Is welding really a career worth pursuing?

You wonder in a blue-collar state like South Dakota why more young people don't go into skilled jobs like welding.

Is it the pay? Is it some long-held belief that welders are dirty and grimy all the time, drenched in sweat and laboring in uncomfortable conditions?

If so, that's not the reality at all, says Jeff Holcomb, president of Southeast Technical Institute in Sioux Falls.

His school graduates welders who start at $20 an hour. They work with equipment that's much more advanced than it was 25 years ago.. And they work in environments -- at Marmen Energy, at Egger and Sioux Steel, at Raven Industries -- "that are clean and nice and much more modernized," he says.

Really? I'd be interested in hearing from this generation of welders to get their take on whether this is an occupation that a person could make a decent career out of in South Dakota.

Heaven knows we need them.

All four technical institutes in the state have welding programs. "The issue," Holcomb says, "is we couldn't turn out enough of them to fill the need even if we quadrupled the space in our programs."

And it's not just welders, he says. Businesses in the state need mechatronics technicians, people who can install, repair or maintain electrical, mechanical and/or computerized equipment.

They need mechanical engineering technicians, people who can work with computer-aided grafting equipment and support mechanical engineers.

"All of them are well-paying careers," Holcomb says.

Some day soon, the state is going to announce the winners in its Build Dakota program -- a $50 million partnership with T. Denny Sanford that is going to provide scholarships at the technical schools to students willing to go into high-need fields.

It could be welding. it could be mechatronics. It could be any number of other skilled trades where there are high needs.

Whether that announcement comes today or in a month, I'm interested in starting a conversation now.

What are the true needs for these skilled professions? And if you have embarked on a career as a welder or a technician, why did you do that? Do you think you can make a career out of it? How is it different than you might have first imagined? Does it enable you to have a satisfying life outside the workplace?

And this -- understanding that other states might pay your profession more, is it your intent to remain in South Dakota or to go where the money grass is greener?

Let me know. You can reach me at (605) 331-2306 or at syoung@argusleader.com. I look forward to hearing from you.