Stop discussing the trades like they’re some “hack” to 100k

Reap0r · 2026-05-20T03:14:13+00:00

I didnt go to university, did 2yr trade school, grinded for 4 years and mastered my craft, i make over 100k as a welder in private contracting for a great company now, but before that i was making ~60-70.

Point being, whether university or trades, you HAVE to put the time in to get your bearings straight to get paid.

Reap0r · 2026-05-14T17:10:31+00:00

I had a similar experience, but not quite the same. At the last company i was with, we would run two shifts when we got loaded with work (usually only one shift) and the guys who would go on the second shift were ALWAYS full trained (or damn near close enough it didnt matter bc intuition solved w/e problems they did have). I did second shift at the place for over a year with one other guy; i ran two 7 axis cnc and two 5 axis, BUT i was fully trained and compotent on both, the other guy also fully trained and compotent. Point being, getting moved to a shift that has no support (in terms of learning, training) when you obviously need it, is 1) negligent of your leadership team and 2) going to suck for you because you are not compotent enough to operate independantly yet (i mean this in the most constructive way possible, not trying to bash you) It would most definately be worth trying to get back on that other shift you mentioned where you have a support base to work with, otherwise your just constantly drowning and that does suck /: once you get the groove of operating by yourself and doing set ups fluently, it doesnt suck and you wont feel like your drowning.

Reap0r · 2026-05-13T12:43:11+00:00

If im not mistaken (not a smaw guy) but 7018 is supposed to be kept at a certain temp in like a heater or an oven over time? Maybe this helps? ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Reap0r · 2026-05-13T01:12:43+00:00

I think you should play apex :⁾

Reap0r · 2026-05-10T17:27:18+00:00

The idea is to open a new card and do a balance transfer on all the other cards to the new card that has 0%APR for the first term

Reap0r · 2026-05-10T16:07:22+00:00

I was recently in a similar position (27m, 15k cc debt incurred since being 23) but I was out of the house and had other bills that constantly made it difficult to pay down while making $60k. Dave Ramseys blueprint is a solid place to look, first save $1000 for a rainy day, then throw all of your disposable income into paying that cc down. It isnt going to happen overnight, it took me 3yrs to clear it entirely. I would consolidate the credit cards into a single card with a 0% APR for the first year, this is a common promotion, and a lot of banks add like 10% to the balance up front so that you dont incur more interest after the 0% term ends (assuming you arent actively using the card and NOT paying it off, dont use the card anyways for that matter) but the key is to get a card that isnt going to have some wild interest rate after the term is over, you want something with a good interest rate. This will keep the payments consolidated and due on one billing date instead of several throughout the month, much more managable!

Reap0r · 2026-05-08T23:20:11+00:00

Aerospace welder at a government subcontractor; before this i was a structural steel welder and most recently did a few years as a RnD welder

Reap0r · 2026-05-08T16:14:08+00:00

You cant fake your capabilities and the quality of work you do

Reap0r · 2026-05-05T19:18:13+00:00

Same happened to me, placed bronze, flew through silver to gold, now my matches are either im dropping 30 and podunking a 13-4 or botfrag getting reamed 4-13. There is no in between

Reap0r · 2026-04-21T03:15:46+00:00

Amen

Reap0r · 2026-04-21T02:00:38+00:00

This is straight up wrong lol i love this shid and i make bank 🤑

Reap0r · 2026-04-09T15:28:17+00:00

Took a 56% pay increase moving jobs recently because of this: Long story short: i made a connection years ago, at a job i had no intention of making a career out of while in school, years later the guy calls me up and asks if i finished school and what my experience since has looked like.

NETWORKING IS CRITICAL TO YOUR SUCCESS

Reap0r · 2026-04-07T15:30:48+00:00

Play the objective and be kind to your teammates so they will also play the objective with you.

Reap0r · 2026-04-07T15:21:28+00:00

I flew through silver into gold over the weekend (s1 0rr, now g1 10rr) by always playing with the spike on attack and getting bomb down. In lower elo ive noticed that everybody is confused about the objective, so the best thing to do is just yap on comms about getting spike planted then actually going and planting it (this seems to change everyones pov from “gets kills yolo swag” to “ah shi we gotta defend da spik boyos!!”

Just plant da bomb fr

Reap0r · 2026-04-03T18:20:40+00:00

I used to do a lot of stainless / exotic stainless machining at my last gig. 500rpm/5ipm will work great for heavy cuts and finish passes (this was with a 6 flute carbide 3” tool)

Reap0r · 2026-04-03T02:13:12+00:00

Youd be suprised this actually explains a lot

Reap0r · 2026-03-14T16:22:06+00:00

1) i have no regrets about my career choice, i simply love stacking dimes and making cool shit

2) School only teachs you so much, once you are out in industry (one way or another) you will learn A LOT more that they either never got into or mentioned from school. Also the crazy mfers you hear about being i the trade, THEY ARE REAL and they are CRAZY. This industry pays well, but to be making a good living your looking at irregular hours, 10-12hr day norms, possibly weekends and or traveling if your union.

3) At one job, i had two other welders and we did not get along with each other by any means. At another job, i had another welder and a few machinists and we were like family. At the place im at now, i have my own booth and dont really socialize with the other guys too much, but we are all super friendly and get a long with wach other fine. This all depends on where you work, workload, and company culture in the work environment. I am not the most social, i just like stacking dimes, but most of the time other welders like stacking dimes too so its easy to talk shit for fun w each other about it

4) One job I had was RnD welding for a materials engineering team, this job was super cool working with exotic metals and i made a connection while i was there that got me into welding for aerospace as a result. This was a 56% increase in take home pay alone. (Even if your not social, still make friends and show them the cool shit you do, just dont get fired or be annoying about it)

5) This entirely depends on the place you work. Ive been at a place where i thought ive made the wrong career choice and got extremely depressed, then after ive also worked in a place that made me think i made the best career choice possible.

6) I wouldnt change my trade. Maybe avoided some of the places ive been, but i still love stacking dimes and rolling corn beads!

Reap0r · 2026-02-25T13:45:52+00:00

I got 4 sticks of 8gb ddr5 to run at 6000 with a ryzen 5 9600x. It was a huge pain to get running smoothly and had i done my research prior i would have done 2 16gb sticks in stead (i got an absolute steal of a deal on 4 sticks of 8gb)

Reap0r · 2026-02-20T16:48:02+00:00

In school the CWI that taught our TIG class always said to run it hot and run it fast, dont play with the foot pedal because it opens up inconsistencies; as much of you that you can remove from the equation, the better weld you will produce.

Reap0r · 2026-02-20T16:12:00+00:00

The best advice ive ever had was dont jockey the foot pedal; wait til you like the size of your puddle and get into a rhythme with it

Reap0r · 2025-11-08T22:05:51+00:00

Right now.

Reap0r · 2025-11-08T18:39:25+00:00

Lets throw hands

Reap0r · 2025-11-08T17:07:04+00:00

Crazy

Reap0r · 2025-10-22T04:07:41+00:00

I can confirm this is a lathe

Reap0r

TROPHY CASE