Biggest step in welding is to learn to be able to see the puddle. To do that you need to be in a "proper welding position" and get up close and personal with the bead. While learning, the piece being welded should be at armpit height when sitting or standing straight backed in front of it (I recommend sitting at a steel topped welding table or bench that is at least 40" tall with the piece about 6" back from the front edge. Clamp or use a welder's magnet to hold it in place.) Move in close so you are looking down at the bead with the helmet face plate no more than about 12" above it. Hold the torch with the right hand (if right handed) with your arm in a "broken wing position" (elbow high, forearm parallel to table top and above, not resting on table.) support torch at the bend with the other hand with the tip 1/2" above the work and the hand just lightly touching the table top or edge so you can feel it and slide along it without dragging. Practice (with the machine off) moving the torch along the entire length of the weld with out it rising or the angle of the wire changing. This may feel awkward at first but once you have trained you muscle memory it will become natural and automatic. The correct torch position should be established by pointing the filler wire directly vertical (front to back and side to side) and with the tip of the freshly clipped wire end barely touching but in definite contact with the piece at the starting point, Now tilt the torch side to side only so it is pointed in the weld direction at about 15-20* from vertical. (Some welding manuals tell you to weld with the tip still vertical. This is good once you have learned to see the puddle and/or are welding outside with a breeze blowing) You should now be looking directly down the torch end just in front of the filler wire tip. Avoid lifting or changing the torch angle when pressing the trigger! Do not look at the bright yellow arc, but concentrate looking about 1/4" in front of the arc for the dark red molten metal puddle that will form around the tip of the wire. Watch the shape and size of the puddle as you move along the weld. You want it to stay about 1/4" in diameter and centered over the seam. Practice looking for and controlling the puddle, don't just weld by feel or "wrote". Don't be in a hurry to complete the bead, it's not a race to finish. Check the back of your work for full penetration. If running a bead on top a piece of metal full penetration will be seen as a very slightly raised wrinkly surface on the back the same width as the bead on the front. If welding a seam between two pieces there should be a shallow bead on the back fusing the edges together, there should not be any evidence of the straight seam line remaining. Grind the back side smooth and flat, It should look like one piece of metal. Grind the front smooth, put the joined pieces in a heavy vise bottom side towards you, clamped close to the bead and use a hammer to bend the two pieces to a 45* along the weld. look closely for any evidence of the original edges. If there is none showing, CONGRATULATIONS! you are now a welder!!! If there is even a small amount of edges showing as a line, go back and practice some more. It shouldn't take more than a couple days of concentrated practice to get it right.

 

Once you start welding there are so many questions about position, speed, materials etc. Some people think you get the welder flip the switch and start melting metal... not that simple.
I used to weld using lasers but that is a big difference. The pulses/travel are controlled and once dialed in you can't miss (almost) or at least repeatable. With humans we are not that programmable out of the box... it takes us a while to learn and repeat.

Thanks for the help AX. I also have your lessons and they have been a big help.