers may be reluctant to pay cash because it's not a tax deduction paper trail. A check is not the same as cash, and if you are receiving checks you better pay the taxes on it. My uncle got caught for tax evasion and went to jail. Not good.

 

Well of course but most people around here prefer cash anyway lol. Real old school country town.
Going to meet a guy today to discuss work at his hog ranch :score:
Gonna trade welding work for hog hunts LOL

Kidding BTW about the trading part