Q: What separates FWI from other welding schools?

A: The welding industry as a whole is very broad. Most welding schools focus on giving students a general skill set and knowledge to gain "entry level" employment. The unfortunate part, students often learn upon entering the work force is entry level for employers typically means you don't weld at all and wages are terrible. FWI is different, our approach is to focus entirely on industrial pipe/structural welding, set the bar extremely high and genuinely push to get our graduates to top tier employability and earning potential. 

Q: Why does FWI cost more than a lot of other schools?

A: The only way to become truly employable as a welder is to develop real welding skill—and that only comes through practice. We mean hours under the hood, burning rod after rod until the fundamentals become second nature. That level of training consumes a significant amount of filler metal, shielding gas, pipe, plate and personal protective equipment.

It would be far less expensive to replace booth time with additional classroom instruction or virtual-reality simulators. However, theory and simulation cannot replace the ability to make a sound weld. Employers ultimately hire welders based on what they can do when a test pipe or plate is placed in front of them—not how much welding science they can recite.

At Fusion, students complete the necessary welding theory online, but the heart of our industrial welding training programs is physically welding. We prioritize booth time, real materials, repetition and direct instruction so students can develop skills that are valuable in the field. This approach costs more to deliver, but we believe it is the only honest way to prepare someone to become a highly skilled welder.

Employers care that you can weld extremely well. Significant class room time is cost effective but not employable unless you are pursuing a degree in engineering. The low cost schools you see are selling cheap class room time and teaching students knowledge that has little to no employability without an engineering degree.  

Q: Is welding for everyone? 

A: Yes and No... Pretty much anyone can learn to be proficient enough to weld two pieces of metal together. The vast majority of people can fairly easily become skilled enough at any welding school to pursue employment at local fabrication shops. To weld at the highest level in the industrial sector, this means welding reactor coolant lines, high pressure steam lines, boiler tubes in a mirror, 100% x-ray that can mean no for quite a few people. This kind of work is extremely stressful, the welds you are making everyday are critical to plant safety and it's why companies pay the big bucks. Yes, it is 100% possible to achieve this skill set by attending Fusion Welding Institute. We believe we provide the most opportunity, but the student has to be willing to put in the work. 

Q: What do welders make?

A: These are realistic numbers....

Blunt answer: an average shop welder makes decent money, but a skilled traveling industrial pipe welder can make serious money.

• Typical U.S. welder: about $24.52/hour or $51,000/year
• Local production/fabrication welder: roughly $18–$28/hour
• Structural/field welder: commonly $25–$35/hour, plus overtime
• Industrial combo pipe welder: commonly $30–$45/hour, often with per diem
• Power plant, nuclear, refinery or specialty pipe welder: potentially $100,000–$150,000+ during a strong year with travel and substantial overtime

Q: Do you teach underwater welding?  

A: No we do not. Welding in the industrial sector above water is already extremely challenging. The good news is, once you achieve the skill set there is a lot of work. Underwater opportunities are few and far between. We believe it's best to master pipe and tube welding first then if you choose to pursue commercial diving you are free to go that route if the opportunity presents itself.  

Q: How does the flexible schedule work?

A: Once you are enrolled in Fusion Welding Institute you come and go on your own time. Our shop opens at 8:30am and closes at 9:30pm. When you arrive, you punch in, notify your instructor and get lined out for the day. When you are ready to leave you punch out. We track your hours, to assure you are advancing through the program at an acceptable pace. There is also some book work, that is delivered through online learning management system that you also complete on your own time. 

Q: What kind of places will i work at when I graduate?

Fusion Welding Institute prepares students to become highly proficient in industrial pipe, tube, and structural welding. Our training standards are heavily influenced by the requirements found within the ASME Code, particularly ASME Section I and ASME B31.1, which govern many critical piping systems used throughout heavy industry.

The skills developed throughout the program are specifically aligned with the heavy industrial sector. Graduates are best suited for careers in environments such as power plants, refineries, nuclear facilities, data center construction, military shipbuilding, launch facilities, manufacturing plants, and other industrial construction and maintenance projects. This does not mean what you learn at FWI is not transferable if you chose to repair lawnmower decks, it just means the lawnmower decks you repair will be nuclear grade. 

Q: How do I get my foot in the door with these kind of companies? 

A: This is one of FWI's strong points. While we can't guarantee job placement, FWI has multiple union and non-union partners that work in the industry. Often our partners come to our facility and test in and hire our students right out of the school. 

Q: How long does it take to complete the program. 

A: The entire combo pipe program is 705 hours. It should take a student 30 weeks to complete everything. Because of the flexible schedule students can progress faster. Some students have finished in as little as 18 weeks. We don't however encourage anyone to rush. Building the welding skills needed to be successful is slow and time consuming. 

Q: Any tips for being successful at FWI?

A: We've been doing this a long time. The students we have seen that come through the program and do very well are the ones that ask a lot of questions. You also need to be a perfectionist, good enough doesn't cut it a FWI. The hands on part can be very repetitive, you will do the same thing over and over until you get it right and you will fail over and over, so you need to be mentally prepared for that. If you apply these tips and are very persistent you will do very well.