What It Takes to Succeed in the Trades – Welding Program Supervisor Rachel Henry

Rachel Henry knows what it looks like to be a welding student, and what it looks like to teach one. She was a 4.0 student, award nominee, and self-described “absolute sponge” in welding school. Now, as Welding Program Supervisor at Lincoln Tech, she’s seen what makes students succeed and what gets in the way.

Here’s her advice on what separates the two.

“You have to be there every day. You have to be there on time. Those are things that are going to set you up for success when you get into your career anyways.”

Showing up is just the baseline. What Rachel emphasizes most is mindset, specifically the willingness to absorb everything from everyone around you.

“Don’t pigeonhole yourself by only relying on one instructor,” she says. At Lincoln Tech, she intentionally recruits instructors from different corners of the industry so students get a wider range of perspectives and techniques. Her advice is to ask the same question to every instructor and compare the answers. “Welding is almost like handwriting. Yes, there is a right and wrong way – but the way to get there? Sometimes one little thing that one instructor does differently might make the difference.”

It’s practical advice, but there’s a bigger idea underneath it. Curiosity is what separates the students who get by from the ones who really thrive.

That’s something HeatSpring’s “Construction Career Pathways in Skilled Trades” course is built around – hearing directly from tradespeople about what their careers actually look like. If you’re new to an apprenticeship or still weighing your options, the course gives you access to perspectives from people working across the trades, so you can start exploring with a little more context.

Start exploring the trades with people who’ve been in them!