Page 12 - HIWT Summer 2013 World of Welding

THE WORLD OF WELDING http://www.welding.org

FEMALE WELDER LOVES HER WORK

Milton Union grad likes her career path. Learning a trade paved a new direction.

By Beth Anspach
Contributing Writer / Dayton Daily News
Reprinted with permission.

Like many young adults, Erin Hause of Dayton began thinking
about her future early. And though her father was a carpenter
by trade, involved his daughter in many of his jobs and taught
her to build, the 2007 graduate of Milton Union High School
planned to go to a traditional college.

“I started going to Sinclair (Community College) for liberal
arts and kept changing my mind,” Hause said. “I also majored
in psychology and even mechanical engineering.”
Jim Witmer; Dayton Daily News Staff
Hause thought engineering would translate into a good career,
particularly since she loved working with her hands. After Erin Hause is a welder at Kerber Sheet Metal in Troy.
Sinclair, she transferred to Edison State College and even
considering becoming an Emergency Medical Technician. But (Continued on page 13)
she was floundering.

Hause said, “Then a friend mentioned
that I look into welding as a professional
career.” She made an appointment with
Hobart Welding School in Troy and said it
immediately felt right.
Our international
When Hause graduated from the welding certifications
qualify you to
program, there were recruiters waiting work worldwide
to snatch her up, and she immediately and year-round.
found a job with Northrup Grumman. “I
Offshore diving
want to Mississippi and worked on Navy opportunities include the
ships and airplanes,” she said. When she inspection, installation,
was laid off six months later, Hause had and repair of offshore
an opportunity to return to Ohio and enter oil drilling platforms
an apprenticeship program through the and pipelines.
sheet metal workers union in Dayton that Inland opportunities
would provide her with hands-on training include construction,
repair and inspection
working side by side with experienced of bridges, water towers,
journeymen. nuclear power facilities and
countless other infrastructure.
Hause, who, as a female welder,
understands she is in the minority, said Our graduates are
in high demand.
that never deterred her from following her
heart. “A lot of people think welding is a All training is conducted
in open water.
dirty job or there is a lot of heavy work that
Financial aid
females can’t do,” she said. “But that’s not for those who qualify.
the case. It’s really great for me because Use your VA benefits
I’m doing something different every day. with us.

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