Chile Forum

Hello! My husband and I are in the investigation stages of possibly moving to Chile. Is there any industry for a welder/machinist/mechanic? He is currently working at a power plant and could apply his skills at a hydroelectric plant or other utility. Is there anything like this available near Frutillar or in the general Lakes region? What other areas might be good for this type of work? I appreciate your feedback!

I feel there could be a market for highquality skills, but you would need to get out and sell your services.... if he has a high level of spanish and could prove his management skills he could work as a boss in a maintance dept of a milk or meat plant.....

key here is high level of spanish, and good management or networking skills......

put it this way, a afternoon of work to fix the front gate will cost $US20 in santiago for a guy with a welder..... almost nothing....

the most i think you will earn in htis field as a "worker", is no more than $clp 800,000 per month...

zer0nz wrote:the most i think you will earn in htis field as a "worker", is no more than $clp 800,000 per month...

I have run into a welder socially who also quoted that number. I believe that's the higher-end labour on his site.

Another place that comes to mind for a person of such a skillset is Chilean bread and butter industry; mining. Highest salaries are paid in this field in Chile for blue collars and skilled trades are hard to find. When you come to Chile to poke around, definitely consider Calama, Antofagasta and a few other mining hotspots.

And last but not least, ports. San Antonio, Iquique and Arica, Antofagasta or even Tocopilla. Ports = ships = welding! Iquique and Arica ports are swarmed with fishing trawlers (another big industry in Chile) that are beaten up.

Machinist = may be hard to find. CNC machinning is practically non existent and manual mill/turn who knows, may be in mining industry maintenance hangars only.

yea there is no real industry around frutillar other than dairy farms and tourism. puerto montt might have some need for those skills related to the boat and salmon industry.

if you want to make more than basic wages, you got to be in biz for yourself.

Thank so much for the responses...greatly appreciated.