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Only 5.3% of US welders are women. After years as a professor, I became one

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291 points Michelangelo11 | 3 comments | 06 Nov 24 00:24 UTC | HN request time: 0.616s | source
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edwbuck ◴[06 Nov 24 20:53 UTC] No.42069193[source]▶
All that I can add of value is summed up in the phrase "Sweet hood, you go girl!"

Personally, there are many jobs that people just don't understand because they just don't interact with them. Welding is one example, but there are many.

My Uncle died with a well deserved lifestyle after doing "large pipe" welding. The definition of large, in this case, was pipe you could theoretically drive a car through. Just to weld the pipe together from plate steel, one would have to weld together a rig to hold the plate, as well as a roller press to bend the plate correctly.

People would be astounded that I, a software developer, would hold a welder in such high esteem, but while I might be (my own, probably faulty estimate) in the top 10,000 he was in the top 100 (again my own, probably faulty estimate). I've seen him walk into a job that took three "lesser" welder (mind you, these are family members, so please don't call them out as such) six hours and complete it in 20 minutes.

I'm what one might call a 10x programmer. That said, he was at least a 100x welder. Alas, he died due to a lung full of chromium, which is a real risk when welding the exotic metals that generally the top welders are asked to work.

I miss him dearly, and Lon (Lonnie) if you can read this from heaven, you're still the best damned welder I've ever seen, and a true master of your craft. You inspire me to do better than I do. I only hope to become as good in my field as you are in yours.

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glitchc ◴[06 Nov 24 20:59 UTC] No.42069284[source]▶
I am happy to see you proud of your uncle, and am very sorry for your loss. You aptly described why the trades are in decline across the country:

> Alas, he died due to a lung full of chromium, which is a real risk when welding the exotic metals that generally the top welders are asked to work.

This is why. There's no appetite to do this kind of work. People are too comfortable.

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1. eszed ◴[08 Nov 24 17:58 UTC] No.42088932[source]▶
> There's no appetite to do this kind of work. People are too comfortable.

I really hate implication of this statement. (You may not have meant exactly this, but I've heard it said with a straight face by others.)

Syllogized: People don't want to do [unpleasant or dangerous job], therefore let's make the rest of life worse so they will.

I can acknowledge the logic to that position, but there is also a logic to let's make [job] less dangerous, more bearable, and / or better compensated.

(To be clear: ensuring safety is broadly speaking the realm of government to enforce. Improving pay and working conditions is the responsibility of employers. Unions can affect both, but require the support of the state to be viable.)

I don't understand why anyone would choose the option which increases human misery. In what moral system is that the right thing to do?

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2. glitchc ◴[09 Nov 24 13:33 UTC] No.42094321[source]▶
> Syllogized: People don't want to do [unpleasant or dangerous job], therefore let's make the rest of life worse so they will.

It was simply an observation. I meant the first part of this, not the second part. Try not to read too much into it. No one wants a worse life, however there's also no incentive to improve those job conditions. Historically, once locals stop doing these jobs, they don't pick them back up again. The niche is filled through other means. And that's progress.

Technologists often think of robotics and automation as solutions to the dull, dirty and dangerous, and eventually we will make a field welding robot. In the interim, companies will find outside labour to do the work. Construction in North America is some of the most mechanized in the industrial world because of this trend. Take road paving for example, extremely hazardous work that was largely manual with people shovelling and pressing tar. Now there's a specialized machine that lays down an entire lane at a time, with humans largely relegated to operation and maintenance. Isn't that what we all want? That no one has to do this dangerous work?

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3. eszed ◴[09 Nov 24 22:26 UTC] No.42097306[source]▶
Yes, I agree with you about all of that.

In fact, the transition (ie, progress) will come faster if we legislate more-stringent safety regulations, and strengthen workers' bargaining position° in regards to pay and working conditions. Corporations hate that, of course, but increasing labor cost encourages them to invest in innovation.

°I like a UBI, but there are many sensible suggestions, all of which require political will. The anti-labor position you didn't take, but others do, stifles progress.