Hey guys, I live in Tennessee and am gonna go to one of the Technical College of Applied Technology's near me to sign up for a trade to start in the fall. It is between 2 or 3 things I think. I was thinking about either Welding, Electrician, Hvac, or Automotive Technology. As of right now I have really no skills in either of them, but I like the thought of being an electrician because I think the wiring could be really fun and I do want to make good money and have a secure job. What does /pol/ think would be best for me? Thanks so much!
Welding fucks you up with time
Auto tech sounds like mechanic
It's electrician or hvac , both are future proof, I just imagine more Mexicans doing hvac
Sky's the limit for an electrician, and when your done with the career you can open your own firm doing household jobs.
And it's a respected trade.
Also this is a politics board, I could be shot just for replying.
>>66900712
Appreciate the response man, thanks a lot. Leaning towards electrician or welder then
>>66900712
>Welding fucks you up with time
Yeah, if you dont fucking wear a welding mask, long sleeve shirt, ear plugs, and put on sun screen
>>66901283
And if you have poor ventilation, don't wear a breathing mask, and dont shower after welding
>>66899736
Welding and other engineering for oil rigs and mining sites. Those guys are paid top dollar and are the most sought after fuckers out there. 150k for some jobs out in the middle of nowhere.
>>66899736
I'm in a welding program here in AZ.
Its pretty fucking awesome when you are actually welding. Buuut getting everything set up for said performing each weld is a pain in the ass. Between measuring and cutting everything up, clamping stuff, its pretty tedious. But on the flip side, when you finish you get that nice sense of satisfaction. Even more so when you make something useful or cool.
Good safety gear and actually FOLLOWING instructions on said gear keeps you very safe. Don't listen to the guy running welds wearing Wal-Greens sunglasses. If you don't protect yourself, it will fuck you up.... but if you are not a retard you will be fine.
Its a badass skill though, fucking fix or build just about anything.
>>66901666
The electric welding machines use metal gasses to shield the weld puddle while it cools. It keeps oxygen and other shit from getting into the weld and making it less strong and shitty.
The gasses are usually Argon and shit like that. But spend 30 bucks on a respirator and have a fucking fan blowing and you will be fine.
The welding arc also gives off more UV rays than sunlight. Wear long cotton sleeves and gloves or your ass is getting sun burned.
>>66901666
Oh and EARPLUGS ALWAYS
One little molten bead into your ear and its a world of pain you never knew existed
>>66902315
>>66902425
Awesome thanks for the advice
>>66902042
So you really like welding huh? I gotta figure out if i wanna weld or electrician. Would a documentary help?
You can't always weld in a factory environment.
I was an on-site welder, it is the most strenuous of site jobs, taking steelwork up stairs, confined spaces, lugging the generator over mud, etc
Not respected and early career finish.
Oil rig work will be scarce for maybe 10 years which outside of aerospace would be good pay.
The best idea I had was to move into plating (heavy steel fabricator) more respect , more pay and long term employment.
I wish I had taken electrics
Im working as an Electrician in a Chemical Company. The work is really versatile and somewhat satisfying, because you are able to solve technical problems every day.
Im not kidding, the amount of credit you get is unreal, people usually dont have any clue about electrics.
So i would definately recommend Electrican over Welder, because its far less monotonous.
Just make sure you specialize in Automation/Robotics if your college offers it.
>>66899736
What part of the country are you in?
>>66899736
If you can try to learn all of them.
Take night courses and shit(not sure if you have nightcourses in the US)
if you get any spare time read books about the subjects and watch youtube videos about them
>>66902315
You have no idea what you're talking about. Argon is used in TIG welding one of the cleanest forms of welding. Argon is also heavier than air so you won't be breathing it in at all. In all honesty you'd probably be better off telling him the Tungsten you use for TIG welding can poison you when you sharpen it. The dust fucks you up.
>>66902753
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdQR7-Ap6YQ
This shit can happen :^)
>>66903164
It's not the argon that gets you, that's an inert gas.
It's the fumes off the carbon or whatever material your using, along with the fine particles from grinding.
They fuck you up good, jack
>>66902811
electrics is electrician right? You wish you were an electrician?
>>66902753
Do both lol, its tedious, but I've been having a lot of fun welding.
I'm 31 lol, I thought I wanted to make a career in hospitality (if you're willing to slog it out front desk, you can climb the whole ladder from entry-level), but got sick of all the whiny Yuppies. I resigned from Valet Dept Manager/Bell Captain and I just work valet and bell. I got caught up in the 'one more season' cycle and I'm back in school to start a new career.
I've also been applying for electrician apprenticeships for this summer. I have my fall classes slotted in at night.
Although to do the really cool shit with welding, you need to be willing to travel and even coming out of school certified, you will likely start as a helper/grinder bitch. I'm okay with this.
Its hard work, but a badass and super useful skill to know.
I would almost recommend electrician if thats interesting to you. You most likely won't need to travel more than driving to job sites and its also super useful outside of work too.
>>66904085
Yeah , to old to change now.
There's a lot of maths in electrical eng.
I took the easy option at the time.
Boy did I fuck up
>>66904085
And dude, either way you go.. the fact that you are thinking about trades in general puts you light years ahead of anyone going for some stupid liberal arts degree.
I'd say sign up for a beginning welding class at your local community college to see if you like it. Maybe get the industrial safety class and whatever math you need started too.
>>66902864
I am in tennessee, by nashville
>>66903307
Did he die?
>>66904570
>>66903307
Thoughts on this?
>>66904726
Really? I'm not very good at math so perhaps that isnt the best idea lol
>>66905626
With a little extra effort early on you will learn the math, why not earn respect as well as good money.
All said and done it's a process either way.
Go for the respect AND the money.
>>66906182
Appreciate the advice. Just gotta figure out if electrics or welding is right for me. I wish I knew some videos or something to watch to give me a better idea
>>66899736
Im doing something similar im almost done a program for refinery operator from what i hear hvac and welding are lucrative
Most welding jobs other than monotonous work involve fabrication and that involves only slightly less maths than electrics.
>>66899736
Are you knoxville?
>>66906834
Can you explain that a bit more?
>>66906656
What about elec?
>>66907112
By Nashville
>>66905398
100%. The amount of current produced by a short circuit is immense. Could be anything between 1kV and 52kV, devided by next to nothing Ohms...you can even see the copper that got vaporized by the arc and spilled over the floor.
You have to be aware of the risks involved and take your time, double check etc.
>>66907193
A welder sticks metal to metal all day long, people who can't do the math or want to earn good money off the bat do welding.
A fabricator actually has to know trigonometry, read drawings in metric and imperial, and get to know the machines/ tools in the workshop like presses, guillotines, rollers etc AND weld it.
A plater would do exactly that without the welding, just tacking.
>>66905626
From my experience you mostly get away with rule of proportion, changing formulas and converting units.
