What Does a Certified Coded Welder Mean?

18 September 2019

Employers, when searching through job websites or Curriculum Vitaes, look for certified coded welders. Put simply, this individual has completed an industry-approved accreditation program, which proves his skills using at least one welding process, if not more. The person who provides these certifications is clearly more than a hobbyist, more than a journeyman or craftsman worker. This welding professional has been trained and process-vouched as a coded welder.

Establishing a Proven Career Record

The welding sector is somewhat unique in this regard. While intellectual types and craftsmen supply printed certificates, welding qualifications go further. For example, if a pro welder has earned a code in TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding, the employee can usually supply an on-the-spot sample. This way, an employer can actually see how expertly the welder goes about his metal fusing duties. On top of samples, coded welders dismiss employment ambiguities by supplying their “codings.” These are qualifications that demonstrate training and knowledge of a specified welding process. Engineering employers tend to gravitate towards welders who have proven work records, as verified by an industry-standard welding certification.

More Than a Certification Process

Dependent on the country the welder works in, different qualifications are preferred, if not downright coveted. There’s no shortage of certificates and codes, including the BS 4872, ASME IX, and the EN ISO 9606-1 standards. Certified welders can collect these documents, of course. Coded welders, yet again, tend to go the extra mile. Along with a Curriculum Vitae and a handful of certificates, there might be a photographic portfolio, which shows a past history of the welder’s best work. Then there are the aforementioned samples, with many a process class marked out in real, solid detail on actual metal blocks. And remember, coded welders can ably prove their abilities in any number of welding processes. From MIG (Metal Inert Gas) to TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding or any other welding variant, the proof is there to see, and to feel.

One last thing, the welding industry can be viewed as a ladder. Climbing the rungs, beginner journeymen collect stick welding codes and simple MIG welding certificates, then they graduate onto TIG equipment and pulsed welding rigs, which also utilize arc welding technology. Apart from the processing codes, there are the industry locations and types to work upon, then there are the seam types and fabrication codes, too. And that’s not even the whole picture. Welders need to work in the most awkward positions while cleanly fusing pipe joints and structural steel plating. As such, they must be capable of mastering tricky joints. Horizontal welding is one thing, but a truly skilled coded welder can pull off a perfectly applied butt seam in the vertical up position.