The Welders Fix Kit
Built for welders: pipeline, structural, shutdown and mobile welders.
The welders earning six figures aren't necessarily the most skilled with a torch — they're the ones who stacked a specific, documented certification onto the same base skill everyone else has. This kit finds where the money leaks in your own work and gives you the steps and the words to close each one.
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The 10 leaks it covers
5 you can close it · 3 the other side owes it · 2 a pro decides
- Not knowing which certification or specialty moves you up the pay rangeWhere to look first: List the certifications and processes you hold now, with the dates.Keep it from coming back: Before paying for any new test, get at least one employer's written rate for that ticket.You can close it
- Certification choice: a rate raise in the same job vs a move into a different job (CWI)Where to look first: List the certifications you hold now and the one you're thinking about next.Keep it from coming back: Before you pay for any credential, write down whether it's a raise or a job change, and get one real offer for it.You can close it
- Travel/shutdown pay not priced against your current jobWhere to look first: Get one real travel or shutdown offer in writing before you compare anything: hourly rate, expected hours per week, overtime rules, per diem (amount and every day or days worked), and how long the job runs.Keep it from coming back: Ask for every offer's terms in writing and compare by the week, not by the hourly.You can close it
- Union vs non-union pay gap not known for your own kind of welding workWhere to look first: Decide which kind of welding you do most: shop/fabrication (production work) or on a construction site. The published union gap is very different between those two, so use the one that matches you.Keep it from coming back: Pull the matching job-family number once a year when BLS updates it, and ask for the current wage sheet before you take or turn down a union or non-union job.You can close it
- AWS certification maintenance deadline missed, forcing a full retestWhere to look first: Log into AWS WeldCert Pro (the American Welding Society's online portal for managing your welder certifications) and write down the expiration date for each certification you hold.Keep it from coming back: Every new certification goes on the calendar the day you get it, with the six-month maintenance date and a reminder a month ahead.You can close it
- Comparing your hourly to the union wage alone, missing fringe and per diemWhere to look first: Get the current wage sheet for the agreement that covers the work you're looking at. For pipeline work under the National Pipe Line Agreement, Pipeliners Local 798 posts the current wage sheet on its website, local798.org (Contracts page).Keep it from coming back: Get the current sheet each time the rates roll over (the current sheet runs 1 June 2026 to 30 May 2027). Write down your classification on day one of every job and check your first stub against it.The other side owes it
- Comparing your pay to the national welder median instead of your state'sWhere to look first: Work out your real hourly: your gross pay for a normal week divided by the hours you actually worked that week.Keep it from coming back: Check your hourly against the current state number once a year, before your review or before you take a new job.The other side owes it
- Travel per diem: welder rate vs non-welder, and every day vs days workedWhere to look first: Before you take the next travel job, ask for the per diem in writing: the daily amount and whether it pays every day on the job or only days worked.Keep it from coming back: Get classification, per diem amount and every-day-or-days-worked in writing before you travel. Keep a one-line daily log on the job.The other side owes it
- Self-employment tax: a big shutdown season changes the right set-aside year to yearWhere to look first: Write down every place you got paid this year, split two ways: 1099/contract money (nothing withheld) and W-2 shop pay (tax already withheld).Keep it from coming back: Before each shutdown or travel job, send your preparer the job length and start date. Move the set-aside the day each contract check clears.A pro decides
- Self-employment tax not set aside from contract welding payWhere to look first: Look at how each job pays you. If it's 1099 or straight from a customer, nothing was held back for tax - including self-employment tax, which is on top of income tax.Keep it from coming back: Move the set-aside out the day each contract payment clears, and keep the quarterly dates on your calendar a couple of weeks ahead.A pro decides
Free: one full leak from this kit
No sign-up, no email. Here is leak 1 of 10 exactly as it appears in the kit, so you can see what you get before you buy.
Not knowing which certification or specialty moves you up the pay range
You can close it- List the certifications and processes you hold now, with the dates.
- Look at the jobs posted in your area and on travel work that pay more than you make. Write down what each one asks for: which tests, which positions, which processes, travel or not.
- Find the one or two that show up most in the better-paying postings.
- Before you pay for a test or class, ask an employer who's hiring for it what they'd pay you with that ticket. Get it in writing if you can.
- Count the cost (test fees, time off, travel) against what that employer said. Your numbers, your call.
The published 'top pay' numbers for pipe and travel work are not reliable. Use real postings and real offers.
Your part: Choose the certification, book and pay for the test, and take it.
QUESTION TO ASK AN EMPLOYER BEFORE YOU PAY FOR A CERTIFICATION: Hi [NAME], I'm a [CURRENT CERTIFICATIONS] welder. I'm thinking about testing for [CERTIFICATION, e.g. 6G pipe]. If I pass, would you hire me for [POSITION]? What would the starting rate be, and is there per diem or travel? Do you test on site, and do you cover the test cost? Thanks, [YOUR NAME] [PHONE]
Before paying for any new test, get at least one employer's written rate for that ticket.
What this kit can't decide for you: $150,000-$250,000+ top) are unverified and kept out. We don't recommend which certification to get.
That's 1 of 10. The other 9 come the same way in the kit: steps, words to send, a habit to keep each one closed.
Opens secure checkout. Instant download after payment. 30 days to ask for a refund — refund policy · terms
What people in this work look up
When welders go looking for answers, they search things like “welder pay”, “welder salary”, “pipeline welder pay” and “welding business”. Those searches turn up forms, averages and other people's numbers. This kit starts from your own records instead: the 10 places money leaks in this work, where to look first and the words to send to close each one.
What you get for each leak
- Numbered steps to close each leak
- Your part, spelled out
- Words you can use: letters and scripts, ready to send (fill in the brackets)
- A habit that keeps each leak from coming back
- An honest line on what the kit can't decide for you
A page from the kit
Questions people ask
Which certification raises my pay?
Know which certification or specialty moves you up the range. The kit shows how to compare.
How does welder per diem work?
Welder rate vs non-welder, and every day vs days worked. The kit covers it.
Am I comparing my pay to the right number?
Use your state's figure and the full package, not the national median or base wage. The kit shows how.
What it can't decide for you
This kit works from your own records. It doesn't give legal, tax, licensing or financial advice, and it never tells you what to charge. Where a CPA, attorney, insurer or state board makes the call, the kit says so and gets your records ready for them.
14-page PDF · instant download after payment · Code VYR-KIT-ARC-01
Opens secure checkout. Instant download after payment. 30 days to ask for a refund — refund policy · terms
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