Whether you're fresh out of high school or an adult who is ready for a new career for whatever reason, choosing to become a welder is a great option. Welders are able to find employment in a variety of different industries and earn higher than average pay for their services. You may find yourself working in the construction industry, the automotive industry, the industrial industry, or even in more specialized areas thanks to your training. But getting your education in welding is only the first step. Once you've learned the basics, you'll have to earn your welding certification if you want to have success in the field.

Knowing how to weld is great, but without becoming certified you'll have a difficult time proving to prospective employers that you actually know what you're doing. Welding certification is a process that awards you with the documents needed to show that you do indeed possess all of the knowledge and skill required to weld. Just like a doctor who must be certified in order to practice medicine, people will want to see your credentials before they trust you with their welding duties. Luckily, earning the certification is a fairly simple process that anyone with a good working knowledge of the process will be able to complete.

To earn welding certification you'll have to be able to pass a number of basic tests designed to prove your knowledge of the process. The tests will show your ability to weld high quality joints and demonstrate your overall knowledge of welding. In some cases a single test is all that will be required while in other instances you may have to pass a series of tests. Once that you do you'll be given a certification that tells not only that you're qualified to weld, but also any limitations that may exist.

A number of different types of welding are used, and you may find that you're only certified in one or two of them. And several different specialized areas of welding will require unique welding certification. For example, you may be able to earn your status as a Certified Welder fairly easily, but you could take more certification exams to become a certified welding engineer, certified welding supervisor, or even become certified in robotic arc welding. There are numerous different areas that you can focus on if you want to take your welding beyond the basic stage of certification.

Several different organizations offer welding certification as well. In America you'll likely want to earn your certification from the American Welding Society, while in the United Kingdom The Welding Institute handles most certifications. Some independent organizations or companies require that you pass their own certification exams as well in order to be hired on with them, although this is a relatively rare occurrence. Whatever your ultimate goal may be from your welding career, certification is an important step that you can't afford to ignore. Without it, you'll end up using your welding skills as little more than a hobby.