Cons of the Welding Profession Welders may experience some dangers and discomfort on the job including burns, eye discomfort, exposure to hazardous materials and a lot of physical effort. You may find yourself in tight spaces, working in hot weather or welding in wet and cold environments.
The pros of being a welder are competitive benefits and many different ways to begin, while the cons are dangerous work and long hours.
Welding can be a physically taxing job, but it can still be dangerous. Welders work with electricity and gasses and are exposed to flammable materials and blinding light. If proper safety precautions aren't taken on the job, you could find yourself sick, injured, or worse.
Welders can very easily burn or seriously hurt themselves. This has a tendency to create stress. You're also working under demanding deadlines. Often you have to work at night or outdoors (because you're on a construction project and it's hard to build a building indoors).
Opportunity for Advancement—As welders hone their skill set and learn the inner workings of the industry they are working in, they are opening doors for themselves. If you work hard and perform on the job, you may have the opportunity to advance to become a supervisor, instructor, technician or inspector.
Prolonged exposure to welding fume may cause lung damage and various types of cancer, including lung, larynx and urinary tract. . Health effects from certain fumes may include metal fume fever, stomach ulcers, kidney damage and nervous system damage.
Becoming a welder takes a lot of talent, skill, and determination. However, it is unlikely to get a job as a welder without mastering the necessary techniques. A welder's profession necessitates a thorough understanding of architectural plans and other core competencies.
Selection of Welding Parameters: Selection of parameters for various base materials is the biggest challenge welder face professionally. For example, in the automotive industry, due to introduction of light weighting concepts, the new generation steels are being used.
Being a welder can be an exciting and rewarding career for those who enjoy working with their hands and have a passion for metalworking.
Materials: Typically used on stainless steel and non-ferrous metals such as aluminum, magnesium, and copper alloys. Signs of a bad weld include: Burnout, no filler metal used, wide flat bead without distinct bead pattern, erratic beads, tungsten inclusion, porosity and/or undercutting.
Welding can be a technically-challenging job. To achieve high-quality welds, you need steady hands and good hand-eye coordination. This is one of the skills that takes the longest time to develop when you enter a welding apprenticeship or trade school.
In many cases, welders work in shifts. For our welder, he works the evening shift, which is typically 10 hours per day, four days per week. He'll clock in upon arrival at the worksite, place personal items such as jackets, hats, bags, and lunches into a secure locker, and then change into protective gear.
Despite these obstacles, many women have been successful in breaking into the welding industry and are now enjoying rewarding jobs. These women frequently express significant levels of professional satisfaction and the ability to put their expertise to use in practical, essential tasks.
They can work for a company or can own their own business. The field of welding is very flexible and in high demand around the world and is found in most every industry in one way or another.
Needless to say, math is critical in the field of welding and proves itself to be very necessary for a welder to do their job successfully. Knowing whole numbers, fractions, decimal conversion, geometry, formulas, trigonometry, and other math skills make a welder invaluable to their team.
For this reason, strength and physical stamina can be important to welding. Welders typically must be strong enough to lift and handle heavy materials. Welding is a physical job, so being in good physical condition, and able to bend, stoop or reach while working is generally considered to be helpful.
“The person has to have motivation and a willingness to learn something challenging.” Deeter says personality traits of a good welder include ethics, honesty, and the ability to work as part of a group, as well as work independently.
Metal fume fever
Many welders get flu-like symptoms after welding. The effects are often worse at the start of the working week. Metal fume fever is usually linked to welding or hot work on galvanised metals. High exposures to mild steel weld fume can also cause this illness.
Pneumosiderosis, or more commonly referred to as Welder's lung, is an occupational lung disease that occurs after chronic inhalation of iron dust particles, especially in welders.
However, cross-sectional and case studies have associated exposure to welding fumes with higher blood pressure (BP) (10), impaired cardiac autonomic function (11), decreased heart rate variability and ectopic heartbeats (12), as well as damage to human coronary artery epithelial cells (13).
One of the most common issues in welding is slag inclusion – the small particles of flux that become trapped in the weld metal. Prevent it by using the correct current and voltage, and by making sure your flux-coated consumables are well-maintained and in good shape.
Using the wrong rod or process is a common mistake among new welders, as is using the wrong rod or wire diameter.