How to Select the Right Welding Training Class near Statesville North Carolina

Locating the right welder vocational school near Statesville NC is an essential first step to starting your new career as a professional welder. But since there are a lot of schools to pick from, how do you know which ones to consider? And more notably, once you have narrowed down your choices, how do you select the right one? A number of people start by checking out the schools that are nearest to their residences. Once they have found those that are within driving distance, they are drawn toward the least costly one. Yes, location and tuition cost are crucial concerns when reviewing welder trade schools, but they are not the only ones. Other considerations include such things as reputation, accreditation and job placement rates. So before beginning your search for a trade school to become a welder, it’s wise to establish a list of qualifications that your chosen school must have. But before we delve into our due diligence checklist, let’s talk a little bit about how to become a welder.

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Welder Degree and Certificate Training Courses

There are multiple options to receive training as a welder in a technical or trade school. You can obtain a a certificate, a diploma or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are available in Welding Technology or Welding Engineering, but are more advanced degrees than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also made available along with an apprenticeship program. Following are brief explanations of the most common welding programs available in the Statesville NC area.

• Certificate and Diploma Programs are generally offered by technical and trade schools and take about 1 year to complete. They are more hands-on training in scope, created primarily to develop welding skills. They can furnish a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or specialized skills for experienced welders.
• Associate Degree Programs will take two years to finish and are usually offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology provides a more well-rounded education than the diploma or certificate while still providing the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.

A number of states and municipalities do have licensing prerequisites for welders, so make sure to check for your location of future employment. As required, the welder school you pick should ready you for any licensing examinations that you will have to take in addition to furnishing the proper training to become a professional welder.

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Welding Certification Alternatives

There are multiple institutions that offer welder certifications, which assess the skill level and knowledge of those applying. Many Statesville NC employers not only require a degree or certificate from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a highly regarded agency like the American Welding Society (AWS). A wide range of certifications are available dependent on the kind of work that the welder performs. Just some of the things that certification can acknowledge are the welder’s ability to

• Operate in compliance with specific codes
• Work with specific metal thicknesses
• Work with various types of welds
• Operate in compliance with contract specifications

As previously stated, various states, cities or local municipalities have licensing requirements for welders. Of those mandating licensing, some additionally require certification for various kinds of work. Certification is also a way to prove to employers that you are an exceptionally skilled and knowledgeable welder. So similarly as with licensing, look into the requirements for your local area and verify that the welder vocational school you select readies you for certification as needed.

Points to Ask Welding Trade Schools

After you have chosen the credential you want to attain, a certificate, diploma or degree, you can begin to compare schools. As you can imagine, there are many welding vocational and trade schools in the Statesville NC area. That’s why it’s necessary to determine up front what qualifications your school of choice must have. We have previously discussed 2 important ones that many people consider first, which are location and the cost of tuition. As stated, although they are essential qualifiers, they are not the only ones that must be looked at. After all, the school you choose is going to provide the education that will be the foundation of your new vocation as a welder. So following are more factors you might need to consider before selecting a welder trade school.

Accreditation. It’s essential that the welding tech school you select is accredited by either a regional or a national organization. There are two standard types of accreditation. The school may earn Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on a single program the school offers, such as Welding Technology. So make certain that the program you select is accredited, not just the school alone. Also, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting organization, like the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). In addition to helping ensure that you get a quality education, the accreditation may also help in obtaining financial aid or student loans, which are in many cases not offered in Statesville NC for non-accredited schools. Finally, for those states or municipalities that require licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited also.

Apprenticeship and Job Placement Programs. Numerous welder certificate or degree programs are offered combined with an apprenticeship program. Other schools will help place you in a job or an apprenticeship after graduation. Ask if the schools you are looking at help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job assistance program. These schools should have associations with local unions and various metal working businesses to which they can refer their students. More established schools may have a more substantial network of graduates that they can utilize for referrals. These programs can help students find employment and establish relationships within the Statesville NC welding community.

Job Placement and Completion Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that enroll in an academic program and complete it. It’s essential that the welding school you choose has a high completion rate. A lower rate may mean that the students who joined the program were dissatisfied with the training, the teachers, or the facilities, and quit. The job placement rate is also an indication of the caliber of training. A high job placement rate will not only confirm that the program has an excellent reputation within the trade, but also that it has the network of Statesville NC employer relationships to help students obtain employment or apprenticeships after graduation.

Up-to-date Equipment and Facilities. Once you have limited your choice of welder programs to 2 or 3 options, you should consider visiting the campuses to evaluate their facilities. Confirm that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be taught on are modern. In particular, 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, ask the master welder you are working under for guidance. If not, ask a local Statesville NC welding professional if they can give you some suggestions.

School Location. Although we previously briefly covered the significance of location, there are a few additional points that we need to cover. You should keep in mind that unless you can move, the welding program you pick needs to be within commuting distance of your Statesville NC home. If you do opt to attend an out-of-state school, besides relocation expenses there may be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially true for welder degree programs offered by community colleges. Also, if the school provides a job placement or apprenticeship program, more than likely their placements are within the school’s regional community. So the location of the school should be in an area or state where you ultimately will want to work.

Smaller Classes. One-on-one instruction is essential for a manual trade such as welding. It’s possible to get overlooked in bigger classes and not get much personalized training. Find out what the average class size is for the welder schools you are looking at. Ask if you can sit in on a few classes so that you can see how much individual attention the students are receiving. While there, talk with several of the students and get their opinions. Similarly, talk to a few of the trainers and find out what their welding experience has been and what credentials and certifications they hold.

Convenient Class Scheduling. Lots of folks learn a new trade while still working at their current job. Check to see that the class schedules for the programs you are looking at are flexible enough to meet your needs. If you can only attend classes at night or on weekends near Statesville NC, verify that the schools you are considering provide those alternatives. If you can only enroll on a part-time basis, verify that the school you choose offers part-time enrollment. Also, find out what the protocol is to make up classes if you you miss any due to work, sickness or family responsibilities.

Online Welding Training Programs

Welding is very much a manual type of vocation, and consequently not very suitable for online training. However, there are a few online welding courses offered by various community colleges and technical schools in the greater Statesville NC area that can count toward a certificate or degree program. These courses mainly cover such subjects as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help provide a novice a foundation to start their education and training. However, the most important point is that you can’t learn how to weld or work with welding materials until you actually do it. Naturally that can’t be done online. These skills must be learned in an on-campus setting or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is better suited for experienced welders that desire to advance their knowledge or perhaps obtain a more advanced degree. So if you should discover an online welding certificate or degree program, be extremely careful and make sure that the larger part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.

TIG Welding Training Statesville NC

Choosing the ideal welding school will undoubtedly be the most critical decision you will make to start your new profession. You originally stopped by our website because you had an interest in TIG Welding Training and wanted more information on the topic Where To Take Welding Classes. However, as we have covered in this article, there are many things that you will need to evaluate and compare between the schools you are looking at. It’s a prerequisite that any welder school that you are evaluating includes a considerable amount of hands-on instruction. Classes should be smaller in size and every student must have their personal welding machine to train with. Classroom instruction should offer a real-world context, and the curriculum should be current and conform with industry standards. Training programs differ in length and the type of credential offered, so you will have to decide what length of program and certificate or degree will best serve your needs. Every program provides different possibilities for certification also. Probably the best means to research your short list of schools is to check out each campus and talk with the students and faculty. Invest some time to sit in on a few classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make certain that you are confident that the school you pick is the best one for you. With the proper training, hard work and dedication, the final outcome will be a new career as a professional welder in Statesville NC.

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