How to Pick the Right Welder Certification Class near Kent Connecticut
Choosing the ideal welder trade school near Kent CT is an important first step to launching your new occupation as a professional welder. But since there are a lot of schools to pick from, how do you know which ones to consider? And more significantly, once you have fine tuned your options, how do you pick the right one? A number of prospective students start by checking out the schools that are closest to their homes. Once they have identified those that are within driving distance, they gravitate toward the cheapest one. Yes, location and tuition cost are crucial considerations when examining welding vocational 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 prudent 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 Certificate and Degree Programs
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 available in Welding Engineering or Welding Technology, but are more advanced courses than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also offered combined with an apprenticeship program. Following are short summaries of the most common welding programs available in the Kent CT area.
- Certificate and Diploma Programs are generally offered by trade and technical schools and require about a year to complete. They are more hands-on training in scope, designed mainly 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 complete and are most often offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology offers a more well-rounded education than the certificate or diploma while still supplying the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.
A number of states and municipalities do have licensing requirements for welders, therefore make sure to check for your location of potential employment. If needed, the welding school you select should prep you for any licensing examinations that you will need to take in addition to supplying the appropriate training to become a qualified welder.
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Welding Certification Alternatives
There are several institutions that provide welding certifications, which assess the skill level and knowledge of those applying. Numerous Kent CT employers not only expect a degree or certificate from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a highly regarded organization such as the American Welding Society (AWS). A wide range of certifications are available based on the kind of work that the welder does. Some of the things that certification can attest to are the welder’s ability to
- Work in compliance with specific codes
- Work with specific metal thicknesses
- Work with specific kinds of welds
- Work in compliance with contract specifications
As already mentioned, many cities, states or local municipalities have licensing mandates for welders. Of those mandating licensing, some additionally require certification for different types of work. Certification is also a means to demonstrate to employers that you are a highly skilled and knowledgeable welder. So similarly as with licensing, look into the requirements for your location and confirm that the welder tech school you choose preps you for certification if needed.
What to Ask Welder Tech Schools
After you have decided on the credential you would like to attain, a degree, certificate or diploma, you can start to compare schools. As you can imagine, there are many welding vocational and trade schools in the Kent CT area. That’s why it’s necessary to determine up front what qualifications your school of choice must have. We have already discussed 2 important ones that many people look at first, which are location and the cost of tuition. As mentioned, although they are very important qualifiers, they are not the only ones that need to be considered. After all, the program you decide on is going to furnish the instruction that will be the foundation of your new career as a welder. So following are some additional factors you might need to evaluate before selecting a welding tech school.
Accreditation. It’s very important that the welding vocational school you decide on is accredited by either a national or a regional agency. There are 2 basic types of accreditation. The school may attain Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on a single program the school has, such as 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 recognized accrediting organization, like the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). In addition to helping ensure that you obtain a quality education, the accreditation might also assist in obtaining financial assistance or student loans, which are in many cases not available in Kent CT for non-accredited schools. Finally, for those states or municipalities that mandate licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited as well.
Apprenticeship and Job Assistance Programs. Numerous welder diploma or degree programs are offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Some other schools will help place you in a job or an apprenticeship upon graduation. Ask if the schools you are reviewing assist in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job placement program. These schools should have partnerships with local unions and various metal working businesses to which they can refer their students. More established schools may have a more substantial network of graduates that they can utilize for placements. These programs can help students find employment and develop associations within the Kent CT 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 crucial that the welder program you select has a higher completion rate. A reduced rate could signify that the students who were in the program were unhappy with the instruction, the teachers, 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 affirm that the program has an excellent reputation within the field, but also that it has the network of Kent CT employer relationships to assist students secure apprenticeships or employment after graduation.
Up-to-date Equipment and Facilities. After you have narrowed down your choice of welding schools to two or three possibilities, you should consider going to the campuses to evaluate their facilities. Confirm that both the facilities and the equipment that you will be trained on are up-to-date. Specifically, the training equipment should be comparable to what you will be working with on the job. If you are unsure what to look for, and are currently in an apprenticeship program, ask the master welder you are working under for guidance. If not, ask a local Kent CT welding contractor if they can give you some suggestions.
School Location. Even though we already briefly discussed the relevance of location, there are a few additional points that we should deal with. You should remember that unless you can relocate, the welder program you pick must be within commuting distance of your Kent CT home. If you do opt to enroll in an out-of-state school, besides moving costs there might 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, most likely their placements are within the school’s local community. So the location of the school needs to be in an area or state where you subsequently will desire to work.
Smaller Classes. Individualized instruction is important for a hands-on trade such as welding. It’s easy to get overlooked in bigger classes and not obtain much personalized training. Ask what the typical class size is for the welder programs you are looking at. Ask if you can sit in on a few classes so that you can observe how much individual attention the students are receiving. While there, talk with a few of the students and get their evaluations. Similarly, talk with a few of the teachers and ask what their welding experience has been and what credentials and certifications they hold.
Convenient Class Schedules. Many people learn a new profession while still employed at their current job. Confirm that the class schedules for the programs you are considering are convenient enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only attend classes at night or on weekends near Kent CT, verify that the schools you are assessing offer those choices. If you can only enroll part-time, make certain 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 because of illness, work or family emergencies.
Online Welder Training
Welding is very much a manual type of vocation, and therefore not extremely suitable for training online. Having said that, there are a small number of online welding programs offered by specific community colleges and technical schools in the greater Kent CT area that can count toward a certificate or degree program. These classes primarily deal with such subjects as reading blueprints, safety,, and metallurgy. They can help give a beginner a foundation to start their training and education. However, the most critical point is that you can’t learn how to weld or handle welding materials unless 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 expertise or perhaps attain a more advanced degree. So if you should come across an online welding certificate or degree program, be extremely careful and verify that the larger part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.
How To Become An Underwater Welder Kent CT
Picking the ideal welder training program will undoubtedly be the most critical decision you will make to begin your new profession. You originally stopped by our website because you had an interest in How To Become An Underwater Welder and wanted more information on the topic College Welding Programs. However, as we have addressed in this article, there are several factors that you will need to evaluate and compare between the schools you are considering. It’s a necessity that any welder training program that you are reviewing includes a considerable amount of hands-on training. Classes need to be small in size and each student must have their personal welding machine to train on. Classroom teaching needs to offer a real-world context, and the training program should be up-to-date and in-line with industry standards. Programs differ in length and the kind of credential offered, so you will need to ascertain what length of program and credential will best serve your needs. Each training program provides different options for certification also. Probably the best means to research your short list of schools is to go to each campus and talk with the students and instructors. Take the time to monitor some classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the training program you decide on is the ideal one for you. With the proper training, effort and dedication, the final outcome will be a new trade as a professional welder in Kent CT.
Other Connecticut Welder Locations
Kent, Connecticut
Kent is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, alongside the border with New York. The population was 2,858 at the 2000 census. The town is home to three boarding schools: Kent School, The Marvelwood School and South Kent School. The Schaghticoke Indian Reservation is also located within town borders.
Kent is in Litchfield County. Its location is 41°43′29″N 73°28′39″W / 41.72472°N 73.47750°W / 41.72472; -73.47750. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 49.6 square miles (128 km2), of which, 48.5 square miles (126 km2) of it is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2) of it (2.26%) is water. Bulls Bridge, one of two covered bridges open to vehicles in Connecticut, is located in the town. The town is bisected by the Housatonic River. The western half contains Macedonia Brook State Park, the Schaghticoke Indian Reservation, as well as a section of the Appalachian Trail.
Macedonia Brook State Park was first opened in 1918 with a donation of 1,552 acres (6.28 km2) from White Memorial Foundation of Litchfield. Since then, it has now grown to a size of 2,300 acres (9.3 km2) and is used for outdoor recreation throughout the year.
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