Last Tuesday I stopped into the shop, did a practice joint, banged out the test and actually felt confident that I did a good job. My instructor recently let me know that I passed, finally! And pretty soon I’ll officially be certified in carbon steel TIG welding. He recommended that I also do aluminum which would only be about an extra 10 hours or so (and increase my chances of getting a job), but for now I think I’m going to stop here. I’m not sure this career path is for me for a lot of reasons. I’m really happy that I got the certification and I can always come back to it. I also may want to explore at some point what I can do artistically with this kind of welding.

So this has been my blog. My goal was to post every time I went to the shop for training and write about my progress. Here and there I get messages from people asking me questions, and I want people to know that I’m still here and available to help in whatever way I can. It’s important to me that women see what options are availabe to them, and it’s hard to know what’s possible if it’s not being represented.

I worked at a liquor store for a year and socked away money that I used to pay for training. Part of me is disappointed that I ended up not liking welding as much as I thought I would, but a bigger part of me is glad that I explored this option. I hemmed and hawed for two or three years over whether or not I should do it...I talked myself out and into it many times. There came a point where I decided to stop thinking and just jump into it not knowing if it was going to be good or bad and was ready to accept the outcome. I think that’s the most important thing I experienced. Thanks for reading.

Okay, forgot to update. The Thursday before last consisted of me practicing the test joint over and over. I nailed it once. My instructor could tell I was getting frustrated. I threw my welds into the scrap bin hard and he was like, “are you okay?” I was like “No.” He was like, “you got it once, why can’t you do that again?” and I said that I think I can do it when there’s no pressure but when I’m on the test metal I get psyched out. He agreed that’s what’s happening, and said he does the same thing. I wanted to try to take the test again really badly, but realized I needed to just chill. My instructor said he wanted me to go home and wait til after the holidays to try again. So that’s what I’m gonna do!

Frustrations are mounting! I feel like I’ve been on this one joint for like...two weeks? Sometimes I can nail it and sometimes not. And now I have PMS so I was dropping everything and wanted to punch a wall and am impatient to get everything over with. I took a shot at the test today. It psyched me out so of course I did well on the practice joints, panicked a bunch while doing the test weld, and I got a phonecall just now to tell me that I failed. I have to go back in on Thursday.

Yesterday I practiced the butt joint and flipped it back vertically. I forgot how hard that was.

Friday, you guessed it! More butt joint.

Thursday was more practicing of the butt joint horizontally.

On Tuesday my instructor tried to help me figure out why my welds were consistently not great. He told me to go back to horizontal so I could practice it in an easier position, and to remember that I need to adjust the heat for the thickness of the metal. I finally got it to come through the way it should, because for a while I was getting this concave weld on the other side. So at least now I know for sure what it’s supposed to look like.

Monday was the same stuff. Practicing vertical square butt. I’ve been having problems getting it to come through the other side neatly. I’m due to take the test any time, provided I can consistently do it well.

Yesterday was lovely. Someone brought in doughnuts, as you can see. A bitch loves a French cruller. There’s a new dude over on the TIG side of the shop because he just finished MIG who’s nice and keeps checking in on how I’m doing and chatting with me. Like @brownmegacorporation suggested in a comment on one of my posts, I feel like I’d be happier doing welding in a team setting to get that social aspect, so maybe that’s a goal if I want to stick with it. STICK with it LOL GET IT

I think I’ll be taking the test on Monday. I’m gonna need to not be an idiot and feed myself breakfast so that I’m not shaking from low blood sugar and caffeine and making my welds look like dancing earthworms.

Thursdayyy was the usual. I got some new gloves that are smaller and fit better. I worked on the vertical square butt. My weld keeps coming out really big and looks like I’m using too much rod so I’ve been tinkering with the amperage trying to get it flatter and neater. I hit 50 hours this week and I’m getting ready for the test. Yiiikes.

On Tuesday I finally moved on to the vertical square butt joint. It’s actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. My instructor also mentioned that he wants me to get on some aluminum so I know how to do that, too. He said it’s softer and more difficult.

I woke up late today lolll so I’m going in at 12-2 instead of 10-12. I actually look forward to going in and chatting with the woman who welds in the booth next to me. I’ve been watching her get more confident slowly and she’s opening up to me more and asking me about boys in my life and such, haha. I thought this whole thing was gonna be a really lonely weird process and it’s funny how things just kind of get better out of nowhere. ON THAT NOTE, lately I’ve been thinking that this career might not be for me. I want to finish and get my certification so that I have it as a tool in my toolbox for the future if I want to pick it up again, but I think I want a job that’s more social and engaging. Idkkkk.

Haha lol omg I haven’t been updating. Monday was a lot of practicing vertical T-joint aaand going over the theory worksheet. I was so stoked to sit in a little desk and be in a classroom again and my co-welder (??) was rolling her eyes.

Yesterday was more of the same. I was super tired though and couldn’t get a consistent bead. I’m at 44 hours now.

Oops, forgot to update for last Wednesday. Continued working on the vertical T-joint is all.

Last Friday there was a lot going on. One of the welders I’ve been training with since I started had his last day and I was sad to say goodbye to him. One of the welders who just started wants me to date her handsome sons. Since I arrived late that day, I overlapped with the arrival of some trainees I haven’t seen before and I started talking to one of them. We discovered we went to the same college.

I continued practicing on the vertical T-joint and I’m getting way better at it. My instructor wants me to start looking for jobs on my own now and I’m freaking out a little. I still don’t feel ready and I haven’t even started blueprint reading. Not to mention that the guy at last week’s interview kept mentioning that I might not be physically strong enough for certain aspects of the job. Sigh.

Moved on to the vertical T-joint, motherlickers.

Today was a spicy day. I arrived and my instructor recommended a job to me. I was wishy washy about it and he asked me why. I said I was worried that I’m not ready, and that I’d get there and they’d be like “do this” and I’d be like “idk how” and then they’d be mad or whatever. He said that every job is going to be like that, there’s always going to be challenges. He said he could tell I was scared and the way to learn is to jump into things. I said I’d think about it, and he said “why don’t you call them today.” Not really a question, lol.

I’d also like to point out that I really need this. I need someone to push me. I know I’m not a bad welder. But my hackles go up and I go into flight mode when it comes time to “prove” myself. With my art, too.

So I called them from the shop. I told them I was responding to a job opening that was emailed to my instructor. Once I finally got connected to the right guy, I asked if I could meet with him to talk about the job. GET A LOAD OF THIS. He goes, “I’m confused, are you going to help us find a person to fill the position?” and I go

No, I AM THE T I G W E L D E R

And then he also goes, “oh well, it’s not just TIG welding. You have to be mechanically inclined.” Oh, we’ll see. WE WILL SEE.

Both sides of the vertical butt. He said I have a bit of an undercut along the sides of the weld and that’s not good. Working on it. He also said I have the basics of it down and now I just need to make it look neater.

I talked to him about what the next step is and asked him questions about certification stuff. He said it’s okay for me to start poking around looking for jobs now. Scary! He mentioned in our convo that I’m very “about business” meaning I just get to work and I’m focused, etc. and I felt a little glowy about that.

I also need to learn how to blueprint read lololol