Graduate Connections – Meet Jaden Johnson

Jaden, 21, is from Woodbine, Georgia, but moved to Jacksonville, FL, two years ago. He completed the seven-month Professional Welder program at Tulsa Welding School in Jacksonville in February 2024. 

Thanks for your time, Jaden. Tell us what you did before enrolling at Tulsa Welding School? 

I really wanted to go into the Navy. That was going to be my thing. But before Tulsa I was working for companies like Waste Management, dumping trash. I hated it. I’ve had all kinds of juice and stuff fly on me, maggots on my arm. This was not something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I made okay money at $17.50/hour, about $1,400 every two weeks, but I knew I had to find a career. 

I don’t blame you for that at all! Why didn’t you pursue the Navy idea? 

The issue was that my dad passed away not too long ago, and my mom is disabled. If I had joined the Navy, she wouldn’t have a caregiver, someone to actually stay and take care of her. Going to the Navy and being stationed somewhere wouldn’t work. 

Our condolences and well done for looking after mom. Where did the idea of welding come from? 

My dad was a welder and a crane operator, and he brought home big bucks. He’d show me his old check stubs. He was bringing home like $3,700 or $4,500 a week. I’d ask, “And this is for a week?” He’d tell me about working plant shutdowns and doing 60+ hours/week, plus a $120-$200 per diem. He’d say, “It all adds up, man. But you’ve got to work. Nobody’s going to have you on their job if you’re not working hard.” 

By the time I was old enough to know what he did, he was always the supervisor, or the superintendent telling people what to do on the job site. I watched my dad buy an Escalade, $70,000 cash: title in his hand. I watched my dad buy 10 acres of land and build a big house on it and I was just like, “Damn, how are you doing this?” The answer was a lot of hard work and experience.

When he got sick, I decided I’d follow his lead. I told him I was going to Tulsa Welding School, and he was like, “I think that’d be a great idea. If you go traveling, you’re going to make a lot of money.” I was praying that I would graduate before he passed, but he died three months before. I wish he could have seen this.

I’m sure he would be very proud.

He would. All he wanted me to do was finish school and show him that I was going to be someone in life. Now that I’m welding and have the job that I have and making what I already make now, I’m doing so much better in my life than I was. I have a career.

That’s awesome. What did you enjoy most about your time at TWS? 

I really enjoyed the hands-on learning. Being able to learn by someone telling and showing me how to do something, instead of just telling me. Then they left me alone and let me work on it. If I needed help, it was right there. I really enjoyed learning something that I knew was going to make me someone in life.

Did you ever do any welding with your dad, or were you new to it? 

I didn’t really get to do welding with my dad. He was always traveling, getting paid, so I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with him until he got hurt on his job. That’s when he retired, but he would always talk to me about it. He’d tell me about the different types of welding, what made the most money and what I should try to aim for in life. Stuff like that. I had no hands-on experience before school.

Did you have any frustrations on the program? 

I really liked TIG. TIG is an awesome welding process, but I got so frustrated just learning how to do it. It was so frustrating! But at the end of the day, you have to think that TIG is the top paying type of welding. So, if you really want to make some money, that’s where you’ve got to get really, really, really good.

How did you handle those frustrations?

I’m not going to lie; sometimes I’d get really upset. I just didn’t understand why it wasn’t going the way I wanted. I’d leave my booth, walk outside, and sit in my car. There were times when I sat and cried. I’d sit there praying, “Come on, please God, please. I just want my daddy to be proud. Please. I want to be someone in life, please help me get this.” Sometimes I did get upset to the point where I’d be about to leave, but then I’d tell myself that would just hurt me. The only way I was going to get better is if I stayed, kept at it, and kept my hood down constantly. Practice makes perfect.

Repetition, repetition, repetition! So, tell us about finding a job after graduation.

At first, I worked at a fabrication shop for about nine months as I went through school, but my supervisor was horrible. I made $21/hour, but I wanted to go somewhere where I’d be treated fairly. I now work at Vegas Carts in Jacksonville. I weld exhaust pipes, mufflers, engine parts for golf carts and stuff like that.

That’s great. How did you get that job? 

I found it myself. About a month before I was going to finish class, I started looking around and went on Indeed. A link popped up for Vegas Carts, so I called. Long story short, they do MIG and TIG welding so I said, “I’m an amazing MIG and TIG welder; can I come in for a weld test? They asked if I wanted to come on Monday. I said, “No, I can be there in 35 minutes.” 

I took the weld test and the supervisor looked at my weld and said, “When do you want to start?” We agreed on Monday. He then said, “We can start you at $17/hour.” I started putting my gloves in my pocket and said, “My weld looks entirely too good for you to try to pay me $17/hour.” As I was getting ready to leave, the owner walked in and said, “Hey, what’s up man, you good? You coming to work with us?” I told him no because I can’t work for that amount of money. I have my bills to pay, my mom’s bills to pay. I said, “I know I’m new out of school, but there’s no way you can look at my weld and tell me this is what you want to pay me.” So, he came and looked at my weld. He looked at my flat, he looked at my overhead, he looked at my vertical. He was like, “This looks really nice. How much do you want an hour?” 

Well, there’s a nice question to be asked!? 

I’m fresh out of school, so I didn’t know exactly what to ask for, but I knew I didn’t want $17/hour. I was making $17.50 dumping trash. I told him I wanted $23/hour. He said, “Okay, we can do that. You want to start Monday?” In my head I was like I should have asked for more! So, I started on the Monday.

Congratulations! This was late January, a couple of weeks before you finished school? 

Yes, January 23rd. After I’d worked there for a week, the supervisor and the owner called me to the office. The supervisor said to the owner, “Look, you told me to start the offer at $17, and you started him at $23, but let me tell you, this guy’s an amazing welder. I feel like we need to pay him some more money.” 

We talked and the owner asked me for another number. This time I asked for $26/hour. He agreed and told me to show him what I could do over the coming months. He said that if I kept my performance up, after 90 days he’d give me a health plan and another dollar raise. I currently make $26/hour, I work about 55 hours a week, and I average about $1,500 a week. Late April will be my 90 days, and everything is good!

You believe in the value of your skill! Awesome! Are you living in Jacksonville? What about mom?

No, I go back to Georgia. It’s a lot of gas money, but it’s only 30 minutes each way. I live at the border. I’ve been slowly moving stuff back into mom’s house, cleaning up this one room, getting it right for me.

What’s your career plan from here?

My mom is my focus right now. She’s getting older, she’s paralyzed. She can’t walk or do anything by herself. So, I’m just taking it slow right now for her. I’m making good money and I’m somewhere where I feel valued. Whenever God brings mom to him, I’m either going to hit the road and just travel weld like my dad, or I’m going to the Navy, or maybe the Army, and weld for them. I just look at it like I’m being a man. I’m doing what my dad would want me to do, but when my time comes, my time is going to come!

I’m sure it will. What’s your ultimate career goal?

I don’t see myself welding my whole life. I just turned 21, so I figure I’ll give myself to about 31/32 welding. I plan to save up as much money as I can. I want to start getting into real estate and renting it out. 

What do you enjoy most about your new trade?

I just like the arc. I like throwing my hood down and just welding something. I like the fact that without that hood down, people can go blind looking at that bright light. There’s been so many times I forgot to turn my welding mode on my hood! I just love welding because it’s like, boy, oh boy, you can really hurt yourself. It’s dangerous, I love the adrenaline that I get from it. 

What advice do you have for someone to be successful at Tulsa Welding School? 

My advice would be don’t leave early. Go to school every day. Don’t be talking, don’t be in anybody else’s booth. Just constantly stay in your booth with your hood down. As long as you get that hood down, you’ll be one of the best welders out there. It’s so crazy. You just have to be determined and stay focused on what you’re doing. Don’t get distracted. Just know at the end of school there’s going to be a beautiful outcome…money wise, car wise, everything wise! Everything will be beautiful!

And one more thing, when you leave welding school, know your worth. Believe in yourself. If you know you are an amazing welder, have that confidence in your value. I was prepared to walk away at $17/hour, and by the end of April I’ll be making an extra $10/hour because I know what my skill is worth.

If you’re a TWS graduate and would like to share your success and be an inspiration to others, please email [email protected] to be considered for a Graduate Connection interview. Please include details such as your graduation date (month/year), program, and campus name (Tulsa/Jacksonville/Houston/Dallas).