Most small shops do not certify their welders because they are not fabricating weldments to a specific code. Becoming a certified or qualified welder will open doors for your welding career. Most welding codes have requirements for you to weld in that process on a regular basis. Therefore, the choice to obtain certification is a personal decision if you are not going to weld that process and material.

Welding codes and standards working together

It is common for welding codes and standards committee members to communicate with other related committees from other societies and organizations. This allows for greater perspective on the issues and directions that different segments of the welding industry are facing. In the case of AWS and ASME, there are committee members who concurrently sit on welding committees from both organizations.

As was seen with AISC and even ABS, those welding standards and codes reference AWS and ASME for structural and pressure vessels/piping respectively. In many cases organizations and their codes and standards work well together.

Getting certified to a different code or standard than a career direction

Not every employer will have the same view on certification. If you have a chance to obtain certification in a code such as WABO, that may provide you an advantage in a job interview even if WABO is not applicable. An argument that you could make to an employer is that qualification in one welding code shows that you have the ability to become proficient to the standards within a code and if given the opportunity can become certified to another welding code or standard.