How to Find the Best Welding Trade School near Clarksburg West Virginia
Selecting the right welder trade school near Clarksburg WV is an essential first step to launching your new career as a professional welder. But since there are so many schools to choose from, how do you determine which ones to consider? And more importantly, once you have narrowed down your alternatives, how do you pick the best one? Most people start by reviewing the schools that are closest to their residences. When they have found those that are within driving distance, they gravitate toward the least expensive one. Yes, location and the cost of tuition are important issues when evaluating welder trade schools, but they are not the only ones. Other factors include such things as reputation, accreditation and job placement rates. So before starting your search for a vocational school to become a welder, it’s prudent to establish a list of qualifications that your selected school must have. But before we delve into our due diligence checklist, let’s cover a little bit about how to become a welder.
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Welding Certificate and Degree Programs
There are a number of options to get training as a welder in a trade or technical school. You can earn a a certificate, a diploma or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are available in Welding Engineering or Welding Technology, but are more advanced degrees than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Below are brief summaries of the most typical welding programs offered in the Clarksburg WV area.
- Certificate and Diploma Programs are generally offered by trade and technical schools and take about one year to finish. They are more hands-on training in nature, created mainly to teach welding skills. They can furnish a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or additional skills for working welders.
- Associate Degree Programs will take two years to finish and are most often offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology provides a more extensive education than the diploma or certificate while still furnishing the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.
Many states and municipalities do have licensing prerequisites for welders, therefore be sure to find out for your location of future employment. If required, the welder school you select should prepare you for any licensing examinations that you will need to pass in addition to supplying the proper training to become a qualified welder.
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Welding Certification Choices
There are various institutions that offer welding certifications, which test the skill level and knowledge of those applying. A large number of Clarksburg WV employers not only require a degree or certificate from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a respected agency like the American Welding Society (AWS). A variety of certifications are available dependent on the type of work that the welder performs. Just some of the skills that certification can attest to are the welder’s ability to
- Operate in compliance with specific codes
- Work with specified metal thicknesses
- Work with certain types of welds
- Perform in compliance with contract specifications
As already mentioned, many cities, states or local municipalities have licensing requirements for welders. Of those calling for licensing, some also require certification for various kinds of work. Certification is also a way to demonstrate to employers that you are an extremely skilled and knowledgeable welder. So similarly as with licensing, look into the requirements for your location and make sure that the welding tech school you choose prepares you for certification as needed.
Points to Ask Welder Vocational Schools
When you have decided on the credential you would like to attain, a diploma, certificate or degree, you can start to assess schools. As you can imagine, there are numerous welder trade and vocational schools in the Clarksburg WV area. That’s why it’s essential to determine in advance what qualifications your school of choice must have. We have already discussed two important ones that most people consider first, which are location and the cost of tuition. As mentioned, although they are very important qualifiers, they are not the only ones that must be considered. After all, the school you decide on is going to provide the training that will be the foundation of your new career as a welder. So below are more factors you might need to evaluate before choosing a welding tech school.
Accreditation. It’s very important that the welder tech school you select is accredited by either a national or a regional organization. There are two basic types of accreditation. The school may receive Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on a specific program the school offers, for instance Welding Technology. So make sure that the program you pick is accredited, not just the school alone. Also, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting organization, for example the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). In addition to helping make sure that you obtain a superior education, the accreditation can also help in acquiring financial assistance or student loans, which are often unavailable in Clarksburg WV for schools that are not accredited. Also, for those states or local governments that mandate licensing, they may require that the welder training program be accredited also.
Apprenticeship and Job Placement Programs. Many welder certificate or degree programs are provided combined with an apprenticeship program. Other schools will assist in placing you in a job or an apprenticeship upon graduation. Ask if the schools you are reviewing help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job placement program. These schools should have partnerships with local unions and other metal working businesses to which they can refer their students. Older schools may have a larger network of graduates that they can utilize for referrals. These programs can assist students in finding employment and develop associations within the Clarksburg WV welding community.
Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that enroll in an instructional program and complete it. It’s important that the welding school you select has a high completion rate. A reduced rate could mean that the students who joined the program were dissatisfied with the instruction, the teachers, or the facilities, and quit. The job placement rate is also an indication of the caliber of training. A higher job placement rate will not only verify that the program has a good reputation within the trade, but additionally that it has the network of Clarksburg WV employer relationships to assist students secure employment or apprenticeships upon graduation.
Up-to-date Facilities and Equipment. Once you have narrowed down your selection of welding programs to two or three possibilities, you should consider going to the campuses to look over their facilities. Make sure that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be trained on are modern. Specifically, the training equipment should be comparable to what you will be working with in the field. If you are uncertain what to look for, and are already in an apprenticeship program, consult with the master welder you are working under for guidance. If not, ask a local Clarksburg WV welding contractor if they can give you a few pointers.
School Location. Although we previously briefly covered the relevance of location, there are a couple of additional issues that we need to address. You should bear in mind that unless you are able to move, the welder school you choose needs to be within driving distance of your Clarksburg WV home. If you do decide to attend an out-of-state school, besides moving costs there could be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially the case for welder certificate programs offered by community colleges. Additionally, if the school provides a job placement or apprenticeship program, often their placements are within the school’s local community. So the location of the school needs to be in an area or state where you subsequently will want to work.
Small Classes. One-on-one training is important for a hands-on trade such as welding. It’s possible to get overlooked in bigger classes and not get much individualized training. Ask what the average class size is for the welder schools you are looking at. Ask if you can attend a few classes so that you can see just how much personal attention the students are receiving. While there, talk with some of the students and get their opinions. Also, speak with a couple of the instructors and find out what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they have earned.
Flexible Class Scheduling. Some people learn a new trade while still employed at their current job. Verify that the class schedules for the programs you are reviewing are convenient enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only attend classes at night or on weekends near Clarksburg WV, make sure that the schools you are looking at provide those options. If you can only enroll part-time, make certain that the school you select offers part-time enrollment. Also, ask what the protocol is to make up classes if you you miss any due to work, sickness or family responsibilities.
Online Welding Courses
Welding is very much a manual type of trade, and therefore not extremely suitable for online training. Even so, there are a small number of online welding classes offered by certain community colleges and vocational schools in the greater Clarksburg WV area that may be credited toward a certificate or degree program. These classes mainly cover such subjects as reading blueprints, safety,, and metallurgy. They can help provide a beginner a foundation to initiate their education and training. However, the most important point is that you can’t learn how to weld or work with welding materials unless you actually do it. Clearly that can’t be accomplished online. These skills need to be learned in an on-campus setting or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is more appropriate for experienced welders that would like to advance their expertise or possibly attain a more advanced degree. So if you should come across an online welding certificate or degree program, be extremely cautious and make sure that the bulk of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.
Where to Find Evening Welder Training Clarksburg WV
Choosing the right welding school will undoubtedly be the most important decision you will make to begin your new trade. You originally stopped by our website because you had an interest in Where to Find Evening Welder Training and wanted more information on the topic Free Info on Online Welder Training. However, as we have covered in this article, there are many things that you will need to examine and compare between the schools you are looking at. It’s a necessity that any welder school that you are evaluating includes a lot of hands-on training. Classes need to be small in size and every student should have their personal welding machine to train on. Classroom education needs to offer a real-world perspective, and the curriculum should be up-to-date and conform with industry standards. Courses vary in length and the kind of credential offered, so you will have to decide what length of program and credential will best serve your needs. Each program offers different options for certification as well. Probably the best means to research your short list of schools is to check out each campus and speak with the students and instructors. Invest some time to sit in on a few classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the training program you decide on is the ideal one for you. With the right training, hard work and commitment, the end outcome will be a new career as a professional welder in Clarksburg WV.
Other West Virginia Welder Locations
Clarksburg, West Virginia
Clarksburg is a city in and the county seat of Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, in the north-central region of the state. The population of the city was 16,578 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Clarksburg, WV Micropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 94,221 in 2014.[5] Clarksburg was named National Small City of the Year in 2011 by the National League of Cities.
The first known non-indigenous visitor to the area that later became Clarksburg was John Simpson,[6] a trapper, who in 1764 located his camp on the West Fork River opposite the mouth of Elk Creek at approximately 39°16′53″N 80°21′05″W / 39.28128°N 80.35145°W / 39.28128; -80.35145 (39.28128, -80.35145)[7]
As early as 1772, settlers began claiming lands near where Clarksburg now stands, and building cabins. In 1773, Major Daniel Davisson (1748-1819) took up 400 acres (1.6 km2), upon which the principal part of the town is now located. By 1774, people settling near present Clarksburg included: Daniel Davisson, Obadiah Davisson (Daniel's father), Amaziah Davisson (Daniel's uncle), Thomas, John, and Matthew Nutter, Samuel and Andrew Cottrill (brothers), Sotha Hickman, and Samuel Beard. Undoubtedly, others located on these public lands, of which no official records were made.[6] The Virginia General Assembly authorized the town of Clarksburg in 1785. Now a city, it is named for General George Rogers Clark, a Virginian who conducted many expeditions against the British and Indians during the Indian Wars and the war of the American Revolution, including the strategically critical capture of Fort of Vincennes, now in the State of Indiana, in 1778.[8]
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