It’s usually in Los Angeles, and the UA will pay for everything, and that’s a pretty expensive test and a tough test, so that would be great.” Adam said so far his favorite welding has been welding on underground piping—working in a ditch. “I like to be outside, and jumping down into a ditch is kind of fun,” he said. “I’ve welded on some really big 42-inch pipe and some condenser water piping. I’ve worked in a microchip plant rerouting pipe, which was new to me, and that was interesting. Working in office buildings is probably my least favorite thing, but I’ve been working on my own [without a journeyman] since August, and I just go where they need me. If I need help on something, there is always a journeyman at the job who I can ask for advice. Right now, I’m working 60 hours a week. I’m here from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and then we have school twice a week from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., so on those nights, I get home about 9:30.” Upon graduation, Adam will have a break from school, and he’s looking forward to having earlier days on those two nights. “I do weld a lot at home too,” Adam said. “I’ve welded gates and fencing. I’ve made all of the fencing at my place out of scrap metal. I work on cars for friends. It’s a great skill to have. I made it to the state apprentice welding competition two years in a row. at was tough. I practiced two nights a week. I felt I did pretty well in the competition, but I didn’t win.” With his welding and pipefitting skills, Adam will have many options for the future. Whether he pursues a path to become a CWI, or he opts to train other welders in Local 393’s training center down the road, his future is bright. For now, he is celebrating becoming a welder/pipefitter journey- man—a lifelong profession—carrying on the tradi- tion of his family, and he’s proud to be doing that. Career Opportunities in Piping for Transitioning Veterans | Spring/Summer 2017 9 “When I first started welding in the field I thought I was pretty slow, but I progressed and became faster, and I learned different types of welding and was fortunate to travel all over.” – Adam Rule “Adam is what I would consider an x-ray quality welder who could work on high- pressure steam jobs.” – Dennis Roach Dennis Roach