2. TABLE OF
CONTENTS
TWS Programs
What Does a Welder Do?
Welding Career Path Tree
KAYLA J
What Does it Take to
Learn Welding?
JAMES “TY” SOUTHERN
Basic Principles of
Welding
GILBERTO RUVALCABA
5
8
11
12
16
22
26
32
12
KAYLA J.
08
WHAT DOES A WELDER DO?
22
JAMES
SOUTHERN
32
GILBERTO
RUVALCABA
16
WHAT DOES IT TAKE
TO LEARN WELDING?
26
BASIC PRINCIPLES
OF WELDING
3. 1
According to 2016 IPEDS data TWS has the largest total combined enrollment of students for all post-secondary schools in the U.S. with
the designated largest program of CIP Code Welding Technology/Welder.
Watch TWS Top Welder
Season 2 hosted by Dale
Brisby on the Tulsa Welding
School YouTube Channel.
OUR PROGRAMS
HOW DOES
TWSTWSBECOME THE LARGEST?1
TULSA, OK
Professional Welder
7-month program
Associate of Occupational
Studies in Welding Technology
15 1/2-month program
HOUSTON, TX
Welding Specialist
7-month program
Welding Specialist with Pipefitting
9 1/2-month program
JACKSONVILLE, FL
Professional Welder
7-month program
Professional Welder with Pipefitting
10-month programWeldingSchoolTulsa
54
5. WHAT DOES A
WELDERDO?
WHAT DOES A
WELDERDO?
Welders have skills that apply to a wide variety
of different industries, and with the pending
shortage of workers in the skilled trades, the job
outlook is good.1
“
Welders create the metal framework for buildings and bridges.
They also cut and repair beams, columns and girders. Welders
work for construction companies, manufacturers, ship builders,
mining companies, oil and gas companies and aerospace indus-
tries. If you’re considering a welding career, here is an overview
of the qualifications and skills you’ll need.
7. Kayla didn’t know what she wanted
to do after graduating high school,
but working a dead-end job at a
restaurant wasn’t it. After some
encouragement from her dad
and thinking about it for a year,
she moved down to Florida and
enrolled in the Professional Welder
program at Tulsa Welding School
in Jacksonville.
The money inspired Kayla to go
to welding school, but even then,
it was, in her own words, “blood,
sweat and tears.” She fell in love
with welding by the third month of
school and got better and better.
Kayla was motivated by her
parents, her instructors and her
competitive spirit to become the
best welder she could be. She
hung a “No Trespassing – Do Not
enter” sign up in her booth and
practiced for hours every day.
Kayla was hired as a welder by
National Boiler Service, the first
woman from TWS to land a job
with them. She made $30 an hour
and $145 per diem. Her first check?
$3,400. She was able to save mon-
ey, buy some furniture and go on
vacation in the Florida Keys.
She has her own home, vehicles
and campers, and she travels four
months out of the year for archery.
She’s a co-breadwinner in her fam-
ily. Here’s Kayla’s advice to anyone
who is thinking about enrolling in
TWS:
“Take every last bit of knowledge
you can. You’re going to get out of
it what you put into it. If you think
you’re going coast through TWS,
graduate and get a job when you
get out in the field, you’re never
going to make it. You’ve got to keep
your head down, spend time in your
booth and practice.”
WATCH KAYLA’S STORY ON
Tulsa Welding School’s YouTube channel
KAYLA J
TWS Graduate
1312
8. reddarc.com 1-866-733-3272
Rental, Lease,
Fleet Management
Gas Engine-Driven Welders
LPG Engine-Driven Welders
Diesel Engine-Driven Welders
Stick Welders and Paks
Multiprocess Welders and Paks
Advanced Process Welders
Multioperator DC Converters
MIG Packages
TIG Welders,Stud Welders
Semiautomatic Wirefeeders
Spoolguns
Wirefeeder/Welders
Automatic Wirefeeders and Tractors
Automatic Girth (AGW),Vertical Up (VUP) Welders
Positioners,Manipulators,Turning Rolls
Diesel Generators and Power Distribution Panels
Mobile Welder Certification Trailers
Electrode and Flux Holding Ovens
Induction Heating Equipment
Gas Cylinder Cages
Welding Fume Extractors
Plasma Cutters
Pipe Bevelers
Welders
Positioners
Generators
Specialty Equipment
WELDING IS EVERYWHERE
WeldingSchool.com
Cars
Safety
Supplies & Ships
Welders hold a fundamental role in producing
the ships we use for sending and receiving
supplies both nationally and internationally. If a
weld fails, often the whole ship’s structure fails.
The military needs welders to support
our troops. Military welding includes
building pipelines, repairing tanks and
outfitting military vehicles. Welders who
do this type of work can find themselves
working as close as their hometown or
all the way overseas.
Power
Technology
Welding work ranges from the bottom of the ocean to outer
space and everywhere in between! Welders’ handiwork can
be found everywhere from the satellites in space to the
phones we hold in our hands.
Did you know that racecar teams hire welders
to travel with pit crews? Welding is an
essential technology for any motorsport
because everything metal is custom. NASCARTM
racing teams build their cars from the
ground up, which requires a lot of welding
and metal fabrication.
Buildings
Power plant welders use hand-welding or flame-cutting
equipment to join metal components and fill the holes
or seams of fabricated metal products. Plant welders
play a huge role in the day-to-day functionality of
power plants and are integral in building the power
plant from the ground up!
If you’ve ever set foot inside a building, then you’ve
already benefited from a structural welder’s work.
Structural welders ensure that when a building – such
as a hospital or factory – must be shut down for
maintenance, repairs or expansion, they are quickly up
and running again safely and efficiently.
TWS highlights the everyday essentials that
rely on skilled welding professionals.
9. If you like to work with your hands,
stay active on the job and feel ac-
complished after completing a proj-
ect, welding might be the career for
you. But with all of the requirements
that come with handling large piec-
es of metal, operating welding tools
and following safety precautions,
what does it take to learn welding?
It’s all about learning the right tech-
niques and practicing. The more
committed you are to your training,
the easier it will be to learn.
Welding Skills & Abilities
To be successful at a highly exact
craft like welding requires working
with precision and steadiness, as
well as critical thinking skills, com-
munication and reading blueprints.
LEARN
WELDING
WHAT DOES
IT TAKE TO
?
Welding Techniques
As a welder, you decide which
welding technique to use depend-
ing on a variety of factors, such as
thickness or shape of the material.3
Welding techniques have varying
levels of difficulty, and they change
over time with innovations in tech-
nology.
Here the most common welding
techniques a welder might perform
on the job:
• SMAW
• MIG
• TIG
• High Frequency TIG
• FluxCore
• Structural Welding
• Pipe Welding
• Aircraft Welding
• Thin Alloy Welding
• Pipeline Welding
PIPEFITTING
ARE EXPECTED TO HAVE A HIGHER
16 17
12. art form, something that re-
quires a lot of focus and skill. His
advice to anyone thinking about
training at TWS:
“When you’re going into this
program, you will get out of it
what you put into it. The sim-
plest advice is to just work hard
and not give up. The more you
ask questions, the harder you
try, the more willing you are to
let them teach you the things
you didn’t even know you need-
ed to know, the more success-
ful you will be. There are times
when it will hit hard, when it will
be frustrating, but you’ve just
got to push through.”
JAMESSOUTHERN
TWS Graduate 2014
Could you support a family on
a butcher’s salary? James “Ty”
Southern couldn’t. The need to
provide better for his wife and
young daughter motivated him
to enroll in the Welding Special-
ist program at Tulsa Welding
School & Technology Center.
Ty had done a bit of structur-
al welding in high school and
during some fabrication jobs he
held, but he knew he wouldn’t
learn if he didn’t surround him-
self with people who knew more
than he did and who could teach
him the right way to do things.
The knowledgeable instructors
and the fast pace of the pro-
gram helped him get to where
he needed to be.
Ty was hired as a welder at Hen-
derson HP Piping a month after
graduation, welding high-pres-
sure piping that goes on oil rigs.
His first paycheck was much
more than anything he ever saw
as a butcher, and any work week
that was more than 40 hours
just meant more money in his
pocket.
His favorite part about being a
welder? Ty sees welding as an
READ JAMES’S STORY AT
weldingschool.com/blog/graduate-connections
23
13. Your single-source supplier, every day
Airgas can help keep your projects on schedule with a streamlined supply chain, local inventory
and industry-leading products, services and expertise.
• Welding and cutting gases
• Welding equipment and rentals
• Safety gear
• Power tools
• 80+ welding process specialists
Rely on Airgas to get the job done. To find out more, call 855.625.5285 or visit Airgas.com.
Everything the job requires
Welding Ad 09.2017.indd 1 9/20/201
JUST
WELDIT.2020HIGH SCHOOL ANNUAL
SATURDAY
APRIL 18, 2020
SATURDAY
APRIL 25, 2020
SATURDAY
FEB. 29, 2020
Over $245,000 in SCHOLARSHIPS and prizes were awarded in 2019 between our three competitions!
GRAND PRIZE:
Full Tuition Scholarship to TWS.
TOP RUNNER-UPS:
Partial Tuition Scholarship to TWS.
$500 SCHOLARSHIPS:
To TWS for ALL PARTICIPANTS.
BE A WINNER!
Other welding related prizes will be awarded.
Contestants are limited by locations.
For more information and registration forms
contact your Admissions Representative or
visit WeldingSchool.com
243A Greens Road
Houston, TX
2545 East 11th Street
Tulsa, OK
3500 Southside Boulevard
Jacksonville, FL
WELDING COMPETITION
Accredited School, ACCSC. TWS-Jacksonville located at 1750 Southside Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32216 is recognized by ACCSC as a satellite location of TWS-Jacksonville located at 3500 Southside Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32216. Tulsa Welding School & Technology Center (TWSTC) in Houston and TWS-Jacksonville are branch campuses of Tulsa Welding
School, located at 2545 E. 11th St., Tulsa, OK 74104. Tulsa, OK campus is licensed by OBPVS and ASBPCE. Jacksonville, FL campus is licensed by the Florida Commission for Independent Education, License No. 2331. TWSTC and TWS in Tulsa, OK are approved by TWC. TWS in Jacksonville is licensed by the Mississippi Commission on Proprietary
School and College Registration, License No. C-668. Licensure indicates only that minimum standards have been met; it is not an endorsement or guarantee of quality. Licensure is not equivalent to or synonymous with accreditation by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. TWS in Jacksonville is also regulated by
polis, IN 46204; OCTS@dwd.in.gov; 317-234-8338 or 317-232-1732; http://www.in.gov/dwd/2731.htm. The AOSWT program is an Associate of Occupational Studies degree program and is not an academic degree.
The AOSWT program is not approved for the following states: CO, GA, LA, MN, and TX. For more information about our graduation rates, the median debt of students who complete our programs, and other important information, please visit our website at: http://www.weldingschool.com/student-resources/regulatory-information/.
14. B A S I C
PRINCIPLES
OF WELDING
At a basic level, welding consists
of using heat, pressure, or a combi-
nation of both to bond two pieces
of metal together. If you were not
familiar with welding, however, you
would be surprised at the number
of welding techniques out there and
the science behind each of those
methods. Welding isn’t simple. To
use heat and pressure to bond two
pieces of metal together requires
a high level of skill and a working
knowledge of basic physics, chemis-
try and metallurgy principles.
Welding Processes
Most welding processes fall into two
categories: arc welding and torch
welding. In arc welding, the materials
and filler material are melted togeth-
er using an electrical arc. Common
types of arc welding include:
• Gas Metal Arc Welding
• Gas Tungsten Arc Welding
• Plasma Arc Welding
• Shielded-Metal Arc Welding
• Submerged Arc Welding
Torch welding, on the other hand,
is a process that melts the working
material and welding rod using an
open flame. The most common ap-
plication for torch welding is repair
and maintenance work. The big ad-
vantage to this type of welding is
2726
15. ROUGHLY 950
MAN HOURS ARE REQUIRED FOR
WELDING AND FABRICATION
BEFORE A NASCARTM
CAR CAN RACE**
**HTTPS://WWW.WELD-ED.ORG/NR/RDONLYRES/F75C7675-0F14-4492-9969-0F3C63F02AFD/6348/INDEMAND_BOOK.PDF
that it allows the user to control the
torch and rod at the same time, mak-
ing it easier to be more precise. The
most common type of torch welding
is oxyacetylene welding.
Of course, there are many more
welding methods than these, some
of which are quite extreme. For in-
stance, explosions, laser beams and
high-frequency vibrations can also
be used to join metals together.
Physics of Welding
Different types of metals will react
differently when welded, depend-
ing on their mechanical and chem-
ical properties. Heat can affect the
toughness and ductility, or the ability
to bend or stretch without breaking
of the metal.1
Metal expands when
heat is applied to it and contracts
when the heat is taken away, so
welding can also effectively straight-
en out a bent or warped weldment
or plate.
Chemistry of Welding
Chemistry plays a key role in the
quality of the weld because of the
heating and cooling of the metal.
Oxygen reacts with molten met-
al, so metal oxide will form on the
metal and weaken the weld if there
isn’t some kind of protection meth-
od, such as using protective gases
around the puddle to prevent the
oxygen and other impurities from
getting in.
OVER 50%
OF U.S. PRODUCTS REQUIRE WELDING
**http://careersinwelding.com/welding_fun_facts.php
29
16. Welding Metallurgy
Along with physics and chemis-
try, welding students will also learn
about the physical, mechanical and
chemical properties of metallurgy.
High temperatures can change
the crystalline structure of a metal
enough to weaken it. While there are
charts available outlining mechan-
ical properties like tensile strength
and yield, they don’t show chemical
composition or physical information
like conductivity, so a welder needs
to have a working knowledge of
these areas of metallurgy as well.
A Rewarding Career
Becoming a skilled welder requires
learning about the different factors
that go into producing solid welds
and the variety of ways to bond
two pieces of metal together. Tulsa
Welding School’s welding programs
can prepare you with the knowledge
and training you need to get started
in this rewarding career.
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF WELDING
WELDING PROCESSES
Gas metal arc welding
Gas tungsten arc welding
Plasma arc welding
Shielded-metal arc welding
Submerged arc welding
PHYSICS OF WELDING
WELDING METALLURGY
A REWARDING CAREER
CHEMISTRY OF WELDING
30
17. Why would Gilberto Ruvalca-
ba enroll at TWS when he was
already a welder in the field?
Because he knew he wouldn’t
get better at welding if he didn’t
get professional training from
the pros who get paid to teach.
He temporarily stepped away
from the field and enrolled in the
Professional Welder program at
Tulsa Welding School.
Gilberto’s favorite part of train-
ing at TWS was getting out
what he put into it. He enrolled
because he wanted to get better
at his trade and provide more
for his family. In his own words,
“It was the best time of my life
because I got to learn some-
thing that I enjoyed.”
He got a job as a welder at
Matrix Service, where he helps
build vessels and tanks. He
makes more money than he ever
did before school and still gets
to come home to his wife and
seven-year-old daughter every
day.
Gilberto’s advice to anyone who
is thinking about enrolling at
TWS: “Take the advice that’s giv-
en to you and make the most of
your time in school. Stay in the
booth and keep practicing! Try
your best to make your welds
better each day, one hour at a
time, one day at a time. Do that
and you’ll make the best money
you have ever made in your life.
But it’s all on you.”
GILBERTO RUVALCABA
TWS Jacksonville Graduate
READ GILBERTO’S STORY AT
weldingschool.com/blog/graduate-connections
33
19. WeldingSchool.com
WE ARE TWS PROUD!
@TulsaWelding
School
@TulsaWelding
SchoolJacksonvilleCampus
@TulsaWelding
SchoolHouston
Want to see more welding stories?
Watch these graduates in action.
weldingschool.com/nicksstory
WeldingSchoolTulsa
WeldingSchoolTulsa twsweldtulsaweldingschoolWeldingSchool
