How to Choose the Right Welder Trade School near Erie Kansas
Enrolling in the right welder school near Erie KS 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 importantly, once you have narrowed down your choices, how do you select the best one? Most people start by checking out the schools that are nearest to their residences. Once they have found those that are within driving distance, they gravitate toward the cheapest one. Yes, location and tuition cost are important issues when examining welding vocational schools, but they are not the only ones. Other considerations include such things as accreditation, reputation and job placement rates. So before starting your search for a trade school to become a welder, it’s sensible to develop a list of qualifications that your chosen school must have. But before we examine our due diligence checklist, let’s cover a little bit about how to become a welder.
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Welder Degree and Certificate Training
There are a number of alternatives available to get training as a welder in a trade or vocational 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 made available combined with an apprenticeship program. Following are short descriptions of the most common welding programs offered in the Erie KS area.
- Certificate and Diploma Programs are generally offered by technical and trade schools and take about a year to complete. They are more hands-on training in nature, created largely to teach welding skills. They can furnish a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or additional 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 provides a more extensive education than the diploma or certificate while still furnishing the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.
Some municipalities and states do have licensing prerequisites for welders, therefore make sure to check for your location of future employment. If needed, the welder school you choose should ready you for any licensing exams that you will have to pass in addition to furnishing the suitable training to become a qualified welder.
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Welding Certification Options
There are multiple organizations that provide welder certifications, which evaluate the skill level and knowledge of those applying. A large number of Erie KS employers not only expect a certificate or degree from an accredited welding school, but also certification from a renowned agency like the American Welding Society (AWS). A wide range of certifications are offered dependent on the type of work that the welder performs. Some of the skills that certification can acknowledge are the welder’s ability to
- Work in compliance with specific codes
- Work with specified metal thicknesses
- Work with various types of welds
- Operate according to contract specifications
As previously stated, some states, cities or local municipalities have licensing requirements for welders. Of those requiring licensing, a number also require certification for different types 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, check the requirements for your local area and verify that the welder trade school you select readies you for certification as needed.
Points to Ask Welding Vocational Schools
As soon as you have decided on the credential you would like to attain, a certificate, diploma or degree, you can start to assess schools. As you are no doubt aware, there are many welding trade and technical schools in the Erie KS area. That’s why it’s important to establish in advance what qualifications your chosen school must have. We have previously covered a couple of significant ones that most people look at first, which are location and tuition cost. As mentioned, although they are essential qualifications, they are not the only ones that should be considered. After all, the program you pick is going to provide the education that will be the foundation of your new profession as a welder. So following are some additional factors you might need to evaluate before selecting a welder vocational school.
Accreditation. It’s very important that the welder vocational school you decide on is accredited by either a national or a regional organization. There are two basic kinds of accreditation. The school may earn Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on an individual program the school offers, such as Welding Technology. So make sure that the program you pick is accredited, not just the school itself. Also, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting agency, 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 can also assist in getting financial aid or student loans, which are often not offered in Erie KS for schools that are not accredited. Also, for those states or municipalities that require licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited as well.
Apprenticeship and Job Assistance Programs. Many welding degree or diploma programs are offered combined with an apprenticeship program. Various other schools will help place you in an apprenticeship or a job upon graduation. Ask if the schools you are looking at help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job placement program. These schools should have partnerships with local unions and other metal working businesses to which they can place their students. More established schools may have a larger network of graduates that they can utilize for placements. These programs can help students find employment and establish relationships within the Erie KS welding community.
Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that enroll in an instructional program and finish it. It’s essential that the welder school you select has a high completion rate. A lower rate may 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 quality of training. A high job placement rate will not only confirm that the school has a good reputation within the trade, but additionally that it has the network of Erie KS contacts to assist students obtain employment or apprenticeships after graduation.
Up-to-date Facilities and Equipment. After you have decreased your choice of welder programs to two or three options, 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 instructed 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 not sure 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 Erie KS welding contractor if they can give you some tips.
School Location. Even though we already briefly talked about the significance of location, there are a few additional points that we need to address. You should keep in mind that unless you have the ability to move, the welder school you choose must be within commuting distance of your Erie KS home. If you do opt to enroll in an out-of-state school, besides moving expenses there could be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is particularly the case for welder degree 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 needs to be in a region or state where you ultimately will wish to work.
Small Classes. Individualized training is essential for a hands-on trade such as welding. It’s easy to get overlooked in bigger classes and not get much individualized training. Find out what the usual class size is for the welding programs you are reviewing. Ask if you can attend some classes so that you can witness how much personal attention the students are getting. While there, talk with several of the students and get their feedback. Similarly, speak with some of the trainers and ask what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they hold.
Convenient Class Schedules. Many people learn a new trade while still employed at their current job. Check to see that the class schedules for the schools you are considering are convenient enough to meet your needs. If you can only go to classes in the evenings or on weekends near Erie KS, make sure that the schools you are looking at offer those choices. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, confirm that the school you select offers part-time enrollment. Also, find out what the protocol is to make up classes if you you miss any because of work, illness or family responsibilities.
Online Welder Degree and Certificate Programs
Welding is truly a manual kind of trade, and therefore not very suitable for online training. However, there are a small number of online welding courses offered by certain community colleges and technical schools in the greater Erie KS area that may count toward a certificate or degree program. These courses mainly deal with such topics as reading blueprints, safety,, and metallurgy. They can help give a beginner a basis to start their education and training. Nevertheless, the most critical point is that you can’t learn how to weld or work with welding materials unless 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 would like to advance their expertise or perhaps obtain a more advanced degree. So if you should discover an online welding certificate or degree program, be extremely cautious and verify that the larger part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.
Free Info on Part Time Welding Courses Erie KS
Picking the right welding school will undoubtedly be the most critical decision you will make to launch your new career. You originally stopped by our website because you had an interest in Free Info on Part Time Welding Courses and wanted more information on the topic Affordable Accelerated Welding Courses. However, as we have discussed in this article, there are a number of factors that you will need to evaluate and compare between the programs you are considering. It’s a must that any welder school that you are considering includes a lot of hands-on instruction. Classes need to be small in size and every student should have their personal welding machine to train with. Classroom education needs to offer a real-world frame of reference, and the curriculum should be up-to-date and in-line with industry standards. Courses vary in length and the type of credential provided, so you will have to determine what length of program and certificate or degree will best satisfy your needs. Each program offers unique possibilities for certification as well. Perhaps the best way to research your final list of schools is to go to each campus and talk with the teachers and students. Invest some time to sit in on some classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the program you decide on is the best one for you. With the proper training, effort and dedication, the end outcome will be a new occupation as a professional welder in Erie KS.
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Erie, Kansas
Erie is a city in and the county seat of Neosho County, Kansas, United States,[7] and situated in the valley of the Neosho River, about a mile Northeast of the river. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,150.[8]
A settlement named "Erie", later referred to as "Old Erie" and "Beantown USA", was platted 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of the present townsite, while another community, known as Crawfordsville, was started two miles northeast of the current site. In 1866, the proprietors of these two towns made a compromise to abandon the towns and combine with the settlement at the present Erie site. Four men gave 40 acres each, that butted together, out of their 160-acre shares, to create the city plat of Erie. These men were: David W. Bray, Luther Puckett, John F. Himmelwright and Peter Walter.[9] In November of that year the Erie Town Company was formed. Each member of this company donated forty acres of land in the center of Section 32, Township 28, Range 20 east.[10] Each member was to buy city plots and improve them.[11]
Erie's first fire company was established in November 1866; its charter members were those men who had donated the land on which the community was built. The first log home in Erie was built in 1866, while the first businesses were built in the following year. By 1883, the city had two general stores, two blacksmith shops, one drug store, two hotels, one newspaper office, two churches, and a population of about 300.[10]
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