Gentleman, I've rediscovered the joy of welding. After a go around with a demolition car, that nearly kicked my butt. I was ready to throw in the towel. Then, I got some solid mig wire and c25 gas and got back under the hood and man, I'm glad I did. Mig welding is a lot easier than I thought. It helped a ameture like me rediscover the joy of welding. In case you're wondering, no, I had never mig welded before, only stick and flux core. So, if you're struggling like me, take a step back and try a new process. It just might get you back under the hood.

Congratulations on getting back under the hood! I discovered the joy of welding about 2 years ago, for the first time, and I'm kicking myself for not having gotten into welding and fabrication 20 or 30 years ago. Welding is the 2nd most zen experience for me next to motorcycling.

My kinda people! Welcome back James!
I had a similar experience. A couple years ago I was a lumber delivery truck driver. When I ran into difficulty getting the mechanics to fix the catwalk on my boom truck I took matters into my own hands. I asked the owner of the company if i could take the truck over the weekend and he was cool with it. Dusted off my 90 amp Harbor Freight flux core mig machine and went to town in my driveway. I felt so alive and useful. Not long after, I got a TIG machine and jumped head first into youtube and podcasts to learn everything there was to know. About a year later I did a weld test and interview at my current job. That was last September.