2. TABLE OF
CONTENTS
TWS Programs
What Does a
Welder Do?
Welding Career Path Tree
AMANDA MICHAUD
What Does it Take to
Learn Welding?
BLAKE FROOME
Basic Principles of
Welding
SERGIO BENTON
Sponsors
Campus Locations
5
8
11
12
16
22
26
32
34
35
12
AMANDA
MICHAUD
08
WHAT DOES A
WELDER DO?
22
BLAKE
FROOME
32
SERGIO
BENTON
16
WHAT DOES IT TAKE
TO LEARN WELDING?
26
BASIC PRINCIPLES
OF WELDING
3. 1
According to 2015 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.
TWS is a proud community
of students, graduates,
instructors, staff and all
those who support us.
#TWSProud encourages
everyone to post pictures
and videos that make them
proud to be part of our
community!
OUR PROGRAMS
HOW DOES
TWSTWSBECOME THE LARGEST?1
TULSA, OK
Professional Welder
7 month program
Associate of Occupational
Studies in Welding Technology
14 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 program
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. Amanda Michaud had wanted
to attend Tulsa Welding School
since her sophomore year of high
school. In July 2016, she made that
a reality.
But her journey didn’t start there.
Michaud, 19, went to a specialty
high school with an FFA (Future
Farmers of America) department
and an agriculture magnet pro-
gram, where she started welding as
a freshman. During her senior year,
while her peers were struggling
with writing college essays and
sending in applications to tradi-
tional universities, she had already
enrolled in the Welding Specialist
with Pipefitting program at Tulsa
Welding School & Technology Cen-
ter in Houston, Texas.
But what about welding besides
flying sparks and fire did Michaud
enjoy so much? “My favorite part
was absolutely TIG welding. It was
very clean, very detailed and very
precise,” she says. “I knew then that
TIG is what I wanted to do. I think I
had the best teacher at the school
for that program, so he made it
that much better.” She also enjoyed
building something from nothing,
like turning scrap metal into a BBQ
pit trailer.
AMANDA MICHAUD
TWS Graduate 2016
After graduating, Michaud took up
a job with Soldream, Inc., a pre-
cision machining and fabrication
company in Vernon, Connecticut.
She welds parts that go into fighter
jets for the military, like the F-15
Eagle, F-15E Strike Eagle and F-16
Fighting Falcon.
Before welding school, Michaud
didn’t have the money to do the
things she wanted to do. Now, she
uses her paychecks to travel and
work on her truck.
According to Michaud, anyone
considering enrolling in TWS
shouldn’t be afraid to just because
it’s not the typical route people go
down after graduating high school.
“I’m 19 and I’ve already finished my
schooling. I’m paying off my student
loans, which aren’t too big, and I’ve
already started my career,” she says.
“I still have a bunch of high school
friends who just started their soph-
omore year of college! They are
going to be so far in debt, it’s going
to take them 10 or 20 years to pay it
off, while I’m going to be done, free
and clear, making more money than
they are.”
READ AMANDA’S STORY AT
weldingschool.com/blog/graduate-connections
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.1
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
WELDING SPECIALTIES LIKE
PIPEFITTING
ARE EXPECTED TO HAVE A HIGHER
THAN AVERAGE JOB GROWTH2
16 17
12. Froome currently makes $18.50
an hour plus overtime. What he
enjoys the most about his trade is
completing a flawless weld with no
infractions, no inclusions and no
porosity.
He plans to keep advancing and
learning as much as possible. “I’m
going to work this for a certain
amount of time, but I have a couple
of things on the back burner with
some people,” Froome says. “I’d like
to get with a company that does
shutdown and turnaround work at
refineries. There’s a lot of traveling
and it pays very well. I’d also like to
do more stick and TIG welding.”
Froome’s advice to new TWS
students and anyone considering
enrolling at TWS is to be accountable,
use school resources and never give
up. “You’ll think, ‘I can’t do this.
I’m never going to be able to learn
how to weld.’ Everybody has those
thoughts, those bad days. Just
keep pushing forward and practice,
practice, practice.”
BLAKE
FROOMETWS Graduate 2014
Blake Froome may have earned a
bachelor’s degree in history and
political science, but it wasn’t until he
enrolled in the Professional Welder
program at Tulsa Welding School in
Tulsa, Oklahoma, that he was able
to stop jumping from job to job and
focus on working toward a lifetime
career.
By the time he was 27, Froome had
already worked as a welder and
worked other jobs doing lawn care,
selling health insurance and being
a personal trainer. Dissatisfied and
unhappy, he knew he needed a real
profession in life. He moved to Tulsa
two weeks after applying to TWS.
While in welding school, the
instructors, staff, students and sense
of gratification after a good day of
work kept him laser-focused on
his welds. He maintained a perfect
4.0, participated in the Student
Ambassador program and won “Top
Welder” in his graduating class.
Three weeks before he even
graduated from TWS, Froome
landed a job doing MIG welding for
XL Specialized Trailers, a market-
leading manufacturer of heavy
haul and specialized trailers in
Manchester, Iowa. During his 11-hour
shift each day, he immerses himself
in building, fabricating and reading
blueprints.
READ BLAKE’S STORY AT
weldingschool.com/blog/graduate-connections
“Infractions are any defect in the
weld. A weld being free of porosity
and inclusions is important because
they both contribute to the
integrity of the weld and will also
require repair if found on an x-ray.”
Chris Schuler, Director of Training -
Tulsa Campus
23
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• Welding and cutting gases
• Welding equipment and rentals
• Safety gear
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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.2019 HIGH SCHOOL ANNUAL
SATURDAY
APRIL 13, 2019
SATURDAY
APRIL 27, 2019
SATURDAY
FEB. 23, 2019
Over $245,000 in SCHOLARSHIPS and prizes were awarded in 2018 between our three contests!
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
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**
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. Even before he enrolled in the
Professional Welder program at
Tulsa Welding School in Jacksonville,
Florida, Sergio Benton did three
years of welding in a vocational high
school and held a welding job at a
mom and pop welding shop in his
home town.
Benton, 19, loved welding from the
moment he watched a welding
instructor show how to put molten
metal together. When a TWS
enrollment advisor showed up on
his school campus to talk to his 11th
grade class about the programs, he
knew it was what he wanted to do. “I
thought, ‘What the heck? I’m going
to give it a go!’” says Benton. “I love
educating myself. I never settle for
knowing just one thing; I like to know
everything I can.”
Benton’s favorite part of the program
was interacting with the instructors,
who always pushed him to work hard
and give it his best. “I loved the way
the instructors see the best in you
when you don’t even see the best in
yourself,” he says, “They always push
you, encouraging you not to settle
for something that could be better.”
His Career Services Advisor helped
him get a job welding gas tanks
onto brand-new tractors with JCB,
an agricultural and construction
equipment company. He makes
more money in a week than he did
with three part-time jobs in a month.
Benton sees a long future with JCB.
“I’d like to work my way up to a plant
manager here with JCB. I’ve fallen
in love with this company,” he says.
“I have my 401k set up. I have full
benefits. It’s crazy, but when I was
younger, my mom would take us on
trips everywhere, and I’d always see
this plant from the freeway. I loved
those tractors, so it’s a blessing
to say I work for them, that I’m an
employee at this plant.”
In addition to working hard and
always giving your best, Benton’s
advice for people considering
enrollment at TWS is that it can’t
just be the allure of the money after
graduating and getting a job. “You
have to love what you do. If you don’t
love it, you’re not going to give it
your all. I don’t feel like I’m working.
I feel like I’m doing what I love, and
somebody happens to pay me for it.”
SERGIO BENTONTWS Jacksonville Graduate
READ SERGIO’S STORY AT
weldingschool.com/blog/graduate-connections
33
19. #TWS Proud
WeldingSchool.com
WE ARE TWS PROUD!
@TulsaWelding
School
@TulsaWelding
SchoolJacksonvilleCampus
@TulsaWelding
SchoolHouston
SHARE YOUR
EXPERIENCE
WITH US!
#TWSProud
Want to see more welding stories?
Watch these graduates in action.weldingschool.com/nelasstory
weldingschool.com/nicksstory
STEG-669