WOODBURY — The sophomore agriscience engineering class is beginning its unit on welding. This unit takes up a good portion of their class. 

There are five different types of welding processes, or ways to weld — TIG, MIG, stick, flux-cored, and torch welding. The students in the sophomore class are learning the latter four processes, along with using the torches to cut metal. 

“Welding is important for students to know because it is something that affects our lives daily. The car you drive, the bus you come to school on, a bridge you drive over — they have all been welded in some way,” said Andrew Zielinski, an agriscience educator. “Knowing that it affects us so much and understanding how to do the different welding processes can not only save you a lot on repairs, but also make you a lot of money.” 

With this being said, welding is a very good career choice, with some careers in welding making upwards of $300,000 a year. With the costs of hiring a professional welder being as high as $80 per hour, knowing how to weld can save the average person a few bucks when needing to weld up a new exhaust system for a truck because the old one rusted out. 

Zielinski also explained that knowing how to weld gives a greater understanding on how much it affects our lives and how there is an artistic side to welding. TIG welding, which students who choose to enroll in the junior/senior engineering class will learn, is an artistic form of welding that results in strong bonds. TIG welding is commonly used in manufacturing of products that use thin metal or metals other than steel, like bicycles and some exhaust systems.

Students see the value in welding, too.

“Welding is beneficial to me because it allows me to fix stuff cheaply,” said freshman Evan Butkievich.

People can get into welding for an affordable price — as low as $80 for a welder straight from China or $350 for a quality welder from a reputable brand in the United States.

All in all, welding is a very important skill for students to learn about because of how useful it is and how it can help them save money.