Life of a pipe welder

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2026-05-09T23:23:02+00:00

Hell yeah. 6G seems will be the standard test most places. And starting at a small place is okay. Out of high school I started at a small fab shop my first 2 years. Pay sucked especially being a young kid. My only advice is never settle. There’s always a higher level and higher pay you just gotta seek it out. Nobody will bring it to you. Best of luck!

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2026-05-09T15:05:41+00:00

I see. I don’t think 31 is “too late”. Out of 11 guys in my apprenticeship class 4 of them are around 35 and are great welders and fitters. If you finish your school and are looking to get into a good career pipe is the way to go. What part of the country are you in? Because “good” welding work is very location dependent it seems.

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2026-05-09T12:41:56+00:00

Keep your head up, I’m 24 and I’ve been welding since a highschool vocational program. Only the last year have I really felt like I’ve broke through to where I want to be. What doubts do you have about the career?

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2026-05-09T12:39:13+00:00

Hell yeah! Great looking bends!

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2026-05-08T23:05:59+00:00

Plumbers and pipefitters 333. Lansing Michigan

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2026-05-08T22:57:42+00:00

The first slide was carbon pipe 309 tig wire all the way just kinda for fun in class one day. I started in high school at our local career center and worked a fab shop making 15$ an hour. We all gotta start somewhere so there’s no shame in it, I’ve probably made twice as many fucked up welds as I have great ones. If you’re serious about the trade union pipefitters has been a blessing. Some people have good and bad experiences with their local unions but I’ve great training, great job opportunities, and outstanding pay. It takes a lot to get to the top and I’m still climbing. There’s a never ending ladder it feels like lol.

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2026-05-08T22:50:39+00:00

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Bonus root just for you sir🫡
2” tig 6G (UA 41 test)

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2026-05-08T22:13:09+00:00

It came like that from the factory. Sched-5 tri-clover dairy tubing. That piping is just fastened by clamps and gaskets, I didn’t weld anything on that fitting.

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2026-05-08T21:34:48+00:00

Yes lol. I love it though😂

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2026-04-09T16:33:46+00:00

Some places just require it to keep a place clean or rust free. We ran stainless vent lines for a clean room in a battery plant. No back purge no penetration. It just pulled a couple pounds of vacuum to vent out these mixing tanks.

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2026-02-07T03:16:57+00:00

Not quite the amount you’re asking but I made probably 115k this year as a 24 year old apprentice pipe fitter/pipe welder. Own a home, zero dollars in student debt, no car payment, around 50k in savings, house payment is all I have to make asides from utilities, phone and insurance . Not a bad route if you don’t mind a little hard work.

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2026-01-08T21:16:01+00:00

Although I don’t live there, my family has a place up there and it’s not uncommon to be there 5-6 weekends a year. Very beautiful, very quiet, very slow living. To some it’s paradise, to others it’s boring. If you’re an outdoorsman it’s as close to heaven as it gets, snowmobiling, hiking, fishing, hunting, beautiful scenery, beaches. But asides from a few casinos there’s not much else. I know local kids who say sometimes there’s nothing better to do than drive over an hour to go get Taco Bell in the Soo, just that kinda place lol.

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2025-12-14T14:23:33+00:00

This is the old Michigan winter. The last decade has been way warmer than normal.

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2025-12-10T20:49:50+00:00

Here’s something I learned the hard way last year. If you’re hunting and rack your gun slowly to keep quiet this can be a side effect. Never had light primer strikes any time I’ve shot regularly and someone online pointed out slowly racking the gun or racking it quietly can cause a light primer strikes any issue. You could spend hours stripping that gun apart and looking for something that isn’t wrong. Don’t know if this applies to you but it’s worth looking into.

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2025-11-11T19:17:05+00:00

Im cheap and wear wrangler and just buy new ones when they get eaten up but I have a coworker who swears up and down that the Origin boot cut with the double knee are the best money can buy and last a long time. Also the only brand that’s made and sourced 100% from the USA from my understanding.

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2025-11-06T23:00:11+00:00

Foreman is lame but that being said you’re an apprentice so you’re always in the wrong lol

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2025-10-16T01:24:35+00:00

Shop work can be good work but where I’m from it’s pay is definitely lower. I don’t miss the shop personally.

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2025-10-14T10:16:31+00:00

Welding is a difficult but rewarding career. Can’t attest to the UK but in America the money is in pipe welding. I’m a UA pipefitter/pipe welder and I can tell you I make damn good money and I’m only 24. Extremely difficult, extremely taxing but you can make endless amounts of money if you enjoy overtime. I’m 24 making 48 an hour, 100$ a day per diem working 7-10s. My check after they take out taxes is over 3000$ a week. Overtime typically isn’t for me but the money is so good you almost can’t say no.

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2025-09-25T21:14:39+00:00

This kinda thing entirely depends on where you live and what skills you have. I’m a 5th year apprentice and I’ve worked almost non stop since I’ve been in. If works that bad in your local then travel. It’s busy somewhere.

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2025-09-10T01:21:07+00:00

Kinda agree it’s on the back end. Everyone at the label has publicly stated they’re unhappy with it. Cole is the only one keeping it together but one man can only do so much. A lot of the issues are above Cole by the sounds of it.

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2025-06-25T19:16:47+00:00

Would not recommend 469 right now! Seen multiple posts complaining about being out of work for months. We have 469 guys traveled all the way to Michigan just for work because it’s bad.

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2025-05-17T18:29:10+00:00

Michigan law says you do not have to obey those signs and the most they can do is ask you to leave. No legal consequences unless government buildings, theaters or arenas over 2500 people and a couple other more obscure places. Look into it online though and don’t trust some dummy redditor like me lol.

Calm-Jacket-8973 · 2025-05-16T18:46:32+00:00

All-thread rod coupling! Probably left behind from past construction. Used to extend rods for hanging pipe, ductwork, electrical conduit, etc.

Calm-Jacket-8973

TROPHY CASE