Career Links Vol 2 No 6 April 2003
Firing Up a New Career:
An Interview with Rich Rowe,
Professor and
Career Program Facilitator,
Metal Fabrication (Welding)
Interviewed by Kit Gorrell Frankenfield,
Employment Systems
Technician
JCCC Career Services Center
Rich Rowe not only teaches four classes in the welding program at JCCC,
but he is program facilitator as well. JCCC provides well-equipped
laboratories that enable students to receive instruction in blueprint and
symbol reading for welders, oxyacetylene welding and cutting, plasma, arc
cutting (PAC), shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), gas metal arc welding
(GMAW), gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), basic machining, metallurgy and
allied processes. The program is accredited as an American Welding Society
Participating Organization in the Training and Testing of Entry Level
Welders. Eligible students may elect to test under AWS QC10 certification
guidelines and, if successful, be listed in the AWS National Registry of
Entry Level Welders. For more information on this program, contact Rich
by email at rrowe@jccc.edu or by telephone at (913) 469-8500 Ext. 3719.
Program information is also available on the Internet at http://www.jccc.net/home/depts/1226.
The American Welding Society Web site also offers a great deal of
information at http://www.aws.org
Career Services Center: Rich, tell us what you do at JCCC.
Rich Rowe: I am a metal fab welding instructor and the career
program facilitator. I teach Introduction to Welding, Advanced Gas and
Arc Welding, Welding Processes, Wire Feed Welding and Advanced Wire Feed
Welding.
CSC: How many students are currently in your program?
RR: Around 60.
CSC: What is metal fabrication?
RR: Metal fabrication to most people is bending, twisting, shaping
and forming metal. Basically, at JCCC it means welding or welding
technology. The only real metal fabrication we do other than cutting and
drilling is through the machine shop course that we teach that uses
turning lathes. That’s where the fabrication part comes in. Our focus is
mostly on welding. Welding is fusing metal, or coalescence, joining
together of the grain structures within the metal. Welding is melding the
parent metal to a liquid state, adding filler to it and building upon it.
CSC: Do we offer an underwater welding class here at JCCC?
RR: No we don’t. There are plenty of jobs for underwater welders,
but it’s not for everybody. About 80% of the students who start underwater
welding don’t finish due to the physical conditions, such as sinus
problems, fear of being in the dark or being alone, for example.
CSC: What makes this program unique?
RR:We have an articulation agreement with Johnson County Technical
School. Students complete two years there and then come directly into the
advanced classes here at JCCC. Personally, I’m concerned about the
future. Welders are going to be in demand like underwater welding is now.
There are 176 jobs available and only 30 graduates. They can pick and
choose where they want to go. All across the nation, high schools and
colleges are cutting welding programs because of the high cost to have
them. So, the number of people being trained is decreasing. It’s also
expensive for the students who have to pay around $200 out of pocket just
for a welding helmet and there’s an additional cost for the gloves.
CSC: How did you become interested in welding?
RR: I grew up in Pennsylvania in a coal-mining region. My dad was
a coal miner and drove a coal truck. When I was about six or seven, my dad
and I went out to an auto repair shop where his truck was getting fixed.
When we got there, the owner (Dutch) was welding. I felt this big hand
push my face back and my dad kept saying, “Don’t be looking at that.”
But the green light was so attractive that I just couldn’t stop looking at
it. So Dutch came over and gave me his helmet, which was pretty big to a
little kid. But I could see through the black glass when he would strike
the arc. I’ve wanted to weld ever since that moment. I don’t have very
many memories of my dad because he died when I was seven, but that one is
very vivid. But I never really had an opportunity [to study welding]
until I was in the Air Force.
CSC: What is your educational background?
RR: I didn’t have the opportunity to take welding in high school
because it wasn’t offered. I took the automotive program. Then, when I
joined the Air Force, I was assigned to the Minute Man Missile systems
because I scored high in electronics and mechanical ability.
While I was in the Air Force, I was stationed in North Dakota. Because my
wife worked in the evenings at the university there, I decided to take some
adult education classes. One of those classes was welding. From that time
on, I knew I wanted to be a welder.
When I was discharged from the Air Force on a Friday, I started a new job
as a welder the following Monday. I worked as a welder for three years.
I worked with a young man right out of school and they brought out a new
piece of equipment and he knew more about it than I did and I was supposed
to be his supervisor. I saw the writing on the wall. So I quit my job and
went back to school for a year in Morehead, Minnesota. The next year I
taught at Bismarck Junior College and took classes when I wasn’t teaching.
I got my associate’s degree there. Then, I taught at the local high
school while I finished my bachelor’s degree in Social Behavioral Sciences
at the University of Mary. When I came to JCCC, I finished my Masters
degree in teacher education at Pittsburgh State.
CSC: What tips do you have for students entering the field of
welding?
RR: First, you need to be willing to work and do what’s asked of
you. A lot of times students don’t like to do things like clean up. They
like to weld, and make a big mess, but they don’t like to clean up. Well,
out on the job, that’s a must, for safety reasons. That’s the biggest
one. Take math, drafting and computer courses. Knowing welding symbols
is something welders need, and a machine tool courses is important to
have.
CSC: Do welders work together or by themselves?
RR: It depends on the job. I’ve worked on jobs where we had as
many as six or seven welders working on the same piece of equipment; but
traditionally they work independently.
CSC: What kinds of jobs do welders get?
RR: There are many different kinds of welding jobs. Sometimes
you go to a job and make the same part day after day. It’s repetitious
and pretty monotonous. I worked for Steiger Tractor. They make big
four-wheel drive tractors in Fargo, North Dakota. I was just excited
because it was the most money I ever got paid, but it was also the most
boring job I’ve ever had. By the second week, I had everything memorized;
I knew where everything went, and was looking for another challenge. It
wasn’t there. I didn’t stay at that job as long as I would have liked,
but I moved on to something better, which was more of what I liked to do.
There are other jobs where you have a different project every day. For
example you might do repair work, work on a truck, on a trailer, build a
ladder, go out on a job, build conveyors, or repair trucks.
CSC: Where are some of the different places an individual might
need welding skills?
RR: A construction or any fabrication shop that does any type of
metal work would use a welder. We encourage HVAC (Heating, Ventilation
and Air Conditioning) students to take welding, because on the job they
may have to weld something. Auto mechanics or anyone doing repair work
needs welding. Artists also use welding skills. If you can weld,
you’ll never go hungry. There is always a job for a welder.
CSC: Are there any physical demands for welders?
RR: Most welders don’t sit; they stand for most of their day, so
that can be physically demanding. A welder should be able to pick up at
least 50 pounds of weight, and is expected to load and unload what is
needed for the job.
CSC: What are some of the types of companies that would employ our
students after they finish their welding program?
RR: Types of companies would include automotive, fabricators,
manufacturers, companies such as John Deere, Melroe Bobcat, construction
companies, and companies that employ pipe fitters and iron workers. With
welding, sometimes you have to go where the work is. In my big hey day,
that was the Alaskan pipeline. If you wanted to make big money, you went
to Alaska, and you were gone for six months out of the year. Then you
were home for a month and gone for another six months. For awhile it was
underwater welding with the offshore rigs. Today the economy is not very
strong and there are not a lot of welding jobs around. Most of the jobs
that are available are in construction. If you’re a homebody, and want to
stay in a certain area, you might have to take less pay.
CSC: What advantage do students have with a degree or certificate?
RR: I tell them that there is no one that will hire you at top
dollar right out of school, even if you have a welding certificate or your
two-year degree in welding. They will wait and see what you can do. What
you gain by having your degree or certificate is that you will probably
excel faster than the fellow who is hired off the street, because you’ll
know more about the job and have more experience. When the foreman starts
talking to you about blueprints and symbols, drawings and plans, you should
have more knowledge than someone who has not been exposed to it. You’ll
climb up the ladder faster.
CSC: Tell me about our welding programs here at JCCC.
RR: We have two programs. One is a certificate program that
requires 25 hours to complete and the other is an Associate of Applied
Science degree in Metal Fabrication. Our course catalog says it takes two
years to complete the welding degree, however, it depends on a student’s
schedule and when the courses are offered whether they can complete it in
that time. Some students only come here at night because they have
full-time day jobs. Other students work in the evening and attend classes
during the day. Sometimes it can take as much as three to four years to
complete the program if a student’s schedule conflicts with class times.
Not every class is offered both days and evenings.
CSC: How long can a person physically do this job?
RR: It depends on the individual. At my first job, I worked with a
man who was 75 years old. He worked six to eight years after that!
CSC: Is there potential for injury on the job?
RR: Yes, unfortunately. In the welding field, we stress safety.
It’s probably the number one word, but accidents do happen. Some
companies say there is no such thing as an accident, and that everything
can be prevented. I don’t really agree with that philosophy. The
injuries that I’ve seen have happened to people that have been in the
trade for quite a few years and have just gotten careless. You get so
confident and used to doing something that you overstep your boundaries.
Machines have no conscience or prejudice.
CSC: Is there a market for women in welding?
RR: Yes. Women can do the job. One of the best welders I’ve seen
in my entire life is a woman who graduated from JCCC. She is the welder at
Marley Cooling Towers. She does all the welding and fabrication for the
plant. I supervised her certification, and she did the best weld I’ve
ever seen in my life. I couldn’t believe it….she’s fantastic—a wonderful
welder.
CSC: Is welding fun?
RR: Yes! I think it’s fun. I’m always making things for my wife.
I’ve got a dragon in my yard, pelicans, blue herons, and yard birds from
pieces of metal. I had a vice grip that was damaged; I put a little pin
and wings on it and made it look like a flying fish.
CSC: Are there any personal characteristics that people need to be
successful in welding?
RR: One thing that I think is very important is good eye-hand
coordination, because you have to be able to put your hand right on a
particular spot to weld correctly. The other is that you have to be able
to understand mechanical drawing, like lines and dimensions and depth
perception. These are important for welders. Math skills are essential.
Especially now, our new codebook is finally going metric after all these
years. Having people skills, good penmanship, and writing skills are very
important. There can be a lot of writing involved in writing up job
tickets, directions to homes or job sites, etc. The willingness to learn
and work hard is also essential. You’ve got to put your time in and pay
your dues. Welding is not something that you just pick up right away.
Usually you have to really work hard at it.
