How to Choose the Best Welding Technical School near Canterbury Connecticut
Locating the ideal welding school near Canterbury CT is an important 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 determine which ones to consider? And more importantly, once you have narrowed down your options, how do you pick the right one? Many prospective students begin by reviewing the schools that are nearest to their homes. When they have located those that are within commuting distance, they are drawn toward the least expensive one. Yes, location and the cost of tuition are important issues when evaluating welder vocational schools, but they are not the only ones. Other considerations include such things as accreditation, reputation and job placement rates. So before beginning your search for a vocational school to become a welder, it’s wise to develop a list of qualifications that your selected school must have. But before we delve into our due diligence checklist, let’s talk a little bit about how to become a welder.
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Welder Certificate and Degree Training Classes
There are multiple options to get training as a welder in a trade or technical school. You can obtain a a certificate, a diploma or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are offered in Welding Engineering or Welding Technology, but are more advanced programs than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Following are short explanations of the most common welding programs offered in the Canterbury CT area.
- Certificate and Diploma Programs are normally made available by trade and technical schools and take about 1 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 working welders.
- Associate Degree Programs will take 2 years to complete and are most often offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology furnishes a more extensive education than the diploma or certificate while still supplying the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.
A number of municipalities and states do have licensing prerequisites for welders, therefore make sure to find out for your location of future employment. If required, the welder school you choose should prep you for any licensing examinations that you will have to take in addition to furnishing the proper training to become a qualified welder.
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Welder Certification Choices
There are a number of institutions that offer welding certifications, which assess the skill level and knowledge of those applying. A large number of Canterbury CT employers not only demand a certificate or degree from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a respected agency 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
- Operate in compliance with specific codes
- Work with specified metal thicknesses
- Work with certain kinds of welds
- Operate based on contract specifications
As formerly stated, some 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 way to prove to employers that you are an exceptionally skilled and qualified welder. So similarly as with licensing, look into the requirements for your local area and make certain that the welder trade school you select preps you for certification if needed.
What to Ask Welder Tech Programs
After you have decided on the credential you want to attain, a diploma, certificate or degree, you can start to evaluate schools. As you are no doubt aware, there are many welder trade and vocational schools in the Canterbury CT area. That’s why it’s important to determine in advance what qualifications your selected school must have. We have previously covered a couple of significant ones that many people consider 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 looked at. After all, the program you pick is going to provide the instruction that will be the foundation of your new profession as a welder. So below are more factors you might need to evaluate before picking a welding trade school.
Accreditation. It’s extremely important that the welding vocational school you select is accredited by either a regional or a national agency. There are 2 basic types of accreditation. The school may earn Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on a specific program the school has, for instance Welding Technology. So make sure that the program you choose is accredited, not just the school itself. Additionally, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting agency, for example the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). Besides helping make sure that you receive a quality education, the accreditation may also help in acquiring financial aid or student loans, which are frequently not available in Canterbury CT for non-accredited schools. Finally, for those states or local governments that require licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited also.
Job Placement and Apprenticeship Programs. Numerous welding diploma or degree programs are provided combined with an apprenticeship program. Other schools will help place you in an apprenticeship or a job upon graduation. Ask if the schools you are reviewing assist in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job assistance program. These schools should have associations 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 Canterbury CT welding community.
Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students that enroll in an instructional program and complete it. It’s essential that the welding program you pick has a higher completion rate. A lower rate could signify that the students who enrolled in the program were dissatisfied with the training, the teachers, or the facilities, and quit. The job placement rate is also a good indicator of the caliber of training. A high job placement rate will not only affirm that the school has a good reputation within the industry, but also that it has the network of Canterbury CT contacts to help students secure apprenticeships or employment after graduation.
Up-to-date Equipment and Facilities. After you have narrowed down your selection of welder programs to two or three options, you should consider visiting the campuses to look over their facilities. Confirm that both the facilities and the equipment that you will be trained on are modern. Specifically, the training equipment should be similar to what you will be using on the job. If you are not sure what to look for, and are currently in an apprenticeship program, ask the master welder you are working under for guidance. Otherwise, ask a local Canterbury CT welding professional if they can give you a few tips.
School Location. Although we already briefly covered the importance of location, there are a couple of additional points that we should address. You should bear in mind that unless you can move, the welder school you select needs to be within driving distance of your Canterbury CT home. If you do decide to attend an out-of-state school, besides relocation costs there may be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially true for welding degree programs offered by community colleges. Furthermore, if the school offers an apprenticeship or job placement program, more than likely their placements are within the school’s local community. So the location of the school needs to be in a region or state where you subsequently will desire to work.
Small Classes. Individualized training is essential for a hands-on trade such as welding. It’s possible to get lost in bigger classes and not get much one-on-one instruction. Ask what the usual class size is for the welder programs you are considering. Ask if you can attend a few classes so that you can see just how much personal attention the students are receiving. While there, talk with several of the students and get their evaluations. Similarly, speak with a few of the teachers and find out what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they have earned.
Convenient Class Scheduling. Some people learn a new trade while still working at their current job. Confirm that the class schedules for the schools you are reviewing are convenient enough to satisfy your needs. If you can only attend classes in the evenings or on weekends near Canterbury CT, verify that the schools you are looking at offer those alternatives. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, make certain 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 because of work, sickness or family responsibilities.
Online Welding Classes
Welding is very much a hands-on type of profession, and consequently not very compatible with online training. Having said that, there are a few online welding courses offered by certain community colleges and technical schools in the greater Canterbury CT area that can count toward a certificate or degree program. These classes mainly cover such topics as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help give a novice a foundation to begin their training and education. However, the most significant 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 performed online. These skills need to be learned in an on-campus setting or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is better suited for seasoned welders that desire to advance their knowledge or possibly earn a more advanced degree. So if you should find an online welding certificate or degree program, be extremely careful and make certain that the bulk of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.
Guide to Part Time Schools for Welders Near Me Canterbury CT
Picking the best welder training program will undoubtedly be the most critical decision you will make to begin your new career. You originally stopped by our website because you had an interest in Guide to Part Time Schools for Welders Near Me and wanted more information on the topic Welding School Online. However, as we have discussed in this article, there are many things that you will need to evaluate and compare between the programs you are looking at. It’s a necessity that any welder training that you are considering includes a considerable amount of hands-on training. Classes need to be smaller in size and each student should have their personal welding machine to train on. Classroom teaching should provide a real-world perspective, and the course of study should be up-to-date and in-line with industry standards. Courses differ in duration and the kind of credential offered, so you will need to ascertain what length of program and credential will best satisfy your needs. Each program offers unique possibilities for certification as well. Probably The ideal means to research your final list of schools is to go to each campus and speak with the faculty and students. Take the time to sit in on some classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the program you decide on is the ideal one for you. With the right training, effort and commitment, the end result will be a new occupation as a professional welder in Canterbury CT.
Other Connecticut Welder Locations
Canterbury, Connecticut
The area was first settled in the 1680s as Peagscomsuck, consisting mainly of land north of Norwich, south of New Roxbury, Massachusetts (now Woodstock, Connecticut) and west of the Quinebaug River, Peagscomsuck Island and the Plainfield Settlement.[2] In 1703 it was officially separated from Plainfield and named The Town of Canterbury.[1][3] The town's name is a transfer from Canterbury, in England.[4]
In 1832, Prudence Crandall, a schoolteacher raised as a Quaker, stirred controversy when she opened the Canterbury Female Boarding School and admitted black girls to it. Prominent Canterbury resident Andrew T. Judson led efforts against the school. The Connecticut General Assembly passed a "Black Law" which prohibited the education of black children from out of state, but Crandall persisted in teaching, and was briefly jailed in 1832. Mob violence forced the closure of the school in 1834, and Crandall married the Reverend Calvin Philleo that same year and moved to Illinois. Connecticut repealed the Black Law in 1838, and later recognized Crandall with a small pension in 1886, four years before her death. In 1995, the Connecticut General Assembly designated Prudence Crandall as the state's official heroine because she opened the first Academy for young black women. The school still stands in Canterbury, and currently serves as the Prudence Crandall Museum and is a National Historic Landmark.[5][6] In 2009 a life-size bronze statue of Prudence Crandall with one of her African-American students was installed in the state capital.[7]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 40.2 square miles (104 km2), of which, 39.9 square miles (103 km2) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2) of it (0.62%) is water.
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