Hi everyone. I'm trying to help my son figure out what to do with this life. He's 20. He's smart and very good with his hands. Long-term he may want to do software development which is what I do. But he also wants to avoid the student loan trap, and have a faster route to a decent income, then maybe stay with welding or study something else at his leisure. He thought about being a CNC operator also.

This coming January, he needs to start some kind of program. I suggested that he do welding, mainly because I think he would be pretty good. And because it seems that you can get a certification in a few semesters, then get a decent paying job.

He's currently staying with a family friend in the Chicago area. And he's close to the college of dupage which seems to have two or three different kinds of welding programs. It looks like one is 9 months long and results in a certification. There's another that looks like four semesters long and results in an AS degree and maybe also a certification.

I wanted to ask all of you what you would recommend a young person do to get into welding. With regard to working as a welder, is the AS degree a great idea or a waste of time? Is there some type of certification that is the one to get? I don't know a lot about this.

The other question I wanted to ask was about income potential. Assuming he's relatively good, what kind of an income can he expect right out of school, then maybe 2 and 4 years later? Location probably matters. What's the market like now? I've heard that there's a high demand for welders now. Is this the case? Or will he be competing with people who already have a lot more experience?

thanks.

brian


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