Creative Welding Helps Him Sculpt A New Vocation
Economic studies show that in the future 50 to 60 percent of all jobs will be vocational.
If the research holds true, Jeremiah Puhek will be in great demand. But in addition to being a gifted and certified welder, Puhek is working on some of his own inventions, which he hopes one day to market.
Puhek, a senior at East Valley High School, began attending the Spokane Skills Center for a welding class during his junior year.
The center offers professional technical courses for high school students who want to study vocations like computer technology, automotive technology and culinary arts.
“The first day I went I tried some welding and I loved it,” Puhek said. “I excelled from there.”
Puhek has studied all the major methods for metal welding, including metal inert gas welding, tungsten inert gas welding and the oxy-acetylene method.
He is now working on a project to build metal benches for the East Valley campus.
“I like to have a qualified student like Jeremiah do the work on these,” said EV industrial arts teacher Bill Close. “A bad weld would mean you have to grind it off and start over again.”
In addition to welding for a utilitarian purpose, Puhek enjoys metal sculpture and has perfected a method of welding sheet metal to make roses.
“I have made 10 or 12 of (the roses), he said. “I gave one to my girlfriend she still has it hanging in her room.
Puhek’s welding certification is likely to land him a high-paying job right out of high school, but he is also considering college.
“My plan is to get a good stable job in welding, hopefully through the iron workers union, or attend an SCC welding program,” Puhek said.
He has applied for a $500 technical scholarship at Spokane Community College. If he gets it, he will enroll.
Puhek enjoys working on his own inventions. He is currently working on a design for an ion engine.
“It is a hyped-up version of NASA’s ion engine designed for aircraft,” he said. “I ran a computer simulation and the amount of power was phenomenal.”
He also has done experiments with tesla coils, which he obtained from scrap magnetic parts, to create magnetic fields.
“I like to do a lot of academic stuff outside school,” he said. “Especially work with quantum physics. I like to play with my own experiments.
Close predicts Puhek will be a success.
“He wants to put his gear on and get to work,” Close said. “He has great work ethic and will do well in the work world.”