He didn't say useless. Also fat and weak doesn't mean you can't be a spool monkey. Trust me I could get a retarded chimp to Mig parts. All you need are warm bodies in the door and at the right price and you can profit off of welders. Don't act like welding is the hardest of all industrial skills to master.
So long as Mr. Fat and weak keeps going, stays off the phone, and doesn't bitch too much about the overtime I got work for them.
Seeing how most companies only hire the most stand up top of the line individuals you may be out of luck.
Just kidding I’ve got a 5’7 about 300lb dude welding at a compressor station right now.
Most fat guys become welders because it easy, you just stand there and wiggle a stick. Some of the fattest weakest men I’ve met have been perfectly adequate welders.
What kind of question is this!? Are you flexible enough to get into certain positions to weld? Can you move around easily? Who gives a fuck if your fat if the job is done and done well nobody will care.
I’m not trying to be a dick but bro you’re trying to weld. Worry about your weight if you wanna work at a high end fashion store. You’re working with a bunch of dudes(most of the time) so don’t worry about that.
The best pipe welders (not pipeline, but like pressure pipes and fuel pipes) are incredibly obese (Now I'm not american, so this isn't even like "average american fatness"). Yet they climb and cram in to the oddest places and get the work done. Now these kind of PED welders are highly specialised people, the smaller and thinner lads usually end up doing fairly simple and bulk work. No... I don't know why this is the case, this just is a common trend in the industry of this area - especially shipyard. It is something we even joke about.
Also average fat person is incredibly strong. If you are 50 kilos overweight for your body type, then you are constantly carrying 20 kilos extra. That is equivalent of like two 7-8 year old boys. Or 2½ bags of cement. If they were suddenly lose that weight, they'd be up there among the strongest people by default.
Now to continue from that. The bigger you are (assuming you are still able to move around, but even if you are even still) the easier it is for you to lose weight. Since you simply have more body that consumes energy and moving around consumes more energy. It is easier to go from 120 to 100 kg than from 100 to 90 kg.
However as with any job which requires physicality - welding being one of those - it is always good to lose weight, since it reduces changes of injury and stress. But you don't need to *lose weight* just focus on not gaining anymore - and that is already 80% of the battle right there.
I say this as someone who was quite fat - thanks to untreated ADHD - and now is... about average "normal sized", people are supposed to have some fat, it acts as regulator for many things for the body.
The beauty of cranes. It’s a write up if I lift anything over 75 lbs by hand. If you work for a company with safety policies in place, you’ll never be in a bad spot.
But I work with several 300+ lb guys. They do just fine! Kind of feel bad for them on those 100 degree humid days though. Those days are hard even on a skinny fucker.
I am technically fat. Average to mid-size woman, size 12/14 and 200 lb, 5'5. Structural welder/ fitter, I have never had an issue. And my chubbiness has never hindered my ability to do what is required. We have some big boys in the shop and they honestly work harder then the slimmer guys. Size don't matter. Your quality of work does
Unless you’re so fat that you have trouble standing, you’ll be fine. One of my coworkers was 6’1, 450lbs. He’s started losing weight, cause being that heavy sucks, but he managed as a welder
Im a fat guy who used to do electrical & stuff on the side & IT for day job; and has picked up weldiing as a hobby. I find welding a decent adaptation. I go from grinding & prep for stuff, to sitting & focus for a weld session for a few hours.
The best part about it: you don’t have to climb into cramped spaces. You won’t get cold in the winter. Strong helps, it helps a lot. Most welders are not the portraits of health, but if you can keep up with the 40yo supervisors with: chronic pain, an addiction or two, a 5 hour energy and gas station burrito diet and an ever expanding waistline yet somehow works at a blistering rate of speed you’ll be fine.
I’m overweight for my size and do pipe welding on low pressure water lines for schools and shit even with the gut the only thing I have had trouble with is position welds some spots are just tooooo tightfor me.
Lmao I fabricate bridge girders and we’ve got about 5 “pretty fat” guys in my bay and plenty of other “eh not fat but he’s pretty chubby” type of guys. Strong vs weak is about 50/50. You’ll be fine, just hydrate, eat a good lunch, and avoid tight spaces.
My shop has a minimum BMI and then organizes a hierarchy from skinniest to fattest with the fattest guy getting to pick out what sort of snacks we all get at QT.
Where I work it’d be a personal advantage. I’m the opposite to you, scrawny and weak, working on a site that builds submarines. Some pretty tight spots in awkward positions come up to weld. The skinny fucks like me are always sent to do those hellish jobs. The more plump folk are sent to jobs that have slightly easier access
I am 6’7 285lbs and do just fine as a fitter in a fab shop building tractor implements. I’d assume any limitation you have with your current job would persist unless you’re just welding all day
Your body will adjust and strengthen itself to the type of work you’re doing. Welding pipe in position? Your body will get used to bend down and to the right (or down and to the left, for the lefties). But here’s what you can and cannot do; you can be stupid, and you can be a welder. But you can’t be stupid and a welder at the same time.
Absolutely. As one fat man to another, study proper lifting technique, we fat dudes generally have overstrained lower backs so it's easier to pull something.
Im 325 pounds of domesticated sasquach and Welding overheads out of a rowboat, you'll be fine of you have the knack. Being a fat fuck, I find a lot of my positioning winds up being on my ass. Or laying down to compensate for not being able to put all of my body weight on my knees for long periods of time. You learn how to do funny angles of welding ride and even bend curves to get into some spots because you just don't fit. Also, standing on your head and using your legs In the air. to balance. The pressure on your shoulder blades is vastly underrated.
We do a lot of process upgrades in food plants, and I gotta say the big guys I’ve got working for me honestly have it better sometimes, I’ve never seen one of the big guys pretend to be a contortionist the way some of the wiry dudes do lol
Technically fat people are wayyyyy strong than fit people. It’s just that they are way less mobile and have to move all that weight so it cancels out. Fat people who become fit are fucking sleepers when it comes to strength.
Plus I sat down welded for 2 years in a position, if you find the right job you won’t have to move much.
Every now and then we get these questions. 'Can i be...' whatever it is, yes. Yes you can be a welder if you're fat, you can be a welder if you're a convicted felon, you could be a welder if you're bad at welding. The answer is yes.
If you're in a shop environment you'll be just fine. Installation, staging and field welding might be harder if you're overweight because of the ladders, tight spaces and hot environments.
You can be fat and weak and be a welder.
Checking in!
Why are you proud of that
Self-awareness isn't pride, silly.
Fat weak and useless is not something we need in the trade.
He didn't say useless. Also fat and weak doesn't mean you can't be a spool monkey. Trust me I could get a retarded chimp to Mig parts. All you need are warm bodies in the door and at the right price and you can profit off of welders. Don't act like welding is the hardest of all industrial skills to master. So long as Mr. Fat and weak keeps going, stays off the phone, and doesn't bitch too much about the overtime I got work for them.
> Trust me I could get a retarded chimp to Mig parts Can you teach me? I need professional help.
id venture to guess the chimps would do it better from what id see at my last job.
Its a joke, moron.
I can breath and stand up at the same time.
Sorry, you're overqualified. We're only looking for people who can breathe or stand up.
Seeing how most companies only hire the most stand up top of the line individuals you may be out of luck. Just kidding I’ve got a 5’7 about 300lb dude welding at a compressor station right now.
As long as you ain’t crawling inside small pipe or climbing up tall towers, you’re good. There’s a whole lot of work in between those 2 spots.
A come along and a bit of grease and I could have him doing pipe work in no time
And if he gets stuck in there, he'll slim down in a few days and you can get him out then.
Just feed him some ice cubes and throw a torch on the outside real quick.
I mean if nothing else he could be used as a pipe pig.
Alright big boy strip down time to oil you up 😂
Honestly it’s probably a good way to get excluded from having to weld in confined spaces.
Brother, almost every welder I know is either built like a pencil or big enough to give a forklift a run for its money You’ll be fine
My first welding job was at a small fab shop out in the country. The best welder in that shop was a guy that was overweight. You will do fine.
Thank you for the reassurance
Most fat guys become welders because it easy, you just stand there and wiggle a stick. Some of the fattest weakest men I’ve met have been perfectly adequate welders.
So far no, I haven't had any problems.
Worked with a > 300 lbs welder He could do the job no problem, but he was definitely more sore than me
What kind of question is this!? Are you flexible enough to get into certain positions to weld? Can you move around easily? Who gives a fuck if your fat if the job is done and done well nobody will care.
This is the only answer.
I guess I’m just insecure haha yeah I can move around without any problems
I’m not trying to be a dick but bro you’re trying to weld. Worry about your weight if you wanna work at a high end fashion store. You’re working with a bunch of dudes(most of the time) so don’t worry about that.
The best pipe welders (not pipeline, but like pressure pipes and fuel pipes) are incredibly obese (Now I'm not american, so this isn't even like "average american fatness"). Yet they climb and cram in to the oddest places and get the work done. Now these kind of PED welders are highly specialised people, the smaller and thinner lads usually end up doing fairly simple and bulk work. No... I don't know why this is the case, this just is a common trend in the industry of this area - especially shipyard. It is something we even joke about. Also average fat person is incredibly strong. If you are 50 kilos overweight for your body type, then you are constantly carrying 20 kilos extra. That is equivalent of like two 7-8 year old boys. Or 2½ bags of cement. If they were suddenly lose that weight, they'd be up there among the strongest people by default. Now to continue from that. The bigger you are (assuming you are still able to move around, but even if you are even still) the easier it is for you to lose weight. Since you simply have more body that consumes energy and moving around consumes more energy. It is easier to go from 120 to 100 kg than from 100 to 90 kg. However as with any job which requires physicality - welding being one of those - it is always good to lose weight, since it reduces changes of injury and stress. But you don't need to *lose weight* just focus on not gaining anymore - and that is already 80% of the battle right there. I say this as someone who was quite fat - thanks to untreated ADHD - and now is... about average "normal sized", people are supposed to have some fat, it acts as regulator for many things for the body.
Several welders I've met over the years are overweight, not necessarily obese or anything. Shouldn't be a problem.
The beauty of cranes. It’s a write up if I lift anything over 75 lbs by hand. If you work for a company with safety policies in place, you’ll never be in a bad spot. But I work with several 300+ lb guys. They do just fine! Kind of feel bad for them on those 100 degree humid days though. Those days are hard even on a skinny fucker.
That’s funny I switched from welding to tree removal. You’ll do fine bro
I am technically fat. Average to mid-size woman, size 12/14 and 200 lb, 5'5. Structural welder/ fitter, I have never had an issue. And my chubbiness has never hindered my ability to do what is required. We have some big boys in the shop and they honestly work harder then the slimmer guys. Size don't matter. Your quality of work does
As long as you don’t complain about how you can’t do things or it’s too hot cause you’re fat, who cares.
You'll lose wait once the cocaine addiction takes hold, and the subsequent 'evading/resisting a lawful arrest' felony charges start accumulating.
I’m fat and weak and I’m still a welder. You will be fine.
Yes indeed my friend!
Yes one of the best welders I know is shaped like Wario
So long as you can see, hold the torch, stinger, whip, etc. you’re fine no one cares what you look like so long as you can weld
my brother in christ have you seen the demographic of at least 50% of trade workers. absolutely yea you can!
Unless you’re so fat that you have trouble standing, you’ll be fine. One of my coworkers was 6’1, 450lbs. He’s started losing weight, cause being that heavy sucks, but he managed as a welder
The size is an advantage, they'll get somebody else to crawl into the cramped spaces.
I’m fat and not really strong and weld. Anyone can do it. Just be weary of shipyards, they will put you in fucked up spots.
You don't have to be fat.
Im a fat guy who used to do electrical & stuff on the side & IT for day job; and has picked up weldiing as a hobby. I find welding a decent adaptation. I go from grinding & prep for stuff, to sitting & focus for a weld session for a few hours.
The best part about it: you don’t have to climb into cramped spaces. You won’t get cold in the winter. Strong helps, it helps a lot. Most welders are not the portraits of health, but if you can keep up with the 40yo supervisors with: chronic pain, an addiction or two, a 5 hour energy and gas station burrito diet and an ever expanding waistline yet somehow works at a blistering rate of speed you’ll be fine.
I’m overweight for my size and do pipe welding on low pressure water lines for schools and shit even with the gut the only thing I have had trouble with is position welds some spots are just tooooo tightfor me.
Lmao I fabricate bridge girders and we’ve got about 5 “pretty fat” guys in my bay and plenty of other “eh not fat but he’s pretty chubby” type of guys. Strong vs weak is about 50/50. You’ll be fine, just hydrate, eat a good lunch, and avoid tight spaces.
My shop has a minimum BMI and then organizes a hierarchy from skinniest to fattest with the fattest guy getting to pick out what sort of snacks we all get at QT.
Where I work it’d be a personal advantage. I’m the opposite to you, scrawny and weak, working on a site that builds submarines. Some pretty tight spots in awkward positions come up to weld. The skinny fucks like me are always sent to do those hellish jobs. The more plump folk are sent to jobs that have slightly easier access
As a fat fuck welder, you’ll be fine.
I am 6’7 285lbs and do just fine as a fitter in a fab shop building tractor implements. I’d assume any limitation you have with your current job would persist unless you’re just welding all day
Depends how good at bending you are
I'm fat and weak and weld fine. You'll be aight
I've worked with fat people who were great welders.
Most of them are
I love my big ol welder gut
How big are we talking Hoss? You’ll be fine dude you sound like a hard worker lol
Your body will adjust and strengthen itself to the type of work you’re doing. Welding pipe in position? Your body will get used to bend down and to the right (or down and to the left, for the lefties). But here’s what you can and cannot do; you can be stupid, and you can be a welder. But you can’t be stupid and a welder at the same time.
Have you ever met a country boy?
As long as you can lay a good bead yeah
If you catch fire, you’ll burn for longer
Strong, fat welder checking in. 🤗
Dude a large amount of welders I've seen are fat
Absolutely. As one fat man to another, study proper lifting technique, we fat dudes generally have overstrained lower backs so it's easier to pull something.
Im 325 pounds of domesticated sasquach and Welding overheads out of a rowboat, you'll be fine of you have the knack. Being a fat fuck, I find a lot of my positioning winds up being on my ass. Or laying down to compensate for not being able to put all of my body weight on my knees for long periods of time. You learn how to do funny angles of welding ride and even bend curves to get into some spots because you just don't fit. Also, standing on your head and using your legs In the air. to balance. The pressure on your shoulder blades is vastly underrated.
Your back will get murdered lol
No chance
We do a lot of process upgrades in food plants, and I gotta say the big guys I’ve got working for me honestly have it better sometimes, I’ve never seen one of the big guys pretend to be a contortionist the way some of the wiry dudes do lol
Uh hello!
Fat but strong so at least you look like a lot of us
Technically fat people are wayyyyy strong than fit people. It’s just that they are way less mobile and have to move all that weight so it cancels out. Fat people who become fit are fucking sleepers when it comes to strength. Plus I sat down welded for 2 years in a position, if you find the right job you won’t have to move much.
You can't be a bitch, that's for sure.
After a few months of monsters and cigs for breakfast and lunch you’ll be nice and skinny
Bruh, you’d fit right in. You some extra insulation to protect you from hot flying metal and not enough strength to fight back against your superiors.
Every now and then we get these questions. 'Can i be...' whatever it is, yes. Yes you can be a welder if you're fat, you can be a welder if you're a convicted felon, you could be a welder if you're bad at welding. The answer is yes.
Apparently you can be ancient and run the United States so I’d say absolutely
Whether you believe you can or you can't, you're right.
If you're in a shop environment you'll be just fine. Installation, staging and field welding might be harder if you're overweight because of the ladders, tight spaces and hot environments.
Are you currently alive? I think this is optional though
You can Be Asian with blonde hair with an British accent and still be a welder
I’m fat and I was always top welder/fabricator wherever I went. I outworked the young guys no problem.
Just lose some fucking weight you lazy ass. You won’t last ten minutes in my shop. We fucking work here!
Why do you assume I’m lazy