FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q. What is welding, anyway?
A. Welding is the joining of two or more materials through heat or heat and pressure, forming a bond between them.

Q. How hot does it have to be to melt steel?
A. Steel melts at 2,800 degrees Fahrenheit.

Q. What is the most common form of welding?
A. The three most common welding processes are:
· Gas Metal Arc Welding, or GMAW, which uses a consumable wire electrode. This method is commonly used in high-production manufacturing and construction.
· Gas Tungsten Arc Welding, or GTAW. This welding process uses a nonconsumable tungsten electrode to make high-precision welds. It is most commonly used in the food, aerospace, and nuclear industries.
· Shielded Metal Arc Welding, SMAW, uses flux-covered electrodes. Often called “stick” or “stick-electrode” welding. Commonly used for repairs and occasional welding.

Q. What is Resistance Welding?
A. Resistance welding is a form of welding where, instead of an arc, electrical resistance and pressure are applied to fuse metals.

Q. How important is welding to the American economy?
A. Welding-related expenditures in American industry and construction were at least $34.1 billion in the year 2000 alone. These expenditures are equivalent to more than $325 for every U.S. household.

Q. Is welding a good job prospect?
A. The Occupational Outlook Handbook calls welding an “excellent job prospect” for 2004. In fact, the average age of a welder in today’s workforce is 54. Many of these welders will retire within the next 10 years, creating a tremendous need for skilled and experienced workers to replace them. The U.S. Department of Labor predicts a shortage of 250,000 welding professionals by the year 2010.

Q. How many welding professionals are working now?
A. Some 600,000 to 700,000 welding professionals currently work in the United States. Many are engaged in work critical to the nation’s well-being, such as energy production, highway transportation, manufacturing, and military applications.

Q. Do I need an education to be a welder?
A. Yes. High-tech manufacturing applications using newly developed materials are creating a greater need than ever for a highly educated workforce, and nowhere is this truer than in the field of joining and cutting.

Q. But, isn’t a lot of manufacturing moving overseas? What jobs are still available for welders in the United States?
A. Many jobs for trained welders exist. Jobs that require significant technical skills, such as welding, are expected to increase 50 percent in the next 10 years. A significant portion of the U.S. energy and transportation infrastructure was constructed in the 1950s and 1960s. Now, 40 to 50 years later, skilled welders are in demand to maintain and update these facilities and structures. Advanced technology is creating more uses for welding in the workplace and expanding employment opportunities.

Q. Aren’t there too many welders already?
A. No. In fact, nearly half of U. S. industries report difficulties locating qualified individuals with welding expertise – from apprentice welders to engineers. In addition, some 60 percent of the new jobs in the early 21st century will require skills that are held by just 20 percentof the present workforce. Welding is a prime example of such skills specialization.

Q. I’m interested in a career in welding, but I’m also interested in computers. Is there any way to combine my interests?
A. Yes. Computer skills are increasing in importance as welding professionals become responsible for programming computer-controlled welding machines, including robots and lasers.

Q. What is the American Welding Society?
A. The American Welding Society (AWS) is a volunteer organization composed of officers and directors in 22 Districts and 173 local Sections throughout the US and the world. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, AWS is supported by a staff of more than 100 professionals. Visit the Society’s Web site at www.aws.org for more information.

Q. What is the mission of the American Welding Society?
A. To advance the science, technology, and application of welding and allied processes, including joining, brazing, soldering, cutting, and thermal spray.

Q. How long has the American Welding Society been around?
A. AWS was founded in 1919 by Harvard professor Comfort A. Adam, who was selected by Woodrow Wilson to chair the Welding Committee of the Emergency Fleet Corporation as America entered World War I. The outstanding performance of welding in readying U.S. war and transport ships encouraged Adams to form the American Welding Society as an organization dedicated to using this technological phenomenon in as many applications as possible.

Q. How many members does the American Welding Society have?
A. AWS serves nearly 50,000 Individual Members and more than 1,200 Corporate Members worldwide. Individual Members include engineers, educators, researchers, welders, inspectors, welding foremen, company executives, and business owners. Corporate Members include welding manufacturers, independent welding shops, job shops, distributorships, end users, and educational institutions. Member interests include automatic, semi-automatic, and manual welding, as well as brazing, soldering, cutting, ceramics, lamination, robotics, lasers, safety, and health. Additional information on Corporate and Individual memberships is available on the AWS Web site at www.aws.org.