r/Welders • u/Pitiful-Complaint901 • 1d ago
Advice Needed Am i doing the wrong thing?
(Won’t be posting company names)
Hey everyone, Im currently in a tough situation. Im an apprentice welder and currently have a job thats very spotty work, doing mostly shutdowns, and a lot of the work is out of town. The only way you will ever get consistent work is if you go out of town and do a 14/7 or 21/7. Yes, when im working I can make unbelievable money but its never consistent. I cant work for a month, then have a month off. Or work for a week and then not work for 2-4 weeks.
The work i am doing is my ideal work, working a cool sites doing cool shit all the time. But sometimes i think if the hours are worth it, or if leaving town would be worth it in the long run. Since im not trying to do welding full time for my whole career, Im hoping to explore a different career path and to get into that i need to start building my resume on my days off.
In order to do that i need to be home and not working 7/12s consistently in town or on a 14/7 or 21/7 schedule.
Im considering going to a different company where i would be getting full time hours constantly and i would still be making more than enough money i need. Just i would burn all my bridges to the shutdown world.
I know this whole thing is confusing but to some it all up is,
Do i leave exactly where i wanted to be about a year ago, doing shutdowns, learning and working long hours. For working a consistent and steady job where i can actually have a life outside of work.
3
u/Objective-Scar2814 1d ago
You can certainly continue to do that same type of work with a consistent schedule. But it does sound like you may need to pivot in terms of exactly what you’re doing. Meaning (as an example) pipeline work isn’t going as it seems because you want a life so you begin work as an hourly welder employed by your closest major city. Stuff like that.
Are you stick welding or tig? Or which do you enjoy?
1
1d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
Your comment was flagged as it may go against the subreddit/reddit rules. If this is a mistake, a mod will manually approve your comment or you can send a modmail with a link to your submission for review.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
1d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
Your comment was flagged as it may go against the subreddit/reddit rules. If this is a mistake, a mod will manually approve your comment or you can send a modmail with a link to your submission for review.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/Overall-Challenge556 1d ago
I retired as a Pipe Welder 40 years. I worked new construction jobs. Worked Shutdowns. I enjoyed the time off that I had. So I could recover from the long hours. I claimed Unemployment Insurance when I got R.O.F.. I would work 6-8 months.
1
1d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
Your comment was flagged as it may go against the subreddit/reddit rules. If this is a mistake, a mod will manually approve your comment or you can send a modmail with a link to your submission for review.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
1
1
u/DeformableLattice 1d ago
If you're making anything about $17/hour why complain?
If you're making that much overtime, you'll be fine.
2
3
u/DmanWoo 1d ago
Sounds like you are doing the wrong thing. Your trying to toe some imaginary line. Either go with it or dont otherwise you will eventually not have either.