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Women's Success Stories
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DULCE RODRIGUEZ "“Don’t be scared to try it, it doesn’t hurt to try. If you don’t actually make it or don’t feel it’s for you at least you gave it a try and you won’t say ‘what if?’ or ‘I should have.’ These are high paying jobs. As long as a state keeps growing, Career Quick Look they’re going to need welders.” |
Career Quick Look
| Salary: |
$10 - $12 per hour at a private shop.
$14.25 per hour for entry level work through the Sheet Metal Workers’ union. |
Education: |
| Years in Field: | 3 months | El Camino College: Plans to complete her A.S. degree in Welding in 2008 |
| City/State: | Norwalk, CA |
Getting Started: Dulce Rodriguez fell in love with welding when she was just 14. “My brother was a certified welder. He started welding outside the house, and as soon as I saw the first two or three sparks fly, I was like, whoa, that is so cool.” He encouraged Dulce to try it and assured her that he could fix anything she messed up. She immediately saw the potential. “If I could do this I could do all kinds of crazy stuff.” Because both her older brothers are certified iron workers, they were major role models for Dulce. “I’ve learned so much from them, it’s amazing to have them as my brothers.”
Dulce’s excitement about welding led her to take her first welding class at El Camino while she was still a senior in high school. When she graduated in 2005, she took three semesters in welding at El Camino College until her father, who at the time didn’t appreciate his daughter’s career choice, asked her to help him out at his loan business. She took a couple of loan classes, but soon decided to return to welding. She laughs as she says, “I missed smelling dirty.” She found a job at a small privately-owned welding shop in Hawthorne to get more first-hand experience. Dulce left that job after three months in order to study for her certification exam and get her degree.
Education: When Dulce enrolled in her first welding course at El Camino College, she found the Women in Industry and Technology (WIT) program especially helpful. “When I got there I was scared to death. I was still a high school student, and they helped me with everything, they were always there. She [the WIT recruiter] kept following up, every month I got at least one phone call.” She asked Dulce how things were going and if she needed help, and encouraged her to continue taking courses after she graduated from high school. Dulce continued for three semesters.
After her brief detour to help her dad in his loan business and to work in a welding shop, she enrolled again at El Camino, where she is now finishing up her A.S. degree in welding. She continues to find strong support from the WIT program and her welding instructor, who showed great confidence in her abilities and is always available to provide individual support to students.
Once she completes her final welding course, Dulce plans to take the City of Los Angeles certification exam in May or June 2008. The test involves both an open and closed book component, along with doing one vertical and one overhead weld. Once she is certified, she plans to join the Sheet Metal Workers’ Union. Although she says there are just 50 women in this union compared with 2000 men, her brothers have assured her that the union makes special provisions for women’s needs, including separate bathroom facilities. At some point in the future, Dulce plans to obtain a license as a welding inspector. “I do realize I'm going to get old someday,” she says. Becoming an inspector offers a less physically demanding alternative.
Greatest Professional Achievement: Dulce believes that her greatest accomplishment was overcoming her fear and actually showing up at her first welding class at El Camino while she was still in high school – and then continuing to come back. “I haven’t stopped yet,” she says. “My brothers told me if I could make it through the first week I’d really enjoy it and know that I could do it.”
Barriers: The barriers Dulce has faced relate most to others’ perceptions of what a woman can do. “People ask me, ‘why are you doing that? That’s not a job for a person like you.’” She’s also found it difficult to get through to her dad about how much she loves welding. “You’re not a boy, you’re a girl,” he said to her. But her parents had also advised her to find a career she could love for the rest of her life. “This is something I really enjoy, this is so much fun to me,” says Dulce, whose father has since come around and asks for her help with welding projects around the house.
Working with Men: On the job, Dulce has noticed that people are surprised to see her. “Amazing, you actually can weld,” they tell her. She has found that it helps to avoid talking to her male co-workers at first. Instead, she just starts in and does her work, and they come to appreciate what she can do. “You have to prove yourself in this work,” she says. Although she has also taught herself many tricks for managing heavy physical work, she also occasionally has to ask for help. “I’ve learned that there’s nothing wrong with that. You’re not like everybody else around the shop, because everybody else is a guy.”
Advice for Women: “Don’t be scared to try it, it doesn’t hurt to try,” says Dulce to other women considering a job in welding. “If you don’t actually make it or don’t feel it’s for you at least you gave it a try and you won’t say ‘what if?’ or ‘I should have.’ These are high paying jobs. As long as a state keeps growing, they’re going to need welders. It’s something to look into. Don’t be scared, that’s the main thing.”
Typical Workday/Environment: At her job at the welding shop, Dulce welded continuously throughout each day. Customers pre-ordered designs from the shop’s website, and Dulce then fabricated the orders for these customers. Products included metal fences, outdoor decorations, and other metal household items. She worked with a MIG welding machine, which feeds wire continuously while the machine is on. She had to make sure the welds were done on time and according to specifications so they could pass inspection and meet the customer’s needs.
Dulce mostly chose to work outdoors because of the great weather and because it tended to get hot and smoky inside the warehouse. She typically wore jeans or overalls, a leather welding jacket, and special pigskin gloves that protected her hands from the heat. She also wore protective equipment including a welding hood, safety glasses, and, when working indoors, a mask. The job was quite physical, and she had to move, push, and pull heavy items, and sometimes weld in awkward positions.
Career Ladder: Dulce’s first job was at a privately owned shop, where entry-level welders earned $10 to 12 per hour. Dulce looks forward to joining the union, which usually starts welders at $14.25 per hour. She will enter a four-year apprenticeship program with the union, which also offers additional schooling and corresponding increases in pay rate. At the top journeyman level, the pay rate can go to $36.35 per hour, with double pay for overtime. Additional opportunities lie in supervisory positions. Union positions tend to have generous benefit packages, including vacations, health coverage, and retirement benefits.
Professional Associations: Dulce plans to join the Sheet Metal Workers’ Union once she becomes certified.
Hobbies: Dulce enjoys spending time with her family, watching soccer games, and going to concerts. She sometimes even finds the energy for personal welding projects at the end of a busy day of school and family commitments.
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