How to Select the Best Welder Training Program near Great Lakes Illinois
Enrolling in the right welding vocational school near Great Lakes IL 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 notably, once you have fine tuned your alternatives, how do you select the right one? Most people start by checking out the schools that are nearest to their homes. When they have identified those that are within commuting distance, they gravitate toward the least costly one. Yes, location and the cost of tuition are important issues when reviewing welder technical schools, but they are not the only ones. Other concerns 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 sensible to develop 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.
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Welder Degree and Certificate Training
There are several 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 Technology or Welding Engineering, but are more advanced degrees than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also offered along with an apprenticeship program. Below are short descriptions of the most prevalent welding programs available in the Great Lakes IL area.
- Certificate and Diploma Programs are generally offered by technical and trade schools and take about one year to finish. They are more hands-on training in scope, fashioned mainly to develop 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 complete and are usually offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology furnishes a more well-rounded 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 prerequisites for welders, so make sure to check for your location of future employment. As required, the welding school you choose should ready you for any licensing exams that you will have to take in addition to supplying the appropriate training to become a professional welder.
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Welder Certification Options
There are several organizations that offer welding certifications, which evaluate the knowledge and skill level of those applying. Many Great Lakes IL employers not only demand a certificate or degree from an accredited welding school, but also certification from a highly regarded organization such as the American Welding Society (AWS). Different certifications are offered based upon 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 certain metal thicknesses
- Work with various kinds of welds
- Operate in compliance with contract specifications
As previously mentioned, many cities, states or local municipalities have licensing requirements for welders. Of those requiring licensing, many additionally require certification for different kinds of work. Certification is also a means to prove to employers that you are a highly skilled and experienced welder. So similarly as with licensing, check the requirements for your location and make certain that the welder tech school you decide on prepares you for certification as needed.
Questions to Ask Welder Tech Programs
After you have chosen the credential you would like to earn, a certificate, diploma or degree, you can start to evaluate schools. As you probably know, there are numerous welding trade and technical schools in the Great Lakes IL area. That’s why it’s important to decide in advance what qualifications your selected school must have. We have already discussed two significant ones that most people look at first, which are location and the cost of tuition. As stated, although they are very important qualifiers, they are not the only ones that should be considered. After all, the program you choose is going to provide the education that will be the foundation of your new vocation as a welder. So below are some additional factors you may need to evaluate before selecting a welding vocational school.
Accreditation. It’s very important that the welder trade school you decide on is accredited by either a regional or a national agency. There are 2 standard kinds of accreditation. The school may earn Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on a single program the school has, such as Welding Technology. So make certain 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, such as the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). Besides helping ensure that you get a superior education, the accreditation may also help in securing financial aid or student loans, which are frequently unavailable in Great Lakes IL for schools that are not accredited. Finally, for those states or local governments that mandate licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited also.
Apprenticeship and Job Assistance Programs. A large number of welder degree or certificate programs are provided combined with an apprenticeship program. Other schools will help place you in an apprenticeship or a job after graduation. Ask if the schools you are reviewing help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job assistance program. These schools must have partnerships with local unions and other metal working businesses to which they can refer their students. Older schools may have a more substantial network of graduates that they can rely upon for placements. These programs can help students find employment and establish associations within the Great Lakes IL welding community.
Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that begin an academic program and complete it. It’s important that the welding school you pick has a higher completion rate. A reduced rate may signify that the students who were in the program were unhappy with the training, the instructors, or the facilities, and dropped out. The job placement rate is also an indication of the caliber of training. A high job placement rate will not only verify that the program has a good reputation within the field, but additionally that it has the network of Great Lakes IL contacts to assist students obtain employment or apprenticeships upon graduation.
Up-to-date Facilities and Equipment. After you have limited your selection of welder programs to two or three possibilities, you should think out going to the campuses to inspect their facilities. Make sure that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be taught on are modern. Specifically, the training equipment should be comparable to what you will be using on the job. If you are not sure 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 Great Lakes IL welding contractor if they can give you some pointers.
School Location. Although we previously briefly discussed the importance of location, there are a few additional points that we need to cover. You should remember that unless you are able to relocate, the welder school you pick needs to be within commuting distance of your Great Lakes IL home. If you do choose to enroll in an out-of-state school, apart from relocation costs there could be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially true for welder degree programs offered by community colleges. Furthermore, if the school provides an apprenticeship or job placement program, often their placements are within the school’s regional community. So the location of the school needs to be in a region or state where you ultimately will want to work.
Smaller Classes. Individualized training is essential for a manual trade such as welding. It’s easy to be overlooked in larger classes and not receive much one-on-one training. Find out what the average class size is for the welder schools you are considering. Ask if you can attend a few classes so that you can see how much personal attention the students are receiving. While there, speak with a few of the students and get their evaluations. Similarly, chat with some of the trainers and ask what their welding experience has been and what credentials and certifications they have earned.
Flexible Class Scheduling. Lots of folks learn a new profession while still employed at their current job. Confirm that the class schedules for the programs you are reviewing are flexible enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only go to classes at night or on weekends near Great Lakes IL, make sure that the schools you are considering offer those choices. If you can only enroll part-time, verify that the school you choose offers part-time enrollment. Also, ask what the policy is to make up classes should you miss any due to illness, work or family circumstances.
Online Welding Courses
Welding is truly a hands-on type of vocation, and consequently not extremely compatible with training online. However, there are a small number of online welding programs offered by various community colleges and technical schools in the greater Great Lakes IL area that can count toward a degree or certificate program. These courses mainly cover such subjects as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help provide a novice a foundation to begin their education and training. Nevertheless, 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 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 expertise or perhaps obtain a more advanced degree. So if you should discover an online welding degree or certificate program, be extremely cautious and make certain that the larger part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.
How to Enroll in Accelerated Trade Schools for Welders Near Me Great Lakes IL
Choosing the ideal welding school will probably be the most important decision you will make to launch your new trade. You originally stopped by our website because you had an interest in How to Enroll in Accelerated Trade Schools for Welders Near Me and wanted more information on the topic Top Local Trade Schools for Welders Near Me. However, as we have covered in this article, there are a number of things that you will need to evaluate and compare between the schools you are looking at. It’s a prerequisite that any welding school that you are considering includes a good deal of hands-on training. Classes should be smaller in size and each student should have their own welding machine to train with. Classroom instruction should provide a real-world frame of reference, and the training program should be current and in-line with industry standards. Courses differ in length and the kind of credential provided, so you will need to decide what length of program and credential will best satisfy your needs. Every training program offers different possibilities for certification as well. Probably the best way to research your short list of schools is to go to each campus and speak with the students and instructors. Take the time to monitor a few classes. Inspect 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, effort and commitment, the end result will be a new trade as a professional welder in Great Lakes IL.
Other Illinois Welder Locations
Naval Station Great Lakes
Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only boot camp, located near North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois. Important tenant commands include the Recruit Training Command, Training Support Center and Navy Recruiting District Chicago. Naval Station Great Lakes is the largest military installation in Illinois and the largest training station in the Navy. The base has 1,153 buildings situated on 1,628 acres (6.59 km2) and has 69 miles (111 km) of roadway to provide access to the base's facilities. Within the naval service, it has several different nicknames, including "The Quarterdeck of the Navy",[2] or the more derogatory "Great Mistakes".[3]
One of the landmarks of the area is Building 1, also known as the clocktower building. Completed in 1911, the building is made of red brick, and has a tower over the third floor of the building. The large parade ground in front of the administration building is named Ross Field.
In 1996, RTC Great Lakes became the Navy's only basic training facility. The Base Realignment and Closure Commission of 1993 resulted in the closure of Naval Training Center San Diego, California and Naval Training Center Orlando, Florida, their associated Recruit Training Commands, and the consolidation of US Navy enlisted recruit training to Great Lakes. Approximately 40,000 recruits pass through Recruit Training Command annually with an estimated 7,000 recruits on board the installation at any time. RTC Great Lakes has been active for over 100 years.
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