Thread: which tafe course to learn?

Hey mate, an apprenticeship is a 4yr, 38h/week deal.
You wont be earning $20-$40 an hour until your out of your time.
If i was you i would be looking at doing a pre-apprenticeship course.
Not sure on the exact courses you can enroll in but there is some short (6-12 months, 2 nights a week) courses around.
Hope this helps,
Cheers, Mitch

Originally Posted by MitchB

Hey mate, an apprenticeship is a 4yr, 38h/week deal.
You wont be earning $20-$40 an hour until your out of your time.
If i was you i would be looking at doing a pre-apprenticeship course.
Not sure on the exact courses you can enroll in but there is some short (6-12 months, 2 nights a week) courses around.
Hope this helps,
Cheers, Mitch

What he said x2
Mate, you cannot do any of the certs 1-9 until you are qualified.
I don't mean to be rude, but I think you are taking the whole welding game a little too lightly. A qualified welder is a highly skilled professional, who in many cases is responsible for people's lives, particularly certified welders.
Doing a TAFE coursed is a great idea, but will not make you particularly employable for anything other than an apprenticeship.
Those employed as unskilled welders i.e. those not in possession of a trade certificate do not earn the $$$ that you seem to be chasing.

hmm.
thats interesting.

whats the difference between being 'certified', and 'qualified'?

A friend of a friend of mine did a 6 month tafe course, and he said that he's already making $40/hour. He didn't do an apprenticeship though, he learnt in his own time.

so what does it mean to be certified, or qualified?

Originally Posted by ftssjk

hmm.
thats interesting.

whats the difference between being 'certified', and 'qualified'?

A friend of a friend of mine did a 6 month tafe course, and he said that he's already making $40/hour. He didn't do an apprenticeship though, he learnt in his own time.

so what does it mean to be certified, or qualified?

Maybe you should enroll in the same course as your friend did. I would love to know what course it is though. And who his employer is
Cheers, Mitch

Originally Posted by ftssjk

hmm.
thats interesting.

whats the difference between being 'certified', and 'qualified'?

A friend of a friend of mine did a 6 month tafe course, and he said that he's already making $40/hour. He didn't do an apprenticeship though, he learnt in his own time.

so what does it mean to be certified, or qualified?

A qualified Boilermaker Welder has completed a 4 year apprenticeship and as such is qualified to work in the fabrication industries excluding welding pressure vessels and pipelines, gas, oil and many chemical pipelines and many critical structures. To weld in these applications you must be certified, typicallyto AS1796-2001 by the WTIA, (ASME is also a recognised code), for the process to be used, the most common of these are cert 3E, 4, 7, 8G, 8F and 9. When working in these applications you will be working to a welding procedure specifying the parameters to be adhered to. Each of these certificates requires a minimum of 40 hours tuition plus a theory component to be completed prior to the examination, plus pre requisites to be met, (a 6 month TAFE course will not do it).
If your friend is truly earning $40/hr as an unskilled welder, then they are truly lucky and must have a dream job, (if their work is not up to scratch and fails then their employer is in DEEP to say the least).
I suggest that you do a lot more research and perhaps afford this highly skilled trade a little more respect.

Originally Posted by MitchB

Maybe you should enroll in the same course as your friend did. I would love to know what course it is though. And who his employer is
Cheers, Mitch

he said it was some certification course. (he already knew how to weld).

he's making the amount he is now, and its been about 3 years since he finished his certification course ( i think it was the 1-9 certificate of attainment)

Originally Posted by Karl Robbers

A qualified Boilermaker Welder has completed a 4 year apprenticeship and as such is qualified to work in the fabrication industries excluding welding pressure vessels and pipelines, gas, oil and many chemical pipelines and many critical structures. To weld in these applications you must be certified, typicallyto AS1796-2001 by the WTIA, (ASME is also a recognised code), for the process to be used, the most common of these are cert 3E, 4, 7, 8G, 8F and 9. When working in these applications you will be working to a welding procedure specifying the parameters to be adhered to. Each of these certificates requires a minimum of 40 hours tuition plus a theory component to be completed prior to the examination, plus pre requisites to be met, (a 6 month TAFE course will not do it).
If your friend is truly earning $40/hr as an unskilled welder, then they are truly lucky and must have a dream job, (if their work is not up to scratch and fails then their employer is in DEEP to say the least).
I suggest that you do a lot more research and perhaps afford this highly skilled trade a little more respect.

i think my friend is certified with his tickets, but not qualified in the sense that he did not do an 'apprenticeship'.

anyway, thanks for clearing the above up .
I'll see if i can get an apprenticeship later in the year, then do the certificates if i choose welding over uni studies

i know guys that are coded welders that have not completed an apprenticeship.

I also know guys that have completed an apprenticeship, that shouldn't be allowed near the tools of the trade

Originally Posted by brenton21

I also know guys that have completed an apprenticeship, that shouldn't be allowed near the tools of the trade

I think we all do There are some who will always do the bare minimum, I have worked with people like this and it is very frustrating having to clean up their messes. I also have had the priviledge to work alongside some highly competent unskilled welders who, for whatever their reasons did not want to achieve a trade ticket.

Originally Posted by brenton21

i know guys that are coded welders that have not completed an apprenticeship.

True this is possible under certain circumstances, for example a fitter can undertake AS1796 certification if they wish, (yes, I know that fitting requires an apprenticeship), there are opportunities for those who have not completed an apprenticeship also.
A 6 month TAFE course will certainly not get you over the line as I am sure any TAFE instructor would tell you.
Working as a coded or certified welder is a serious business as people's lives may depend on the quality of your work, (there are times when this applies to any tradesman really), you will be working on critical components where failure may be catastrophic, hence the reason why there are strict standards for those wishing to pursue this career. Much the same as the vehicle licencing system imposes various categories and classes of licence with standards and pre requisites to be met.

hmm yeah hehe.

i'm thinking of getting a 2nd hand/cheap tig or mig welding machine, and then practicing on my own with books, videos, etc.

then i'll enrol into the 'advanced welding' class at tafe (this is after i become competent with lots of practice), and then ill ask the tutor there if he thinks i could go for a ticket (any of the tickets).

Some people you just can't help.

Originally Posted by ftssjk

hmm yeah hehe.

i'm thinking of getting a 2nd hand/cheap tig or mig welding machine, and then practicing on my own with books, videos, etc.

then i'll enrol into the 'advanced welding' class at tafe (this is after i become competent with lots of practice), and then ill ask the tutor there if he thinks i could go for a ticket (any of the tickets).

Hey mate, you really should go and have a chat with a tafe teacher when they start next year.
Tafes are open campus so you can pretty much walk into the department (aslong as your not in the workshop) and have a chat with the head teacher.

Originally Posted by ftssjk

hmm yeah hehe.

i'm thinking of getting a 2nd hand/cheap tig or mig welding machine, and then practicing on my own with books, videos, etc.

then i'll enrol into the 'advanced welding' class at tafe (this is after i become competent with lots of practice), and then ill ask the tutor there if he thinks i could go for a ticket (any of the tickets).

Hi FTSSJK ,

Your thread has got the better of my curiosity. Why on earth would you pursue a job with your hands if you have been accepted into uni? If you are after money then pursue a degree in economics / commerce, within 10 years you can be earning $300K PA if you apply yourself from the beginning.

If on the other hand you are more suited to actually working with your hands then embrace what is being suggested and apply yourself into the welding trade.

I would hope you are not just chasing money, many of my non Uni friends were earning 10 times what I was getting in my first year of Uni (I was working part time), I surpassed their earning potential after 8 years and trippled them by 20 years.

A poor man does what he has to do in order to make ends meet, a rich man does what he wants. Sieze the opportunity to be the best you can at whatever you choose.

John