Graduate Connections – Meet Rachae Parker

Rachae, 32, is a hometown girl from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Rachae completed the seven-month Professional Welder program at Tulsa Welding School in February 2024. 

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

I graduated high school in Sacramento, California, and then I got married at 19. That was a bust, I wouldn’t recommend it! Although I had my first kid, and that was amazing! She just turned 12. I have four kids now.

Workwise I’ve done a lot. I’m versatile, so I’ve done a lot of things. I’ve worked at every fast-food restaurant you can name. I thought my thing was customer service. I’m good at talking to people, being professional in an atmosphere where people have to look at you face to face, and I love to cook. So, I thought, cool, this is where I’m supposed to be. I did that for a few years. I’ve also had warehouse jobs; I did those because I’m good with my hands, I love getting dirty. I’m not a girly girl, but I’m not tomboy either, but I am a hard worker. Then two years ago I got into detailing private jets in Texas. I loved the experience. I loved meeting famous people, traveling to LA, and getting all these perks and per diems, it was great. 

That does sound cool; what happened with that job? 

The company was basically a start-up; they didn’t have enough money to pay everybody the way they needed to be paid. They started reducing employees, so I ended up leaving. I left Texas, came back home, and became a substitute teacher. I did that for over a year. I was just doing that until I found something I actually wanted to do. I’ve also been to culinary school, medical assisting school, dental assisting school. I finished all of them. I just realized that I didn’t want to be a medical or dental assistant.

So, where did the idea of going to welding school come from?

My boyfriend went to Tulsa Welding School back in 2016. We’d kind of talked about welding before, but he brought it up again. I had already worked at Aon, a manufacturing company, that builds condensing fans. So, I was like, “You know what, I could do that…I’m going to do it!” So, I started school and loved it!

What did you love about it? 

I loved getting my hands dirty. Did I love getting burned? No, but when you get into it, you can’t help but push through. No matter if you’re getting burned or if you mess up, you push through. I’ve been all over the place in my life, not knowing what I want to do, but who knew it would end up with me being a welder!  

We should say this quietly, but it sounds like your boyfriend was right!

Yeah, he was. But let’s not tell him that!   

What did you enjoy most about your time at TWS? 

I enjoyed learning each weld. I knew nothing before, so I loved the diversity of welding. It was all so fresh to me. I learned something new every day. I enjoyed the fact that nobody is right there holding your hand, you have to figure it out yourself. It’s not like high school or middle school. Nobody’s standing there over you…unless you need it. The instructors are very good at attending to your needs when you need them, but they want you to try to do it on your own. I really liked the part where they showed us something, and then they would have us go do it. The part that got me really excited was once I got it, I just kept running it and running it, back-to-back. Doing that, I got better and better and better, and that made me happy.

Did you have frustrations, difficulties? Days where you longed to be back at Taco Bell?

I absolutely did. I’d be crazy to say that I didn’t. I absolutely had my worst days and cried over two-inch pipes! I just couldn’t get it. There were definitely times where I didn’t want to do it. I was tired. I thought I was done. I was tired of standing up, tired of getting burned. I was ready to be finished. There were days when I was on Indeed.com all night looking at what else I could do, thinking…I’ll just finish this later.

What kept bringing you back from those thoughts?

Dedication, perseverance, and endurance within myself. I didn’t rely on anyone but me because I’m responsible for my life, my career, my family. I wanted more for my kids and for me, so I had to push through the sad days, push through the crying, push through getting burned. I didn’t want to be 32 and still looking on Indeed.com for what’s next. I wanted a career. I wanted to say, “I did it, I’m moving up in a company; I’m planting roots.” If I put my trust in somebody else, they’re going to let me down. If I put my trust in just me, nobody can let me down but myself.

Good for you for pushing through. It paid off. Tell us where you are working.

I work for S&T Manufacturing here in Tulsa as a QC (Quality Control) Welding Inspector. 

That’s a pretty good job straight out of school. How did you get the job?

Everybody keeps saying that. I guess I did something good! I reached out to several temp agencies, just trying to get my foot in the door. The one I’m working through is American Staff Corp. They first called and said S&T are hiring welders. Then they called back to say they actually don’t need welders right now, but they’re hiring QC. They needed inspectors. I asked, “Don’t you need to have qualifications for that? I haven’t taken the AOS program, I just graduated the welding program.” It wasn’t a CWI [Certified Weld Inspector] position, just QC, so I didn’t need extra certification. But you know the saying, “If you don’t use it, you lose it!” I wanted to start off my career welding, I didn’t want to lose it. 

So, you wanted to weld first, not do QC?

My mind was set in stone that I wanted to weld. That’s what I graduated with, so that’s what I wanted to do. So, the lady called me back and told me that maybe I could do QC, be an inspector, for a couple months and then move into a welding position. So, I went to S&T, they said yes to that idea, and that was it. 

That’s cool. So, you’ve been doing this QC work for a week or so, are you enjoying it?

I’ve discovered I really like it. It’s very detailed; you have to know what the weld should look like, and all these other things. I’m learning so much that goes deeper than just welding. I now think that maybe I do want to do this. I do some welding, fixing things, so I’m still using my welding, but they say inspectors get paid a little more than the welders, so I’m excited! 

Are you happy with the money you’re making?

I’ve not had my first paycheck yet, but they’re paying overtime, so I’ve already almost hit 60 hours in one week. So, am I going to be happy with it? I believe so! But also, I’m only getting a certain pay right now due to being hired through an agency. Once I’m permanent, I’ll get more money. I’m okay with sticking it out for three months and then moving up. I got this opportunity through the agency; they need to get paid.

You’re just starting out, but what’s your career plan from here?

This is something that I really enjoy doing, so I plan to stay. I talked with Danielle in Career Services about going back to TWS for the Welding Technology associate degree program. I want to do it because it’s more credentials on my résumé. The more I build my quality, the more valuable I am. I’m an asset, so I’m building myself. I am my own brand. If I gain more knowledge, that’s more money down the road, and that’s a better position to be in. I want to give myself a little more time before I go back, due to the fact that I just got out of school, but I’m absolutely going to go back and do the AOS program to have that double knowledge. 

What do you enjoy most about your new trade?

I enjoy that it is challenging. I like the fact that it pushes me as a person, and it never lets up. I also like the fact that it’s not just one thing. You’re not just welding; you’re grinding, you’re putting plates together, you’re measuring or cutting things. You’re doing a whole bunch of things. It’s not just flipping burgers.

Did you make some connections at school? Friends that you’ll stay in touch with. 

I made a couple of friends, but one stuck, and we still talk. Actually, I’m trying to get her on at S&T right now. It was easy to make friends because you could rely on your peers to help you. What was crazy was that my cousin was going to TWS too, so we will walk the stage together at graduation this Saturday. I didn’t know he was going to Tulsa Welding School too until I ran into him one day. It was crazy!

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

Don’t let anything hinder you no matter what, whether it’s personal, boyfriend, kids, sickness, family. Keep pushing through, be open-minded, be transparent and communicate. Keep communicating with your instructors and the people in the office. They’re there to help with anything that’s going on. They will definitely work with you as far as either missing class or if you have to be out. As long as you say something, it’ll work out, but just don’t quit. Don’t quit.

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).