From Women in Welding :
     Copyright © Jocelyn Riley

“Welding is when you have metal, sometimes plastics. . . two materials that you melt with heat or vibration or laser beams. You melt them together to join them permanently, and that is as strong as the original material is. . . . In fact, everything you run into in your life is either welded or built by something that’s welded. Even if you are in McDonald’s, the french fries are cooked in a precision-welded stainless steel container.”

“I have found such tremendous satisfaction out of building things, being able to go home and know that I built this thing and I can go see it. Stair railings or road-pavement equipment, things much bigger than your living-room that you built yourself.”

“When I go out at night like this and they ask me what I do, I say a welder, and they look at me and say, ‘No way!’. . . . And then they’ll look at me and say, ‘You’re the first woman welder I ever knew.’ Well, there’s women welders out there.”

“I enjoy working with my hands. I want something that I’m not going to get tired of. And I see with the welding field that you can keep growing. The technology is growing really fast right now.”

“I can do everything in the shop any man can do out there.”

“When I’m doing the welding it’s like I’m on peace, you know, I’ve got a lot of peace because nobody’s behind me. Nobody’s looking over your shoulder, watching your every move and you kind of relax.”