welding offshore?

[breambuster]

Got a call for structural welder apprentice. I was hoping for something offshore but shipyard is good enough. Depending on how I like it there when/if I graduate how "in demand" is welding for offshore? Would pipe welding be a better route? Does anyone know a round about salary for a welder offshore? Kind of interested how that would work as im sure its not a steady thing welding on a rig. Any help is appreciated

[Bryan42]

I work for a Casing company in Lafayette. Our Hammer Dept. hires contract welders who go offshore. You get paid from the time you leave the shop till the time you get back to the shop. Not sure what the rate is, but could be maybe $25/hr. Some jobs last days and you are being paid around the clock. Are you in training or school?

[breambuster]

It's going to be training. I was just curious if the money would be better offshore vs the shipyard.

[Montauk17]

I would say money would be better offshore you get more hours.

[swamp snorkler]

Offshore, our tops welders make 22.50 an hour whether they offshore or on land.

Some work 14-7
some work 14-14

our yard welders average 55 hours a week so that's about 65 a year

[Top Dawg]

I would say offshore probably pays more and the work is probably better. Get some schooling and training on pipe welding and tig and mig and get outa the ship yard soon as you can.

Hell you can make $30 on land working at the plants.

[T-TOP]

Pipe welding on land(plants) would be your best money. Go to school, get good at it, and you will never be without a job. Unless you taking off to go fishing! Lol

[Montauk17]

Originally Posted by T-TOP

Pipe welding on land(plants) would be your best money. Go to school, get good at it, and you will never be without a job. Unless you taking off to go fishing! Lol

Welding in a plant sucks though....offshore is way more laid back. I did alot of inspection work for allison offshore. Sometimes there welders would do nothing for days and get paid the whole time.

[T-TOP]

Originally Posted by Montauk17

Welding in a plant sucks though....offshore is way more laid back. I did alot of inspection work for allison offshore. Sometimes there welders would do nothing for days and get paid the whole time.

Don't think I could sit on a rig in the gulf wit nothing to do. Make for some long days!

[T-TOP]

Originally Posted by T-TOP

Don't think I could sit on a rig in the gulf wit nothing to do. Make for some long days!

ESP for $8-10 less an hour

[Montauk17]

Originally Posted by T-TOP

Don't think I could sit on a rig in the gulf wit nothing to do. Make for some long days!

Direct tv and fishing passed the time for me....alot of welders I talked to worked in plants,pipelines,ect. Most of them say offshore is the best cause you make decent money and have a pretty good amount of time off. Guess it would be best to try them all out to see what fits you best.

[southern151]

I spent 10 years welding in plants all over the world. I made some great money at it too. If someone had offered me $22/hr anytime after Katrina, I would have laughed at them!

When I left the welding stuff behind, I was @ $33/hr and getting paid double time after 8 hrs and, double all day Saturday and, Sunday. That was for local plants. When you do that and, are hitting $85-90/day per diem, working 7/12's, money comes easy...It also goes easy! LOL!

[swamp snorkler]

Originally Posted by breambuster

Got a call for structural welder apprentice.

Basically this mean you going ot be pulling leads for a welder, setting up ventilation, hole watching type of stuff. You may also be grinding all day, or building scaffolds if the place doesn't have a scaffold crew. Filling water coolers, getting wire/rods running extention cords, sweeping type of work.

I was hoping for something offshore but shipyard is good enough. Depending on how I like it there when/if I graduate how "in demand" is welding for offshore?

Depends, most of the installation companies, I.E. the people that take the rig off the barge and install the platform onto the Jacket/Floating structure use foreign labor. You can be really in demand right after a hurricane when they use domestic companies to do repair work offshore.

Would pipe welding be a better route?

Yes, pipe welds have to be clean. Clean environment, clean pipe. It's much better than Fluxed-Core where you breathing in smoke all day and have slag popping on you, it's also not as hot as flux core and tig wleding is more common in chemical plants and what not.


Does anyone know a round about salary for a welder offshore?

A top money welder makes anywhere from $20-$30 HR, we have guys that work offhsore who make upwards of $100,000 but they not home much.

Kind of interested how that would work as im sure its not a steady thing welding on a rig.

Actually you can get on a steady crew if you experienced. There are Maintenance crews off shore. We have crews that work 7-7, 14-7, 14-14, just depends on the companies contract. With that said there is also welding crews who are on 24 hr call. You may stay offshore for 2 days, make 2 or 3 welds pack up and come in for 10 days working in the shop and head right back offshore and stay for 15 days.

Any help is appreciated

Hope I helped

If I were you I would take the job and let them teach me how to weld. I don't know how old you are or your work experience but let me give you this little bit of advise if you just starting out and you want to weld for a living...... Don't smoke weed, keep your nose clean, show up to work on time, sober! Do what ever is asked of you within reason, take whatever O.T. the willing to give you. Go to any training class they offer. No matter how good you can weld you can't weld very good hungover and you can't weld at all if you not at work for wahtever reason. Stay there for 6 months or so, if things aint shaking move onto something else.

[southern151]

Originally Posted by swamp snorkler

If I were you I would take the job and let them teach me how to weld. I don't know how old you are or your work experience but let me give you this little bit of advise if you just starting out and you want to weld for a living...... Don't smoke weed, keep your nose clean, show up to work on time, sober! Do what ever is asked of you within reason, take whatever O.T. the willing to give you. Go to any training class they offer. No matter how good you can weld you can't weld very good hungover and you can't weld at all if you not at work for wahtever reason. Stay there for 6 months or so, if things aint shaking move onto something else.

This!

If you're the respectable type, younger guy, go hook up with one of the older welders in the shop. Pimp for him(gopher). Get whatever he needs and, when you aren't running for him, have your hood down, watching what he's doing. Be patient because most of the older guys aren't gonna want to "waste their time" with some newbie. Be persistent but, polite and, attentive.

I can assure you that I ran my butt off for some of these guys but, they taught me a tremendous amount doing just what I described above. Many times, when break time came along, I'd have scrap metal lined up to weld on while everyone else was at break. When break was over, I'd ask my welder how it looked and, what I could do differently.

Lastly, when you get to the point that you can pass the welding test, don't think it makes you a welder and, that's all you should be doing. I can't tell you how many FNG's I saw come out with that attitude! Be ready to still be pulling leads and pimping for the proven welders. If you'll do that and, not complain, you'll be noticed and, in time, you'll be that guy behind the shield all day. At that point, you have an FNG doing all the things you once had to do!

[swamp snorkler]

Originally Posted by southern151

This!

If you're the respectable type, younger guy, go hook up with one of the older welders in the shop. Pimp for him(gopher). Get whatever he needs and, when you aren't running for him, have your hood down, watching what he's doing. Be patient because most of the older guys aren't gonna want to "waste their time" with some newbie. Be persistent but, polite and, attentive.

I can assure you that I ran my butt off for some of these guys but, they taught me a tremendous amount doing just what I described above. Many times, when break time came along, I'd have scrap metal lined up to weld on while everyone else was at break. When break was over, I'd ask my welder how it looked and, what I could do differently.

Lastly, when you get to the point that you can pass the welding test, don't think it makes you a welder and, that's all you should be doing. I can't tell you how many FNG's I saw come out with that attitude! Be ready to still be pulling leads and pimping for the proven welders. If you'll do that and, not complain, you'll be noticed and, in time, you'll be that guy behind the shield all day. At that point, you have an FNG doing all the things you once had to do!

This is what I did to "break out"

When I first started I worked with a "Burner" he was a very slef opionated man who hater everyone. He was old, couldn't cut that good and dipped and cursed all the time. I told my boss after a month or 2 grinding behind him that I wanted to work with a fitter. He told me to learn how to tack and I would be able to work with a fitter. For the next 2 or 3 weeks I set up a welding machine and practiced welding during lunch and breaks.

Finally a fitter and his helper got into our boss swapped us out, I got to go work with a real fitter and the other guy went work with the burner. From there it took me about to 6 months break out as fitter. I worked my way up to be a top fitter, assistant leaderman, taught safety classses, made some very critical fits. From Splicing jacket legs, to trimming out 60" diagonal braces. Now I work in the office and I'm loving it.

[breambuster]

Thanks everyone this is just the information I was needing. I have no problem staying sober. I dont even drink socially (family is full of alcoholics) so I stay away from drinking and smoking. Im 24 so kinda getting a late start at a career but not too late. I have no problem observing and learning. I prefer to lewrn from people with hands on experience. They teach you stuff no book can. And if someone offers to teach im always willing to learn. Thanks for all the info.

[marshrunner757]

And please never get the attitude that the company can't do without you. That you are "that good". While I am no longer on the construction side but the engineering side, I've seen plenty of these lol. Can weld a broken heart or the crack of dawn lol. My fiancés daughters sugar daddy is like that. 24 years old and thinks he is the best. Works in a fab shop where everything is on jack stands or roll out. I'd love to see him in a tight pipe rack. At any rate, always be humble. You are never expendable and never the best.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[Matt G]

We've had a few offshore welders work in our shop and couldn't cut it. They were used to sitting around all day long and not having to "work." My old man ran one off because he refused to help him pick up a joint of pipe! He told my old man to get a helper to do it!! My old man said, "Well, you WERE my helper. You check will be ready on Friday and thank you for your service." I've been welding since I was 7 and could pass the 6GR by 15 and fit pretty damn well and hated every minute of it. Went to college and got an office job, now I spend all day dreaming of being back under my shield and welders probably make twice what I do now!! The info here has me seriously consididering rigging up again.

[hawgsquatch]

Originally Posted by breambuster

Thanks everyone this is just the information I was needing. I have no problem staying sober. I dont even drink socially (family is full of alcoholics) so I stay away from drinking and smoking. Im 24 so kinda getting a late start at a career but not too late. I have no problem observing and learning. I prefer to lewrn from people with hands on experience. They teach you stuff no book can. And if someone offers to teach im always willing to learn. Thanks for all the info.

You are never too old to start a new career with the possible exception of the NFL. I was thirty years old when I decided a retirement would be nice and decided to become a Correctional Officer. I was the oldest guy in my academy class by far and I finished in 1st place. I was thirty four when my wife left me and I took the opportunity to go back to school. Right now I go to the same college as my eldest daughter and have three associates working on a bachelors. You CAN Do anything you want to. It looks like you have the drinking thing figured out and your attitude about it is wise. One thing you have is drive and work ethic. My agency hires Eighteen year-olds and I am amazed at the kids we get here that have no idea how to work. They just don't get the feeling of satisfaction that comes from doing a job correctly. The biggest challenge I see for you is with the availability of unlimited overtime comes the challenge to keep your sanity. I killed my marriage because I was working 100-120 hour weeks (She basically got very used to not seeing me and when I was home I was exhausted and grumpy.) Money is nice, but it don't fix everything. Remember who you are and you will be just fine. Congratulations and good luck.

[Top Dawg]

Originally Posted by breambuster

Thanks everyone this is just the information I was needing. I have no problem staying sober. I dont even drink socially (family is full of alcoholics) so I stay away from drinking and smoking. Im 24 so kinda getting a late start at a career but not too late. I have no problem observing and learning. I prefer to lewrn from people with hands on experience. They teach you stuff no book can. And if someone offers to teach im always willing to learn. Thanks for all the info.

Look into ABC school. If you got to work for a company as a helper and show interest a lot of them will sponsor your tuition to ABC. And it's 2 nights a week and its all welding. I did this when I was in highschool and when I graduated I could pass any welding test out there. The more you practice the better you will get. And over its 3 hours a night burning rods. Good luck.