How to Choose the Right Welder Technical School near Hammond Indiana
Enrolling in the right welder trade school near Hammond IN is an important first step to launching your new career as a professional welder. But since there are numerous schools to pick from, how do you determine which ones to consider? And more importantly, once you have narrowed down your alternatives, how do you select the best one? Many people begin by looking at the schools that are closest to their residences. Once they have located those that are within driving distance, they gravitate toward the cheapest one. Yes, location and tuition cost are necessary issues when examining welding technical schools, but they are not the only ones. Other factors include such things as reputation, accreditation and job placement rates. So before beginning 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 explore our due diligence checklist, let’s cover a little bit about how to become a welder.
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Welder Certificate and Degree Training
There are multiple options to obtain training as a welder in a technical or trade school. You can receive a a certificate, a diploma or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are offered in Welding Engineering or Welding Technology, but are more advanced courses than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Below are brief descriptions of the most typical welding programs offered in the Hammond IN area.
- Certificate and Diploma Programs are normally offered by technical and trade schools and take about a year to finish. They are more hands-on training in scope, fashioned mainly to teach welding skills. They can furnish a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or supplemental skills for working welders.
- Associate Degree Programs will take 2 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 municipalities and states do have licensing prerequisites for welders, therefore make sure to find out for your location of potential employment. If needed, the welding school you choose should prep you for any licensing examinations that you will have to take in addition to providing the suitable training to become a professional welder.
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Welder Certification Alternatives
There are a number of institutions that provide welder certifications, which test the skill level and knowledge of those applying. A large number of Hammond IN employers not only demand a certificate or degree from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a renowned organization such as the American Welding Society (AWS). A variety of certifications are offered dependent on the type of work that the welder performs. Some of the things 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 types of welds
- Operate according to contract specifications
As formerly mentioned, various states, cities or local municipalities have licensing mandates for welders. Of those calling for licensing, many also require certification for different kinds of work. Certification is also a means to prove to employers that you are an extremely skilled and experienced welder. So just as with licensing, look into the requirements for your local area and verify that the welding vocational school you select preps you for certification as needed.
What to Ask Welding Tech Schools
As soon as you have chosen the credential you want to attain, a diploma, certificate or degree, you can start to compare schools. As you can imagine, there are numerous welding trade and technical schools in the Hammond IN area. That’s why it’s important to establish up front what qualifications your school of choice must have. We have already discussed a couple of significant ones that most people consider first, which are location and the cost of tuition. As mentioned, although they are very important qualifications, they are not the only ones that need to be looked at. After all, the program you choose is going to furnish the instruction that will be the foundation of your new profession as a welder. So below are some additional factors you might want to evaluate before picking a welder technical school.
Accreditation. It’s very important that the welder vocational school you select is accredited by either a national or a regional agency. There are two standard 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, such as Welding Technology. So make sure that the program you pick is accredited, not just the school itself. Additionally, 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). Besides helping make sure that you receive a superior education, the accreditation can also assist in acquiring financial aid or student loans, which are frequently not offered in Hammond IN for non-accredited schools. Also, for those states or local governments that mandate licensing, they may require that the welder training program be accredited also.
Job Placement and Apprenticeship Programs. A large number of welder degree or diploma programs are provided in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Various other schools will help place you in an apprenticeship or a job after graduation. Ask if the schools you are looking at help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job placement program. The schools should have relationships with local unions and various metal working businesses to which they can refer their students. More established schools may have a larger network of graduates that they can utilize for referrals. These programs can help students find employment and establish associations within the Hammond IN welding community.
Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students that start an educational program and complete it. It’s essential that the welding school you pick has a higher completion rate. A low rate might indicate 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 verify that the school has a good reputation within the industry, but additionally that it has the network of Hammond IN contacts to assist students obtain apprenticeships or employment upon graduation.
Modern Equipment and Facilities. Once you have narrowed down your choice of welding schools to two or three possibilities, you should consider visiting the campuses to look over their facilities. Confirm 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 already in an apprenticeship program, ask the master welder you are working under for guidance. If not, ask a local Hammond IN welding professional if they can give you a few tips.
School Location. Although we previously briefly covered the importance of location, there are a few additional points that we need to cover. You should keep in mind that unless you can move, the welder school you select must be within commuting distance of your Hammond IN home. If you do decide to attend an out-of-state school, apart from relocation expenses there could be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is particularly true for welder diploma programs offered by community colleges. Also, if the school offers a job placement or apprenticeship program, often their placements are within the school’s regional community. So the location of the school needs to be in an area or state where you ultimately will wish to work.
Small Classes. Individualized training is important for a hands-on trade such as welding. It’s easy to get overlooked in larger classes and not get much personalized training. Find out what the typical class size is for the welder programs you are considering. Ask if you can sit in on a few classes so that you can see how much personal attention the students are getting. While there, speak with several of the students and get their evaluations. Also, talk with a couple of the instructors and find out what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they hold.
Convenient Class Schedules. Many people learn a new profession while still employed at their current job. Verify that the class schedules for the programs you are looking at are flexible enough to meet your needs. If you can only go to classes in the evenings or on weekends near Hammond IN, confirm that the schools you are reviewing offer those alternatives. If you can only attend part-time, make sure that the school you choose offers part-time enrollment. Also, check to see what the protocol is to make up classes if you you miss any due to work, sickness or family responsibilities.
Online Welder Schools
Welding is truly a hands-on type of vocation, and therefore not very suitable for online training. However, there are a small number of online welding courses offered by specific community colleges and technical schools in the greater Hammond IN area that can be credited toward a degree or certificate program. These classes primarily cover such subjects as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help give a novice a basis to start their training and education. 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 performed online. These skills need to be learned in an on-campus environment or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is more appropriate for experienced welders that want to advance their expertise or perhaps earn a more advanced degree. So if you should come across an online welding degree or certificate program, be extremely careful and make sure that the greater part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.
Compare Part Time Schools for Welders Hammond IN
Choosing the best welder training program will probably be the most critical decision you will make to launch your new trade. You originally stopped by our website because you had an interest in Compare Part Time Schools for Welders and wanted more information on the topic Guide to Accelerated Schools for Welders. However, as we have covered in this article, there are many factors that you will need to evaluate and compare among the schools you are looking at. It’s a must that any welding training program that you are evaluating includes a lot of hands-on training. Classes should be small in size and each student must have their personal welding machine to train on. Classroom instruction should 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 provided, so you will have to ascertain what length of program and degree or certificate will best fulfill your needs. Every training program provides different possibilities for certification as well. Perhaps The ideal approach to research your final list of schools is to go to each campus and speak with the teachers and students. Take the time to monitor some classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the training program you select is the best one for you. With the right training, hard work and commitment, the end result will be a new trade as a professional welder in Hammond IN.
Other Indiana Welder Locations
Hammond, Indiana
Hammond (/ˈhæmənd/) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. First settled in the mid-19th century, it is one of the oldest cities of northern Lake County. As of the 2010 United States census, it is also the largest in population: the 2010 population was 80,830, replacing Gary as the most populous city in Lake County. From north to south, Hammond runs from Lake Michigan down to the Little Calumet River; from east to west along its southern border, it runs from the Illinois state line to Cline Avenue. The city is traversed by numerous railroads and expressways, including the South Shore Line, Borman Expressway, and Indiana Toll Road.
Notable local landmarks include the parkland around Wolf Lake and the Horseshoe Hammond riverboat casino. Part of the Rust Belt, Hammond has been industrial almost from its inception, but is also home to a Purdue University campus and numerous historic districts that showcase the residential and commercial architecture of the early 20th century.
The city's elevation above sea level ranges from 577 feet (176 m) to 610 feet (186 m). The city sits within the boundaries of the former Lake Chicago, and much of its land area consists of former dune and swale terrain that was subsequently leveled. Most of the city is on sandy soil with a layer of black topsoil that varies from non-existent to several feet (a meter or more) thick. Much of the exposed sand was removed for purposes such as industrial use to make concrete and glass. According to the 2010 census, Hammond has a total area of 24.886 square miles (64.45 km2), of which 22.78 square miles (59.00 km2) (or 91.54%) is land and 2.106 square miles (5.45 km2) (or 8.46%) is water.[11]
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