Recently in the Metal Fabrication Tips social media group, a member asked for feedback from other fabricators: “I’m starting my first fabrication shop job this summer—what are the main skills and things I should focus on learning?”
Some members gave single-line replies, such as: “Ways to stay cool.”
Others provided lists of suggestions for fabricators starting out:
“Learn each process: Marking out, Cutting, Prepping, Welding, and take note of how the heat affects the shape/straightness and squareness of your work.”
Still other answers were far more detailed, covering a wide range of topics:
“1. Hustle, listen and pay attention.
“2. Math, especially geometry.
“3. Learn the tricks for layout with a square, it does so much more than make a 90-degree line.
“4. Keep a notebook in your pocket and jot down a couple words to help you remember the things that you might forget.
“5. While you’re learning, remember, doing something slow and correct the first time is faster than doing it twice.
“6. Everybody has something to teach you.
“7. Welding is about the process, not just running wire.
“8. Everybody makes mistakes, don’t get beat up about it, but if you don’t learn from it find another job.
“9. Take pride in the things you build.”
What follows is a sampling from the responses, many of which fell into several common categories:
Advice About Character
“Whatever they ask you to do. Start with following directions, being on time and having a good attitude. Everything else will become evident as time goes on.”
“Patience.”
“Lose the phone.”
“How to push a broom.”
“Always remember if you aren’t early, you’re late. Be there 10-15 minutes early—looks good to a boss. That’s what helped me before I was out of high school, is ‘early is on time’ mindset, especially for small shops.”
“Just get in there. Listen to the senior guys. Don’t ever act like you know stuff, even if you do. Be respectful. Keep your work area clean. Do little things like empty trash bins. If you have a few extra minutes, find something to do.”
“One that will serve you well is to do what it takes to make your coworkers and boss look good. Letting ‘them’ get credit for your work pays off in the long run by making you a valuable/indispensable employee.”
“Common sense goes a long way.”
“Listen, if not sure ask questions; respect the tools; clean after yourself; leave your phone at home/lockers/vehicle. Identify the chain of command and stick with it; no horse playing; no experimenting; don’t say, ‘l saw a guy on YouTube.’ Be on time; don’t say ‘it’s Friday, yay;’ ‘easy money;’ keep your hands out of your pockets. Stay away from stools/chairs, unless you’re doing something on the computer.”
“Do everything you do like your reputation depends on it. It does. Listen to all advice, be smart enough to filter the bad advice out. Clean up after yourself, not at the end of the day, after every time you use a saw, drill press, anything!”
“Show up early, listen well, be safe, stay late. This will make you a pro.”
Advice About Safety
“First learn shop safety.”
“Self-protection. Wear proper safety gear religiously.”
“Math is very important… welding is important… keeping your fingers out of shears and brakes is up there too.”
“Watch your fingers and toes. Think before you move.”
“First thing to learn is safety FIRST. Every tool, machine, chemical is waiting its time to maim or kill you.”
“Learn how to use your tools and don’t be a goon with the grinder—watch where you’re shooting your sparks and don’t leave things looking like a rat chewed the weld off.”
“After 25 years of being a steel fabricator, first is protection of your skin even when tack welding. Only grind off metal needed. Measure twice before cutting. Clamp down everything while welding when you can. Do not weld/cut/grind with one hand only—force yourself to learn using both (it will save you when in an awkward position). Make sure you weld something on the right side of your mark.
Make sure you check with a tape measure often or it can go bad quick. Use the darkest setting on your hood that you can see as possible. Never assume—it is ok to ask questions. Remember steel shrinks when it cools. Jump around while welding to avoid warping. This is only a little bit, but you will learn most while working in the field.”
“I’ve had my own shop for 30 years and the first thing I tell the new guys is that everything in this business is hot, sharp, heavy, dirty, and wants to hurt you—don’t let it!! If you’re the new guy, you’ll probably be handling a lot of material—learn how to handle material safely and efficiently. Material handling is the biggest hidden expense in a fab shop and one of the easiest to control.
Just an example, when you unload bar stock measure it and mark the center, so you don’t have to pick it five times to get it centered, and when it gets cut mark the center again so the next time it gets picked you know where to put the strap. Every aspect of a fab shop involves some type of material handling; the smoother it flows through the shop, the more efficient the shop will be.”
Advice About Listening
“Keep an open mind. Take advice.”
“Learn how to be coachable.”
“Listen and pay attention when people tell you things. Nobody wants to tell the new guy six times how to do something. Ask questions if you need to.”
“Learn the difference between a serious statement and a joke statement. Hear more than you speak.”
“Listen to customers and employees.”
“You first need to understand what the customer wants, and what are they trying to accomplish. Saves on rework.”
“If you don’t know something, ask. When I was supervising a shop that was my number one gripe. It’s much easier to ask a quick question than having to redo work which means the shop isn’t making money. And nobody likes a know-it-all. Humbling yourself to ask questions means you’re teachable and that’s what the experienced people in the shop are looking for.”
“And be prepared to take a bit of ‘ribbing’ as the new boy on the floor. It happens to everyone and shows you’re capable of handling a joke.”
“Look and listen, you are never to young or old to learn, that also applies to us grey-haired warriors. If you do not understand something or are not too sure what they want of you don’t be afraid to Ask!!! You are entering an adult working environment where sarcasm and practical pranks occur, don’t take it to heart—you’re the focus one week then it switches to someone else.
If you see someone struggling to carry something, see if they need a hand; it’s the man carrying the weight who has the right of way. Finally, don’t eat too much at lunch time, for an hour later you will feel like falling asleep, and carry some boiled sweets with you for when you feel tired and your blood sugar’s getting low. That’s the practical stuff.”
“You never know it all. Always be willing to learn and listen.”
Advice About Being Mentored
“Showing up every day on time; shut up and listen; pay attention to the ones interested in teaching you.”
“Find the guy that’s willing to teach you.”
“Find the OG of the shop and read him like a book.”
“Make friends with the grumpy old guy, he’ll teach you a lot.”
“Use your ears twice as much as you use your mouth and pay attention to the old guy.”
“Pay attention to the old hands and don’t be afraid to ask a question to learn something.”
“Listen to the old farts and show them respect, ask questions and write things down so you don’t have to ask the same question twice.”
“I was taught Soooo much by veteran co-workers who had decades of experience… it really jumpstarted my career by asking Sooooo many questions and watching them perform these procedures… you can NEVER ask too many questions!… just listen to the Veterans and it can shave years off of your learning curve.”
Advice About Accuracy
“Accuracy. The speed will come with experience.”
“Focus on the details. Absorb as much info as possible.”
“If you find yourself saying and justifying ‘it’s good enough,’ it probably isn’t.”
“Proper layout is key.”
“Measure twice cut once!”
“Learn how to read a tape measure.”
“Blueprints too!”
“Practice reading blueprints and learn basic geometry for starters.”
“Learn a tape measure; learn to use a square correctly; learn warpage.”
“Take advice from the pros and measure carefully! Preparation is the key; it’s satisfying doing a good job.”
“Tape and drawing readings. I worked in lots of shops and that was sketchy at best.”
“Learn what the symbols mean on the drawings.”
“Learn to read a tape, learn how to mark for cuts (I see people mess this up and then wonder why they are a 1/16″ off). I like having sharp soapstone so you can get better marks. Get good handwriting.”
“How to properly sharpen a soapstone. It seems smalls but it’s important to be accurate.”
“Get good at drawing schematics. Draw the fabrications and write in the measurements, angles, and levels.”
“Get good at reading a tape, doing layout, grinding and using squares. Attention to detail and work efficiency is what will set you apart.”
“The ‘right way’ to do it is however the journey person you’re working with is doing it. Doesn’t matter if the last guy you did it with did it different. Remember both.”
“Know your sines from your cosines.”
[Note: Sines and cosines are crucial in a metal fabrication shop because they allow fabricators to accurately calculate missing dimensions, angles, and material lengths when working with angles rather than just straight lines. They are the foundation of trigonometry, which is essential for transforming 2D blueprints into 3D metal parts with precise tolerances.]
“Depends on what you’re doing mate, round fab, square fab, remember your basic round formula pi, for your round double checks, or your basic 3-4-5, and sohcahtoa, for your square double checks.”
[Note: SOHCAHTOA is a mnemonic device for remembering the definitions of the three fundamental trigonometric ratios in a right-angled triangle: Sine (opposite/hypotenuse), Cosine (adjacent/hypotenuse), and Tangent (opposite/adjacent). It is used to find missing side lengths and angles.]
“Math! Angles! CAD! Organization and workflow. And pricing. Prices change weekly due to metal costs. My estimates are only good for 7 days.”
“Do good clean work with minimal mistakes that meets specs. Focus on the specifications provided, whether print, sketch or verbal, take your time and do it right. I’ve had too many people try to prove how fast they are, only to make mistakes—and mistakes cost money. Speed is just economy of motion and comes from experience; watch the most experienced fabricator on the floor—all his movements will have a productive purpose. Also, be a good employee, not just a fabricator.
Most good shop managers can fix skill deficiencies in the shop, but when you’re a poor employee, HR gets involved and it becomes a harder fix.”
Advice About Welding
“Knowing how to weld with a ticket to support that.”
“Hone up on your welding skills. Metal can be taken away but someone skilled can put it back and start again.”
“Before you weld anything check what you’ve made against the drawing; it’s a lot quicker to adjust something that’s tacked up rather than welded.”
“Always plan out your tacks in a way that they are easy to break if necessary. It will be necessary. Never weld out until you know it’s correct.”
“Learning how and where to weld to control warp and distortion.”
“Clean and polish your welder.”
“There is a very famous welding school near me. We get a lot of their ‘graduates’ The #1 thing they have when they start there new job is confidence. Unbelievable confidence. They can’t weld. They can’t fit up. They can’t do anything. But you can’t convince them of that because they have so much confidence. It’s incredible.”
The Life of a Fabricator—Lifelong Learning
Being a fabricator isn’t a destination; it’s a journey. Even the most skilled metal worker still finds new things to learn, new techniques to try. There are always fresh ideas in the field.
A beginning fabricator can combine their hands-on shop experience with structured training from community colleges, vocational schools, or specialized workshops to develop their skills. They can join community workshops or makerspaces to gain access to, and mentorship with, professional tools. (Note: A makerspace is a collaborative, community-driven workspace—often found in schools, libraries, or community centers—designed for making, learning, exploring, and sharing. These environments provide access to specialized tools for hands-on projects, such as 3D printers, laser cutters, soldering irons, and robotics.)
Advancement in the fabrication field requires mastering blueprints, learning 3D visualization, acquiring welding certifications (like AWS), and keeping abreast of all the developing technologies like robotics or CAD/CAM, so pursuing educational programs and accreditations will help the new fabricator to continually improve their abilities (and their value to their employer).
Metal fabrication is a noble and vital occupation, a rewarding, skilled trade that forms the backbone of infrastructure and manufacturing. A job in fabrication isn’t for the timid or lazy, but it can become a fulfilling career for someone who wants to use their own two hands along with available technology to transform raw metal into functional, lasting products, ranging from essential household items to complex aerospace equipment. It is a career that helps build the future.
