Weld Test

I’m a female welder. Jobs I have, never last long. A few weeks maybe a few months, even a few days. It’s a career that has me traveling through states. The years I’ve been welding I’ve been able to help my family and maybe a friend here and there with money knowing I probably wouldn’t get that money back. I love them so who wouldn’t help their loved ones.

2020 was a bad year for a lot of people and I am one of them. It’s hard enough getting a job as a female welder in a machismo male dominated industry. Contractors you work for all have clicks and most of the hiring is done if you know someone who referred you in. So your resume or experience doesn’t really matter. It’s one of those jobs where you have to have money to make money. It’s a little expensive to start out because your tools and fire resistant clothing can be pricey.

It’s a job where you have to take a weld test for every job you work that’s with a new company. So you're not guaranteed employment until you prove you can weld. Your weld is most commonly tested by X-ray or a bend test. Your weld is shot by X-ray to see if you have cracks or holes in your weld. They usually show up as white spots or white lines on the film. If it’s solid with no indications, you pass. For a bend test, the pipe you welded is cut into 4 pieces and your weld is put in a device that bends your weld at the center. If it bends with no cracks or without breaking in half, you pass. This test gets you a badge and in the gate. Then you have to take a production weld test. That’s the weld you take in the field. If you fail this, your tool box is loaded and you are walked to the gate.

Depending on where you get a job you most likely are not working close to home. I have a travel trailer, it’s my home. It’s what I live in to be able to work jobs in other states. Why can’t I get a job in one city and make money? The answer is you make more money if you're a traveler. This industry is full of them. Now, you can get a job in maintenance or in a shop but those jobs won’t pay as well as being on the road. Traveling can be tough, it’s lonely and I personally never know how long I’ll be at a job or where I’ll be working next. Usually when I leave a place, it’s suddenly.

I’ve been pretty independent most of my life. I went to a university, graduated and through a series of unfortunate events I landed in the welding industry. I’ve worked in primarily refineries but I’ve been in gas plants, a nuclear plant, a paper mill and a few new construction jobs.

I worked only 3 months out of 2020 and was not able to get any unemployment. So I stretched what money I had. I’m stubborn so asking for help is difficult for me. I have $700 in my bank account and on my way to take a weld test that is 1600 miles away from me. So for the third time in my time welding I am driving to a weld test that will cost me the last of all the money I have.

On the road, I realize I don’t have enough money for an RV spot when I get into the town. My weld test is not scheduled for a few more days. So I swallow my pride and call one of my friends. Who just started a new job in a new state himself and is making half the pay compared to his last job. I ask him if I could borrow $500. He says “how can I get it to you?”

I am so grateful for his act of kindness and emotional about my current situation. Believe it or not this is the way I live my life. And when I travel to a new job or take a weld test states away I have no choice but to believe it will all work out. It has too.