Growing up in the Black Hills with a mechanical engineer for a father, it’s no surprise that Jessi Combs became a metal fabricator.

“I was surrounded by the Sturgis Rally, Cruise Night, and a lot of 4-wheeling…. if I broke it I had to fix it, and if I wanted it I usually had to make it, and making it usually meant welding was involved,” says Jessi.

Jessi has been welding for as long as she can remember even though she wasn’t always great at it. “But that’s what school and practice is for,” she says.  And it wasn’t just welding that interested her.

WyoTech offers a degree in Custom Automotive Fabrication, a natural fit for Jessi’s interests and skills.  “To weld is to join pieces together to the point of melting the surfaces together. As a metal fabricator, there is a lot more planning, shaping, fitting and building than simply welding it together.”

Jessi’s career path started like many young people’s from working retail to waitressing and “one lame desk job that lasted only six months.”  However, things changed by the time she graduated.  She was hired as a Fabrication Specialist building a 1969 Mercury Cyclone as the WyoTech SEMA Show car, and right after that she became the host of Xtreme 4×4, the off-road, how-to show on Spike TV.

“For over three years we built all kinds of off-road trucks, trailers, tow rigs, and even some street trucks for millions of viewers. Since then I have been doing side jobs fabricating for others in the middle of doing a slew of freelance TV gigs,” she says.

Jessi is also a spokesperson for the American Welding Society and says that the average age of today’s craftsmen is 58 years old– soon they will be retired.

“As spokesperson it is my job to excite our youth about all the possibilities of becoming a welder. There is a high demand for welders and there is a lot of money to be made as a welder.”

Many women are under the misconception that women who weld are not particularly feminine. Jessi seems to balance this very well.  “No matter how dirty I get or how many guys I work with, I still love doing girlie things. And at the end of the day I know that I am still the beautiful, nurturing creature God created me to be.”

According to Jessi there are many lucrative opportunities in the welding world for women and that women are created with patience and great attention to detail. These jobs bring a sense of courage and independence. “Not all of them are dirty jobs either,” she says. “Look at the medical and jewelry fields or even art and furniture.  If you’re looking for a fun career, change of pace or something to challenge you a bit more there is a plethora of opportunities.”

And, in case you’re wondering, Jessi is TIG-er.  “It’s a very calming process and when you’re done its quite clean and actually beautiful.”

EDITOR’S NOTE:  Our interview was delayed for a couple of days when Jessi went to the Baja 1000, something she’d wanted to do since she was young.  She reports via email:  “Pistol Pete and his trophy truck team let me tag along for the pre-run and the race. I got some seat time in the pre-run, but unfortunately we blew a head gasket at mile 8 and the trio was cut short.”
Hopefully they’ll do better next time around!

As a side note, if you’re not familiar with the Baja 1000, in 2006 my friend James Spring reported on this “toughest 24 hours in motor sports,” for public radio.

This from the American Welding Society features Jessi Combs, fabricator extraordinaire (and Troy Trepanier and Bryan Fuller. Oh, and Jay Leno makes a guest appearance). I’m interviewing her for our next NEW ROSIE. She is currently participating in the Baja 1000. Not sure in what capacity, but I’ll get the details soon. In the meantime, check out this video. Welding as a career is hot hot hot!

Hopefully we’ll be seeing some serious investment in infrastructure in the next few years, and the opportunities for highly skilled fabricators will only grow exponentially. (you can’t send a bridge to China for repair!)

The Skills USA Championship is a well-known competition for high school and college students pursuing careers in trade, technical and skilled trade professions.

With various categories for participants to compete in, Sara Bingham seemed like an average participant at the Skills USA Utah State Championship. However, when she was announced as the first place winner in welding, Bingham stood out among her competitors.

“They called my name and everyone in the audience kept looking around to be sure they really heard a girl’s name. When I stood up, everyone’s mouths fell open in shock,” Bingham said.

Bingham welded for the first time as sophomore in high school at her father’s metal recycling business where she worked since she was 8. But, it was not until she took an advanced welding course at her high school that she began taking an interest.

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I was invited to guest blog over on the Miller Viewpoints blog…  while I appreciated the opportunity, and am truly honored that they asked, I have to say it was a little different blogging through a corporate machine.  First off, they wanted 250 words.  Two hundred-fifty words?  Are you kidding me?  that just gets me started! “The 250 words is just a rough guide,” they assured me.

So, I turned in my 876 word piece, Weld Like A Girl: Tips for Women in the Welding Industry. And waited.

Five days later, word came back. “Because it’s longer than we typically use for a single post, we’re going to make it into a series…” said my Miller contact.

Sounded fine with me.  I was proud of what I wrote, and three posts is better than one!

And so I waited some more as the edits, the approvals, and the blog post itself wended its way up the corporate chain of command. Word finally came back a week and a half later, “….they would only approve uploading the first topic, covering ‘Knowledge is Queen’”

[sigh]
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Most land lubbers stop at a gas station or two when they be travellin’ ‘tween Pennsylvania and Florida.  This lass, however, dropped anchor in Virginia t’ help weld up a pirate ship.

“It was a real good thing I showed up when I did. I made a lot of repairs from the welders that were there before me then I helped build the deck and above. It was probably the best job I ever had,” said Terri Asby.

Terri’s interest in welding was sparked at a Norfolk, Virginia high school in the late 70s.  She took all the elective classes that were offered:  cooking, sewing, small engine repair, wood shop and then welding, where her teacher James Reynolds took a special interest in her. “I could go to his class anytime I wanted….to build things. I built a rabbit cage, go cart, a six- foot shelf, and a coffee table to name a few,” she said.

The next year, Terri went to a vocational school where she learned even more about welding.  Then a classmate brought her an application for the Newport News Shipyard.  She applied, got the job and worked there for two years.  “They certified me for many different techniques–  ones that a lot of people never heard of, and I have not used since, but it made my resume look good!”
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