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Advice to female welders from female welders

How welding revealed inner confidence and strength for group of Chicago-area women

Advice to female welders from female welders

Haas, Schiferl, Williams, and White have had different life experiences that have brought them to welding, at ECC, at the same time. As a result, each woman has found an inner strength and confidence they didn’t know they had. Photos courtesy of Mark Carriveau

It was a gloomy, unseasonably cool Saturday morning in mid-August. The open garage door at the welding lab at Elgin Community College, Elgin, Ill., allowed a nice breeze to enter the space. The campus was empty for the most part except for the slow trickle of people entering the welding lab. Dave Reich, welding instructor, was sitting at his desk in his office when I entered; a box of doughnuts and bottles of water sat on the table in front of his desk.

We sat and chatted for a second about how quickly the summer went, the impending school year starting that following Monday, and the interview ahead while we waited for the others to arrive.

“You’re going to hear some pretty interesting back stories today,” Reich said.

On the outside of his office door hung a picture of nine female welders—his students, past and present. Nine women in one program. “That’s pretty uncommon,” I said. He agreed. Usually he has one or two, but not this many, he said.

Just then Amanda Schiferl poked her head into the office. “Hi, Dave!” she exclaimed. Her smile was bright, and her enthusiasm was genuine. Saturday morning or not, she was happy to be there.

As we made our way out to the lab, Reich apologized for the mess and explained they are in the process of getting the lab ready for students. The lab wasn’t a mess at all. Every square inch was occupied with welding booths, lathes, plasma tables, and other metalworking machines.

In the lab I met Andrea Haas, 37; Lisa Williams, 39; and Taryn White, 33; in addition to Schiferl, 28—four of the nine women from the photo who could spare the time on a Saturday morning to speak to me. Once we got into the classroom to talk, the conversation was like rapid-fire from all angles. Schiferl looked at me and said, “We’re just going to keep talking a lot, so don’t be afraid to just talk over us.”

The conversation first focused on their instructors, but then it got personal. We got into their stories of how they got here, what their struggles are, their camaraderie with one another, and their pet peeves. Each woman’s story is different, but they all embrace their past as they know it has brought them the perspective necessary to be the women they want to be: self-sufficient, tough, providers, role models for other women who might find themselves in a similar situation.

Haas spoke first, saying, “My 20s were a time when I just tore through life without any real direction. I tried traditional college, and that didn't fit. I waited tables, tended bar, worked office jobs, ran a cleaning business, and started a restaurant, but nothing seemed fulfilling to me. Then I became a mom, and it was great but I was still kind of lost. I had lost myself. I had given up my own hopes and aspirations and then I was forced to really evaluate who I was and where I wanted to be. I needed to figure out who I wanted to be and what example I wanted to set for my kids.

“I saw this thing once that said, ‘Don’t look at it as starting over, look at it as starting with experience,’” Haas said.

Advice to female welders from female welders

Andrea Haas

For many women, and men too, welding and the trades are not presented as an option at a young age. So many people spin their wheels for a time and find themselves either underemployed or working jobs that they hate. For women especially, there’s a stigma about entering the trades—that they can’t do it or shouldn’t do it, and of course there’s a fear of entering a male-dominated industry.

Haas, White, Williams, and Schiferl have had different life experiences that have brought them to welding, at ECC, at the same time. Here’s a look at where they’ve been, why they chose welding, what they’ve learned about themselves, and what they want other women to know who might find themselves in similar positions that they once were in.

Where They Came From

Haas originally wanted to explore a career in welding because she wanted to contribute financially to support her family. She was a wife and a stay-at-home mom and wanted to explore working outside the home. Welding interested her because the starting pay is higher than it is in other fields.

But then, things changed.

“Not even a month later I became a single mom. There was a time when I couldn’t have even talked about this without breaking down. I was an emotional wreck. Coming into this whole thing, I was broken, lost, and I had spent the last five years with my kids. I was picking up socks, not flame cutting anything.

“I will say that this program, and welding in general, has given me more confidence. It has taught me that I am capable of so much really cool stuff that was never made available to me. I wonder what could have been if these programs were pushed more in high school; if we were told about this at a younger age, and that if it wasn’t just as a last resort,” Haas said.

White’s story is similar. She’s a mother of three boys and was sick of working “dead-end jobs” at retail stores and restaurants. She studied cosmetology when she was 19 but dropped out after a year because it wasn’t the right fit for her. She’s still paying off her debt from that experience.

“I talked to my mom who suggested that I look into the trades. She’s a truck driver so the idea wasn’t so far-fetched to me. When she mentioned welding, I thought it sounded cool.”

“Make sure to tell her what you thought welding was,” Haas interjected.

Laughing, White said, “Yeah, I thought you welded with a blow torch. I didn’t realize there were all these different processes that you use for different applications. I had no idea what I was getting into.”

Advice to female welders from female welders

Taryn White

Williams became a mother at 17 and bounced around to office or retail jobs that she didn’t like or that didn’t respect her work ethic.

“I’d be giving it my all, working 18 hours a day to provide. I found at these types of jobs that as soon as you became eligible for a supervisory position, they’d write you up for something. I literally got written up once because I took a late lunch. I had to get the job done, like don’t you want me to get my work done? But now that I’ve been written up, I can’t enter the supervisory program,” Williams explained.

She quit that job and worked in an office for three years, at which time they offered her a 20-cent raise. Unimpressed, she quit that job and decided to give truck driving a try. She enrolled at Elgin Community College to earn her CDL and drove for Schneider for three years. It was long hours, but she enjoyed it.

“When my son started high school, he began getting into trouble, so I knew I couldn’t work that many hours anymore. I stopped truck driving, but I didn’t want to go back to an office job or retail. I did some research on all the trades and decided on welding. I didn’t even know what welding was. Nobody in my family welds and I don’t have friends that weld. But I saw the videos and I was like, ‘Hell yeah, I’m doing welding!’”

Schiferl's story is a little different. She went the college route and earned her bachelor's degree in theater design and technology. She had a summer job after graduation, but as fall approached she decided to take a welding class at ECC to occupy her time while she figured out her next step. Welding wasn’t completely foreign to her—she had dabbled in gas metal arc welding (GMAW) in one of her undergrad classes.

“I started just with the intention of taking a welding class; I had no intention of going through the program. I did it and I just fell in love with it. So I was like, well, I might as well just get all the degrees. So I went through the whole program and I got every degree and certificate in welding I could get. I could not have done that if it wasn’t for Dave. I worked while I took classes, so Dave and Marc [Hucek] were both superaccommodating. I’ve graduated already but I’m coming back to take classes again, like I’m retaking TIG techniques.

Welding Is a Great Career for Women

Of course there was fear. When each of the four woman made the leap to welding, overcoming their fear was a daily occurrence. What helped was that they all agreed their instructors didn’t treat them any different from anyone else.

“Dave and Marc don’t single us out. They treat us all the same. They have the same conversations with us as they do with the guys. If you mess up, you mess up. They don’t coddle us. For me, I like that because it’s consistent,” Williams said.

Schiferl added, “They foster an environment that is friendly and inclusive toward everyone, and they don’t put up with anyone’s crap. But they also let us fight our battles. They’ll just check in and say, ‘Hey, do you have this handled?’”

They also appreciated that their instructors were/are tough on them, even if they didn’t appreciate it in the moment.

“Dave gave me a hard time and would use this reverse psychology thing on me. I’d bring him something that I thought was A-level work and he’d look at it and say, ‘I’m not grading that, it’s no good.’ I’d be so angry, and all I could think about was proving him wrong. He knew what he was doing. He motivated me to do better, and it worked,” explained Williams.

Advice to female welders from female welders

Lisa Williams

Schiferl chimed in, “Has Dave ever given anyone a 9, almost 10? Drive me nuts!”

Added Haas, “Or he’ll tell you that it’s ‘hand-inable.’”

“Yes, but he’ll still give you a C! I got a D on a ‘hand-inable’ once, and I was like, ‘Huh?’” Williams exclaimed.

She continued, “I went up to him and said, ‘You told me to hand this in,’ and he said, ‘Yeah, I did.’”

Said Haas, “Yes! He tells us that C welders are not employable but he tells us to hand something in and he gives us a C!”

This back and forth continued, but the theme was obvious. Their instructors pushed these women, had high expectations for them, and knew how to motivate them.

It’s OK to Be Tough and Be a Mom

Haas recognizes that many women with families feel conflicted about working outside the home because of a certain set of priorities that are ingrained from a young age.

“As women, we are pigeonholed and told, especially after we have babies, that we have to take care of our kids, we have to take care of our house, and we have to support our man.”

It can be a struggle when those priorities shift, both externally and internally. When entering the trades—welding—there’s a toughness and grit necessary.

Haas continued, “We’re told that we are the delicate ones, the sensitive ones, the emotional ones. They never tell you yes, you are delicate and softer, and yes, there is a need in the world for nurturing. You don’t have to give up being soft, kind, nurturing, and mom to achieve something as a welder. I think us having that extra facet to our lives and personalities adds to the quality of our work.”

Advice to female welders from female welders

Amanda Schiferl

Added Williams, “We can be both tough and delicate. It’s OK.”

You Are Stronger Than You Know

These women know they are lucky to have gone through this journey together. They don’t have to say it out loud because it’s evident in the way they relate to one another. They’ve all learned through experience that the barriers that they thought existed don’t actually exist at all.

Having a group of women to experience this journey with means a lot to them.

Said White, “When I came in, she [Haas] made life a lot easier. As soon as I saw she was in welding, I thought, ‘OK, we’re friends now.’ We have this relationship where we will give each other shit, but we push each other. We’re competitive, but it’s never mean.”

“We celebrate each other’s victories,” Haas added.

Those victories include earning 3G and 4G qualifications, getting that first real welding job, and earning a welding degree. And each victory reveals layers of strength and confidence that none of them ever knew they had.

In White’s case, that strength led her to keep going during her 4G qualification even after she quite literally set her hair on fire.

“I said to Marc, ‘I’d better pass that thing! I set myself on fire for it!’ And I did. When I saw it bend and that I had passed, I was so happy. I had no idea the strength that I had,” White said.

That strength is the spark that ignites the motivation to keep honing their craft, and the cycle continues. Williams, who has taken some time off from welding classes this semester, finds that confidence every time she puts on her welding jacket.

“I just know that someday I’m going to see something that I built and it’s going to last forever. That’s my motivation,” Williams said.

Advice to female welders from female welders

The consistent and fair treatment toward all students by instructors Marc Hucek (left) and Dave Reich (right) is a big reason that these women say they have loved the program. Once the hood is down, it’s the work that matters, not someone’s age, gender, or status.

White is currently a full-time welder at a local machining shop. She’s enjoying the work and doesn’t see herself going anywhere anytime soon.

“I graduated with high honors and was hired there as an apprentice before I was even finished with school. I feel like I can do anything; it doesn’t even matter what it is anymore. I can do it,” White said.

Schiferl completed a production welding internship, but realized it wasn’t for her. She plans to take another gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) class this fall.

And Haas doesn’t feel broken anymore, and she credits welding for that.

“After going through this program, I realized that I’m a bad bitch. I hold my head up higher knowing I have these capabilities that I never even knew I had. It has saved me more than just financially. This has saved me on a very personal level. I now understand that I am capable of so much more than I ever gave myself credit for.”

About the Author
FMA Communications Inc.

Amanda Carlson

2135 Point Blvd

Elgin, IL 60123

815-227-8260

Amanda Carlson was named as the editor for The WELDER in January 2017. She is responsible for coordinating and writing or editing all of the magazine’s editorial content. Before joining The WELDER, Amanda was a news editor for two years, coordinating and editing all product and industry news items for several publications and thefabricator.com.