Welder 

(Male, Age 38) from Silverhill, AL

This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Male aged 38 who works as a Welder in Silverhill, AL. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.

At a Glance

Current Job

Basic data on your current job

Job Title Welder
Salary $43,000
Other Compensation None Set
Hours/Week 40
Company Size (not answered)
Location Silverhill, AL
Years Experience 8 years

Career Ratings

Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)

Years in Career 0
Education (not answered)
Income Rating 0 / 10
Interest Rating 0 / 10
Work-Life Rating 0 / 10
Fulfilment Rating 0 / 10

Current job Q&A

Describe the type of organization you work for.
I work for Bucyrus. It is an international company, we build rollers for mines. I am not sure the number of employees but would guess about 100,000+

Describe your job role and responsibilities.
I weld and torque pulleys. I manufacture any items that are needed, also fix anything that needs welding.

Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
Three weeks vacation, five days sick pay, Blue Corss Blue Shield health insurance, vision and dental insurance, and a retirement plan. Also company paid life insurance.

Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
For our area I am paid very well so probably over compensated. If I were in another location it would be undercompensated.

Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
Yes, we work closely on large items. I do enjoy it, I enjoy the banter back and forth, it makes the day go quicker.

Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?

Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes

Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
I work inside a manufacturing plant. I like that it is a large open space. It can get really dirty but to be honest I don’t mind, I like doing different projects here and there. What I do not like is it gets VERY hot. It was recently made non-smoking and I like that very very much.

Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 1
Benefits: 2
Hours: 3
Co-Workers: 6
Supervisors: 7
Job Title: 8
Level of Responsibility: 5
The Actual Work: 4

A day in the life of…

Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:

5am to 6am
6am to 7am
7am to 8am This is when we find out our plan for the day if we don’t have items left over from the day before. We gather up any needed supplies and set up our torch.
8am to 9am Today we are repairing a roller that went out that was 1/28th of an inch too large. It sounds insignificant but when it is part of machinery it is huge. Co-worker and I worked on this for about 45 minutes then had to stop for water. We are encouraged to stop as much as we need to but don’t usually need to much.
9am to 10am Break time is from 9 until 9:20 then it is just getting back to the grind. We will be working on this one roller for most of the day. I did have to stop to help someone move the crane.
10am to 11am Still working on the one roller. We stopped long enough to talk about an order that might be coming in, it is a huge order. Hoping it does because overtime would be great. Also trying to get some measurements done but not having much luck for some reason.
11am to 12pm Finally finish with my part of the 1/28th” off roller. Loaded up a few propane tanks, got some gear together to get started after lunch.
12pm to 1pm Lunch is from 12 until 12:30 every day. I spend this shooting the breeze with a few co-workers. It is finally cooling down enough that we can face eating. Most of the summer it is too hot to even eat. We finish up then get our gear on and get started on a new order. This involves welding and again getting measurements exact.
1pm to 2pm Quick meeting with direct supervisor to talk about a possible upcoming contract. He just wants to know if we think we can meet the volume. We map out a plan to cut time off our production so we can get items out quicker. I don’t know if we will be successful but I am always up to a challenge. Gear back up and weld some more. My exciting job.
2pm to 3pm Finish up as much as we can until 2:15 then we shut down to clean up. Day ends at 2:30 so that gives us a few minutes to clean up the shop and clean up ourselves. Then get into my bike gear and haul butt.
3pm to 4pm
4pm to 5pm
5pm to 6pm
6pm to 7pm
7pm to 8pm
8pm to 9pm
9pm to 10pm
10pm to 11pm
11pm to 12am

Table of Contents

How you got your job

How did you get your current job?
A friend of my wife, my wife told her I was looking for a job. She told one of their mutual friends, her husband works where I do now.

What was the application process?
I did have to go through a temporary service for a year, it was bad but worth it.

Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
Not really, just had to show up and pass all the tests.

If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?

Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
At first no, but as it went on yes. I think I was put there because they just needed someone to do it and once I had the basic skills I was acceptable. I have been trained/taught much better over the years.

Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
Yes, it was on-the-job training. It was being showed what to do, how to do it, being tested on my abilities.

Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Only to the extent that I have to read spreadsheets, math skills help with that.

If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
n/a

If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
I would tell them they should go to classes to become a certified welder, it does pay more than just a welder.

What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
The ability to tolerate extreme heat, be able to stare at fixed points (it can strain your eyes sometimes).

Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
Yes, training

What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Honestly I am not sure I would recommend it. It is very hot, very nasty work.

Long-term career plans

Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
At this point I am not sure. I make good money for our area so I don’t see me doing anything else anytime soon.

What are your current career goals?
I wish I knew, I am sorry. To support my family to the best of my abilities.

Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
No but thank you for this opportunity.

Prior work history

Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:

Title Length Salary Description
Prior Job 1 Cook 1 year 8 months 10.25 Line cook.
Prior Job 2 Cook 4 years 9 Line cook, helped wait tables. Filled in for management on rare occasions.

Educational background

Please list your educational background:

High School GPA:3

GPA School Degree
College (Undergraduate)
or Technical/Vocational
Graduate or Professional
(Masters or Doctorate)

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