Underwater Welding Schools

Underwater welding schools teach a certain skill set that is really quite a lot of fun to have in your database of knowledge.

Underwater welders are the guys you see on TV building bridges and repairing them, getting people out of sinking cars and fixing underwater pipe lines. It's really a cool job if you can get the training you need to get started. The underwater welding training program is a highly specialized training program which is designed to prepare students and apprentices to work toward welding skills both above and below water. Many of the related careers are often located in shipyards, around lakes, rivers, and oceans where qualified professionals work on large vessels like ships and barges. There are risks associated with the profession, therefore, following procedures and adhering to safety regulations is paramount. After a given number of years of experience some underwater welding professionals move on to related careers in quality control, engineering, welding instructor, and other areas related to underwater welding schools and the curricula offered.

Underwater Welding Training and Education

The underwater welding field is much different than normal welding. In fact, there's really no such thing as just a "welder". Most people who do weld only weld as one small part of their job. Say, for example, a sheet metal worker who builds ducts might also do some welding when asked for a custom rig. Underwater welding, however, involves a specific range of knowledge.

Underwater welding certification requires one to be well training in areas that include general welding and experience and related training, as well as in areas such as diving. Courses in underwater welding schools may include underwater welding techniques, joining steel plates, electrodes and weld terminology, basic weldability and common weld defects, and welding quality assurance and quality control. Courses may include:

• Occupational safety training
• Quality assurance and quality control
• Electrode and welding terminology
• Underwater welding techniques
• Safety in underwater welding

You need to know the "rules", you might say, regarding welding underwater. You need to know melting points, materials that will and won't work, as well as safety precautions. it takes entirely new welding equipment to do it underwater. It's really hardly even the same thing as dry welding. It's a whole different skill set and in fact, knowing how to weld already probably won't help at all when learning to do it in water.

Underwater welding Career Opportunities

Luckily, there's always work in underwater welding, even in a recession. The fact is that, with or without this recession going on, we still need our bridges maintained, people are still needing work done under water. A ship that needs repairs would be better suited with an underwater welding expert repairing the cracks than to haul the thing onto land and fix it there.

There's really quite a bit of work out there and graduates of underwater welding schools are prepared to take up jobs in various industries. We'll go ahead and list a few of the places you'll want to look below. Being a field, rather than an industry, underwater welding actually applies to a wide number of industries, including...

Construction

Clearly, there's a place for water welding in construction. As we mentioned above, we'll always need people building our steel bridges. But, beyond simple bridges, we also have buildings that need foundations constructed underwater. We have pipelines running underwater that need to be constructed. We have submarine bases and constructs for researchers and military.

Marine Maintenance and Repair

Beyond boats and such, anything that can be built underwater eventually needs to be repaired... Underwater. There's a huge aspect of construction and building repair and maintenance that takes place under the sea.

Industry

Factories and warehouses and shrimp farms and various manufacturers along those lines. These manufacturers may need repairs taken care of within a shrimp tank or some such and not want to empty the entire thing. They may have underwater operations and such. If you live in a coastal town, there's a good chance of finding a factory or other industrial building or company that needs an underwater welder from time to time.

Estimated Income and Projected Career Outlook

Some welder-divers earn $15,000, with a common range of $50,000 to $75,000, annually while others earn well over $100,000. Granted, the risk factor is calculated into the income level. Hence the salary range is very diverse. Also in many cases, the income is based on a project by project basis. Most welder-divers are paid on a project-by-project basis and income is therefore subject work availability. Engineering, manufacturing, and management industries all hire graduates of underwater welding schools. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics categorizes this profession under commercial diving.