If you're artistic at all....it will help, or should anyways. It kinda of helped me when I first started learning. I didn't go to a school or anything, I learned on the job at my first welding job, which was doing repair work on railroad cars. Welding can be a little dirty from the smoke and all, and any part of your body that isn't covered up either by sleeves or your hood...you will get burned. You wont notice it at first, but as soon as you get in the shower you will. It's nothing serious, it's just like a sunburn, and will peel as soon as it's healed, I guess. When I first started, I started on stick, then after I got the hang of that, I learned Flux-Core, which is much easier, and faster, in my opinion. I've only been welding 2 years, and I love it. If you're a quick learner, you'll pick up fast. Welding is pretty much fusing two, sometimes 3 pieces of metal together. Here is the definition from dictionary.com: To join (metals) by applying heat, sometimes with pressure and sometimes with an intermediate or filler metal having a high melting point. That's pretty much it too. You can do all sorts of positions, like flat, horizontal, vertical up, and over head. There is also vertical down, but it's weaker than any others. Arc welding is the same thing, just a different name. Oh yeah, yes...I am a female welder. (just in case you were wondering) :) I'm the only girl at the place I work now, all the rest are guys. Hope I helped! :)