This article from The Fabricator.com website, by Vicki Bell reports on the recent ranking of welding being placed as number 5 worst job on the CareerCast.com 2010 list. Welders have plenty to say about their trade and it’s ranking.
Based on feedback from “Welding Wire” subscribers, you have to wonder if CareerCast.com interviewed any welders when compiling its 2010 list of the best and worst jobs. Welding was the No. 5 worst job on the list, and welders question its ranking.
Welding ranked No. 5 on CareerCast.com’s worst jobs list. The company recently researched 200 different positions using five measurement criteria—stress, working environment, physical demands, income, and hiring outlook. According to the report generated by this research, the top 10 best jobs are:
- Actuary
- Software Engineer
- Computer Systems Analyst
- Biologist
- Historian
- Mathematician
- Paralegal Assistant
- Statistician
- Accountant
- Dental Hygienist
The bottom 10 are:
- Roustabout
- Lumberjack
- Ironworker
- Dairy Farmer
- Welder
- Garbage Collector
- Taxi Driver
- Construction Worker(Laborer)
- Meter Reader
- Mail Carrier
More than 20,000 subscribers to the “Welding Wire” e-newsletter learned about welding’s placement on the list in the January 2010 issue, and many had plenty to say—both about welding as a profession and about the survey that determined its ranking.
If you are a welder, or if you are thinking about entering this profession, read on to find out what those who actually weld for a career think about their jobs.
‘I Am Damn Proud of It’
The proprietor of a Wyoming shop wrote, “It seems the list of best jobs-worst jobs is inverted somehow. All the ‘best jobs’ are nonworking jobs, with the exception of the dental hygienist. The ‘best jobs’ are all paper-pushing, surplus labor jobs. Has our society fallen this far?
“Any of the so-called ‘worst jobs’ are ones I would like, including number five, welding, where I have been the past 25 years. After wasting time in college and five years in management trying to explain to brain-dead nonworkers how to pour piss out of a boot with directions on the heel, I gave up and went to welding school.
“My welding work speaks for itself. I do not need to shamelessly ingratiate myself to my boss or co-workers. I show up and do my job and do it very well, and am well rewarded for it. You can have your ‘best jobs’; I’ll stick with the ‘worst jobs’ and be very glad to be a welder.
“According to the American Welding Society, the average age of welders is my age, 57. Apparently our society has brainwashed all the young folks into thinking getting your hands dirty and having something to show for your day’s labor at the end of the shift are somehow ‘demeaning’ or sinful. Well, so be it; I am glad I produce something real at the end of each day, and I am not one bit ashamed of it; in fact, I am damn proud of it.”
Read the entire article on the FMA website here.
One Comment
That’s wonderful news to hear. I think more people should take pride in their trade since each job adds an important beneficial aspect. My cousin is a welder and he is always going on about a progressive die which I have no idea what it means, but it’s interesting to listen about nonetheless. Thank you for sharing this!