This from the American Welding Society features Jessi Combs, fabricator extraordinaire (and Troy Trepanier and Bryan Fuller. Oh, and Jay Leno makes a guest appearance). I’m interviewing her for our next NEW ROSIE. She is currently participating in the Baja 1000. Not sure in what capacity, but I’ll get the details soon. In the meantime, check out this video. Welding as a career is hot hot hot!

Hopefully we’ll be seeing some serious investment in infrastructure in the next few years, and the opportunities for highly skilled fabricators will only grow exponentially. (you can’t send a bridge to China for repair!)

The Skills USA Championship is a well-known competition for high school and college students pursuing careers in trade, technical and skilled trade professions.

With various categories for participants to compete in, Sara Bingham seemed like an average participant at the Skills USA Utah State Championship. However, when she was announced as the first place winner in welding, Bingham stood out among her competitors.

“They called my name and everyone in the audience kept looking around to be sure they really heard a girl’s name. When I stood up, everyone’s mouths fell open in shock,” Bingham said.

Bingham welded for the first time as sophomore in high school at her father’s metal recycling business where she worked since she was 8. But, it was not until she took an advanced welding course at her high school that she began taking an interest.

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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]
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Most land lubbers stop at a gas station or two when they be travellin’ ‘tween Pennsylvania and Florida.  This lass, however, dropped anchor in Virginia t’ help weld up a pirate ship.

“It was a real good thing I showed up when I did. I made a lot of repairs from the welders that were there before me then I helped build the deck and above. It was probably the best job I ever had,” said Terri Asby.

Terri’s interest in welding was sparked at a Norfolk, Virginia high school in the late 70s.  She took all the elective classes that were offered:  cooking, sewing, small engine repair, wood shop and then welding, where her teacher James Reynolds took a special interest in her. “I could go to his class anytime I wanted….to build things. I built a rabbit cage, go cart, a six- foot shelf, and a coffee table to name a few,” she said.

The next year, Terri went to a vocational school where she learned even more about welding.  Then a classmate brought her an application for the Newport News Shipyard.  She applied, got the job and worked there for two years.  “They certified me for many different techniques–  ones that a lot of people never heard of, and I have not used since, but it made my resume look good!”
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With a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Dayton, Erin Justice was a good catch– for Lincoln Electric’s technical sales team. “I was recruited….right out of college,” she says.

As a native of the Cleveland area, Erin was familiar with the reputation of Lincoln Electric, a leading manufacturer of welding equipment. It was the people at Lincoln that clinched the deal. “Lincoln is a big company with a small company feel,” she says. “Everyone is very personable.” The combination of technical expertise and a pleasant work environment seemed to be the perfect fit.

Erin’s official bio states that although she had some experience welding during a stick welding lab in college, it wasn’t until she went through 16 weeks of welding classes at Lincoln’s renown welding school that she learned the special skills needed to excel as a technical sales representative in the Detroit District office.

As an engineer, it’s not surprising that Erin finds the challenge of welding to be a big part of the draw. “Welding is an art that requires a lot of practice. There is a lot of science and technology behind that art,” she says.

She is familiar with SMAW, GMAW, FCAW and SAW but counts GTAW as her favorite. “It takes a lot of time and skill to get good at. The skilled TIG welders I’ve met always have the best tips and tricks and it’s amazing to watch them work.”

Discrimination has not been a problem for Erin. “As a woman I don’t think people expect you to know a lot about welding. Once you show that you know what you’re talking about, it doesn’t matter what gender you are,” she says.

As proof, after a year and half, Erin was able to parlay her experience and skills to a move back to Cleveland where she is now a corporate trainer along with three other technical trainers at Lincoln’s headquarters. The school trains customers, distributors and Lincoln employees by providing general product knowledge, background for sales knowledge and best practices on maximizing productivity.

Growing up, Erin’s parents encouraged her development in math and sciences while her grandfather—an engineer—encouraged her to pursue her education in engineering. Had she known then what an integral part of her career welding would be, she probably would have advised her fifteen-year-old self to take a class or get involved with a welding club.

As for young women interested in welding as a career? Erin would encourage them to consider a career in welding even though women are still a minority. “There are a lot of great career opportunities available…. If you think about it, there aren’t too many things that you use on a daily basis that haven’t in some way been touched by welding.”

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The Lincoln Electric Company, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is the world leader in the design, development and manufacture of arc welding products, robotic arc-welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment and has a leading global position in the brazing and soldering alloys market.

Since 1917, the Lincoln Electric Welding School has instructed over 100,000 men and women in the various methods and techniques of safety and arc welding processes. These Lincoln-trained students are in high demand by a variety of welding fabricators, at pay levels that exceed industry average. In addition, the school is listed by the Ohio State Board of School and College Registration, under certificate number 71-02-0059T. The Lincoln Electric Welding School is the oldest and one of the most respected arc welding schools in the United States.

A common thread among many women welders is that they were first introduced to welding by a man in their lives. Laura Knight is no exception. “I started welding copper water lines with a plumber and then married an air conditioning technician who welds steel…. and I learned wire feed welding from him,” she says.

Rather than welding as a trade, Laura moved into a more creative endeavor with her new found skill, working with metal to create “paintings” and sculptures. With a painter for a father and a mother who works in jewelry, it was a natural move. “Artistic welding is my career now,” she says, and with over 300 paintings sold has chosen her career well.

She first tried to learn welding when she was in her twenties but found the process frustrating and the helmets uncomfortable. She couldn’t do the designs that she wanted and soon gave up. “I had to wait until the technology caught up with me,” she says, referring to the auto-darkening helmets.

Ideas come to Laura as full-scale, full-color, three-dimensional pictures in her head. She then draws her idea, “Then it’s out to my outdoors-under-the-awning-workshop to put it all together.”

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Stefi Beck doesn’t look like a welder– at least not when she’s doing a show at a local coffee house in Toronto. A singer, songwriter and guitar player, Beck is coming into her own as an artist, but for the time being she earns her living as a Steamfitter Apprentice.

“I got into welding because I wanted a job with flexible hours that would allow me to travel. I am a musician and am very keen about playing music and I needed a job that I could physically do, and [would] allow me to have a musician’s lifestyle,” Beck says.

Beck is part of the plumbers and steamfitters union and works for a large company. Welding is part of the steamfitter apprenticeship.

The most common welding process for steamfitters is stick welding, or SMAW although Beck (shown at the right) is cutting pipe with an oxy acetylene torch for a school assignment.

Beck started her training at George Brown College night school. “Once I figured out I really liked welding, I did a four month course at Babcock and Wilcox, a big welding company in Cambridge.”

Beck landed an apprenticeship with the steamfitters union soon after that. “I lucked out big time!” she says.

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I first “met” Debra on MySpace. Her MySpace handle is SteelWitch, which is a bit of a misnomer. She should be called Copper Witch. Not because she is a witch, but rather because she has an affinity for copper.

She and her husband have a custom fab shop up in the Sierras not too far from Sequoia National Park. The Metal Shoppe does some incredible work, specializing in custom copper range hoods, kitchen countertops. When I put out the call to interview women welders, Debra volunteered right away.

When did you start welding?

Started school in May 2000

What made you want to pick up a torch and start melting metal?

Started out learning a little bit from an ex-boyfriend who had a little Miller 110 welder he used for working on a hot rod he was building.

Was there someone in particular who introduced you to welding as a career option?

I started out going to auto body shop to learn more about body work and part of that class was basic welding. I started to entertain thoughts of a career change at that point -

How did you train? How long have you been welding?

Two years in Fresno City College welding program. [I've been welding] since starting school in May 2000. Was fortunate to pick up an entry level job in a fabrication shop by June 2000 and have migrated from shop to shop working my way up.

I see your specialty is in copper, can you tell me a little bit about what draws you to copper, and how you work with it? How is it different than other metals?

I started working in copper when my husband and I opened our own shop in 2004. It all started with one copper kitchen hood. That is how I found Archive Designs’ website and saw the repousse work they do there. Went to a class to learn it and have discovered other things to make with copper along the way.

I like copper because it is easy to work with. You can heat it, anneal it, hand form it, weld it and do all kinds of different colorations with patina processes and heat. Because it is a softer metal – it can be easier to work with in some ways than steel. It obviously depends on the application. And again, there are a variety of colors and textures you can apply that do not work the same way with steel – I guess you could say it is more versatile that way. For exterior use – it doesn’t rust like steel.

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There’s been a lot of talk lately about the welder shortage:

• “Solving The Welder Shortage: he nation is starving for welders. Here’s how you can make a difference.” by Jim Horvath
• “Solving the Welder Shortage One Tinkerer at a Time,” Miller Viewpoints
• “Where Have all the Welders Gone…” by Ilan Brat, Wall Street Journal

And there’s been a lot of talk about why women don’t become welders (too tough a job, too dirty, etc)

The fact is there are a lot of misconceptions about what kind of work welding is, and what kind of women weld… and I’d like to do my part to change that.

I’m initiating a new regular feature for this site, Women in Welding, and plan to feature women welders.

If you know a woman who welds, or if you are a woman who welds and would like to be featured, contact me directly: carmenelectrode –at– arc-zone.com. (or you can use the Contact Carmen Electrode form). I’m looking for all kinds of women to showcase the variety of opportunities there are for women whether its your hobby or profession I want to hear from you!