Last couple days of in-class schooling currently in play, attempting to get ahead for next quarter and all that. Oh, and also an online Algebra course that ends the 25th. It’s for the degree, otherwise I wouldn’t bother with the torturous nature of it.
In related news, I’ve been hired by the college to work over the Summer break. It’s not full-time work, it’s not great paying work, and it’s not even “every-day-during-the break” work.
But what it is is welding and fabrications work that will yield a job reference from the Dean of Industrial Arts Instruction, AND get my foot in the door to show that I’m worth being an addition to the budget in place of a WorkStudy body during the Fall Quarter.
I told the person who does the hiring for this that it would take away from my studies if I had to get an outside job that would compete with school.
So we’ll see how this goes. I start next Monday.
In other related news, I went sniffing around the job market over the weekend and was glad I did so. I found a half dozen employers who are pretty much constantly hiring. Yesterday I made some phone calls and spoke to a few of their hiring reps, letting them know of my situation and got some feedback about what they’d like to see on a resume.
Forklift training was on four of the five employer’s list of what they wanted. So I’ve signed up for a Forklift Certification class in the Fall.Two Thursday nights and Two Saturday nights, four hours each night, all in October, and the Cert is mine.
The fifth employer I talked to was the one where I’d really like to work. They manufacture and repair surgical devices with the GTAW (TIG) process. It’d be damn near office work conditions and starts around $20 and hour. They wanted 2+ years of welding experience, but I’m going to apply with them in November anyway. I’ll show them the degree, a long list of previous, long-term employment and remind them that I have the skills and knowledge, but not enough that they would have to un-train and then re-train me, and see how it goes.
Sounds like a plan that is coming together. From everything I’ve read regarding certified welders, they never have to look for work. Have you considered going after a nuc-welding cert downstream?
A nuke-tig pipe cert is a wonderful thing to have. That is definitely a goal I have for a couple years down the road when I’m good enough. Funny thing, those certs; in the late 70s – early 80s, NASA would send folks around to nuke plants and the navy yards, find the best of the nuke certified guys and recruit them for shuttle construction/repair. One of our part-time instructors got picked up like that and ended up working on 3 or 4 of the shuttles.
Well, things are looking up for you – congrats!!!
Merle
This place I did some temp IT work a couple of years ago were continuously hiring welders, and providing bonuses for those that suggested people.
They’re in Tualatin, but are part of a larger conglomerate of companies: http://www.huntair.com/
Just another suggestion for you.