I worked in a shop just like this. It boils down to “We want an extremely talented welders that are willing to work for the same wage as a production mig welder”
Hi ! I’m actually the girl in the video who works there & i can say that they definitely don’t pay me the same that they pay the mig production welders since i do the tig work. Thankfully our boss sees and appreciates our value here, but i have worked at shops where they payed like trash, wanted us to work like robots & didn’t value our work. I can totally agree that a lot of shops are like what you’re saying though.
Always see the environment first, look at the materials beign Welded and what is expected from you in the interview. Then you can come up with a number in your head that you can consider decent, and a number they can consider affordable. You can make deals with them, if you know your very good. Ask to have it in writing to try you out for 3 months and if you prove yourself to be top notch, reliable, on time, then they can give you your requested pay (THEY HAVE TO, ITS ON PAPER!). But some companies like to make a deal right there and then during interview. I remember I had arrived to a company for a weld test in North Houston, once I saw I Beams, Angle Iron (No Pipe in sight) and what I consider to be "Undocumented" people gouging with the air gouger, I immediately said "Nope, this job probably pays 17/hr tops" and just left.
Versatility counts for You gotta be willing to weld and fit, stick and tig, Mig and fluxcore, and or do all the welding processes. Custom work pays very well, because your building the projects with the sorrounding areas in mind, that way when it arrives at the jobsite or gets built On-site, it will have that "Just Right" type of look.
Recently learned fusion 360 for 2d and 3d sketching to export to a langmuir crossfire. using mach 3, and a small 3d printer for small jigs and such. A blessing being able to weld projects that are accurate and ready to go.
trying to figure out what the engineer just printed out in CAD, like drawing's in wax crayon have made more sense. all the symbols half printed because the resolution of the print file was compressed to send in an email... yuck.
I remember I had gone to a container company near La Porte, and they were seeking a Tig welder that can weld sanitary tubing (schedule 10). After my test, I ran a few fluxcore welds to see how well I did on structural. Then, I met with the big boss, who offered me 19/hr. I said no and left, I then interviewed with a hose company in Deer Park, tx, and had another weld test to weld schedule 10 material to 1/4" rings. They told me they have called and tried many people. I passed my test and got offered 20/hr (i said no to that as well). Really you can't blame these companies because you need to see the environment first and come up with a number that you can consider decent, and what they can consider affordable
It's good for beginner welders that want a stepping stone. However, I do understand that jobs like these want Jack of all trades for a value wage. But you can't blame them
