How to Find the Best Welder Training Class near New Canaan Connecticut
Selecting the right welder trade school near New Canaan CT is an essential first step to starting your new career as a professional welder. But since there are a lot of schools to choose from, how do you know which ones to consider? And more significantly, once you have narrowed down your choices, how do you pick the right one? Most people start by reviewing the schools that are nearest to their homes. Once they have located those that are within driving distance, they gravitate toward the least costly one. Yes, location and the cost of tuition are necessary issues when evaluating welder trade 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 vocational school to become a welder, it’s prudent to establish a list of qualifications that your chosen school must have. But before we explore our due diligence checklist, let’s talk a little bit about how to become a welder.
Request Free Information on Welding Schools Near You
[campusexplorer header_text=”Find Welding Schools Near You!” aos=”53237562″ concentration=”025A8616″ tracking=”WELDER-5″]
Welder Certificate and Degree Training Programs
There are multiple options available to obtain 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 Technology or Welding Engineering, but are more advanced degrees than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Below are short explanations of the most typical welding programs available in the New Canaan CT area.
- Diploma and Certificate Programs are usually made available by technical and trade schools and require about one year to finish. They are more hands-on training in scope, created mainly to teach welding skills. They can provide a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or supplemental 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 offers a more extensive education than the certificate or diploma while still providing the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.
A number of municipalities and states do have licensing requirements for welders, therefore make sure to find out for your location of potential employment. If required, the welder school you select should prep you for any licensing examinations that you will need to pass in addition to furnishing the proper training to become a qualified welder.
[campusexplorer header_text=”Find Welding Schools Near You!” aos=”53237562″ concentration=”025A8616″ is_lightbox=”1″ lightbox_btn_text=”Click Here to Get Free Information on Welding Schools Near You!” tracking=”WELDER-5LB”]
Welding Certification Options
There are a number of institutions that offer welder certifications, which evaluate the skill level and knowledge of those applying. Many New Canaan CT employers not only demand a certificate or degree from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a renowned agency such as the American Welding Society (AWS). A variety of certifications are offered based on the kind of work that the welder does. A few of the skills that certification can attest to are the welder’s ability to
- Work in compliance with specific codes
- Work with specific metal thicknesses
- Work with various kinds of welds
- Perform based on contract specifications
As earlier stated, various states, cities or local municipalities have licensing mandates for welders. Of those mandating licensing, some also require certification for different kinds of work. Certification is also a way to prove to employers that you are a highly skilled and qualified welder. So similarly as with licensing, look into the requirements for your local area and verify that the welding tech school you select preps you for certification if needed.
Subjects to Ask Welder Tech Schools
When you have decided on the credential you would like to attain, a degree, certificate or diploma, you can begin to assess schools. As you can imagine, there are a large number of welding trade and vocational schools in the New Canaan CT area. That’s why it’s important to establish in advance what qualifications your selected school must have. We have already discussed a couple of significant ones that many people look at first, which are location and tuition cost. As mentioned, although they are very important qualifiers, they are not the only ones that need to be looked at. After all, the school you pick is going to provide the education that will be the foundation of your new vocation as a welder. So below are more factors you might want to evaluate before choosing a welder technical school.
Accreditation. It’s very important that the welding tech school you select is accredited by either a regional or a national organization. There are 2 basic kinds 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 verify 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 agency, 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 might also assist in securing financial aid or student loans, which are frequently not available in New Canaan CT for schools that are not accredited. Also, for those states or municipalities that require licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited also.
Job Placement and Apprenticeship Programs. Many welding degree or diploma programs are offered combined with an apprenticeship program. Various other schools will assist in placing you in an apprenticeship or a job upon graduation. Find out if the schools you are reviewing help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job assistance program. The schools should have associations with local unions and other metal working businesses to which they can place their students. More established schools may have a more substantial network of graduates that they can utilize for placements. These programs can assist students in finding employment and develop relationships within the New Canaan CT welding community.
Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students that enroll in an academic program and complete it. It’s essential that the welding school you select has a higher completion rate. A reduced rate could signify that the students who were in the program were dissatisfied with the instruction, the teachers, or the facilities, and dropped out. The job placement rate is also a good indicator of the quality of training. A higher job placement rate will not only verify that the program has an excellent reputation within the industry, but additionally that it has the network of New Canaan CT contacts to help students secure employment or apprenticeships after graduation.
Modern Facilities and Equipment. Once you have limited your choice of welding schools to two or three possibilities, you should consider going to the campuses to inspect their facilities. Confirm that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be trained on are up-to-date. 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. Otherwise, ask a local New Canaan CT welding professional if they can give you a few pointers.
School Location. Although we already briefly covered the significance of location, there are a couple of additional points that we need to cover. You should keep in mind that unless you can relocate, the welding program you pick needs to be within commuting distance of your New Canaan CT home. If you do choose to enroll in an out-of-state school, in addition to moving costs there might be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially true for welding diploma programs offered by community colleges. Furthermore, if the school provides an apprenticeship or job placement program, most 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 subsequently will desire to work.
Small Classes. Individualized instruction is essential for a manual trade such as welding. It’s possible to be lost in larger classes and not obtain much personalized instruction. Find out what the typical class size is for the welding programs you are looking at. Ask if you can sit in on a couple of classes so that you can see how much personal attention the students are getting. While there, speak with some of the students and get their feedback. Similarly, talk to a couple of the instructors and find out what their welding experience has been and what credentials and certifications they hold.
Flexible Class Schedules. Many people learn a new profession while still employed at their present job. Confirm that the class schedules for the programs you are considering are flexible enough to satisfy your needs. If you can only attend classes at night or on weekends near New Canaan CT, make sure that the schools you are reviewing provide those choices. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, make sure that the school you pick offers part-time enrollment. Also, find out what the protocol is to make up classes if you you miss any due to work, illness or family emergencies.
Online Welding Degree and Certificate Programs
Welding is truly a hands-on kind of profession, and therefore not extremely compatible with online training. Even so, there are a few online welding programs offered by certain community colleges and trade schools in the greater New Canaan CT area that can be credited toward a degree or certificate program. These classes mainly deal with such topics 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. Obviously 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 want to advance their knowledge or perhaps obtain a more advanced degree. So if you should come across an online welding certificate or degree program, be very cautious and verify that the majority of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of environment.
Welding Classes Online New Canaan CT
Selecting the best 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 Welding Classes Online and wanted more information on the topic Average Cost Of Welding School. However, as we have discussed in this article, there are several factors that you will need to assess and compare between the programs you are looking at. It’s a prerequisite that any welder school that you are evaluating includes a good deal of hands-on instruction. Classes should be smaller in size and every student must have their personal welding machine to train on. Classroom education needs to provide a real-world frame of reference, and the curriculum should be up-to-date and conform with industry standards. 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 fulfill your needs. Every training program provides different options for certification as well. Perhaps the best way to research your final list of schools is to go to each campus and talk with the teachers and students. Take the time to monitor a few classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the school you choose is the right one for you. With the proper training, hard work and commitment, the final outcome will be a new occupation as a professional welder in New Canaan CT.
Other Connecticut Welder Locations
New Canaan, Connecticut
New Canaan (/ˈkeɪnən/) is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 19,738 according to the 2010 census.[1] New Canaan is one of the wealthiest communities in the U.S; in 2008 it had the highest median family income in the country and was listed at #1 on CNN's list of "top-earning towns" in the United States.[2]
About an hour's train ride from Manhattan, the town is considered part of Connecticut's Gold Coast. The town is bounded on the south by Darien, on west by Stamford, on the east by Wilton, on the southeast by Norwalk and on the north by Lewisboro and Pound Ridge in Westchester County, New York.
New Canaan is known for its wide range of architecture, as well as vast public parks such as Waveny Park, and a signature town center with classic boutiques. Residents carol on Church Hill every Christmas Eve, a town tradition since 1916.[3] It is also known for its public school system, which in 2018 was ranked as the top public school system in Connecticut, and in 2008 the 3rd best in the country.[4][5]
Business Results 1 - 10 of 15
15 Reviews 
2 Reviews 
8 Reviews 
5 Reviews 
2 Reviews 
3 Reviews 
3 Reviews 
1 Reviews 
1 Reviews 
1 Reviews 