By Steven J. Kerno, Jr. and Dr. Kevin Kuznia

Edited by Bruce Vernyi, Editor-in-Chief

Welding makes invaluable contributions to lifestyles in the 21st century, and is a critical enabling technology for industries that contribute onethird to the total U.S. Gross Domestic Product.

Nearly every breakthrough, advancement, or structure of note during the past century, particularly in manufacturing and construction, required the skills of welding professionals at critical junctures to bring the initial concept to reality and, despite the acknowledgement by many welding professionals of the dependence the U.S. economy has upon their knowledge, skills, abilities, and talents, their contributions were and continue to be obscured by those who design, manufacture, market, manage, and finance those breakthroughs.

Additionally, most firms have little or no understanding of the economics associated with the processes related to or enabled by welding in their operations. All too often, welding processes are viewed as an expense to be reduced, instead of being considered a potential competitive advantage. And despite the cost advantages associated with the automation of welding, this option carries with it capital risks that are compounded by the precarious condition of many sectors, particularly in manufacturing, in the U.S. economy.

What does this mean to welding professionals, you ask? Increased career insecurity.

The Job of Old, the Job of New
Welding has been a critical, if often transparent and underappreciated, enabler of much of the industrial progress we enjoyed during the past century. However, despite the contributions, the relationship between welding professional and employer has changed substantially.

In the era leading up to the 1970’s, in what functioned very much as a social contract, an employer often provided benefits such as lifetime (at least long term) employment, traditional pension plans, and fully paid health care to employees. The tacit assumption underlying this arrangement was that both parties, through economic ups and downs alike, would remain together.

The following decades, and the accompanying economic tumult and instability (including aggressive foreign competition, high energy prices, and prohibitive interest rates that stifled capital investment efforts throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s), forged the current relationship between welding professional and employer into a transaction- oriented contract, with a more regulated and consistent exchange of benefits between the two. The result is that job security, and the advantages traditionally associated with it, have become less common, and are being replaced with marketability of knowledge, skills, abilities, and talents, and the flexibility to adapt to unforeseen situations and circumstances.

Modern Welding Career Conundrum
The shortage of welding professionals (including welders, technicians, and engineers) is no secret within the occupation. How such a shortage impacts the various industries in which welding is a critical enabling technology should be of interest to everyone.

It has the potential to affect those directly involved with welding, and the professionals – the marketing, management, and finance people – who may regard welding as a cost to be reduced, or know only of how labor-intensive it is, or how capital-intensive automation can be. At the heart of the issue is a challenge facing those whose livelihood is derived primarily from welding.

Industries facing shortages of welding professionals have uncertain prospects

Manufacturing firms that employ the largest number of welding professionals are likely to experience a continued decline in the U.S. as more firms move such activities overseas to exploit lower labor costs. This will be particularly prevalent for operations that are not as cost effective to automate, or for companies that are unwilling or unable to make the appropriate capital investments to automate their processes.

Construction will be less affected by the moves of manufacturers overseas, because construction often is craft-based in nature and, due to the unique projects involved, must be completed on-site. However, due to its greater sensitivity to fluctuations in our nation’s economy, such factors as business and government construction starts that tend to track interest rates, the “boom to bust” cyclical nature of the construction industry, presents difficulties for those seeking consistent employment, and make the construction industry a less certain employer in the short-term.

Such shortages make welding a less attractive option

This is perhaps where the status of welding as a critical enabling technology can be something of a double-edged sword for the profession. If a firm, or even an entire industry, is uncertain whether an adequate number of people who possess a certain skill set to perform the necessary operations will be available for either the short term or the long term, , that uncertainty could be the impetus for a firm to look for alternative methods. While there undoubtedly are operations for which a substitute for welding is currently feasible, it doesn’t help the perception of welding to have mounting shortages of skills.

Such shortages are likely to be seen as bottlenecks or encumbrances to a firm’s operations, and with innovation being what it is, what is considered impossible today can quickly move closer to reality than anyone might realize.

Helping the Profession of Welding, and Yourself in the Process
To moderate the impact that such larger forces have upon the career of the welding professional, there are a few questions that each should ask himself.

These questions are divided into two categories on the basis of career timeline or horizon.

The first set is more immediate – what are you doing to advance your own career as a welding professional, and how can you improve upon the perception of welding both with your current employer and with those who may be considering such a career?

The second set is more long term – what activities are you engaging in to increasing your knowledge base outside of welding, including personal, people, and organizational? Can you envision yourself as something besides a welding professional? Are you as marketable as possible? To better determine personal strengths and deficiencies, additional thoughts are given for each question to provide better clarity and focus, and to get to the “guts” of the statement. Hopefully, the “questions within the question” will facilitate additional conversation on the topic of how to move forward in your career, to succeed professionally, even when traditional career milestones and measuring sticks are rapidly disappearing.

Read the entire paragraph relating to each question before answering. The idea isn’t necessarily to get the highest score possible – that’s what was sweated over in college or trade school. The idea is to promote dialogue with others, to think about the ten questions below with the aim of furthering the profession of welding in general, and of your career in particular.

 

Immediate Questions
Below are things you could be doing today to enhance your career in the short term. These tend to focus upon what activities you are (or want to be) engaged in to further the profession of welding, to show its connection and contribution to your firm, and describe how a critical enabling technology can be a competitive weapon in the marketplace.

____ I am an active and contributing member to a welding society, organization, or community of practice (CoP).

Knowledge is power, and the more you know, the greater the career opportunities available. It isn’t always easy to quantify the advantages that engagement in professional organizations provides. Aside from personal satisfaction, you’ll increase the likelihood of coming into contact with someone who can provide career assistance or potential opportunities.

____ I have sought (or want to investigate) the creation of intracompany standards related to welding productivity, or to investigate whether such standards exist within my industry.

Do you remain current on the collective knowledge available regarding industry standards and best practices? Are you able to put this knowledge into action within your organization? By doing so, you’ll contribute to the knowledge base available to fellow welding professionals, and better demonstrate the value of welding.

____ I am (or could be) capable of training and instructing others to increase knowledge, skills, and abilities related to welding.

By creating learning opportunities for others in welding, you’ll gain recognition for your knowledge, skills, and abilities, and be recognized as an asset, someone with organizational value. Additionally, you’ll be enabling others to learn a skill that has high demand.

____ I promote (or would like to promote) within my organization an understanding of how welding- related processes contribute to (as opposed to impair) the bottom line, and understand the financial impact.

Gone are the days of self-contained departments that perform work in a silo structure. The work you perform as a welding professional impacts such seemingly disparate departments as finance, marketing, and sales. As work becomes more project-oriented, your career success will increasingly depend on the ability to understand how your activities impact other departments, and how your role contributes to the overall success of your company.

____ I have explored (or would like to explore) the possibility of making a capital investment in improved welding technologies, applying an automated process, or investigating additional welding opportunities within my firm.

People in your company likely regard you as a welding expert. In such a role, do you capitalize on the opportunity to improve technologies or processes? Many employees passively allow “upper management” to make such decisions. By taking a proactive stance and providing valuable counsel regarding such matters, your career (and your employer) can realize mutually beneficial advantages.

Longer-Term Questions
A modern-day linchpin of successful careers is continuous personal and professional growth. These questions tend to focus on yourself and relationships with other professionals (particularly non- welding ones) either within or outside of your current organization. It forces you to stop, take a step or two back, and better determine the direction (good or not-sogood) of your career, and if you are contemplating something other than welding, whether you have (or intend to) equip yourself adequately.

____ I enjoy the work I perform for a living.

Do you enjoy your job? Do you see yourself continuing to enjoy what you are doing (at least for the foreseeable future)? If you are not truly enjoying your job, what steps could you take now or in the immediate future to more closely align your talents and interests with something that won’t force you to get out of bed every morning?

____ I understand how my actions, efforts, and performance (or lack thereof) contribute to workrelated outcomes.

When you achieve successful performance (however defined), does it translate into better career opportunities? If not, your actions, no matter how well intentioned, may not be helping your career. You may want to consider how to redirect your efforts so they get the attention they deserve. The price you’ll likely pay for not doing so is increased work frustration and, ultimately, burnout.

____ I have utilized (or intend to utilize) either a formal or informal mentor to provide feedback regarding my career goals and objectives.

This person (or persons) need not even work for your company. However, what makes the input provided by this individual unique from those you may “network” with is a combination of the length of the relationship, the intensity (frequency and/or length) of interaction, and level of confidence relative to the type of information exchanged. Capitalizing upon the knowledge provided by this person may seem awkward at first, but with a little practice, you yourself may be capable of being a mentor.

____ I am comfortable attending meetings, providing input, am willing and capable of changing my position on an issue based upon facts or of defending my position, even when unpopular.

Meetings are often a necessary evil of organizational life, but they should also be regarded as an opportunity to showcase your knowledge, skills, abilities, and talents to peers and superiors. Since they provide direct, face-to-face contact with others, how you conduct yourself is critical regarding access to future career opportunities. If you tend to avoid or, even worse, “forget” meetings, take the time to be honest with yourself – why do you do so? You can learn to be effective during the time you are in meetings, even if they rank in popularity with a root canal.

____ I regularly network with both engineers and non-engineering professionals, both within and outside my company.

No one is an island. Do you regularly exchange ideas, debate issues, or enjoy the company of peers with whom you share a common work-related interest? Yes, bowling and golfing score points for this question! Networking builds social capital that can be used to build bridges to better career opportunities.

Scoring key 4 – This activity very much describes me 3 – This activity moderately describes me 2 – I’m indifferent towards this activity 1 – This activity doesn’t really describe me 0 – This activity would be pure drudgery

 

Playing to strengths, moderating weaknesses
On which questions did you score a 3 or 4? Consider these your strengths, what you currently enjoy and likely do well. Take these areas and run with them, and determine how you can perhaps engage in them more frequently. How can you best capitalize on these areas to better improve both your immediate and longer-term career prospects? Can you instruct others to be better welding professionals? Are you particularly effective in meetings? Do you enjoy networking? In short, these are the “heartbeat” of your career.

On which questions did you score a 0 or 1? Don’t fret – we all have blind spots, weaknesses, dislikes. Consider those opportunities to enhance your career. Don’t let your dislike or lack of knowledge of a certain activity limit your career. There are many activities you can undertake today to help shore up some of these limitations.

As an example, if you scored low on the mentor question, find someone who can give you sound advice utilizing their knowledge. Or you can devise a strategy that incorporates and draws upon your strengths (for example, your knowledge of welding) in situations that you may find absolutely dreadful (for example, networking with non-welding professionals).

Many people know next to nothing about welding and its related processes, but find it to be fascinating. The key is, take action today to enhance your career for the long term.

Welding and its related occupations aren’t about to be replaced anytime soon. The knowledge, the skills, abilities, and talents they contribute to society are very valuable, and, given the recruiting, training, and retention challenges regarding the skill, you may have more leverage than you realize. By determining and playing to your strengths, while neutralizing any weaknesses, you give yourself the best opportunity to improve and grow – as a welding professional or otherwise.

After all, it’s your career – make the most of it.

Steven Kerno is a doctoral candidate at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, who researches and writes about the changing world of engineering careers. Steven works at John Deere PDC in Milan, Ill., as a parts cross-reference analyst. In addition, he earned his Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Iowa, and is a member of the Academy of Management. He may be contacted at kernostevenj@johndeere.com. Kevin D. Kuznia, DBA, is the founder of DrCareerAdvisor.com, a career consulting service for engineering professionals. He earned his Doctorate in Business Administration at St. Ambrose University and holds an MBA from the University of Northern Iowa and a Masters in Finance from Walsh College of Accountancy and Business Administration. Kevin is also a veteran of the Fortunate 500 Club, having been employed by John Deere and General Motors. Kevin can be reached at Kevin@DrCareerAdvisor.com.