Learning how to weld

by Kimberly
(Wood River)

Is it hard to learn how to weld, I have a welding class at school and I just wanted to know if it was harder for a girl or boy to do it? Or is it the same, or does skill only come from practicing?

We're only going over the safety tips right now, but I'm still a little worried that I might mess up. I'm the only girl in class and I really don't want to get made fun of because I messed up.

Are there any tips that a new person starting out should know?

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Kimberly,

girls can learn to weld just as easily as boys.

back during world war II, women welded airplanes and tanks, while a great many of the male work force were overseas at war...and they did a great job. If it werent for the women welders, we would be speaking a different language today.

just google "rosie the riveter pictures" or "wwII women welders"

I started welding school in 1977 and didnt even know what welding was. Seriously.

I showed up in dickies khaki work pants, chuck taylors, and a rock and roll t shirt.

they let me weld all day in a t shirt...safety was not emphasized very much back then.

i got severely sunburned but i loved the day anyway. i could tell i was on to something.

each day built on the next. thats the way welding curriculum are supposed to work.

so, i said all that to say this...if i could learn, so can you.

it takes focus, thought, evaluation, determination.

just like a golfer thinks about what went wrong on a bad shot, a welder thinks about what went wrong and what to do differently to make the next weld go better.


good luck