Interview 7: Tylah, a Welding Engineering Student
Tylah is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Welding Engineering at Ohio State University
Women Who Weld, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that teaches women how to weld and find employment in the welding industry, has launched a new program - Arclight - in which we showcase women who create, ideate, and collaborate across specializations and trades.
Tylah Fortson is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Welding Engineering at Ohio State University. She received a Welding Technology Associate of Applied Science degree from Wayne County Community College in Detroit, MI in May 2017, and was a Co-Instructor with Women Who Weld in the Summer of 2017. Below is an edited and condensed interview between Samantha Farrugia, the founder of Women Who Weld, and Tylah in April 2021.
When did you learn how to weld?
When I was a senior in high school. We had to satisfy certain credits and take either welding, machine shop, or wood working. I actually wasn’t sure what welding was; a classmate told me it was an art class using metal, and it wasn't exactly that, but I ended up pursuing it anyway.
You initially wanted to study journalism in college, but then decided to study welding technology. Why did you make the change?
Well, at the same time, I was taking a journalism class in high school and found that I didn't really like it. My mother is an English professor, and I was good at writing, so I had an affinity for it and assumed I would follow in my mother's footsteps. But I found I didn’t really care for it, and I know it’s a very competitive field and that you don't make a lot of money in it. And when I took the welding class, and liked it, and learned about the benefits of a career in welding, I abruptly changed paths. I was planning to go to college in Chicago for journalism; I had already been accepted. So when I decided to go another route, it was after most of the school application deadlines had passed, which is how I ended up at Wayne County Community College. I had to make a quick decision on where I was going to go, what I was going to do with my life, and how I was going to pursue welding.
After you received an associate’s degree in welding technology from Wayne County Community College, why did you decide to study welding engineering?
I spoke with friends and mentors who are welders, and discovered that I didn't want to jump into the field as a welder. And that’s when I was guided toward welding engineering.
There are only several universities that offer a bachelor’s degree in welding engineering: Ferris State University, LeTourneau University, Ohio State University, and Pennsylvania College of Technology. Why did you choose Ohio State to study welding engineering?
Ohio State's welding program is the only ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) welding engineering program in the country; they're recognized for how they prepare their students for the field. I was between Ferris and Ohio State, but I ultimately went with Ohio State due to their accreditation. And they accepted me and things worked out.
How would you explain the field of welding engineering?
I like to say that welding engineering is a form of problem-solving for materials.
It’s noted on the website of The Ohio State University College of Engineering that welding engineering is a discipline that “involves aspects of materials science, design, inspection, mechanical and electronic systems, lasers, and robots.” Have you taken classes in each of these areas?
Yes, some of them but not yet all of them. We definitely learn about and gain experience in all of the different welding disciplines, and in other areas like mechanical, electrical, and thermodynamics. The information I learn in these other disciplines outside of welding actually helps me in my field.
Their website also states, “It has been estimated that welding engineering impacts more than 50 percent of the products manufactured in the United States. Almost every segment of our economy depends, to some degree, on welding and materials joining,” which I find fascinating.
How would you describe what a welding engineer does?
As a welding engineer, generally, you're trying to find solutions to issues or challenges whether in manufacturing, in pipelines, even in the medical field, by assessing materials to figure out how to make them better in structural form, and which welding process is best to achieve this.
Which classes in your program are you required to take?
Math classes like calculus and statistics – a lot of welding engineering is about gathering information and analyzing it. Chemistry classes – I hate those a lot.
I’m taking a thermodynamics class right now. We have to learn the phases, on a molecular scale, of what happens or will happen to metal. We have to make research-based assumptions based on its molecular state before actually testing material.
Which class has been your favorite and why?
I enjoyed my materials science class a lot. It was attached to a lab and it was one of the few times I was actually able to analyze metal. I scanned the metal and took pictures of it on a molecular scale, and then I wrote papers explaining what was happening in the material. It made me look at material differently and understand what was going on when I was welding. When I first learned how to weld, I was told to not overheat my part, but the teachers didn’t really explain why. And when I learned how to analyze the materials, I got to see what is happening inside the metal on a molecular scale: how the cells of the material change when it is heated, how it looks when it is cold, where the weak point is.
We had to analyze different forms of welding with metal, as well as treatments with different forms of cooling, like whether a weld was air-cooled or water-cooled and how that affects the material. Even cutting material can have an effect on the microstructure of the material. Being able to analyze all of this under a microscope and know what’s going on, where you may have a problem, really understanding it on that level is interesting.
Which class has been most challenging and why?
Thermodynamics. I’m taking it right now and it's giving me heartache. The whole subject in general is pretty difficult to grasp. In this class, the coursework is connected from the beginning to the end, so if you don't get something in chapter one, you’re lost by chapter five.
In thermodynamics, we use phase diagrams in which you put all of the chemical information of a material on a graph to understand what will happen when you mix it with another material. So, let’s say you have two materials and you want to see what will happen to them chemically on a molecular-level if they’re heated to a certain point. You can then scale it and say, “The chemical compound of the materials will be softer or harder,” but first, you have to know how to create a phase diagram to determine what's going to happen to the material.
Are your classes in-person or remote due to the pandemic?
Most of my classes are remote. I had a chemistry class this semester and I had to go in every two weeks for a lab, but that's over now. So, for the most part, everything is all online, it’s virtual.
What is it like to learn remotely? Do you prefer it or not?
I describe it as freshman year all over again – you’re just lost; you’re confused by a lot of what's going on and you're trying to figure out where you're supposed to be, how you're supposed to do certain things. I think a lot of students are struggling with feeling like they have to teach themselves, because a lot of instructors are also unfamiliar with teaching online. Even though they've been at it for a year, it is obvious that a lot of them are still struggling with it. I think the instructors are trying to be accommodating and the students are trying to be understanding. But, across the board, it is a struggle.
Some students are getting tested through a proctored online system called Proctorio. It basically monitors your every movement – it picks up sounds, your mouse movements, every time your eyes veer from the screen. A lot of my teachers have adopted a new form of testing, a timed test, where you’re given, like, 2 minutes per question and you can’t see any other questions – you can’t go forward, you can’t go back – you only see the question in front of you at that moment and you only have 2 minutes to answer it. So, if you think you got it wrong or you press next by accident, you can’t go back and change your answer. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. It gives me such test anxiety.
That sounds really challenging. I’ve taken a few online classes and never enjoyed them. You lose the interaction you would otherwise have in person with the professor and your classmates.
I think they have adapted some. Top Hat is an application that allows teachers to ask questions to the class in the moment and that’s how they gauge participation. You immediately enter a code into the app when you ‘come to class’ and that’s how attendance is measured. And then the teachers will, in real time, ask a series of questions that the students have to answer and it encourages engagement.
You expect to graduate in December 2022 with a Bachelor of Science in Welding Engineering, where would you like to work post-graduation?
I can’t pinpoint a company, but I have an interest in additive manufacturing. And I have been thinking about the medical field in which welding engineers may work on pieces like heart valves, pieces that actually go into people when they have surgery, which gives even deeper meaning to what someone can do in my field, like, I didn’t think I could have that kind of direct impact on people's lives.
Ideally, where do you want to live and work in the future?
I’ve thought about Germany, as there is a large welding engineering presence there. But if I stay in the country, I probably want to go to Nashville because my mom teaches there at Tennessee State University. But my brothers are in Michigan and they expect me to come back.
As someone who has received both a bachelor’s and master’s degree, I understand the value of higher education, even with the debt incurred; I incurred over $100k in debt, which I paid down on my own over a 10-year period through budgeting and saving. Will you incur a lot of student debt from school?
My mom actually took on a lot of my debt, but we have an agreement that I’m going to pay her back for it. I’m paying in-state tuition now, and I’ve received some financial aid, grants, and scholarships through the American Welding Society and Ohio State University.
I introduced you to a contact at GE, which led to a co-op/internship with General Electric Aviation in Cincinnati working in their aircraft and aviation systems business in the summer of 2018. What was that experience like and what did you do there? I know you have to be careful discussing this as your work was confidential.
I was placed in the joining and heat-treat department, which basically houses various engineers working in multiple disciplines. We worked on engines in their new planes. I also worked on a couple of assignments in which materials were trashed because something went wrong with it and they brought it back for review.
Did you enjoy working at GE?
Yeah, it’s where I really started to understand what engineers do. I realized they are problem solvers, because that's what they did all day. They posed questions and found solutions for different materials or anything that has to do with their engines. It widened my understanding of what to expect as a welding engineer. And that was kind of eye-opening to me, as I'm from Detroit, so this is a whole new space. These people grew up a lot different than I did, so I had moments that were challenging, but overall it was a good experience and I enjoyed it.
In the Summer of 2017, you were a co-instructor with Women Who Weld. What was that experience like?
It was by far one of the best experiences I've had in welding, because it encompassed a lot of my interests. I was able to help people grow and improve their skills – I actually saw progression among different people – and I was able to connect that with my interest in welding. I also had to grow my own understanding of welding because, as a co-instructor, I had to make sure I knew exactly what information I was delivering. It made me much more meticulous about understanding the welding processes, not just being able to use them, but explain them, which is very different.
I wasn't much of a studier before Ohio State, so I think my experience with Women Who Weld provided me with a basis for how to approach a lot of my classes, like, “Okay, try to take it in, and then regurgitate it as if I'm teaching someone,” because that is now how I learn best.
Did it make you interested in teaching in the future?
I don't know if I will ever teach again because there's a different level of responsibility that comes with it. I think that was a good one-time experience and I learned a lot from it.
How much welding do you engage in as a welding engineer?
As far as hands-on welding, not much, but it depends on your position. There are about 75 different forms of welding, so you may engage in a form of welding that isn't exactly hands-on. When I was working at GE, I did a lot of friction welding with a huge machine, but it’s not considered hands-on welding.
What’s your favorite welding process and why?
I used to say TIG, but I think I would now say MIG, because I've used it the most and I happen to always find myself teaching it. I know the machine, I know the parts, I know it well.
You’re only 24 years old, what are your future career aspirations?
There are two different paths that I'm considering. And in some way, I really want to incorporate helping people, similar to what I did at Women Who Weld, but I don't think I particularly want to teach. I would like to funnel people into places where they can get training or learn more about welding. At GE, I think I was one of the few interns who worked with some of the executives during my time there to figure out ways to get people interested in welding.
The other path that's more solid is to fit myself into a company, work there, learn more about welding, and build up my name. Currently, I am thinking about going into the medical field. But nothing is super clear right now.
“My experience with Women Who Weld provided me with a basis for how to approach a lot of my classes.”
What do you like most about welding?
The opportunity to learn is constant. You can always grow. It motivates me because I know the field will never become stagnant. And there are so many different places I could go and so many different things I can do at any given point in time. I've talked to engineers and they were like, “I was working in Africa for 15 years and now I'm working in California.” Two completely difference places, doing two completely different things! That’s really awesome.
Do you have advice for someone who may be interested in pursuing a path in welding engineering?
Have a vision for what you want to do in this field and how you want to add to it. What you want to get out of it is important, and because it is so rigorous, without a vision, it can feel hard to get through. That would be my number one piece of advice. Apart from that, make sure you stay connected with people who will always put you in places to advance and learn more about the field. And find mentors – I have multiple mentors that I talk to, they keep me abreast of what’s going on.
What are your hobbies outside of welding?
Volunteering, that’s really it. It’s hard to keep a social life, it’s hard to do a whole lot, but volunteering has been my core thing when I am too involved in school. I’ll volunteer at high schools, I think it’s fun.
I also do a lot of reading, I’m a big nerd in that way. My mom has trillions of books and she’ll throw whatever in my hands. I just stay away from scary stuff because I don’t like that, I don’t want to conjure those images in my head. I’m not with that.
If you weren’t on a path to become a welding engineer, which career path may you have chosen?
I probably would have gone into some type of writing or editing. If I need a GPA booster, it’s an English class. So yeah, I would probably be engaged in writing and trying to get myself published.
If you could travel anywhere, where would you go and why?
I would go to Detroit, my hometown. I know that sounds boring. Since moving to Columbus, I usually go back to Detroit a couple of times a year just to visit family and recharge. But with Covid, I haven’t been able to see any of my family since 2019, so that’s been really hard. My dad isn’t doing too well, he has Covid and he is in the hospital. And my grandmother passed last year, and I wasn’t able to go home and be with family because of Covid. So I just want to go home and see people and be able to give them hugs and stuff. But I would rather wait until people get vaccinated; plus Michigan is a hot spot right now.
That’s a sucky answer, but it’s my truth. And if there wasn’t Covid, I would go somewhere with a beach, like Hawaii or something, to relax and get my mind completely separate from Ohio State and the state of Ohio.