Graduate Connections – Meet Kyle Piggins

Kyle, 34, is originally from Wauconda, Illinois, but has lived in Jacksonville most of his life. Kyle completed the nine-and-a-half-month Welding Specialist with Pipefitting program at Tulsa Welding School in Jacksonville in September 2024. 

Thanks for your time, Kyle. So, you started with the Welding program, right?

Yes, I completed the seven-month Professional Welder program in July of 2024, and then I rolled on into the Pipefitting program. I finished that in September. At first, I was pretty set on doing the Pipefitting program, but I decided to wait and see if it really would be as useful as I thought it would be. I didn’t enroll in Pipefitting until I was about five months into the seven-month Welding program.

What made you decide to push the Pipefitting button?

I was able to talk to a couple people at BAE Systems and Air Products down in Tampa. They said that whenever they see somebody with pipefitting on their résumé, it shows that they’re passionate about the industry, that they care about their skill set. That was really the deciding factor. Doing the Pipefitting course, having different instructors teach me things they learned on the road, has definitely given me a head start compared to a lot of people at my current job. I was actually teaching one of the first-class welders how to square up a flange on my first week on the floor as a helper, which is pretty cool. It was all because of the Pipefitting class, so it’s definitely beneficial to take it. 

Good decision. Let’s backtrack…What did you do in the years before coming to welding school? 

I was in cell phone sales for about 12 years. I started at Radio Shack in 2009 and carried on to T-Mobile, Verizon, and pretty much all the carriers. I finished at a company called Wireless Advocates. They specialize on military bases, so they had me do a lot of traveling overseas, even to Guantanamo Bay, which was cool. But retail life just got a bit old. I was really looking for a change and then COVID came along. 

So, the pandemic forced a career transition? 

Yeah, I started working for Amazon as a delivery driver. I had probably close to 10 jobs in a year or so. I was trying a new job out every month, just trying to find something I enjoyed. I exhausted every option. I tried everything from being a Parks Manager to Amazon. You name it, I did it. 

So, where did the idea of welding come from after all that?

I eventually got a job at a shop modifying golf carts; I met a really cool guy who ended up being a mentor to me. Eventually he told me that I needed to find a trade and just get into it. I’m mechanically inclined; I’ve been doing my own engine work and repairs since I was 17, but I’m not the biggest fan of just turning wrenches and nuts and bolts, so I never thought of that as a career. A high school buddy had gone to Tulsa Welding School, so I just thought I’d look it up. I sent an email, got a call back, and set up an orientation tour a couple days later. The ball just rolled from there!

Did your high school buddy go to TWS out of high school? 

Maybe. He’s been doing it for a while; I remember seeing a post where he was doing dredging work. He was on a barge out, just welding. I think that kind of started my interest in it. Also, when I was in high school, I worked as a jeweler. I did a lot of jewelry repair with gold, silver, and platinum, using an oxy-acetylene torch. I also did a lot of soldering repairs at Radio Shack. So, I had the technique of working with my hands.  

What did you enjoy most about your time at TWS? 

Just having that routine, feeling like I was a kid going to school again. It was fun getting there every morning, being there with my classmates. The instructors always made the day interesting. It wasn’t just like, “Alright here’s the project, do it.” They were always joking, had enthusiasm, so it was a nice energy. I met a lot of friends there and it was nice seeing them every day too. 

Did the program come easy to you with that bit of background knowledge, or was it frustrating?

Yeah, stick welding was tough; getting a technique was frustrating. At the time I was a full-time assistant manager at a car wash. I was doing 40 hours there and 25 hours at school. I did that for a couple of phases, but I was really worn out. There’d be days that I’d miss school just because I was working late at my job. 

That’s a heavy schedule. What did you do?

Getting five hours of sleep was tough, some days I just needed to sleep in. My welding work was showing it too, it wasn’t like it was when I started. Eventually I made the decision to step down to part-time; my parents helped me out a little financially with rent because it’s $1,400 bucks for a one-bedroom apartment. But I was able to focus more on school while only doing 15/20 hours a week at work. I stayed late at school whenever I could. My morning class was from 7am to Noon, and I’d stay until around 3pm; I came in on Saturday and Sunday as much as I could to get eight hours extra every day. That extra time really paid off.

So, where are you working, and how did you get the job?

Stellar Energy Group, they make massive heat exchangers. While I was still in pipefitting class, I applied for a second-class welder position; something I was not qualified for. I was just trying to get my name out there. I had a pretty good cover letter which I think they saw and that was why they called me back. I got an interview two days after class finished. They offered me a helper position. The training was for three weeks, and I’ve been on the floor for three weeks. I’m now considered a third-class mechanical fitter. It is more of a pipefitting role. I’m looking to transition to just a welder position. It doesn’t pay as much, you actually get paid more as a mechanical fitter, but I just enjoy welding more. 

Are you happy with where you’ve started out financially?

They started me off at $20 an hour; I think that’s pretty good for a helper. And then of course it just goes up to there, from second- to first-class. It’s the same for third-class, so I’m on $20 an hour. There’s a decent amount of overtime that’s available, so that’s really nice too. 

So, after all that experimenting with different jobs, do you think you’ve found your trade? 

I do, absolutely. TIG welding is my favorite. I love the motion, using both my hands. It’s like an art form. It’s a really nice welding style, really clean too, which I enjoy.   

What’s your ultimate career goal, Kyle? Travel welding?

Traveling would be cool; I’d like to experience it for a year or two. For the most part, I like having a base to come home to at the end of the day. My ultimate goal is to be a full-time TIG welder. There are a lot of companies that do TIG welding. There’s a company in Atlanta that is looking to migrate to Jacksonville, and they’ll make commercial hypersonic jet engines. That’s going to be a lot of high-frequency stainless, really high-quality metals, so I’m looking at that closely. You’ve also got SpaceX, NASA, and Blue Origin down the coast. Also, the Jacksonville Jaguars football stadium is getting torn down and rebuilt, and that’s going to need a lot of welding. It’s a good city to experience different types of welding.

What do you enjoy most about this new trade?

I’m really proud of my work. In retail, it was hard to get recognized for providing quality work. But as a welder, quality matters. I can stand back, be proud of my work, and enjoy a sense of accomplishment.

You mentioned friends, do you have people you’ve stayed in touch with?

I do, yeah. I’ve been staying in touch. I’ve been sending messages, just trying to keep those who haven’t got a job yet motivated. I try to act like a little recruiter.

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

Don’t give up. As hard as it gets, just keep going. But know…just when you think it’s getting better, it’s going to get worse! But just keep going at it and don’t give up. Learn to step out of the booth for just five minutes, take a breath, and then go back in. That’s a nice tactic to have; I wish I knew that when I started! The number of times I took my welding hood off and threw it on the ground in anger and frustration! 

How did you deal with that anger? 

I got a habit of saying, “Forget this, I’m done today.” I’d go home, relax, and think about the problem with a cooler head. I’d think about what went wrong and what I could have done differently. I’d always go back to it the next day from a different angle and think about how to prevent the same thing happening again. Even though I did lose my temper, I was always back at it to attack the situation again in a better mindset.

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).