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402. From Welding School to $100K: The KWI Kids Proving Everyone Wrong w/ Landon Earlywine & Jackson Settler

Arc Junkies

Release Date: 06/02/2026

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Arc Junkies

In this episode of Weld Wednesday with AWS, host Jason Becker sits down with Anthony Nighswander, founder of APT Manufacturing and one of the top FANUC integrators in the country. Anthony breaks down the real difference between traditional industrial robots and collaborative robots (cobots), why welders — not controls engineers — make the best cobot programmers, and how schools can bring automation into their programs without blowing up an already-packed curriculum. They also dig into FANUC's education grant structure (up to $400,000 in matching software value), what a robotic welding cell...

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Sean "Dabs" Flottman — welder, fabricator, educator, and bracelet-shipping hustle machine — joins Jason on this month's Weld Wednesday with AWS to tackle one of the most debated topics in the trade: the six-figure welding salary. Is it a myth? Is it achievable? And more importantly, what does it actually take? Dabs brings nearly 30 years of experience to the table, starting at $6.30 an hour and working his way through sheet metal, fabrication, and eventually into welding education at a trade school. He and Jason break down the ingredients required to reach $100K — from the top-10%...

info_outline 402. From Welding School to $100K: The KWI Kids Proving Everyone Wrong w/ Landon Earlywine & Jackson Settler show art 402. From Welding School to $100K: The KWI Kids Proving Everyone Wrong w/ Landon Earlywine & Jackson Settler

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Think fresh-out-of-welding-school means starting at the bottom? Landon Earlywine (19) and Jackson Settler (18) are about to change your mind. Six months after graduating from the Kentucky Welding Institute, these two are working 60-hour weeks doing TIG stainless pipe fab for data center infrastructure up in Logansport, Indiana — earning $38/hr plus $120/day per diem. In less than seven months, they've pulled in $95,000 combined, started Roth IRAs, bought reliable trucks with big down payments, and are on track to blow past $150K in their first year. Jason sits down with both of them to find...

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Passing the CWI exam is a huge accomplishment — but it’s only the beginning. In this episode of the Arc Junkies Podcast, Jason Becker sits down with veteran welding inspector Daryl Peterson to discuss what new Certified Welding Inspectors really need to know after earning their certification. From ethics and inspection authority to metallurgy, code interpretation, and non-destructive testing, this conversation breaks down the real challenges that many new CWIs face when they step into the role for the first time. Daryl shares insights from 40 years in welding inspection, including the...

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Think fresh-out-of-welding-school means starting at the bottom? Landon Earlywine (19) and Jackson Settler (18) are about to change your mind. Six months after graduating from the Kentucky Welding Institute, these two are working 60-hour weeks doing TIG stainless pipe fab for data center infrastructure up in Logansport, Indiana — earning $38/hr plus $120/day per diem. In less than seven months, they've pulled in $95,000 combined, started Roth IRAs, bought reliable trucks with big down payments, and are on track to blow past $150K in their first year. Jason sits down with both of them to find out how they got here — from a high school ag teacher who flashed some money at them sophomore year, to grinding the third shift at KWI, earning their golden arm certifications, and landing a stainless schedule 10 TIG test in Indianapolis the morning after getting the call. They talk about the real curriculum at KWI beyond the booth — financial management, CCO rigging, CPR, and OSHA 30 — and what actually separates the students who land good jobs from the ones who don't. Plus: a totaled '92 Sonoma, a story about driving from Kentucky to Texas at 82 mph at 6 AM, a job box that survived a crash, and why they're not going anywhere until they hit the $100K wall at school.

Topics covered:

• TIG stainless pipe fab for data center infrastructure — the new pipeline boom

• Working 5x12s and 6x10s fresh out of welding school

• $95K in 7 months at 18 and 19 years old

• The golden arm at KWI — what it takes and what it means

• Financial literacy in trade school: Roth IRAs, principal payments, and smart money moves

• CCO rigging, OSHA 30, CPR, and the full KWI curriculum • How a wrecked '92 Sonoma led to the job of a lifetime

• Why 7 KWI classmates are all on track to hit $100K in year one

• The $100K wall — and what you have to prove to get your hood on it.

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