Tomorrow I'll be demonstrating equipment to a distributor. More women are entering the traditionally male trade, some for the very practical reason of economics. A Breed Apart Kuiper's work in research and development and product design keeps her tied to the computer keyboard much of the time, but she still dons a welding hood periodically. It's not something that just anybody can pick up and do. And I really enjoy the people.
Welders are a breed apart.
They're looking through that hood a lot of their lives, and it gives them an unusual perspective. Not everyone has welcomed women into the field. They treated the girls as outsiders, and it was hard sometimes. The professors kept saying, 'It'll get better,' and it did. At the end of the first two years of the four-year program, the same guys who weren't happy to have us there didn't make the cut.