Becoming A Welder: My I-Search Is Welding

The topic I am researching for my I-Search is welding. The reason I want to be a welder is because it is something I really enjoy doing and many of my family members are welders. Welding has many ups to the job but it also has its downs to it also.The ups to the job are it pays well in the beginning and the more experience you have the more you make and you also get to admire the work you did. The downs to the job are you tear down your body very quickly and also have the chance to have a pipeline explode and kill or severely injure you. I also want to weld because it is something that I love doing it and want to make a career out of it to maybe one day support a family with my career. I thought I would begin my I-Search with the history
The working hours are average about 40 hours a week but you also get overtime which could run up to 70 hours in a week. There is also many hazards the common ones are hot materials, the arc, and electricity but there are also many hazards from where your welding like pipeline you could have a pipeline explode or underwater welding you could drown. There is also safety equipment you must have like a welding hood, leather boots, safety glasses, welding gloves these are just some of what you will need. There may also be times you are in a confined space or share a space with others and work in awkward positions for hours
Some of the jobs I found are pipefitters, structural metal workers, welding and soldering machine operators, and many more. The job that interests me most is underwater and pipeline welding which underwater is probably the most dangerous welding job there is and pipeline welding a very physically demanding job. “Approximately 352,250 welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers are employed in the United States” (Encyclopedia of Careers 964). The outlook is slower than average but welders can move from the oil and gas to structural welding but there are new pipeline and infrastructure that is going to open up jobs. The growth rate for Ohio is very large which is about 4.4% and about 399 jobs opening which is very high for for the national average.
In conclusion there are many reasons to become a welder from good pay to seeing what you helped to create but there is also many dangers to the job that could possible kill you but to me it’s worth the risk to do what I love doing. I also found that if I get a good job in a good location I could make good money to support a family. I could also get good benefits if I join a union or if the right job offers benefits I could be set for