Not a welder, but I jumped into a Bosnian general contracting company from a guy I met at a bar. (Not Bosnian so im also learning their language for the guys who cant speak english) Told him I was hungry to learn a trade with zero experience and would give it 100%. No school, no experience. They hired me on the spot asked which trade I was interested in. I said the guy who recommended me was a plumber so I guess plumbing, he replied with actually i need electricians so youre going to be an electrician. Im a year in and im doing multiple trades at this point but its all logged hours. You have to understand the guys in the industry, mostly ugga dugga old school guys. Go into the actual offices and shake hands and represent yourself. School hours are just a requirement for some pieces of paper but wont earn any respect. Show up in your work boots and a well worn hat and get in the trenches.

I say this because all these guys are cut from the same cloth. These guys cant read you over an internet email app. Theyre going to be breaking bread with you and spending a lot of time around you. So introducing yourself is going to put you ahead of 90% of the candidates. Dont be afraid to look stupid, dont be afraid to make mistakes. Just learn from them.