As with most things, the more you know and the more you can do, the more you’ll earn.
A welder without a welding machine on his trailer or truck is called “one-handed.” A welder with a welding kit is a team welder. A combination welder or “combination welder” is a pipe welder who is certified 6G in stick and TIG.
Pipe welders with their own equipment earn up to $12,000 a month in North Dakota.
If a drill pipe welder sells himself and his machine, how much does he get per hour? Somewhere from $70 an hour to $100 an hour. If that same pipe welder has to use an employer’s welder, he will earn between $30 and $50 per hour.
Another pay factor that is part of the total equation is per diem—money for staying at or near work, away from home. Yet another factor that makes up the large numbers is the number of hours worked. A welder can work twelve hours a day, seven days a week, up to sixty days straight.
What you need to be valuable to an employer starts with your ability to weld.
With or without equipment, you will never be hired or kept unless you can pass a code welding test for the company that puts you to work. There’s a “Catch 22” here. (FYI, if you don’t know what Catch 22 is, rent or stream the movie.) They will NOT invite you to try out to weld pipes for them unless you have first become certified as a 6G pipe welder elsewhere. What does this mean:
You’re going to have to get your first 6G welding certification on your own, somewhere.
If you are now a good welder and think you can pass a 6G test, you can usually find a Certified Welding Inspector, a CWI (under the American Welding Society, AWS) at one of the junior colleges who will certify you. for $300 to $600. Now, he can look for a pipeline job, but he’s not done yet.
If you are invited to take a weld test for a pipeline company or oil rig crew, and you pass, you will not be allowed to weld pipe if you have never welded pipe in the field before. They will put you as a helper of a pipe welder. With any luck, that pipe welder will work you slowly to weld pipes. Once it’s obvious you’re not going to blow joints, they’ll let you weld full time.
CAVEAT:
The pipe schools are full. Your best bet is to get a good welding book from the school and follow it to prepare yourself to practice pipe joints at home. You will save a ton of time and money. You will get more practice than you would in pipe school.
