Marc Rose: 'I'm not successful unless you're successful'

Marc Rose was attending freshman orientation at Linn-Benton Community College, listening to the various instructors talk about their departments, when the man in charge of welding took his turn.

"John Alvin came out and said, 'You want to be a welder? Follow me.' I thought, I guess I'll do that," Rose recalled. 

The Lebanon graduate's choice to follow that day in 1992 led him to a degree, a 20-year career in the industry and 13 years as an instructor himself. Now, he teaches young adults like he used to be what welding might hold for them.

"I'm super happy I did this," Rose said. "It's been a good life."

Rose was a part-time welding instructor for six years and has been full time for seven. The basic hands-on mechanics haven't changed much since he was Alvin's student, but some of the regulations and safety precautions have. 

" We teach a book and the theory of welding practice, but a lot of what I teach is personal experience," he said. "I tell them, I want to have you guys in better shape entering the industry than I was. I'm going to teach the things I wish I had known." 

One thing Rose wishes he had known back when he first enrolled at LBCC was how much harder it would be to come back to finish a degree than simply sticking it out at the time. 

"I went a year and a half, and then I thought I knew everything," he said. "I was working full time, so I stopped school." 

Rose started at Lebanon Machine with Willamette Industries, then went to the Albany Paper Mill. The company had a tuition reimbursement program, so he started thinking about completing his degree.

He also was able to enter the Pipefitter Apprenticeship program, and because he had already completed most of the education requirements through the welding classes, he was able to get that four-year program down to less than two years. 

When the paper mill closed in 2010, Rose was able to move to International Paper in Springfield.

"After about six months. I applied for a salary position and ultimately became an Area Mechanical Maintenance Manager in charge of a crew and all mechanical maintenance of two different areas of the mill," he said. "If I had not completed my degree requirements, it is not likely that I would have been able to apply for or have been considered for those jobs. I always recommend that students complete now because trying to come back later will likely be more difficult."

He also hits hard on one thing in particular: attendance.

"We talk with industry partners quite a bit and I ask them, what's most important right now?" Rose said. "Their number one thing is having employees show up on time every day. Really technical (skill) is way down the list."

Not everyone who goes through the LBCC welding program is physically able to take on a full-time job right away, Rose said, but anyone who can pretty much has a job - sometimes even before graduation. 

Those jobs pay well, he added. Some start at $15 to $20 per hour, but depending on how much you want to work and how flexible you are with your locale, you can make $30 to $40 an hour, he said. Couple that paycheck with the fact that a two-year community college is more affordable than a four-year university and you're really ahead of the game.

"At the end of two years, depending on your financial aid, you could be done with school, have little debt and be making $50,000, $60,000 really easy, first year out of school," Rose said.

Women are welcome in the program, Rose said, and the college is always looking for more enrollment. Prior experience isn't a requirement, either.

Rose also stressed that while "welding" usually conjures up an image of a guy in coveralls bending over a flaming torch, the industry also encompasses welder repair, certified welding instructors, nondestructive testing and multiple other career paths. 

Still not sure? Come talk to him, Rose said. "We're open-door. I always tell my students: I'm not successful unless you're successful."