Where can I get trained in custom metal fabrication and welding?
See if you can get into the Sheet Metal Union. There is a growing shortage of manufacturing trades workers in this country. Every High School pushes kids toward college. In a trade you work while you learn. I went to school one night a week on a semester basis just like high school. The sheet metal workers at our shop are very good at metal working. From HVAC ducting to making tool lockers, they do it all. This includes welding. I attended a Tech College. Then I got a job at a machine shop due to my attendance at said Tech College. I started my apprenticeship along with 36 other guys. Four years later, 12 of us graduated. I have been a Journeyman Machinist for 20 years this past May. I too live in the Chicagoland area. Get into the apprenticeship, work hard and smart. Don’t take any lip from the Journeyman. Some relish the idea that an apprentice is their personal slave and whipping boy. THEIR job is to make YOU better than they are. Period. Don’t get a job where perform the same type
