FFA Feature
Web Page Tools Print this Article

Sparking Interest

Welding in agriculture is becoming a hot career.

Sparking Interest

Wesley Viriamontes learned to weld in his agriculture class at Gadsden High School in New Mexico.



November 2008

Like working with your hands? Don’t mind a little heat? Then listen up, because Wesley Viriamontes has just the job for you.

“Welding is a lot of fun,” says Wesley, a recent graduate of Gadsden High School in Anthony, N.M. “I liked it the first time I tried it, and I like it just as much now. It takes a lot of patience and concentration, and it can be challenging. But if you like putting things together – building things and fixing things – it’s great.”

When it comes to hot careers, welding is right up there with the best of them. According to industry insiders, the United States is facing a serious welder shortage. While more than 500,000
welders are currently employed in this country, their average age is in the mid-50s, and many are planning for retirement. Meanwhile, as the country’s infrastructure continues to grow, as bridges and skyscrapers and factories inevitably age and require repair, demand for new welders is growing faster than ever.

“The bottom line is, we’ll be short about 200,000 welders in the next 10 years,” says Jamie Pearson, vice president of training at Tulsa Welding School (TWS) in Tulsa, Okla.

“It’s bad now,” he says, “but it’s only getting worse.”

Wesley is clearly onto something. The first time he tried welding, he says, was through his agricultural education course and FFA membership. It was sophomore year, and he was taking agricultural mechanics.

“We started with stick welding,” says Wesley, using the informal term for what professional welders know as “shielded metal arc welding,” or SMAW.

Basic SMAW is the craft at its simplest. Imagine a burly guy in heavy leather coveralls wearing a scary metal mask behind a brilliant cascade of leaping sparks, and you’ve got the picture.

“We made lots of things. I think our first big project was to build a bumper-pulled trailer for car hauling,” Wesley says.

Once he gained a few skills, he recalls, Wesley entered the FFA agricultural mechanics career development event, a competition that also tests students’ proficiency in hands-on techniques like electrical wiring and carpentry.

“I had a good time learning everything,” he says. “I thought it was all really interesting. I guess I just liked working with metal the most.”

When high school graduation came around, Wesley had a decision to make. He’d considered entering the military, but he’d done so much welding, and had such a good time doing it (by the time he was a senior, the trailers he was building were 20-foot goosenecks), he eventually changed his mind. Also, he says, there was that issue about employment.

“I knew if I went out and learned to be a welder, I could come home to New Mexico and find work at an oil refinery or on a pipeline,” he explains. “There are a lot of jobs out there
for welders.”

There’s also plenty of money.

According to Jamie Pearson at TWS, where Wesley eventually enrolled, the average starting pay for last year’s graduates of its Master Welder program was more than $56,000.

“For a seasoned welder willing to travel and work long hours,” Pearson says, “it’s not unusual to make over $100,000 a year.”

When Wesley talks about welding, the technical terms of the trade roll from his tongue like beads of molten metal. There are “T plates” and “bevel plates,” “butt welds” and “lap welds.” There’s “tungsten arc” welding, “gas metal arc” welding, and “flux-cored” welding. It sounds complicated, and it is.

But the way Wesley sees it, he’s just getting started. He’s learning as he goes, honing the skills – the physical endurance, the manual dexterity and the technical know-how – that will make him a great employee wherever he decides to work.

The Tulsa program includes 10 intensive training phases and takes seven months to complete. When he’s finished, he says, he’ll not only have his diploma; he’ll also have what he needs to start his career.

“I’ll start from the bottom, as a welder’s helper, so I can learn more about working in the field,” Wesley says. “From there I’ll just work my way up.”

Story by Chris Hayhurst
Photography by Ian Curcio


Recent Comments


Only members can view user comments.

Are you a member? If so, please log-in. Not a member? Please register. Have you forgotten your password?



The National FFA Organization is dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. Visit ffa.org