Arc is kinda viewed as the into to welding. It's very good as an industrial application, like big buildings and the like. Some schools will require it so you can pick up the basic welding skills before moving on to the more advanced styles/techniques. First time I ever welded was arc, welding boat cleats to the dock. Guy that I was learning from got butt hurt cause my welds looked better than his. Funny thing is, several years later those cleats are still welded to the dock, but where the factory welded them together they've busted off. I tried mig after that and I couldn't run a bead to save my life. A few years later we had to weld in new supports for a new style generator and my sup. kept trying to get me to try it. We had a miller suitcase welder that ran off a big self contained miller arc welder. I tried it doing what he told me and once again my welds looked pretty decent, and have yet to crack. I now own the exact same type of welder and love it, but still don't have a big arc to run it off of. My dream trial rig will have an arc mounted in the back with my suitcase welder handy. With a long enough lead you could do trail repairs 2 or 3 trucks away.
