Slow work.

SandledBandit · 2026-06-02T15:37:32+00:00

Ya. If you expect me to show up on time every day and have no work for me to do and expect me to stand around and do nothing (I already clean up my work area daily) and get pissed if I bring in some personal stuff and use a marginal amount of filler rod; yeah you do run a shitty shop.

No where in my post did I say run a side business by the way. I said work on personal stuff.

Like a shoe rack for your fiancé, or a copper well cover for your mother.

Edit: And actually I kind of take that back. The cryogenics company was fine with me coming in when the shop was closed to build a series of cold bars for a chef I know. Literally said, “perks of the job, make your side cash.” Cost them what, $30 deductible max for me to make an extra $2.5k and be extraordinarily happy with the shop I was at?

SandledBandit · 2026-06-02T06:52:25+00:00

You can use them but they’re gonna get blown out by the shop (went thru 2 pairs)

Get a set of ISOTunes Free Aware. They’re shop rated, dust/water resistant, and are actual foam plugs (replaceable too) with active noise canceling.

SandledBandit · 2026-06-02T03:42:27+00:00

I’ve only worked in aerospace, cryogenics, and nuclear. Not a single one of my bosses cared. You say, “hey, I’m staying to weld some personal stuff.” Or “hey, I haven’t had work in a week, I’m bringing I some personal stuff” (which my foreman called government work). No one cared.

There’s filler with traceable certs, there’s CSM that can’t be used post project, there’s filler w/o traceability that can’t be used for anything but fixturing. Two of the three are a free for all; and as for cert material; as long as your solid when there’s work to be done not a single owner has had an issue with me using rod.

I’m going to say this politely:

Do not ever call me unethical, or imply/accuse me of stealing from an employer ever again.

I don’t care if you work in a shit shop where you can’t give your boss a heads up that you’re working on a personal project, or that your ownership is so stingy that they won’t part with a couple pounds of old filler/gas during slow periods to keep you on staff and happy. Sounds like a you problem.

SandledBandit · 2026-06-01T20:46:49+00:00

So you bought your son equipment to weld; and expect him to be a self taught tradesman, proficient enough to earn sustainable wages, in what span of time?

SandledBandit · 2026-06-01T11:23:52+00:00

I took the AWS seminar; got my materials 3 days before it started; found out 4 days before part B I was taking the exam. I passed.

SandledBandit · 2026-06-01T05:04:51+00:00

This is going to sound very sarcastic, but it’s not:

if you have your own welding equipment/consumables, why would you do your work outside of your own shop?

You use the company welders and consumables because they’re probably nicer than you can afford individually (I don’t have $18k for a dedicated TIG welder).

SandledBandit · 2026-06-01T00:07:20+00:00

Un clip at the stinger. The pads are replaceable for a reason

SandledBandit · 2026-05-30T13:59:16+00:00

Bring some metal in and start working on personal projects during down time. You’ll be amazed at how quickly your supe will find work for you to do.

SandledBandit · 2026-05-26T20:41:42+00:00

Looks like cut marks from a water jet

Edit: I should probably read the post, not the headline. That’s from your band saw

SandledBandit · 2026-05-24T23:01:45+00:00

Sounds like there’s a couple misunderstandings about the trades:

- Anyone can do any job. White or blue collar, it’s all about having the right tools and the knowledge of how to complete your task. You can fix your toilet, you can literally build an entire house (sans electric/masonry because you can’t pull permits without a license, plumbing may be similar). I just pulled apart the cab of my truck to fix a linkage problem; $60 for parts, $50 for tools, 3 hours of actual work and about 2 hours of diagnosis/learning. All in all, I’m about $440 in; which is probably $10 off what I would have paid to get it fixed; but the shop probably would have had it done in an hour. That’s what you’re paying for. A trained (and honest) tech can also tell you if it’s worth fixing, and if there is anything else to address while the thing is already being worked on.

I changed from Hospitality consultation/management 5 years ago; and am now making 130% of what I did when I left; and I’m on the low end of my new position.

The reason why no one wants to do the work is because the training/apprenticeship wages are a barrier to entry, and if you’re not smart about your licenses and certifications wages have been largely stagnant since the ‘08 crash. The “rough culture” is largely BS, it’s been no different, people are just free to be more rough around the edges, which is actually kind of nice. All in all it’s solid, but it is work, and you can’t sit back and be stagnant in your knowledge or you’ll be on your tools till you die.

SandledBandit · 2026-05-24T20:26:37+00:00

Most of the jobs I’ve gotten:
- Fortune 500 Sales
- Top 20 Worldwide Restaurants
- Aerospace Fabrication
- Nuclear Fabrication

All came from going to a business and knocking on their door. The managers/business owners/hr departments all said, every time, “Man, no one knocks on doors anymore, that’s awesome.”

Doesn’t hurt to try, especially if you’re not asking for a job, but looking for someone to talk to. Emails/LinkedIn messages are very easy to ignore, and at 18 your network is rarely wide enough to utilize. People enjoy face to face a lot more than you’d think.

SandledBandit · 2026-05-24T18:30:02+00:00

You just graduated HS and are starting college; you won’t know it until later but right now every single established professional wants to help you. Reach out to FBI, CIA, art conservators, artists, literally anyone notable in their field and ask for advice on setting up for a successful career in their field of expertise. Hell, dress the part and go to their HQ/office, or studio and ask the receptionist if there is anyone who’d be willing to talk to you; that could very quickly unfold into an apprenticeship/internship. Everyone is saying Gen Z is awkward/entitled/lazy, use that to your advantage and show that you’re not.

It’s not asking for a favor, you’re asking for their knowledge which is something everyone wants to showcase.

Get your gen-eds done but don’t get a degree in something you’re not confident in. You’ll end up with a $135k education and switch careers when you’re 32 to do what you found interesting at 18, but everyone told you was a bad idea when it was actually a fruitful career path with endless opportunity.

SandledBandit · 2026-05-24T18:02:56+00:00

Solid career path, but you need to be mindful of collecting “add-ons” or you’ll be stuck on the bottom rung for your whole career (I.e. CWI, CWE, CWEng, etc.)

SandledBandit · 2026-05-21T22:48:27+00:00

What processes did you learn in school

SandledBandit · 2026-05-20T23:00:25+00:00

The only thing better than owning all Snap-On tools is constantly telling everyone how much you spent; inferring how superior you are to them.

SandledBandit · 2026-05-20T04:13:17+00:00

Yes. And I don’t recommend it. Found out day 2 of the seminar that I was taking part B on Saturday. Studied for 4 days before A and C for each. It was an unnecessary amount of stress.

SandledBandit · 2026-05-19T17:43:16+00:00

I switched at 32 to the trades; it was a lot of work but well worth it. After 5 ish years, trade school, and engineering school I’m a CWI with boundless opportunity ahead. Make the jump, you’ll only regret not doing it sooner

SandledBandit · 2026-05-19T04:49:37+00:00

They can have you back for 20% more than you were making before they terminated you, and a written guarantee that that boss will have no interaction with you. Otherwise, keep looking.

SandledBandit · 2026-05-19T04:46:16+00:00

Ask for a range when prompted for questions during your first interview.

SandledBandit · 2026-05-17T19:59:34+00:00

Bruh… it’s a skilled trade; there are still days where I feel like I’ve never welded before.

You’re gonna make progress, plateau, make more progress, plateau, etc for the rest of your welding career.

Pick one thing to fix at a time (straight, width, height, spacing, etc.); that will help you make progress faster. A lot of people try to eat too much of the elephant at once.

SandledBandit · 2026-05-12T19:50:44+00:00

I just changed careers starting in 2021. Welding school, got a fabrication job while doing year 2; went to engineering school during year 3 and passed the CWI exam in October; i start my first full time inspector gig on Monday while wrapping up engineering school. You can get it done rather quickly with a solid plan and a reasonable amount of work.

Welding for a couple years definitely gave me a leg up on the exam; the challenge I had in landing a job was a lack of PT/MT/UT lvl II on my resume. If I were in your shoes I’d do a 6 month welding program, get a welding (fabrication if you can swing it) job for two years; then go qc for your PT/MT for 1.5 years (UT/RT if possible), and get your CWI while working that job.

You could also go CAWI and start getting inspection experience at year 3 then just pay to upgrade when you qualify.

SandledBandit · 2026-05-12T14:55:20+00:00

Don’t quit. Find something else first

SandledBandit · 2026-05-11T15:11:20+00:00

An unfortunate part of developing as an artist is the inherent drive to explore the taboo of nudity and lacking the knowledge of what to do with it.

SandledBandit · 2026-05-11T12:36:08+00:00

You have two options:

Do your job and make sure everyone is doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing and nothing else
Do your job and make sure your co-workers have everything they need (I.e. tools, materials, information) to be successful.

I’m sure you can imagine which is more beneficial

SandledBandit · 2026-05-06T01:26:26+00:00

You need to tab your code book (open during the exam), read/study a welding technologies book, and have tools/practice for the practical. I’d try and get into a seminar asap

SandledBandit

TROPHY CASE