Wages

I don't get it, I find adds for welders; but they are wanting to pay low wages. I am attending school now but will be damnd if I leave school certified, only making 11-16 an hr to weld. I just don't get it.... Where do I find a good paying job? I would like to weld on pipelines when I finish school or something that pays and fills the bank not getting me by, I'm sick of just getting by.
Another thing is, I seem to see a lot of them requiring you to have a min of 5 yrs experience. How in the heck do they expect everyone to have that many years, if they never give a new aspiring welder a chance.

With our poor economy, employers are taking advantage of people. Still, when you are just starting a career you have to start at the bottom. How would you feel if, after welding for five years or more, that they hired a greenhorn for the same money as you make?

As far as the minimum years of experience, that's just wishful thinking at that low hourly rate. They will not be able to keep somebody with that much experience if they pay that low – even if they manage to hire him in the first place. So go ahead and apply to those jobs anyway. Welding is a field where you can show how good a job you can do pretty quickly, and if you are responsible and reliable and follow directions then you should be able to keep the job. Meanwhile, just because you have this job doesn’t mean that you stop looking for a better one. If this employer wants to use your talents to his own (not your) advantage then there is no shame about using him to gain job experience and working contacts. Just remember to be cheerful and do your best possible work while you are there, even if you don’t think that he deserves it. What you’re really doing is establishing a reputation, and only an excellent reputation will win you better opportunities.

I live in Ocala,Florida and they the "Employers" are taking advantage of us so bad here.
I have many AWS certs, and several years in schooling,junior college in the welding and fabrication field, and still they are paying such a very low wage. I have over 15 years in it.
I hate it. You cant make enough to save or get ahead on.