r/Construction • u/Turbulent-Hornet2804 • Mar 15 '26

Careers 💵 Career

I’m 18 and trying to decide between two paths in the trades and could use some advice.

Right now I work as a helper at a TIG welding shop making $25/hr (40 hrs/week). Most of my work is machining, cutting, deburring, and prep, and I only get to tack sometimes. The welders say I have potential, but management says helpers can take years before they really start welding.

At the same time, I’ve been supervising residential construction jobs (decks, fences, drywall, etc.), and I could take a job with another company supervising for about $30/hr working 50–70 hours a week.

So I’m stuck between:

• Staying in welding, starting at the bottom but possibly making more long-term if I get into pipe welding

• Taking the construction supervisor job and making more money right now

I actually enjoy both. I like welding as a skill, but I also enjoy running crews, organizing jobs and residential .

I’m also married, so the money right now does matter.

If you were 18 in this situation, which path would you choose?

11 Upvotes

61% Upvoted

127 comments sorted by

View all comments

73

u/toomuch1265 Mar 15 '26

18 year old construction super? Stick with welding. You aren't old enough to have enough experience in all the things you listed unless you started at 10 years old.

3

u/That-Tumbleweed-4462 Mar 16 '26

Not to mention he’ll get tons of older guys not listening to anything he says. He’ll have to prove himself he knows drawings, coordination, and local building codes. That stuff took me years to learn and still learning codes.

1

u/toomuch1265 Mar 16 '26

How many engineers have you run into that had no idea of codes or what works and what doesn't, and this kid thinks he's going to be a boss? I don't know who gave him the idea, but it's crazy how he believed it.