How to Find the Right Welder Trade School near Ivoryton Connecticut
Enrolling in the right welding trade school near Ivoryton CT is an important first step to launching your new career as a professional welder. But since there are numerous schools to select from, how do you determine which ones to consider? And more importantly, once you have narrowed down your choices, how do you pick the right one? A number of people begin by looking at the schools that are nearest to their homes. When they have located those that are within commuting distance, they gravitate toward the least costly one. Yes, location and tuition cost are necessary issues when evaluating welder technical schools, but they are not the only ones. Other concerns include such things as accreditation, reputation and job placement rates. So before initiating your search for a trade school to become a welder, it’s wise to develop a list of qualifications that your chosen school must have. But before we examine our due diligence checklist, let’s talk a little bit about how to become a welder.
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Welder Degree and Certificate Programs
There are a number of options to receive training as a welder in a technical or trade school. You can obtain 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 in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Following are short descriptions of the most typical welding programs offered in the Ivoryton CT area.
- Diploma and Certificate Programs are usually offered by technical and trade schools and require about a year to complete. They are more hands-on training in scope, created primarily to develop welding skills. They can provide 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 most often offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology provides a more extensive education than the diploma or certificate while still providing the foundation that prepares students to enter the workforce.
Some states and municipalities do have licensing requirements for welders, so make sure to check for your location of potential employment. If required, the welder school you pick should prep you for any licensing examinations that you will have to take in addition to providing the proper training to become a professional welder.
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Welder Certification Choices
There are several organizations that offer welder certifications, which assess the skill level and knowledge of those applying. A large number of Ivoryton CT employers not only require a certificate or degree from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a highly regarded agency like the American Welding Society (AWS). Different certifications are offered based on the type of work that the welder does. A few of the skills that certification can attest to are the welder’s ability to
- Operate in compliance with specific codes
- Work with specified metal thicknesses
- Work with certain types of welds
- Work in compliance with contract specifications
As earlier mentioned, various states, cities or local municipalities have licensing requirements for welders. Of those requiring licensing, some also require certification for different kinds of work. Certification is also a way to prove to employers that you are an extremely skilled and knowledgeable welder. So similarly as with licensing, look into the requirements for your location and confirm that the welder vocational school you select readies you for certification if needed.
Questions to Ask Welding Vocational Schools
Once you have chosen the credential you want to attain, a certificate, diploma or degree, you can begin to assess schools. As you can imagine, there are numerous welder trade and vocational schools in the Ivoryton CT area. That’s why it’s essential to determine in advance what qualifications your selected school must have. We have already covered two important ones that most people consider first, which are location and tuition cost. As stated, although they are very important qualifications, they are not the only ones that must be looked at. After all, the school you decide on is going to provide the education that will be the foundation of your new career as a welder. So below are more factors you may need to consider before picking a welder technical school.
Accreditation. It’s essential that the welder technical school you pick is accredited by either a regional or a national agency. There are two basic kinds of accreditation. The school may receive Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on a single program the school has, for instance Welding Technology. So make certain 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 agency, like the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). Besides helping ensure that you get a superior education, the accreditation might also assist in obtaining financial assistance or student loans, which are in many cases not offered in Ivoryton CT for non-accredited schools. Also, for those states or local governments that require licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited also.
Apprenticeship and Job Assistance Programs. Numerous welding degree or certificate programs are offered combined with an apprenticeship program. Other schools will help place you in an apprenticeship or a job upon graduation. Find out if the schools you are considering help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job assistance program. The schools should have relationships with local unions and various metal working businesses to which they can place their students. Older schools may have a larger network of graduates that they can rely upon for referrals. These programs can help students find employment and develop relationships within the Ivoryton CT welding community.
Job Placement and Completion Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that start an instructional program and finish it. It’s essential that the welding program you select has a higher completion rate. A low rate might mean that the students who joined the program were unhappy 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 confirm that the school has a good reputation within the field, but also that it has the network of Ivoryton CT contacts to assist students obtain employment or apprenticeships after graduation.
Modern Facilities and Equipment. After you have narrowed down your selection of welder schools to 2 or 3 options, you should consider going to the campuses to inspect their facilities. Verify that both the facilities and the equipment that you will be taught on are up-to-date. Specifically, 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, consult with the master welder you are working under for guidance. If not, ask a local Ivoryton CT welding professional if they can give you some suggestions.
School Location. Although we previously briefly covered the importance of location, there are a few additional issues that we should cover. You should bear in mind that unless you are able to move, the welding school you select must be within driving distance of your Ivoryton CT home. If you do choose to attend an out-of-state school, besides moving expenses there might be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is particularly the case for welding certificate programs offered by community colleges. Furthermore, if the school provides 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 want to work.
Small Classes. Individualized training is important for a hands-on trade such as welding. It’s possible to get overlooked in larger classes and not get much personalized training. Ask what the average class size is for the welder schools you are considering. Inquire if you can sit in on some classes so that you can observe how much personal attention the students are receiving. While there, talk with a few of the students and get their opinions. Similarly, chat with a few of the teachers and ask what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they have earned.
Convenient Class Schedules. Many people learn a new trade while still working at their present job. Check to see that the class schedules for the schools you are reviewing are flexible enough to satisfy your needs. If you can only go to classes at night or on weekends near Ivoryton CT, make sure that the schools you are reviewing provide those options. If you can only attend part-time, make sure that the school you pick offers part-time enrollment. Also, ask what the protocol is to make up classes should you miss any due to illness, work or family responsibilities.
Online Welding Training
Welding is truly a manual type of vocation, and therefore not extremely compatible with training online. Having said that, there are a few online welding programs offered by specific community colleges and technical schools in the greater Ivoryton CT area that can be credited toward a certificate or degree program. These classes primarily cover such topics as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help provide a beginner 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 more appropriate for experienced welders that would like to advance their knowledge or possibly attain a more advanced degree. So if you should come across an online welding certificate or degree program, be extremely cautious and confirm that the bulk of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of environment.
Learn Welding Ivoryton CT
Picking the ideal welding training program will undoubtedly be the most critical decision you will make to begin your new trade. You originally stopped by our website because you had an interest in Learn Welding and wanted more information on the topic Welding Night School. However, as we have discussed in this article, there are a number of things that you will need to evaluate and compare among the schools you are looking at. It’s a necessity that any welder training program that you are assessing includes a lot of hands-on instruction. Classes should be small in size and every student should have their own welding machine to train with. Classroom education needs to provide a real-world perspective, and the training program should be up-to-date and in-line with industry standards. Programs differ in duration and the type of credential offered, so you will have to ascertain what length of program and degree or certificate will best satisfy your needs. Each training program offers different possibilities for certification also. Perhaps The ideal means to research your final list of schools is to visit each campus and talk with the faculty and students. Invest some time to attend a few classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make certain that you are confident that the training program you choose is the best one for you. With the right training, hard work and commitment, the final outcome will be a new occupation as a professional welder in Ivoryton CT.
Other Connecticut Welder Locations
Essex, Connecticut
Essex is one of the few American towns to ever be attacked by a foreign power; this occurred on April 8, 1814, and the economic losses were among the largest sustained by the United States during the War of 1812. 28 vessels, with a total value estimated to be close to $200,000 (at a time when a very large two story home in Essex, then known as Potapoug Point, would have been worth no more than $1,000), were destroyed by the British.[1] One historian has called it the "Pearl Harbor" of that war.[2]
On that date, approximately 136 British marines and sailors under the command of Richard Coote[1][3] (or Coot[2]) rowed 6 boats from four British warships (the Hogue, Endymion, Maidstone and Borer) anchored in Long Island Sound, 6 miles up the Connecticut River, past the unmanned fort in Old Saybrook, arriving at the boat launch at the foot of Main Street in Essex close to 4 A.M. The boats were armed with swivel guns loaded with grapeshot, the officers armed with swords and pistols, the marines with "Brown Bess" muskets, and the sailors with torches and axes; they responded to the single cannon fired by the town's surprised defenders with a massive volley, neither side incurring any casualties. They quickly commandeered the town, eliciting a promise of no resistance from the Essex militia in return for promising not to harm the townspeople or burn their homes, while a messenger rode to Fort Trumbull in New London for help. A dubious local myth states that Coote did not burn the town as a favor to a local merchant who greeted him with a secret Masonic handshake.[2]
The British marched to the Bushnell Tavern (now the Griswold Inn), then seized the town's stores of rope (each ship of that time requiring 8 miles of rope) and, according to the April 19, 1814 Hartford Courant, "$100,000 or upwards" worth of rum (acquired from the East Indies in trade for beef and wood from Connecticut).[2]
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