Graduate Connections – Meet Kendyl Bradley

Kendyl, 23, from Jacksonville, Florida, completed the Professional Welder program at Tulsa Welding School in Jacksonville in March 2024. 

Thanks for your time, Kendyl. What did you do before enrolling at Tulsa Welding School? 

I started working pretty early, around 15, so once I graduated in 2018, I stayed working in fast food and gas station jobs. Later in 2018, I got into the trucking business. We had a contract with Rooms to Go, and I was doing furniture delivery. I did that for about five years. I worked that same job while I was at Tulsa Welding School, and I did my welding classes at night.

Where did the idea of a welding career come from? 

I’ve always liked working with my hands. I worked on cars with my dad growing up, I helped my mom build houses, so I always knew I wanted to be a hands-on worker. That’s what got me into the trucks and furniture delivery. My Godmother, Katrina, actually got me into welding. She was a welder on the road, a journeyman welder. She taught me how to do a little stick welding, and that’s also how I found out there’s a welding school in Jacksonville. I’m not a school person, not Math and English and all that, but when I found out that I could go to a school that’s hands-on the trade itself, that really sparked my interest.

What did you enjoy most about your time at TWS? 

I think my favorite part was the challenge. You have to learn the different weld processes. It’s challenging. You have the teachers who are pretty hands-on; they try to throw things in there to keep it interesting, like little contests. I enjoyed the excitement at school, and the resources they provide. They make it pretty easy to learn things, especially if you don’t have much welding knowledge coming in like I did. 

With limited experience, how did you find the program? Easy? Hard? Frustrating? 

It was honestly pretty easy. It was really interesting; the fire, just the excitement of it. Being able to build things from sheets of metal was pretty awesome. I never really had days, even on top of working, that were really frustrating at school. If anything felt hard or a task was complicated, the teachers provided the help for me to get through it. They were pretty beneficial for me. 

That’s awesome. We don’t speak to many welding graduates who didn’t have frustrating moments!

I like to ask questions. I focused on finding solutions or alternatives instead of focusing on frustration. I always kept an optimistic mindset because I understood I was new to welding. I understand that anything new that you do is not going to come quickly. As long as you stay patient, it will come around. I got pretty good with everything that I practiced. I think it’s more the time that you put into it, and what you’re looking to get from it, that shapes your mindset on how you look at the program.

So, you graduated a couple of months ago, where are you working?

I’m with Stellar Energy. I was lucky enough to pull an interview during my last week of school in March. I started April 15th after the background checks. I’m doing pretty good; I’ve got a lot of certifications in the time I’ve been there, I’m off to a strong start. I’m looking to flourish there and go on the road in the future. 

How did you get the job? Did Career Services help you?

Yes, Ms. Cheri in Career Services is awesome. She helped me with my résumé and kept us informed on the jobs that came to the school. She let us know when the opportunity at Stellar came up. At first, I was thinking of going on the road, but once I had conversations with Ms. Cheri, she redirected my thinking. I thought about being fresh out of school and the need to get in the door somewhere to get experience in the industry. That’s when I focused on Stellar, and actually everything went pretty smoothly from there.  

So, what are you doing for Stellar?

We’re building big industrial energy systems like chillers and heating systems. We build them from the ground up. They’re almost like buildings. So, we build the deck plates, we build walls, enclosures. We have an electrical department that handles the actual systems and everything, but on the welding and structural side, we do the fitting measurements, we cut the metal. We build them from the ground up, starting from the deck plates, all the way to the roof.

Are you happy with the money side if it, the financial potential in this career?

Yeah, it’s actually pretty awesome. When I applied, it was for a helper position; I was trying to play it safe, to get inside, get a feel for how a new industry works – coming from trucking to a fabrication facility. So, I came in as a helper, but they actually put me through a three-week training, and promoted me to third-class fitter from there. They make you wait 60 days for each promotion, so once I pass my 60 days, they want me to take the second-class fitter test, and with each promotion comes a raise. So, I started at about $19/hour, I’m sitting at $20 now, and they’re looking to give me a $2 raise once I take the second-class fitter test soon, so that’ll be $22/hour. From there, it just keeps going up! So, I’m pretty satisfied. We’ve already started with overtime, so the money’s pretty good. 

How much overtime are you pulling?

About 18 hours a week. We’re working five tens. We work 6:00 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday, and then Saturday we pull a 6:00 AM to 2:00 PM shift.

Awesome. So, you’re pipefitting not welding?

I’m doing both at the moment. I didn’t take the pipefitting course at TWS, but here at Stellar I’m learning pipefitting as well as frame fitting and wall fitting. I actually had no experience in fitting at all. They have us in teams – a primary welder, a primary grinder, a primary fitter, who does the measurements and the layouts of the containment walls and everything. 

What’s your career plan from here, Kendyl?

So, I came in to be a welding helper until I learned that the fitting program came with a raise. So, I jumped to the fitting program just to learn the side of the business that I didn’t know about, and also to get paid a little more. It’s different here because they actually pay fitters more than they pay welders. I’m already making a dollar more than their structural welders. So, I want to grow in the fitting department, and then take my first-class pipe welding test. That’s the goal I have right now. With each promotion they have to give you a raise. So, me thinking smart, by the time I take that pipe welding test, I’ll be one of the highest paid welders they have here. I hope to have that first pipe welding position within a year.  

I want to stay at Stellar for a year or two, get some experience. My ultimate goal is to end up traveling. Eventually, my plan is to just take my truck on the road and weld along the way. I’m doing mainly flux core and MIG, but I do want to end up in TIG, it’s much cleaner. It’s a nicer and they’re higher paid! 

What do you enjoy most about this new trade?

I like the creativity. They give you sheets of metal; you build a wall, or a plate, or a pipe, whether it’s two-inch, five-inch, whatever. I also like to keep my hands dirty; I like to work hard. I’m not a desk person at all. I definitely enjoy the physical aspect, the creativity, the building; it’s the experience as well. You learn a lot of discipline with welding. For me, it’s exciting. It’s always something new. I like how far welding can take you, and how necessary it is everywhere. Th world will always need welders, and that’s an essential job to me. So that’s a cool part of it too.

Did you make some connections at school, people you’ll stay in touch with? 

I have three buddies; we were all in class together, we all came to Stellar Energy together and we’re all on the same team. We stayed pretty tight, and we all came up with the same plan. When we are ready to hit the road, we’ll all hit the road together and try to make more money as a team. 

That’s awesome! What advice do you have for someone to be successful at Tulsa Welding School? 

Be open minded and be dedicated. People who come to Tulsa Welding School are adults; we’re working, we have families and friends. It gets hard sometimes to try to maintain your daily life and still focus on school, to focus on your end goal, and actually try to get through. So, you need to have real mental strength and discipline. I think discipline is the biggest, biggest thing because it’s easy to say, “Oh, I don’t want to do this”, or “It’s hard, I just can’t get it right”. It’s easy to give up on it, so you just have to stay disciplined and optimistic. If I had a word to define me, it’s definitely “optimistic”. I am optimistic about everything. I think as long as you have that optimism, you’ll get through it.

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).