And the intense shortwave UV radiation from the welding arc. Hopefully he takes the proper precautions against that stuff. Skin cancer doesn't seem like a nice thing to have.True and they get to deal with the elements. Many just wouldn't do it. $38/hr for welders at Plant Vogtle.
Sisters step son cleared over $100K as an electrician at Kimberly Clark. He was 27 at the time. Pretty good $$ for S.C.
There's nothing stopping him from investing in taxable accounts though.Most likely, can't invest much in 401k unless certain conditions apply. Highly compensated employee status will most likely kill him.
Even with long hours, far better than McService jobs that many more are working, but you wouldn't guess it bases on replies to this thread.
I am so sorry I learned electronics. Most things these days are cheap throwaway or sent to Korea for repairs.
Should have done welding, automotive, carpentry, plumbing, anything that people will always need.
There's nothing stopping him from investing in taxable accounts though.
I am so sorry I learned electronics. Most things these days are cheap throwaway or sent to Korea for repairs.
Should have done welding, automotive, carpentry, plumbing, anything that people will always need.
I used to work at a defense contractor fixing 1kw radio amps. It was sad to see guys who had worked in electronics their whole lives feeling stressed because electronics repair is on the way out.
That being said, they didn't seem to mind working a shitload of overtime and in some cases were still clearing $100k+. I just wonder what will become of that ten years from now.
Ohh, those would have made nice amateur radio setups if they could be modded for the correct frequencies.
problem is jobs come and go. So he may work several years then hit a dry spell. Then many in those fields never plan long-term so they go bust faster and harder than others. Let alone the amount of time you have to put in and the health affects. Welding is not nice, esp if you do not use ALL the proper safety equipment.
Where I grew up there was a plant that paid well but every couple years they let people go due to slow times or lost contract. It never failed the week after that announcement boats, cars, motorcycles, and all the other toys went for sale in the paper as payment was due soon.
So its not as rosy as it sounds long-term for many and you have to move around a lot to keep good paying steady work. Like all things in life you have to give up something to get something else.
Instead, he attended Texas State Technical College in Waco, and received a two-year degree in welding. In 2013, his first full year as a welder, his income was about $130,000, more than triple the average annual wages for welders in the U.S. In 2014, Mr. Friends income rose to about $140,000.
I used to work at a defense contractor fixing 1kw radio amps. It was sad to see guys who had worked in electronics their whole lives feeling stressed because electronics repair is on the way out.
That being said, they didn't seem to mind working a shitload of overtime and in some cases were still clearing $100k+. I just wonder what will become of that ten years from now.
I don't know shit about amateur radio, but they are 3-30mhz amps, standard HF. My guess is amateur radio works on those bands for range purposes?
They could be run individually or chained into a 4kw setup, but they were also something like $20k a piece, so there's that. Haha. Not sure how much the exciter cost.
So he's an edge case doing something most people can't ever hope to do. Cool story, bro.
My ex BIL chose this path along with his best friend. They got certified (or however it is they term it) to weld oil and gas pipelines. Started out living in Colorado and traveling to sites and settled in Wyoming where he lives today. Along the way he accumulated enough to buy the company in partners with his best friend. The company was primarily building mining equipment on site at that point. Equipment that was too large when assembled to transport on roads.
He ended up with two airplanes, one suited for short trips and one for long so that he could visit job sites if needed. He and his partner sold the company for mega-millions maybe ten years ago. He was probably in his mid-forties at that time.
My sister had long since grown tired of his traveling and being away for a month at a time while he was still welding and divorced him. One of her many less than smart moves.
24 yr old Earns 140k/yr Welding
Millennials hate him!
True but the trades beats the hell out of an art appreciation degree for $100K.
Plumbing has made my bro a lot of $$ but he's driven like no one I know. I didn't get that trait.
What if you aren't good at doing trade work?
What if you don't like to do trade work?
Should you be a trades person? If you don't like to do that type of work, what do you think the outcome will be? Are you going to put out good work? Will you have a successful career? How long are you going to last at your trades job if you don't like to do the work? What abut the stress from a job that you don't care about?
Last I checked no one is forced to work any jobs in the US so should a person not like working in the field or a job they deem to be too hard and/or stressful they can seek a job elsewhere which could wind up being something they hate even worse and get paid much less as well.
I remember back in my 20's where we'd joke about some of our friends who were art majors.
One is now living comfortably as a teacher and another drives a Mercedes and drinks a lot of pricey wine.
I would like all the salaried employees on this thread to be honest about the amount of hours they are really working. What he is doing doesn't seem that unreasonable to me. I wish I was getting paid hourly.