And, he is caught in the gap between being certified to weld pipes to some extraordinary level and not having experience. He's applied to hundreds of jobs and had no success. You can feel the pain all the way over here in Richmond from Newport News. If you'uns have any ideas on a job for him in the NN area, please let me know. If you have any ideas on how to get a job (networking methods, etc.) let me know.

Newport News the obvious first place to look would be:
General Dynamics Electric Boat

Passing these along. The only ones I saw there were in Rhode Island.

American Commercial Bargelines is in my area and they are always hiring welders but he'd have to move to s Indiana or Louisville area.

He is going to have to suck it up on the low and take an apprenticeship you don't get a good job with welding just coming out of school

Shipyard with apprentiship program

Try here?

https://www.indeed.com/m/jobs?...l=Newport+News%2C+VA

Cant help with the job part but he could consider working for free after hours and weekends to gain experience. Its not glamorous but it turns 2.5 years into 5 years experience pretty darn quick. I am doing the same actually.

He should try and get certified. Not sure if he is, but most places doing commercial or military work would need a certified welder.

He is certified. I forget the designation but it was a challenge.

I can relate to your son in law. I too went to a well known welding school and got certified in all kinds of fancy stuff including pipe.
Nobody cared.. he needs to suck it up and take a shit welding job for a while and get experience.
Being a vet has helped me but still experience is everything to most shops. What's sad is that I've lost a lot of my skills because I've spent he last 5 years at these entry level welding gigs getting experience..
He will probably make around 15 an hour unless he takes a job nobody wants

Age? No interest in the National Guard or Reseves while he works the welding angle?

Maybe not for everyone I realize.

The other advice is to cast a wider net. He can always come back after getting more work experience and networking.

I've not had a gap in employment since I started at 14. I have worked around the country though.

He would take any welding job. In driving distance. Finding that job is not happening using monster indeed and other sites. How else could he find opportunities? What places should he look?

Somewhere in the Newport News, Norfolk, Hampton area there must be a number of places that do metal fabrication.
Welding requires technical knowledge, which it sounds like he has, but hands on experience and lots of practice are a must.

Welding of pipes you say...that's what my company does. We are a mechanical contractor (industrial and commercial).

Is he looking to join a union? We do work in West Virginia, but not Virginia and we're a union shop. I'm not sure what the market is there (union vs non-union).

Depending on what kind of pipe he wants to weld would tell me what kind of contractor he needs to apply to. Sticking plates together is one thing, piping systems is another. Since you said pipe, I'm assuming a mechanical contractor.

Most large contractors have a weld guru/QA-QC manager/CWE (certified weld inspector). I'd call HR of big boys and find out who that person is. Then try to get in touch with that person and come in to their shop to provide some coupons (he'll know what a coupon is).

They can x-ray his coupons and do destructive testing on them. If he can weld exotics, he'll a job in a heart beat. If his coupons are porous, he'll need to go back to the drawing board.

Hell, if he can weld, he can come up and join our union and I'll put him to work tomorrow.

quote:

Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
Passing these along. The only ones I saw there were in Rhode Island.

Sounds right. EB in RI is desperate for welders and they have enough submarine contracts to last a welder's entire career.

I know of a metal fab shop that just had a welder quit. Completely awesome company to work for, they really take care of their employees and they work four 10's, so it's three day weekends every week.

Can't make any promises, but I can get his resume in front of the manager. Shop is located near Dulles airport.

EDIT - Position already filled.

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