4 ms·

A career with similar average salary would be teaching. Four year tuition is an average of 25k in state and 41k out of state.[0] Welding school is typically 5k

A career with similar average salary would be teaching. Four year tuition is an average of 25k in state and 41k out of state.[0] Welding school is typically 5k to 15k [1] and takes two years or less. Despite how things played out for the particular case covered by this author, there is a good argument for welding. It may not make you rich. However, if you don't like the traditional college route, then welding and similar trades offer comparatively good pay/training trade-off. * https://www.valuepenguin.com/student-loans/average-cost-of-college https://www.valuepenguin.com/student-loans/average-cost-of-c... * https://education.costhelper.com/welding-school.html https://education.costhelper.com/welding-school.html

bobloblaw45 7y ago
Paying for welding school is just one way you can go. Apprenticeships will pay for you to go while paying you. Also there's non union options where the company teaches you while paying you. If you think about it, with the proper guidance and motivation it's not impossible to do both, learn the trade and take a night class or online course with your community college a term at the same time. It's really unfortunate how the trades were looked down upon in the past. I remember in high school it wasn't even an option since all the adults would kind of hide that option from students since it wasn't what "smart" people did.
cr0sh 7y ago
One of the other nice things about welding - while it may not make you rich - is that you can do it to some degree almost your entire life. It's the same with a lot of trade skills. I'm a software engineer - that is what I know, and what I do. But I'm already above the "age ceiling" that we all know exists - but somehow (maybe due to the fact that I keep my skills current?) I have stayed employed and haven't been subjected (to my knowledge) to not being hired because of my age. I'm also not in SV or any other "high earning" area, and I like small "mom-n-pop" vs large established companies (with all the politics and other junk) - so I've never earned 6 figs - nor will I likely ever. But what I do earn pays my bills and keeps a roof over my head, and allows for entertainment for me and my family. For now. But someday that won't be there. Then what? Well - I intend to work until I die - that is, code forever. I know there are plenty of software engineers out there much older than I am who are still employed. So maybe it isn't as bleak as I think. But I do know this: When I am not employed, I can't just "go around the neighborhood" or "advertise on craigslist" or "hang out a shingle" that says "Got a broken fence? I can weld it for ya! Call me @ xxx..." Which is something tradespeople can almost always do. In their "retirement years" they can become handypersons, do side-jobs welding or carpentry, or maybe simple auto repairs (or even more complex ones if they have the tools and strength left). Plumbing and electrical isn't out of the question either. They may not make bank, but they likely won't starve, either. For myself? I'm not sure what I could do. One thing I do know I can do - just not well enough to be employed at it - is weld. I can also use a hammer, saw, plane, whatever - I do have some wood and metal shop skills. I also work on my own automobiles. Whether I could convince someone else to let me fix their issues - well, that's just some marketing and hopefully doing it right for them (just hand me that grinder and paint - I'm no tig stacked-dimes artist). So there's that to be said about the trades - that it is something that can be done to keep some form of food on the table, even if it's just helping out neighbors for a few dollars. Nobody wants to hire an aging software engineer to code up a simple website or something like that any longer it seems. Those older SWEs typically find their gigs maintaining aging and creaking software in a language nobody uses any longer (and fortunately for me, I do have skills in Perl, VB3 thru 6, classic ASP, some COBOL - and it seems PHP may be headed that way too).
- spaced-out 7y ago
  When I was in grad school I made extra money on the side making/maintaining websites and apps for small businesses in the area. I generally charged between $35 and $50 an hour. This was in California, so I image the hourly rate would be lower in a low COL area.
- owenversteeg 7y ago
  That is an interesting take on it I haven't seen elsewhere in this thread! And I'm with ya, "grinder and paint makes me the welder I ain't"
  - contingencies 7y ago
    Added to https://github.com/globalcitizen/taoup https://github.com/globalcitizen/taoup
- bluGill 7y ago
  For me I have a retirement plan that is maxed out. I plan to keep busy in retirement, but I'll be working for myself. I plan to buy a better welder and some days I'll make a model of some weird thing that catches my interest. Other days I'll stay inside and write some code. At nights I'll practice piano, if I'm lucky I'll advance to the point where I sound okay. Today software puts food on the table.
- PorterDuff 7y ago
  I think you've got your head on straight, although it's probably best to think of the old-programmer problem as a kind of half life. Every year, some percentage of the remaining ones drop out, often through no fault of their own. The main thing is to panic now instead of panic later. Ease into a Plan B before it's a dire necessity.
- tathougies 7y ago
  I have worked in a few startups and there are lots of old software guys. The biggest reason why there tend to be fewer of them is because most old software engineers used to be young software engineers, which meant they had access to obscene amounts of capital via their incomes, and thus exited from 'wage earner' to 'full-time investor'. The only old software engineers tend to be those that didn't use their capital wisely (or didn't care to) or that went through divorce or other financial trauma. > When I am not employed, I can't just "go around the neighborhood" or "advertise on craigslist" or "hang out a shingle" that says "Got a broken fence? I can weld it for ya! Call me @ xxx..." Also... I have no idea why you think you can't do this. Before I went to college for computer science, I did exactly this, and made quite a bit of money. But, I think this goes to what I said above... some people are aggressive with their skills and money and you tend to not find them at work.
solidsnack9000 7y ago
Seems like the biggest problem facing this guy was English class and math class — not learning to weld. No particular reason we should be teaching welding at a college as opposed to an actual trade school. Tradesmen should not be held up by a need to analyze “The Purple Letter” or “Sir Gatsby & The Green Knight”.
- lwhalen 7y ago
  Let's not forget such basics as "showing up on-time".
  - solidsnack9000 7y ago
    Not something taught at the more advanced educational institutions in the US :)
WillPostForFood 7y ago
$25,000 is the total cost for in state including room and board, fees, etc. Tuition only is $9,970.

bobloblaw45 7y ago

Paying for welding school is just one way you can go. Apprenticeships will pay for you to go while paying you. Also there's non union options where the company teaches you while paying you. If you think about it, with the proper guidance and motivation it's not impossible to do both, learn the trade and take a night class or online course with your community college a term at the same time. It's really unfortunate how the trades were looked down upon in the past. I remember in high school it wasn't even an option since all the adults would kind of hide that option from students since it wasn't what "smart" people did.

cr0sh 7y ago

One of the other nice things about welding - while it may not make you rich - is that you can do it to some degree almost your entire life. It's the same with a lot of trade skills. I'm a software engineer - that is what I know, and what I do. But I'm already above the "age ceiling" that we all know exists - but somehow (maybe due to the fact that I keep my skills current?) I have stayed employed and haven't been subjected (to my knowledge) to not being hired because of my age. I'm also not in SV or any other "high earning" area, and I like small "mom-n-pop" vs large established companies (with all the politics and other junk) - so I've never earned 6 figs - nor will I likely ever. But what I do earn pays my bills and keeps a roof over my head, and allows for entertainment for me and my family. For now. But someday that won't be there. Then what? Well - I intend to work until I die - that is, code forever. I know there are plenty of software engineers out there much older than I am who are still employed. So maybe it isn't as bleak as I think. But I do know this: When I am not employed, I can't just "go around the neighborhood" or "advertise on craigslist" or "hang out a shingle" that says "Got a broken fence? I can weld it for ya! Call me @ xxx..." Which is something tradespeople can almost always do. In their "retirement years" they can become handypersons, do side-jobs welding or carpentry, or maybe simple auto repairs (or even more complex ones if they have the tools and strength left). Plumbing and electrical isn't out of the question either. They may not make bank, but they likely won't starve, either. For myself? I'm not sure what I could do. One thing I do know I can do - just not well enough to be employed at it - is weld. I can also use a hammer, saw, plane, whatever - I do have some wood and metal shop skills. I also work on my own automobiles. Whether I could convince someone else to let me fix their issues - well, that's just some marketing and hopefully doing it right for them (just hand me that grinder and paint - I'm no tig stacked-dimes artist). So there's that to be said about the trades - that it is something that can be done to keep some form of food on the table, even if it's just helping out neighbors for a few dollars. Nobody wants to hire an aging software engineer to code up a simple website or something like that any longer it seems. Those older SWEs typically find their gigs maintaining aging and creaking software in a language nobody uses any longer (and fortunately for me, I do have skills in Perl, VB3 thru 6, classic ASP, some COBOL - and it seems PHP may be headed that way too).

spaced-out 7y ago
When I was in grad school I made extra money on the side making/maintaining websites and apps for small businesses in the area. I generally charged between $35 and $50 an hour. This was in California, so I image the hourly rate would be lower in a low COL area.
owenversteeg 7y ago
That is an interesting take on it I haven't seen elsewhere in this thread! And I'm with ya, "grinder and paint makes me the welder I ain't"
- contingencies 7y ago
  Added to https://github.com/globalcitizen/taoup https://github.com/globalcitizen/taoup
bluGill 7y ago
For me I have a retirement plan that is maxed out. I plan to keep busy in retirement, but I'll be working for myself. I plan to buy a better welder and some days I'll make a model of some weird thing that catches my interest. Other days I'll stay inside and write some code. At nights I'll practice piano, if I'm lucky I'll advance to the point where I sound okay. Today software puts food on the table.
PorterDuff 7y ago
I think you've got your head on straight, although it's probably best to think of the old-programmer problem as a kind of half life. Every year, some percentage of the remaining ones drop out, often through no fault of their own. The main thing is to panic now instead of panic later. Ease into a Plan B before it's a dire necessity.
tathougies 7y ago
I have worked in a few startups and there are lots of old software guys. The biggest reason why there tend to be fewer of them is because most old software engineers used to be young software engineers, which meant they had access to obscene amounts of capital via their incomes, and thus exited from 'wage earner' to 'full-time investor'. The only old software engineers tend to be those that didn't use their capital wisely (or didn't care to) or that went through divorce or other financial trauma. > When I am not employed, I can't just "go around the neighborhood" or "advertise on craigslist" or "hang out a shingle" that says "Got a broken fence? I can weld it for ya! Call me @ xxx..." Also... I have no idea why you think you can't do this. Before I went to college for computer science, I did exactly this, and made quite a bit of money. But, I think this goes to what I said above... some people are aggressive with their skills and money and you tend to not find them at work.

solidsnack9000 7y ago

Seems like the biggest problem facing this guy was English class and math class — not learning to weld. No particular reason we should be teaching welding at a college as opposed to an actual trade school. Tradesmen should not be held up by a need to analyze “The Purple Letter” or “Sir Gatsby & The Green Knight”.

lwhalen 7y ago
Let's not forget such basics as "showing up on-time".
- solidsnack9000 7y ago
  Not something taught at the more advanced educational institutions in the US :)

WillPostForFood 7y ago

$25,000 is the total cost for in state including room and board, fees, etc. Tuition only is $9,970.