What will you be doing when you grow up? Will you be a firefighter? Or maybe an astronaut?

Whatever you choose, if you’re smart and lucky enough to select your lifetime job, something you love to do, then you’re not working, you’re playing! But of course, how can you know that in advance?

You can do this by starting at the earliest possible age to look around, to see what’s going on, to ask people what they do, and to ask yourself what you would like to do.

It is quite common for children to follow their parents in selecting their work. That’s because there is an opportunity to learn over the years what that job is all about and become familiar with all aspects of your daily practice.

Welding, a profession I know a thing or two about, is a collection of many quite different activities, all of which have in common some connection to the main goal of making parts by joining materials.

In the current global situation, welding is a much sought after occupation due to the lack of qualified welders. Therefore, the time is right to get instruction and training under the best conditions, through various promotion programs sponsored by educational institutions, industry associations and even unions, mostly with guaranteed employment after graduation or certification.

For anyone who is attracted to technical subjects, this profession has many advantages, as it presents many levels of knowledge and skills that can appeal to a young person. Therefore, a position at a certain time can be an exceptional starting point for learning and doing something new, where previous experience is a precious asset and a foundation for the new job.

It can be an enviable advantage to start learning the manual skills of the welding trade in one of the different most used processes. Whatever the advancement, the basic experience gained through hard work will forever remain invaluable experience.

From there many avenues open up, with proper study and proper training, to operating automatic equipment, to supervisory positions, to any of the possible inspection and testing jobs, to the education and training of new welders, to sales representatives for manufacturers and suppliers, to advanced positions of technical and engineering responsibilities.

The welding profession is changing rapidly. New processes, new materials and new applications are constantly being studied and developed because the industry and progress require solutions for more challenging objectives.

For the alert person, the opportunity to get involved in something new and important can become a reality, simply by being in the right place at the right time.

Welding is a profession that can give real satisfaction to young people who, knowing their tendencies and their ambitions, are willing to commit seriously to learning and developing their skills.

Having explored how they will grow into it, and having made sure they know what they are doing, they can select it with confidence. It’s a challenge with rich rewards for the right people. Can it be for you?