Creed, 30, from Magnolia, Texas, graduated from the Professional Welder program at Tulsa Welding School & Technology Center in Houston back in 2017. Now a welding engineer, Creed shares his story with us.
Thanks for your time, Creed. What did you do before coming to Tulsa Welding School?
I am wary to say this, but I didn’t finish high school, I dropped out. Before Tulsa Welding School, the only worthwhile thing I did was serve a mission for my church for two years. Other than that, I just worked at Subway and Quiznos. I wasn’t really doing anything with my life, which is scary looking back now. I wasn’t proactive at all. I was lazy. I just wanted to sit around playing video games. I wasn’t thinking ahead, thinking of my future. Then as I started to mature a little, it hit me that I had to get moving. That’s what prompted me to get involved with my church and go serve on a mission, and then go to welding school.
Where did the idea of going to welding school come from?
I did woodshop in junior high and really enjoyed working with my hands. In high school they had a welding class, so I gave it a try. I got hooked, I fell in love with it. I very quickly decided welding is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, or at least something that had to do with welding.
So, you were plotting a welding career even then?
My original plan was to do underwater welding, but I decided that wasn’t for me a few years later. I wanted to do something a little safer! I’d always wanted to do some sort of engineering, so I coupled that with my welding plan.
Were your parents after you to go to college?
My parents were perfectly fine with the path that I was taking. They encouraged me, even though I didn’t finish high school. They said that if I didn’t want to go to college, that was perfectly acceptable because I could go to a trade school, pick up a skill and be successful with that. I got my GED before I went to Tulsa Welding School, and then of course, I went on to get my engineering degree.
What did you enjoy most about your experience at Tulsa Welding School?
That’s a tough question to answer. There were quite a few things that left an impression on me. One of them was the diversity of instruction. We’d get a new instructor every so often, and so we’d get multiple viewpoints, multiple methods of welding, different ways of learning and practicing. There were a lot of advantages to that. Another thing that really stood out to me was I learned how to recognize the difference between fact and people’s opinions. So, I’d have one instructor tell me one way and another instructor might tell me to do it a different way. I’d just do what I was told every time. I ended up learning a lot more by doing things different ways. I think that accelerated the rate at which I was picking up the skill.
Did you have tough days on the program?
Yeah, it’s very intense. There were definitely times, especially early on, that I don’t want to say that I was discouraged, but it was very challenging. I basically came into it with no experience. The welding experience I had in high school was so long before and so minimal that I was basically at ground zero starting out. A lot of people in my class had some welding experience before they came in; they came in with a certain base level of skill already.
But that motivated you, didn’t it?
Yes. I didn’t want to have others be that much further ahead of me, that much more likely to get work in the industry. So, I started coming in to practice after class, trying to catch up with my classmates. Just making that extra effort gave me a lot of encouragement. I knew that I was at least doing my best and it ended up being enough, which was great. Just putting that extra effort in helped my self-esteem. At the beginning it would’ve been easy to become discouraged and a lot of people do, and I feel for them. But don’t give up. Stay under your hood and you will get it. If you feel yourself getting discouraged, take a deep breath, go ask someone, get a second opinion, go for a walk, relax!
So, you’re now working as a welding engineer. What was your path to that role?
I decided that if I was going to be a welding engineer, I wouldn’t be a welding engineer who doesn’t know how to weld. And there are a lot of them! So, immediately after graduation, I went to work for a pipeline company. The only reason I got that job was because I had Tulsa Welding School on my résumé.
I did that job for a year, and then I went to BYU-Idaho for their Welding Engineering program. During college I worked for the school and about a year into the program I started working for myself. I did welding and custom fabrication. I drew heavily on my education at Tulsa Welding School for that, to be able to produce products that people wanted. It wasn’t like I was manufacturing things, but I would build or repair things for people. Others would see my work and that became my business card. People would say, “Hey, who did that for you?” By the time I graduated college, 100% of my work came by those kind of referrals.
Was that a four-year degree program?
It was a four-year program, but looking back on my history, you can see why it took me five years to get my degree! I’m not very good at studies, but at least I had a good foundation. During that five years, six if you include the pipeline company, I was a welder; that’s how I paid the bills and raised my family.
How did getting that first welding paycheck feel at the pipeline company?
I had a very strong sense of accomplishment, and a lot of freedom came with that check. Having the ability to pay for things and to survive was very liberating. It felt great to know that I have a skill that no-one can take away. I felt my career was just beginning, and I was being a grown-up for the first time in my life.
So, for a layman, explain what a welding engineer does?
My current boss, who is himself a welding engineer, told me the best description. He said a welding engineer is a welding scientist. Welding engineers develop welding processes, they develop the technology associated with welding. They develop manufacturing processes; they decide how things get welded and what type of welding equipment, or what type of consumables you use.
That’s very interesting. You’re still a young man at 30, what’s your career plan from here?
I don’t currently have any plans to leave CB&I. I’ve been there six months and I really enjoy what I’m doing. I really enjoy the people that I’m working with. I feel very fortunate for the position that I’m in right now. That being said, I still have my personal welding company and I’m not going to set that aside. If I can grow that business large enough that I no longer need a job, then that that’s my dream…to continue welding.
Another reason I really enjoy my job at CB&I is because they let me pick my hours. So, I wake up at three/four in the morning, go to work, and that way I can get off work at two o’clock. I have the whole afternoon and evening to spend with my family, and then around six or seven o’clock at night, I go out into the garage and handle my personal welding business.
What do you enjoy most about being a welder, and a welding engineer?
The money is awesome for welders, but my biggest point of pride was when I knew I’d become valuable as a welder. There’s a lot of pride in knowing you’re good at something. As far as being a welding engineer, my greatest point of pride is that I’m still good at welding. I’m one of the few welding engineers who when he is communicating with a welder and the welder tells him, “Well, if you know so much, why don’t you show me?” I can confidently say, “Sure, let me grab my welding hood.”
What advice do you have for students to be successful at Tulsa Welding School?
Be willing to be wrong because you’ll learn so much more and listen. Whether that be listening to an instructor or a classmate. Genuinely listen, don’t ever think, “I already know”. That is a damning thought process. That is something that you’ll never hear me say. Even if I’ve heard something a million times, I’ll hear it again. And even if someone’s wrong, there’s always a little bit of truth in there somewhere.
As far as the challenge of Tulsa Welding School, the challenge of what you’re getting yourself into when you get into the trade school, just don’t give up. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Just drop your hood and stay under your hood as much as you can, and you’ll get it…guaranteed. No one has a natural gift for welding. I will take that to the grave. No one has a natural gift for welding. Anyone who’s good at welding got there through practice, and if they got it faster, that was because they listened.
If you’re a TWS graduate and would like to share your success and be an inspiration to others, please email [email protected] to be considered for a Graduate Connection interview. Please include details such as your graduation date (month/year), program, and campus name (Tulsa/Jacksonville/Houston/Dallas).