There are a lot of misconceptions about welding such as what kind of work it is and what kind of people weld.

When Jennifer Simpson first came to Arc-Zone.com she knew little about the industry.  ”I didn’t even know much about welding– except maybe what I’d seen in movies. Flashdance comes to mind, of course,”  she said.

The longer Jennifer worked at Arc-Zone, however, the more fascinated she became.  ”It’s not the actual work, per se, but rather what people do with metal that is amazing,” she said. As she learned more, she also became interested in the stories behind the people in the industry, and particularly the women in the industry, of which there are few. As of 2006 only 6% of welders were women according to Bureau of Labor Statistics, in spite of a projected shortage of welders, and the fact that there are good paying jobs out there.

With a hat tip to Rosie the Riveter, the iconic World War II factory worker, Jennifer developed a regular feature on the CarmenElectrode.com blog called “The New Rosies.” (http://www.carmenelectrode.com/category/the-new-rosie/)

Through this column she has profiled women who weld in a variety of industries, chipping away at some of the lingering stereotypes about women who weld and some of the misconceptions about what kind of work welding is. With the JoeWelder.com blog, Jennifer initiated a feature called “Show Me The Metal” (http://joewelder.com/category/show-me-the-metal/) to profile all kinds of interesting welders and a variety of welding applications.

Both of these endeavors have showcased the incredible people in our industry to well over 130,000 web views world wide in the past year alone.

What does this have to do with What Welding Looks like?

Well Jennifer has been honored with the Image of Welding award from the American Welding Society.

There is an official ceremony planned for the FabTech Welding Show in Chicago (November 15-18).  Jennifer is unable to attend, but said, “I am honored to receive the award, especially since writing the columns and meeting welders is one of the best parts of my job!”

For More Information

• If you are interesting in welding, click on the link to access a list of welding disciplines, career opportunities and welding schools throughout the U.S. •Click on the link to access awelding school in your area. • Jennifer Simpson, the creator of the carmenelectrod.com, a welder’s Web site, gives some tips for women in the welding industry. Click on the link to read her suggestions. •Click on the link to get some information on where to buywelding clothes for women.

Check out this shout-out Carmen Electrode got on News 8 Austin!
This sidebar is taken directly from Channel News 8’s page on this article about women welders:

Welding industry could use a feminine touch

8/6/2009 11:58 AM

By: Bonnie Gonzalez

The welding industry could use a woman’s touch.

If you think welding is a man’s job, think again.

Carissa Love is a top welding student at Texas State Technical College in Waco. She’s on an equal playing field, if not higher with the rest of the crowd, according to welding instructor Ryan Rummel.

“She’s one of the best welders that we have here. Considering that she is the only girl out of 250 guys, she does a good job,” Rummel said.

CONTINUE READING ONLINE ->

Not only are Carmen and our own Jennifer Simpson mentioned, but so is her article on Tips for Women in the Welding Industry and below it, Arc-Zone.com’s welding gear for women!

Thanks so much for featuring us Bonnie Gonzalez and News 8 Austin!

Editor’s Note: Yes, we know that carmenelectrod.com is not the actual name of this website, but the link itself is correct!
(It’s www.carmenelectrode.com, but you already knew that)

I was invited to guest blog over on the Miller Viewpoints blog…  while I appreciated the opportunity, and am truly honored that they asked, I have to say it was a little different blogging through a corporate machine.  First off, they wanted 250 words.  Two hundred-fifty words?  Are you kidding me?  that just gets me started! “The 250 words is just a rough guide,” they assured me.

So, I turned in my 876 word piece, Weld Like A Girl: Tips for Women in the Welding Industry. And waited.

Five days later, word came back. “Because it’s longer than we typically use for a single post, we’re going to make it into a series…” said my Miller contact.

Sounded fine with me.  I was proud of what I wrote, and three posts is better than one!

And so I waited some more as the edits, the approvals, and the blog post itself wended its way up the corporate chain of command. Word finally came back a week and a half later, “….they would only approve uploading the first topic, covering ‘Knowledge is Queen’”

[sigh]
(more…)

I just love the  new site.  It’s so easy for us to update, add new product, and hopefully for our customers it will be easier as well.  Please let us know if there is something on the site that you don’t see….  that you want…   or information that would help you make the right buying decision.

I’ll be posting this regularly on the sidebar– once Jon the web guy gets on it. Hope it’s useful!

You’ve talked to us on the phone. You’ve emailed an information request, or faxed over a request for quote. Maybe you’ve even joked with us, told us about your latest welding project, or your new TIG welding machine.

Now, you can find out a little bit more about us, the crew behind the website, the guys and gals on the other side of the phone line, the ones making sure you get your M&Ms with every order….

Arc-Zone.com has just launched a new and improved “About Us” section, with pictures and mini-profiles of each of us.

Hanna Pajunen just joined the Arc-Zone.com team, heading up sales and customer support. Actually she joined the team last month, but I’ve been remiss in updating the blog with Arc-Zone.com News.

You’ll hear her voice when you call (we do have a Toll Free Number 800-944-2243 if you’re calling from the US…. 760-931-1500 for our international friends).

Get to know more about Hanna, and the rest of the Arc-Zone.com team when we launch a new updated About Us section at Arc-Zone. Coming Soon!

Thanks to our new webguy..   my blog got a facelift!

Lots of things going on behind the scenes–  new web guy–  and on the front page.