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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

Weld Wednesday w/ AWS | Before You Strike an Arc What Every Welding Student Needs to Know feat: Josh Wolfe show art Weld Wednesday w/ AWS | Before You Strike an Arc What Every Welding Student Needs to Know feat: Josh Wolfe

Arc Junkies

What should a student know before walking into welding school on day one? In this episode of Weld Wednesday with AWS, I sit down with Josh Wolfe, welding instructor at Laurel Oaks in Wilmington, Ohio, and host of the Speaking of Skilled Trades podcast, for an honest conversation about what it really takes to succeed in welding education. We talk about why safety rules in a welding lab are different from the arbitrary rules students may be used to, how quickly one careless decision can change a life, and why PPE and safe habits have to become automatic. Josh and I also discuss the importance...

info_outline Wayback Wednesday w/ AWS Certification vs. Qualification w/ Daryl Peterson. show art Wayback Wednesday w/ AWS Certification vs. Qualification w/ Daryl Peterson.

Arc Junkies

Daryl Peterson is a SCWI and the District Director for District 5 of the American Welding Society. This week we  hop in the way back machine to revisit a very controversial topic in the welding Industry. We often hear about welders claiming to be "Certified" and then getting called out on social media as being "Qualifed" not Certified. Well, Daryl has done some deep digging through the different codes and standards and has come up with an answer that will hopefully settle this debate.  For more information on the AWS and their programs, check out their website

info_outline Weld Wednesday w/ AWS Robots vs. Cobots: Building an Automation Program with Anthony Nighswander of APT Manufacturing show art Weld Wednesday w/ AWS Robots vs. Cobots: Building an Automation Program with Anthony Nighswander of APT Manufacturing

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...

info_outline Weld Wednesday w/ AWSThe $100K Myth: What It Actually Takes to Hit Six Figures in Welding — with Dabs Wellington show art Weld Wednesday w/ AWSThe $100K Myth: What It Actually Takes to Hit Six Figures in Welding — with Dabs Wellington

Arc Junkies

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

Arc Junkies

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...

info_outline Weld Wednesdays w/ AWS| Resistance Welding Demystified with Don DeCorte — The Process Hiding in Plain Sight show art Weld Wednesdays w/ AWS| Resistance Welding Demystified with Don DeCorte — The Process Hiding in Plain Sight

Arc Junkies

Don DeCorte spent 46 years in resistance welding, including 31 at Roman Manufacturing, and now teaches the AWS Certified Resistance Welding Technician (CRWT) certification through his consulting company DTS Technical Services. He sits down with Jason to pull the curtain back on the welding process most arc guys never think about — but interact with constantly. From the 1,300+ resistance-welded products hiding inside your local Home Depot, to the flash welds on every commercial jet's front landing gear, to the butt-welded steel wheels under every 18-wheeler and state trooper car, Don makes...

info_outline 401. Data Centers, Nuclear, and the Steel Boom Coming for Welders w/ Stephanie Hoffman show art 401. Data Centers, Nuclear, and the Steel Boom Coming for Welders w/ Stephanie Hoffman

Arc Junkies

Stephanie Hoffman is back on the show, this time as the new Director of Industry Development and Engagement at Miller Electric. Jason and Stephanie catch up on her time away from the industry, what pulled her back, and the work she is now leading across education, business development, national accounts, customer experience centers, and process training for one of the biggest names in the trade. The conversation covers Miller's Instructor Conference happening this July at the Appleton, Wisconsin headquarters in partnership with Fox Valley Technical College, and why Miller is approaching CTE...

info_outline 400. 400. "World's Strongest Welding Table"… Prove It w/ Jason Marburger of Fireball Tool

Arc Junkies

Jason Marburger of Fireball Tool returns for our annual conversation — and he's not pulling punches. We dig into the public feud between Fireball, Sigmund, and Quantum Machinery over fixture table claims, why "world's strongest welding table" needs data to back it up, and Jason's push to standardize testing across the industry. He also walks us through the grinding disc performance guide his shop spent months producing, the surprising winners (the $2.50 Steel Savage, the new 3M Cubitron 3), and why pressure — not RPM — is what most welders are getting wrong. Plus a preview of what...

info_outline 399. From Helper to Foreman: Building a Career in Structural Steel with Chad Doucette show art 399. From Helper to Foreman: Building a Career in Structural Steel with Chad Doucette

Arc Junkies

Chad Doucette, foreman at Ace Welding in Oceanside, California, joins Jason Becker on the Arch Junkies Podcast to talk about going from a random job offer on the street to running a structural steel shop — all in five years. Chad breaks down the real path to growth in this industry: why the helper position is the most underrated opportunity in any shop, how attitude and work ethic matter more than your cert, and why he's now setting his sights on the CWI. He also gets candid about where he came from, how welding changed his life, and the mindset shift that made all the difference. If you're...

info_outline Weld Wednesday with AWS | National Welding Month Special show art Weld Wednesday with AWS | National Welding Month Special

Arc Junkies

In this special National Welding Month edition of Weld Wednesday with AWS, host Jason Becker sits down with three guests who each represent a unique and exciting path that a welding career can open up. Kicking things off is Austin Ross — known across social media as A-Ross Welding — a pipeline welder with roughly a decade of experience and a member of Pipeliners Union 798. Austin breaks down the real cost of life on the pipe, how to break into the industry as a helper, what it takes to earn your spot, and why attitude and thinking ahead can make or break your career out there. Next up,...

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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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