Burn to Learn
I am not a blue collar man. I was born to an upper-middle class family in California who quickly moved to Vancouver, Wa to work in the high-rise offices of Portland, Oregon. In the pursuit of my engineering undergraduate degree, however, the California State University system requires its students to pass an introductory welding course.
One of the best things I’ve ever done.
Let me say this. Just like the above paragraph indicates, I have no skill at manual labor and fabrication. What started as a required class listing has turned into a journey to become a certified (and hopefully proficient) welder. During this time, my fellow welders have time and again proved that no matter how much ancient greek philosophy I know, how much calculus I can do or my understanding of musical and artistic theory, I have no innate knack for skilled labor.
Rather than being frustrated (okay, its been frustrating too), I’ve developed an immense appreciation of skilled laborers. Men of the world, heed my words: get your degree but also learn a useful trade. It doesn’t matter if its as a welder, construction worker, fabricator, iron-worker, carpenter, mechanic or any other trade craft; do it. This experience has taught me the value of a manual skill, the satisfaction of a good day’s work that leaves behind a real, tangible product. It builds character and a physical understanding of the world in which we live.
I know modern society places an inordinate amount of prestige on the marketers, salesmen, musicians, artists and writers of the world but trust me when I say…
These people are worthless without the blue collar world.
Don’t abandon the pursuit of academia and higher-learning, but get some real, gritty, down-to-earth experience. These skills are invaluable not only in understanding the basic mechanics of where you live, but will leave you a more independent, adept individual.
For the aspiring welder I have several suggestsions:
- Start with the basics: learn Shielded-Metal Arc-Welding (SMAW) first. Whether you call it “stick” or “manual” welding, unless you have a compelling reason to start elsewhere, start here. Wire-feed processes (MIG, FCAW) are more common and relevant to modern production but they’re also a helluva lot easier. If you start with a stick you can move up to an automatic welding “gun” no problem. I can’t say the same for the other way around.
- Buy an auto-darkening helmet: as a beginning welder, you are going to have a hard time learning with a solid-shade lens. I know, I’ve been here. Sure, its a more expensive, but it’ll help with your weld starts (and stops) in ways that I can’t begin to describe. It helps take the edge off of the already steep learning curve and will spare you the aggravation of having to reset your hood when your rod sticks or you miss the plate. Unless you plan on being a professional tack-welder (or TIG welder maybe?), there’s probably not a reason to spend $300 on a pro-style auto-dark hood but you can find a decent single-shade arc-welding hood for under $60. Its worth the investment.
- Get some solid booth time: as with all skilled professions, this is a process that takes time to learn. Understand that if you want to be a good welder there is no substitute for experience. Like the title says: burn to learn.
- Know your tools: even though theory is no substitute for experience (see above) you need to understand your tools and that means reading. Learn about your various welding processes (MIG, TIG, FCAW, SMAW) and what they’re good for. Understand how the welding machines you’re using work and what the alien looking dials and nobs on it do. This is important, a lot of people skip it. Don’t be one of them.
I think the above bullets apply for a lot of skilled professions. Start with the basics, buy good quality tools (they’re worth the investment), get experience, and learn the theory (okay, maybe not in this order necessarily). If for some strange reason, your high-paying accounting job gets out-sourced to India, I get the odd feeling you’ll be glad you have a manual skill to fall back on.
Most people don’t understand the world they live in and don’t have any idea what it takes to build it. Don’t be like them. Be better than them.
Mass Idiocy.
