Welding Technology and Technical Management double-major looking forward to a career in the welding industry

Casey Lee and Xuong Tran

This May, Casey Lee, 34, will be graduating from Dakota County Technical College with a Welding Technology diploma and a Technical Management A.A.S. degree. Casey is already employed in the welding industry as a shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) welder at EMCO Track in Ramsey, Minnesota, where he works on critical railway components for the Canadian Pacific and Kansas City railways.

A member of the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society Alpha Omicron Beta chapter at DCTC, Casey credits much of his academic success to his participation in TRIO/Student Support Services (SSS). “Without Xuong [Tran] and Aria [Kronebusch], I would be so lost,” he said. “They have helped me immensely, whether registering for classes, testing out of a course, or even just talking about my class load and how I’m handling that. They make me feel seen and heard. They care about the person. I am so blessed to have these two as a part of my college journey.”

More about Casey…

Casey and Kara

Originally from Incheon, South Korea’s third most populous city after Seoul and Busan, Casey was seven months old when he arrived in the United States as an adoptee. He graduated from Concordia Academy in Bloomington, Minnesota, Class of 2009. He has been married to his wife, Kara, a counselor, coming up on nine months. Casey and Kara have two dogs, a basset hound named Phoenix and a mixed-breed named Parker.

“I played a ton of baseball growing up,” Casey said. “I am planning on playing baseball this year in a men’s 35+ league. In high school, I had the blessing of going to a smaller school and playing whichever sports I wanted to play. So I ran cross-country, played football for two years and, at five-foot-four-inches and seventy-five pounds, found out that wasn’t for me, or basketball, either. So, I leaned on baseball and played soccer my senior year with my friends.”

Casey enjoys pursuing a number of hobbies in his free time, including volunteering and helping others, woodworking and carpentry, doing projects from scratch around the house, visiting state parks, and taking hikes with Phoenix and Parker.

“Kara and I have also enjoyed our road trips and traveling to Indiana, her home state,” he said. “My dad and I hope to one day travel to a bunch of MLB stadiums. So far, we have been to seven!”

Casey, Kara, and their two dogs reside in Richfield, Minnesota.

Casey family and college gallery

Casey Lee • Q & A

Casey Lee

What inspired you to enroll in the Welding Technology program at DCTC?

I love working with my hands and have always enjoyed that part as well having a physical job. And with welding, I have the opportunity to do that—and being 34 with a wife, I wanted a program that I could head straight into a job with. The Welding Technology program gives me the opportunity to do that. I also have current employment in the welding field.

What do you like best about the Welding Technology program so far?

How  knowledgeable and patient our instructor is. Tyler [Vietanen] is an amazing instructor. He is so down to earth and brings so much life experience with him into his role as our instructor. It makes it very easy to learn new techniques and things from him as it pertains to welding.

What do you like best about your work as an expert in shielded metal arc welding (SMAW)?

I love that I know that the work I’m doing directly correlates with what we’re learning and have learned within our Welding Technology program. Also, that I know that what I’m doing directly helps America’s transportation and hydrovac industries.

Three words that describe you as a college student:
DRIVEN. EXCITED. OPENMINDED.

What career goals motivated you to earn a Technical Management A.A.S.?

Honestly, that decision wasn’t career-goal-related—more of a “I can prove to myself that I can do this!”

What advice would you give students looking at attending a two-year technical college?

Go for it. You can’t succeed if you don’t try. We also automatically close doors on doors we don’t try to open. You can do this, going back to college after a 16-year layoff was the best thing I could’ve done and doing it at a two-year school made it affordable. I paid nearly nothing due to the North Star Promise Scholarship. You can get the same financial help I did, if that is what is holding you back!

What person has influenced your life the most and why?

My wife, I know this is so cliché but my wife has made me better in so many ways, including believing in myself that I could be successful in school, she has also been there for me in times when things are good and thing are tough, like buying a house, getting married, starting our family, going back to college. I could go on and on about it!

If you could make one thing happen on Earth right now, what would it be?

Unifying all people. Bringing a sense of belonging to all people no matter color, nationality, sexuality, religion, and again it’s more having all people recognize we are all people; we aren’t perfect and there is no such thing as perfect when it comes to living life. We all have struggles and triumphs. People just want to be seen and heard.

One word that best describes your experience at DCTC:

REWARDING

Casey Lee • 12 Answers

1. Favorite sport or physical activity: Baseball
2. Place you would most like to visit: Incheon, South Korea
3. Most exciting thing you’ve ever done: Get married to my wife! We’ve been able to start the adventure of a lifetime
4. Three things you would do if you won a $1 billion lottery: 1) Save half 2) Give 10 percent to charities of choice 3) Help get people out of debt who are in debt
5. Best book or movie you’ve read or seen lately: KPop Demon Hunters because of the message being sent
6. Time period you would explore if you could time travel: When Jesus was present on Earth
7. One thing you most want to accomplish in life: Being a great husband to my wife
8. Your national bird if you were your own country: Penguin
9. Dream occupation: Small business owner/operator of my own welding company
10. Person you would most like to meet: Jesus Christ
11. Skill you would most like to learn and master: Art of making sushi because I love me some good sushi
12. Most important issue or problem facing humankind: Division between people; everything is black and white and there is no room for compromise

Learn more about the Welding Technology and Technical Management programs at DCTC by contacting:

Admissions
admissions@dctc.edu
651-423-8266
Room 2-110

Learn more about TRIO/Student Support Services at DCTC by contacting:

Xuong Tran
TRIO/Student Support Services Advisor
Dakota County Technical College
xuong.tran@dctc.edu
651-423-8289

Aria Kronebusch
TRIO/Student Support Services Advisor
Dakota County Technical College
aria.kronebusch@dctc.edu
651-423-8384

More about Welding Technology at DCTC…

Welding Technology is a high-demand program—APPLY EARLY.
Contact Admissions for more information.

The Welding Technology program offers a variety of training in different welding processes specific to the welding trade. As a student in the program, you will gain knowledge through theory in class and hands-on experience in our state-of-the-art welding lab. Major topics and welding processes will be covered in this nine-month course, fully preparing you for an entry-level position in the welding industry.

Subjects covered include:

• Shielded metal arc
• Gas metal arc
• Flux cored arc
• Gas tungsten arc welding processes oxy/fuel
• Plasma arc

You will work with a variety of metals, including steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. Shop fabrication, blueprint reading, math, visual inspection, and safety are covered in the curriculum. Welders with the ability to fabricate and weld metal products from blueprints are in great demand in a wide range of industries, especially in manufacturing, construction, and repair.

Award

Welding Technology diploma

Credits: 36
Course delivery: On campus; Daytime, afternoon, evening classes
Start: Fall semester; full-time

Welding Technology Program Planning Guide (PDF)

Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers

Use hand-welding, flame-cutting, hand-soldering, or brazing equipment to weld or join metal components or to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products.

• Assembly Line Brazer
• Brazer
• Fabrication Welder
• Maintenance Welder
• MIG Welder (Metal Inert Gas Welder)
• Solderer
• TIG Welder (Tungsten Inert Gas Welder)
• Welder
• Welder Fitter
• Wirer

WAGES

Minnesota

Workers on average earn $58,730.
10 percent of workers earn $46,260 or less.
10 percent of workers earn $73,550 or more.

United States

Workers on average earn $51,000.
10 percent of workers earn $38,130 or less.
10 percent of workers earn $75,850 or more.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024 wage data

Occupational Trends: Minnesota

Employment(2022): 9,990 employees
Projected employment(2032): 10,600 employees
Projected growth(2022–2032): 6 percent
Projected annual job openings(2022–2032): 1,060

Occupational Trends: United States

Employment(2024): 457,300 employees
Projected employment(2034): 467,200 employees
Projected growth(2024–2034): 2 percent — Slower than average
Projected annual job openings (2024–2034): 45,600

Visit O*NET OnLine for comprehensive information about the occupation:
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers

SOURCE: O*NET OnLine: Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers