title: nintendo cuts fullyear sales operating profit forecasts
text: by day i work in a scrap yard it is not glamorous but glamour does not pay my bills in the evening i teach in a welding program at a community college
  like many others i once bought into the fallacy that you need a piece of paper from a university to succeed in life at the age of thirty i graduated from a university with an undergraduate degree and the customary debt which came along with it twentynine years later i see how wrong i was
  soon after graduating i obtained an office job and moved to a city where i knew no one the job i was so optimistic about turned out to be like marriage to a crack whore each day was as if walking through a minefield full of dysfunctional women emasculated men drama backstabbing catfights and every other problem associated with modern workplaces worse yet the cut male managers allowed trim to be in charge resulting in a fucked up toxic culture after three tumultuous and abusive years i found myself unceremoniously kicked to the curb and surprisingly relieved
  after a lengthy stint of unemployment i landed an entrylevel job in a metal fabrication company one of the benefits offered was tuition reimbursement for work related classes i enrolled in welding classes at night and upgraded my skills all on my employers dime
  i immediately noticed a difference from my previous job i worked exclusively with men except for a few token assholes the men liked their solitude did their jobs and left each other alone the work was varied creative and with overtime the pay was decent the fact that i had a work ethic showed up every day on time and desired to learn earned me respect quickly
  i eventually went down a different path but returned to welding parttime as an adjunct instructor
  welding is the joining of two metal pieces or parts by applying heat a filler metal or electrode helps to make the joint power source supplies electricity required for heat and a shielding gas or fluxcovered electrode aids in the welding process
  the most common welding processes are gas metal arc welding gmaw flux core arc welding fcaw gas tungsten arc welding gtaw and shielded metal arc welding smaw of these gas metal arc welding is the easiest to learn and offers the fastest production welding involves both ferrous steel and nonferrous metals aluminum stainless steel
  why welding  according to a bureau of labor report the need for welders will grow by  percent by 
   according to a national association of manufacturers report nearly  percent of manufacturers in the united states report that they cannot find skilled welders to meet demand
   the american welding society reports that the average age for a welder is now in the midfifties
   entrylevel wages in my region average  annually with skilled welders earning  and more after five years in the trade
  i frequently hear from employers who are desperate for skilled welders one plant manager told me there are too many computer jockeys and not enough people who can weld and turn a wrench another manufacturer told me we have over a dozen welders retiring and no one to replace them further the school i teach at has more jobs available than they have students enrolled
  what welders do welders work in manufacturing construction maintenance repair facilities and service companies welders typically work eighthour shifts and a fiveday week but overtime is common welders often perform other duties like operating metal fabrication equipment and doing assembly work
  the more skills a welder develops the more value and earning potential he has for example being able to weld cut and fit up metals and read weld symbols and prints will command a higher wage becoming certified in certain weld procedures also increases a welders wages and marketability
  qualifications 
  welding is the quintessential bluecollar job it is physically demanding hot dirty and requires a high degree of skill other personal characteristics are good eyesight and hand eye coordination good manual dexterity and good concentration
  training community colleges offer affordable training for entrylevel jobs in welding most programs are nine months but my school also offers a sixteenweek work ready certificate in welding students learn common welding processes thermal cutting processes and blueprint reading unlike the typical ivory palace college professors instructors are required to have a minimum of three years related and verifiable industrial experience job placement is also good
  additional facts 
  despite a decent paying skill in high demand clueless parents and educators continue to dissuade young men from entering bluecollar trades like welding the result has been an entire generation of young men ruined by hostile fouryear colleges worthless degrees and insurmountable debt
  perhaps you are a perceptive and bright young rok reader considering a career change in closing consider these facts
   you will always have employment as a welder
   welding skills are highly transferable you can carry these skills to your next and often higher paying job
   unlike many whitecollar corporate jobs of today the average welders wages increase with skill overtime merit increases and production bonuses are common benefits for welders
   at the end of your shift you can leave your job at the door
   welding offers a level of creativity solitude and seeing the fruits of your labor studies show that welders machinists and other bluecollar trades have lower suicide rates than many whitecollar professions
   welding is often a gateway trade into other even higher paying trades like machinist multicraft machinery maintenance and millwright
   welding is a male dominated occupation traditionalist men will find it offers some insulation and respite from the typical feminist diatribe and pc bullshit of todays corporate world
  conclusion how has welding benefited me first i developed reasoning skills something that academia failed to do i also developed a thorough understanding of how men do the dirty nasty and dangerous jobs in this life feminists and elitists can marginalize men all they want but men risk their lives and health to build and maintain their shit
  further welding has opened some doors for me mainly teaching my ultimate goal is to teach welding fulltime a late life career change if you will and one i hope will happen
  read more is a blue collar job for you