How to Find the Right Welding Trade School near Duncansville Pennsylvania
Selecting the ideal welding vocational school near Duncansville PA is an important first step to beginning your new occupation as a professional welder. But since there are numerous schools to select from, how do you know which ones to consider? And more significantly, once you have fine tuned your alternatives, how do you pick the best one? Most people begin by looking at the schools that are nearest to their residences. Once they have found those that are within commuting distance, they gravitate toward the least expensive one. Yes, location and tuition cost are crucial considerations when reviewing welding technical schools, but they are not the only ones. Other concerns include such things as accreditation, reputation and job placement rates. So before starting your search for a trade school to become a welder, it’s wise to create 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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Welding Certificate and Degree Training Courses
There are multiple options available to get training as a welder in a trade or vocational school. You can receive a diploma, a certificate or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are offered in Welding Technology or Welding Engineering, but are more advanced courses than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also offered along with an apprenticeship program. Following are short summaries of the most prevalent welding programs available in the Duncansville PA area.
- Certificate and Diploma Programs are generally offered by technical and trade schools and take about a year to finish. They are more hands-on training in scope, created largely to develop welding skills. They can provide a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or specialized skills for working welders.
- Associate Degree Programs will take two years to complete and are usually offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology offers a more extensive education than the certificate or diploma while still providing the foundation that prepares students to enter the workforce.
A number of states and municipalities do have licensing requirements for welders, so don’t forget to check for your location of future employment. If required, the welder school you select should prep you for any licensing exams that you will need to pass in addition to supplying the proper training to become a professional welder.
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Welder Certification Choices
There are a number of institutions that offer welder certifications, which evaluate the knowledge and skill level of those applying. Numerous Duncansville PA employers not only require a degree or certificate from an accredited welding school, but also certification from a highly regarded agency like the American Welding Society (AWS). A variety of certifications are offered dependent on the kind of work that the welder does. Just some of the things that certification can acknowledge are the welder’s ability to
- Work in compliance with specific codes
- Work with certain metal thicknesses
- Work with specific kinds of welds
- Perform in compliance with contract specifications
As formerly mentioned, various cities, states or local municipalities have licensing requirements for welders. Of those mandating licensing, many additionally require certification for various types of work. Certification is also a means to demonstrate to employers that you are an extremely skilled and knowledgeable welder. So just as with licensing, look into the requirements for your location and confirm that the welder technical school you choose readies you for certification as needed.
Subjects to Ask Welder Tech Schools
When you have chosen the credential you want to attain, a certificate, diploma or degree, you can start to evaluate schools. As you are no doubt aware, there are many welding trade and technical schools in the Duncansville PA area. That’s why it’s essential to decide in advance what qualifications your chosen school must have. We have already covered 2 significant 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 need to be looked at. After all, the program you decide on is going to furnish the training that will be the foundation of your new profession as a welder. So below are some additional factors you might need to evaluate before choosing a welder vocational school.
Accreditation. It’s essential that the welding vocational school you decide on is accredited by either a national or a regional agency. There are 2 basic kinds of accreditation. The school may receive Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on an individual program the school has, for instance Welding Technology. So make certain that the program you choose is accredited, not just the school alone. Additionally, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting organization, for example the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). In addition to helping make sure that you receive a quality education, the accreditation may also assist in getting financial aid or student loans, which are in many cases unavailable in Duncansville PA for non-accredited schools. Also, for those states or municipalities that require licensing, they may require that the welder training program be accredited also.
Job Placement and Apprenticeship Programs. Many welding diploma or degree programs are offered combined with an apprenticeship program. Some other schools will help place you in a job or an apprenticeship after graduation. Find out if the schools you are looking at help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job assistance program. The schools must have partnerships with local unions and other metal working businesses to which they can place their students. Older schools may have a more substantial network of graduates that they can rely upon for placements. These programs can assist students in finding employment and establish associations within the Duncansville PA welding community.
Job Placement and Completion Rates. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students that start an instructional program and finish it. It’s important that the welding school you choose has a higher completion rate. A low rate may indicate that the students who joined the program were unhappy with the training, the teachers, or the facilities, and quit. The job placement rate is also a good indicator of the quality of training. A higher job placement rate will not only confirm that the program has an excellent reputation within the field, but also that it has the network of Duncansville PA contacts to help students secure employment or apprenticeships after graduation.
Up-to-date Equipment and Facilities. Once you have limited your selection of welder programs to 2 or 3 possibilities, you should consider going to the campuses to inspect their facilities. Verify that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be trained on are modern. In particular, the training equipment should be comparable to what you will be using in the field. If you are unsure what to look for, and are currently in an apprenticeship program, consult with the master welder you are working under for guidance. Otherwise, ask a local Duncansville PA welding professional if they can give you a few tips.
School Location. Although we previously briefly covered the significance of location, there are a few additional issues that we should cover. You should keep in mind that unless you can relocate, the welder program you select must be within commuting distance of your Duncansville PA home. If you do decide to attend an out-of-state school, apart from moving expenses there might be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially true for welding degree programs offered by community colleges. Additionally, if the school offers a job placement or apprenticeship program, most likely their placements are within the school’s regional community. So the location of the school should be in a region or state where you subsequently will desire to work.
Small Classes. One-on-one training is essential for a manual trade such as welding. It’s easy to get lost in larger classes and not get much personalized training. Ask what the typical class size is for the welder schools you are looking at. Inquire if you can sit in on a few classes so that you can observe just how much individual attention the students are getting. While there, speak with some of the students and get their evaluations. Similarly, talk to some of the instructors and find out what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they have earned.
Flexible Class Scheduling. Many people learn a new trade while still working at their present job. Verify that the class schedules for the schools you are considering are convenient enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only attend classes in the evenings or on weekends near Duncansville PA, make sure that the schools you are considering provide those options. If you can only enroll part-time, make sure that the school you decide on offers part-time enrollment. Also, find out what the protocol is to make up classes should you miss any due to work, illness or family emergencies.
Online Welder Courses
Welding is truly a manual kind of trade, and therefore not extremely suitable for online training. However, there are some online welding classes offered by certain community colleges and vocational schools in the greater Duncansville PA area that can count toward a degree or certificate program. These classes mainly deal with such subjects as reading blueprints, safety,, and metallurgy. They can help give a novice a basis to initiate their training and education. However, the most significant point is that you can’t learn how to weld or work with welding materials until you actually do it. Obviously that can’t be accomplished online. These skills have to be learned in an on-campus environment or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is more appropriate for experienced welders that desire to advance their knowledge or possibly attain a more advanced degree. So if you should come across an online welding degree or certificate program, be extremely careful and verify that the bulk of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of environment.
Best Online Welding Training Duncansville PA
Choosing the right welding school will probably be the most important decision you will make to launch your new career. You originally stopped by our website because you had an interest in Best Online Welding Training and wanted more information on the topic Best Part Time Welding Training. However, as we have covered in this article, there are a number of things that you will need to assess and compare among the schools you are looking at. It’s a must that any welder training program that you are reviewing includes a considerable amount of hands-on training. Classes need to be smaller in size and each student must have their own welding machine to train on. Classroom teaching needs to provide a real-world frame of reference, and the training program should be current and conform with industry standards. Programs vary in duration and the kind of credential provided, so you will need to ascertain what length of program and credential will best fulfill your needs. Each program offers unique options for certification also. Perhaps the best way to research your short list of schools is to visit each campus and talk with the teachers and students. Take the time to attend some classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make certain that you are confident that the program you choose is the right one for you. With the right training, hard work and commitment, the final result will be a new occupation as a professional welder in Duncansville PA.
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Duncansville, Pennsylvania
Duncansville is a borough in Blair County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Altoona, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Duncansville is one of the communities that comprises the Altoona Urban Area. The population was 1,233 at the 2010 census.
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 1,238 people, 580 households, and 338 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,312.5 people per square mile (885.2/km²). There were 610 housing units at an average density of 1,139.4 per square mile (436.2/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 98.47% White, 0.48% African American, 0.08% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.48% of the population.
There were 580 households, out of which 19.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.0% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.7% were non-families. 38.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.84.
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