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When TIG just clicks: 6 questions with Tajzi Thompson of TZ Fabrication
From getting hooked on welding in high school to making a career as a TIG welder in Georgia
- By Amanda Carlson
- February 3, 2021
- Article
- Arc Welding
Tajzi Thompson is the perfect example of the positive effects of high school career technical education.
Like most 16-year-old high school sophomores, Thompson had no clue what he wanted to do with his life. That all changed the moment he picked up a TIG torch during a high school welding class. As soon as he laid his first bead, everything seemed to slip into focus.
TIG welding was the right combination of challenging and addicting, and it captured his attention like nothing else had before. Now 25, Thompson has made a career as a TIG welder and is the proud owner of TZ Fabrication LLC in Norcross, Ga., specializing in precision TIG of stainless, aluminum, mild steel, and titanium.
Like for many, 2020 was a difficult year for Thompson, who lost his job because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That loss, however, has forced him to throw all of his time and effort into his business and his brand. When he’s not welding, he’s posting videos of his work on YouTube or posting content on Instagram. Building up name recognition is a process, but at the root of it all is his commitment to do quality, high-skill work.
The WELDER caught up with Thompson to discuss his path to welding, his business, and what lessons he’s learned so far.
1. How did you get introduced to welding?
I got into welding because of my uncle, who I was living with back in 2010. I was 16 years old and kind of a knucklehead at that time, doing stuff on the streets that I shouldn’t have been. My uncle asked me what I was planning to do after high school and I didn’t know. I actually had no clue what I was going to do. He told me to find a trade.
The high school I attended in New York, which is where I’m from originally, offered classes in all sorts of things like nursing, carpentry, auto body, and welding. I had no idea what welding was, so I looked into it and gave it a try.
It just clicked with me, especially TIG welding, and from that point on I just gravitated toward it. It was a lot like drawing. My first week I was making letters with the weld metal; there was just something about it.
I stayed with it for the rest of high school. After graduation I moved down to Georgia and signed up for welding classes at Gwinnett Technical College. I graduated in 2017 the college hired me as a lab assistant, where I got to help teach new welders.
2. How long have you been in business for yourself?
I started my business back in 2018. I’d go to work at my day job and then do work for my business after I’d get home and on weekends. I started working for myself full-time four months ago after I was laid off because of COVID-19. I was working for a highly reputable company that builds displays for train stations and malls. I was welding thin-gauge aluminum with very tight tolerances.
It was challenging work, but it got easier the more I did it. It was a good job and a good company to work for, but COVID-19 came in and wiped things out, so I got let go. Since then I’ve really been focused on my business and trying to build that up more and more.
3. How has the transition been from working for someone else to being your own boss?
I’m from a place where you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to survive. You’ve got to hustle and you don’t know what’s going to happen, but you put in the effort and go out and make something happen.
I wouldn’t say the transition has been easy or hard. I’ve built up a little following and a little buzz with my work. But still, there are days when there isn’t any work to do. I’m not at the point yet where every day is clicking off, but I believe I’m on the path to that place. Some days are really nerve-wracking, but I believe that’s all part of the life of an entrepreneur – the ups and downs. I’m just riding it out and taking it as it comes.
4. What equipment do you use?
I’m mostly mobile right now. Everything I have I take with me, whether that’s at someone else’s shop or garage or even the garage at my mom’s house.
I have an Everlast PowerTIG 185DV. I mainly do thin-gauge work so I don’t need a lot of power to do what I need to do. And then I have some really basic tools – a belt sander, grinders, clamps. I don’t have anything fancy and for now it’s enough. Some customers are a little surprised at how little I have and how primitive it is compared to what everyone else has, so I just reassure them that it’s all I need.
5. Who do you consider as your mentors?
My welding teacher back in high school, Mr. Leroy. I don’t know if he’s still there, but he taught me all the basics of each welding process and got me started with it all.
After high school I met Patrice Frazier at my very first welding job. I was still in tech school at the time and I didn’t know anything. She took me under her wing and showed me a couple of things about TIG and MIG, just some tricks to help me get better.
And last, I’d say Jody Collier from Welding Tips & Tricks. I watched a lot of his videos during tech school. Whenever I was mad or frustrated about something, I would watch him and the way he explained things just made sense to me and made things easier. His videos helped me through a lot of bend tests.
6. What's the best advice you've ever received?
Be persistent and never give up. If you quit now you’ll have to start all over with something else. And this applies to both life and welding.
If there’s a kid in tech school who’s struggling to pass a bend test or weld thin material, just keep going because it will click eventually. It might take you longer to master something than someone else, and that’s OK.
That’s something that I had to tell myself in tech school and even now. Just keep going. Don’t quit.
About the Author
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.
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The Welder, formerly known as Practical Welding Today, is a showcase of the real people who make the products we use and work with every day. This magazine has served the welding community in North America well for more than 20 years.
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