Welder. It's everything that makes a skill desirable to learn. Very easy to start, impossible to master.
Pays reasonably well too if you can find work. Also most welders are people who don't put up with much BS so it's refreshing coming from pretty much any other field.
I also love welding. My grandpa wanted to teach me, but he didn't have a second helmet. So he has me wear the helmet because he can weld by sound, so he just looks the other way and lays down a bead that is more perfect than lots that I see in the wild. (He started and ran a machine shop for most of his working life.)
Although I've dabbled in tech and code for the past 15+ years, I've never been able to find a decent tech job. I got into the trades and have bounced around everywhere. Welding is one of my most valuable skills IMO, but as a career I've seen some of the most terrible conditions and communities. YMMV
> Welder. It's everything that makes a skill desirable
> to learn. Very easy to start, impossible to master
Indeed. I picked up a bit of hobby glassblowing then metalwork which led me to learn welding and blacksmithing. I don't necessarily want to leave IT for it but I love these things as an avocation. Eventually, I will be good enough that I might offset the cost of my formal and informal education in these things. That's the plan, anyway.
There was a study done recently linking airborne manganese (below federal occupational safety levels) and neurological symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease.
There are far worse conditions that arise from welding (and more so from welding incorrectly) that Parkinson's is the least of your worry. Even then, "so what" comes to mind. If you love doing it the fear of death shouldn't stop you. A youtuber I love once said "Has anyone ever noticed how there aren't any old welders? (cynical chuckle)". He's right but people still do it.
You can also, in some cases, avoid using manganese based fluxes. There are quite common rods without the presense of manganese.
I studied welding and metal fabrication part time to get my certification. It was a great time. Apart from the physical skills of manipulating metal I really enjoyed the technical drawing aspect. It involved a lot of geometry and visualizing 3D objects.
Pays reasonably well too if you can find work. Also most welders are people who don't put up with much BS so it's refreshing coming from pretty much any other field.