I had a Summer job at Electric Boat in the 1970’s. Hourly worker absenteeism was off the chart. I remember a Hartford Courant article where they interviewed a young shipyard worker.
Reporter, “Why do you only come to work 3 days a week?”
Worker, “Because if I only show up 2 days a week, I don’t earn enough to live on.”
I doubt it’s any better today.
intercst
After all that anecdotal evidence, how can I disagree?
Marine welders are … welders.
In the scheme of welding there’s:
Farmers with sticks and mild steel rods - no prep, finish before sunset
Exhaust shop flunky - bubblegum that doesn’t leak - too much is good enough
Amusement park repairmen - it should last at least one more ride
RV trailer apprentice - Hey, we have a warranty - on equipment no one uses
Boat trailer apprentice - we don’t need a warranty - for equipment no one uses
“Wrought Iron” fence panel maker - it’s not real iron, these aren’t real welds
Race car repair - this jalopy passes tech with $50 on the dash
…
…
…
Steel boat builders
Aluminum boat builders
Structural welders with AWS D1 certification
Process Piping and equipment welders with AWS D10/ASME V Certs and a WPS/PQR set.
Pressure vessel fabricators with ASME VIII Div 2 certifications
Underwater process welders with AWS D3.6M
It’s safe to say people who are certified welders will never be short of work. It’s also safe to say that most welding is not certified welding.
This isn’t very reassuring!
JimA
There are also Pressure Vessel/Piping ASME III Class 1, 2 and 3 N-Stamp certifications
AI Overview
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Yes, General Dynamics Electric Boat has extensive in-house welding training programs for new hires and provides ongoing training for its welders. The company offers paid training and uses its own “Trades Academies” and “Active Learning Centers” to teach both traditional and cutting-edge welding processes. They train welders for a wide variety of materials and processes, including robotic welding, and have programs for both entry-level and skilled workers.
They were doing all that training in the 1970’s, too.
The problem is that working in a shipyard is dirty, loud, and has you breathing a lot of noxious fumes. You need to pay well to keep people at it.
The salaries weren’t anything like you could get in the oil & gas industry.
intercst
Some people want to be welders regardless of oil and gas.
AI Overview
Welders at General Dynamics Electric Boat are paid an average hourly wage of approximately
$28 to $31 per hour, with salaries varying based on location and specific role. For example, the average pay in Groton, CT, is around $30.76 per hour, while the average for a welder in North Kingstown, RI, is $28.25 per hour. Specialized positions like pipe welders can earn significantly more, with one estimate for a pipe welder in the Farmington, CT, area showing an average of $58.18 per hour.
The Constellation program was supposed to produce 20 frigates to serve as small surface combatant ships to support the rest of the fleet and be able to conduct independent patrols. In an effort to reduce development risks and avoid fielding delays that often accompany entirely new designs, Navy officials decided to use an already proven parent design they could modify to meet the Navy’s needs. They selected the European multi-purpose frigate design employed by the French and Italian navies.
Navy leaders made the decision to speed up the process with the Constellation program because it was supposed to fill the capability gap created by the failure of the Littoral Combat Ship program.
The decision to use a proven design for the new program was sound. Defense policymakers typically pursue clean-sheet designs because the contractors can maximize their financial gain through the research and development process. But the Constellation-class program now clearly demonstrates how the national security establishment’s natural proclivity to make simple things complicated remains firmly in place.
The Constellation-class program failed because rather than simply building the ships as designed in Europe, American naval engineers effectively tore up the blueprints and designed a new ship. The U.S. Navy has different mission requirements than its European counterparts, so the ship’s design did need some modifications. Officials sold the idea of the Constellation-class program in part by saying the American version would have 85% commonality with the European version. They then lengthened the hull by nearly 24 feet, redesigned the bow, completely redesigned the ship’s superstructure, and added approximately 500 tons of displacement. The American design today has only 15% commonality with the original.
Navy officials compounded all those problems by committing one of the major deadly acquisition sins: starting production before completing the design.
Hey it worked for the F 35…NOT
As the annual defense approaches a trillion dollars a year, to say nothing of missile & artillery munition shortages; is this the best military money can buy?