Whos hiring and where, pay, hours, Certification tests given, tig, mig, stick?
hacadacalopolis
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    Fri Jan 31, 2014 5:14 am
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    pensacola, Fl

Hi Marcie, How is it working at Austal?

Up at our school in Pensacola, fl a guy was trying for the CopNickel test; He mentioned that they do offer a crash course you can pay for to step into testing... Is that the apprentice program you would be mentioning? If you don't mind me asking, Are you still pipefitting in the Final Assembly Yard?
I had planned on venturing out to get an idea of "Is this really for me", My two choices were Huntington Ingalls and Austal. Actually it was three; the third was a company that came to our school called Performance. As far as Performance, believe they have a place in Texas or Louisiana and in mobile. They offered to let us come test with them for pipe(tig root & 7018 out).

Anyways, would like to hear from your employment if you don't mind Marcie,
thanks Nick
marcie10
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    Tue Jan 28, 2014 9:21 pm

I have worked as a pipefitter in the past, however, I am currently working as an A-class fitter in the Fab dept, not pipe. I work whatever the company is hiring at the time, and Aluminum is one of my fav metals to work with, so I hired in with Fabrication. Fab builds the hull units and assembles them, along with the foundations for the equipment.
Working as Austal is pretty much like any other shipyard, they all have good and bad points, YRMV. The apprenticeship program (AIDT) is run through the state of AL and Austal, I believe you can apply through the Austal job website.
I cant comment on Ingalls, as I have never worked there, although I worked at Avondale for 7 years. I left to go to Austal when Northrup Grumman (now Huntington Ingalls) announced they were closing down the Avondale yard. The Ingalls yard has a long walk from the parking area, which can be a problem for me since I have a hip that is wearing out.
I don't know what starting pay is. I doubt that they will hire with just a Co-Ni test. They also have aluminum and stainless piping systems on the vessels, so they need pipe welders that can weld all their pipe systems. Best would be to contact the recruiting dept and speak with them.
Marcie
hacadacalopolis
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    Fri Jan 31, 2014 5:14 am
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Sorry bout so many posts. I just registered and didn't think the first two were going to be approved.
Well thanks for that, I've got about half year to finish the program at school, then I'll be spending time job hunting.

What are specs on Austal's aluminum pipe test?
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