How to Pick the Best Welder Trade School near Harveys Lake Pennsylvania
Choosing the right welding vocational school near Harveys Lake PA is an essential first step to beginning your new occupation as a professional welder. But since there are numerous schools to choose from, how do you determine which ones to consider? And more notably, once you have narrowed down your options, how do you select the right one? A number of prospective students start by looking at the schools that are nearest to their homes. Once they have found those that are within driving distance, they gravitate toward the least costly one. Yes, location and the cost of tuition are necessary considerations when evaluating welding vocational schools, but they are not the only ones. Other considerations include such things as reputation, accreditation and job placement rates. So before starting your search for a vocational school to become a welder, it’s sensible to create a list of qualifications that your chosen school must have. But before we delve into our due diligence checklist, let’s cover a little bit about how to become a welder.
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Welding Degree and Certificate Training
There are a number of alternatives available to get training as a welder in a technical or trade school. You can receive a diploma, a certificate or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are available in Welding Technology or Welding Engineering, but are more advanced courses than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also made available along with an apprenticeship program. Below are short summaries of the most prevalent welding programs available in the Harveys Lake PA area.
- Certificate and Diploma Programs are normally made available by technical and trade schools and take about 1 year to finish. They are more hands-on training in nature, designed primarily to teach welding skills. They can provide a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or supplemental skills for experienced welders.
- Associate Degree Programs will take 2 years to finish and are usually offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology offers a more well-rounded education than the certificate or diploma while still providing the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.
Some municipalities and states do have licensing requirements for welders, so don’t forget to find out for your location of potential employment. As needed, the welder school you choose should prep you for any licensing exams that you will need to pass in addition to supplying the suitable training to become a qualified welder.
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Welder Certification Options
There are various organizations that offer welding certifications, which test the skill level and knowledge of those applying. Many Harveys Lake PA employers not only require a degree or certificate from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a renowned agency such as the American Welding Society (AWS). Different certifications are offered based upon the type of work that the welder does. Just some 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 various kinds of welds
- Perform based on contract specifications
As previously stated, many states, cities or local municipalities have licensing mandates for welders. Of those requiring licensing, some additionally require certification for various kinds of work. Certification is also a means to demonstrate to employers that you are an exceptionally skilled and knowledgeable welder. So just as with licensing, check the requirements for your local area and make sure that the welder tech school you decide on prepares you for certification if needed.
What to Ask Welder Trade Schools
As soon as you have decided on the credential you would like to earn, a degree, certificate or diploma, you can begin to evaluate schools. As you can imagine, there are many welder trade and technical schools in the Harveys Lake PA area. That’s why it’s essential to decide in advance what qualifications your selected school must have. We have already discussed 2 significant ones that many people consider first, which are location and tuition cost. As stated, although they are essential qualifiers, they are not the only ones that should be looked at. After all, the school you choose is going to furnish the instruction that will be the foundation of your new vocation as a welder. So below are more factors you might want to evaluate before selecting a welder vocational school.
Accreditation. It’s essential that the welding technical school you decide on is accredited by either a regional or a national agency. There are two basic kinds of accreditation. The school may earn Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on a specific program the school offers, for example Welding Technology. So make certain that the program you choose is accredited, not just the school alone. Also, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting organization, 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 securing financial assistance or student loans, which are often not offered in Harveys Lake PA for non-accredited schools. Also, for those states or municipalities that mandate licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited as well.
Apprenticeship and Job Placement Programs. Many welding certificate or degree programs are offered 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 reviewing assist in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job assistance program. These schools should have relationships with local unions and other metal working businesses to which they can place their students. Older schools may have a larger network of graduates that they can utilize for referrals. These programs can help students find employment and establish relationships within the Harveys Lake PA welding community.
Job Placement and Completion Rates. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students that start an educational program and finish it. It’s crucial that the welder program you choose has a higher completion rate. A low rate could indicate that the students who enrolled in the program were dissatisfied with the training, 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 confirm that the school has a good reputation within the industry, but also that it has the network of Harveys Lake PA employer relationships to assist students obtain employment or apprenticeships after graduation.
Up-to-date Equipment and Facilities. Once you have limited your choice of welding schools to two or three options, you should think out visiting the campuses to evaluate their facilities. Verify 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 using on the job. If you are not sure 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 Harveys Lake PA welding contractor if they can give you some pointers.
School Location. Although we previously briefly talked about the relevance of location, there are a couple of additional points that we need to deal with. You should bear in mind that unless you have the ability to relocate, the welding program you pick must be within commuting distance of your Harveys Lake PA home. If you do opt to attend an out-of-state school, besides relocation costs there could be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially the case for welding degree 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 a region or state where you ultimately will wish to work.
Smaller Classes. Individualized training is essential for a hands-on trade such as welding. It’s possible to be overlooked in larger classes and not obtain much one-on-one training. Find out what the usual class size is for the welding schools you are looking at. Inquire if you can sit in on a few classes so that you can witness just how much individual attention the students are receiving. While there, talk with several of the students and get their opinions. Also, chat with some of the trainers and find out what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they have earned.
Convenient Class Scheduling. Lots of folks learn a new profession while still employed at their present job. Check to see 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 Harveys Lake PA, make certain that the schools you are considering offer those choices. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, verify that the school you select offers part-time enrollment. Also, ask what the protocol is to make up classes should you miss any because of illness, work or family responsibilities.
Online Welder Training Programs
Welding is very much a manual kind of trade, 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 Harveys Lake PA area that may be credited toward a certificate or degree program. These classes mainly deal with such topics as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help give a beginner a foundation to initiate their education and training. Nevertheless, the most significant point is that you can’t learn how to weld or use welding materials until you actually do it. Obviously that can’t be done online. These skills have to be learned in an on-campus environment or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is better suited for experienced welders that want to advance their expertise or perhaps attain a more advanced degree. So if you should discover an online welding certificate or degree program, be extremely careful and make sure that the majority of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of environment.
Best Part Time Welding Colleges Harveys Lake PA
Picking the ideal welder school will undoubtedly be the most critical decision you will make to start your new profession. You originally stopped by our website because you had an interest in Best Part Time Welding Colleges and wanted more information on the topic Compare Accelerated Welding Colleges. However, as we have covered in this article, there are several things that you will need to examine and compare among the schools you are considering. It’s a must that any welding training that you are evaluating includes a considerable amount of hands-on training. Classes should be smaller in size and every student must have their personal welding machine to train with. Classroom instruction needs to provide a real-world frame of reference, and the training program should be current and conform with industry standards. Training programs differ in duration and the type of credential offered, so you will need to ascertain what length of program and certificate or degree will best fulfill your needs. Every program provides unique possibilities for certification as well. Perhaps the best approach to research your short list of schools is to check out each campus and speak with the students and faculty. Invest some 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 proper training, effort and dedication, the final result will be a new occupation as a professional welder in Harveys Lake PA.
Other Pennsylvania Welder Locations
Harveys Lake, Pennsylvania
Harveys Lake is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Back Mountain, a 118 square mile region in northern Luzerne County. The borough is named after the lake, its principal feature, which in turn was named after Benjamin Harvey, who discovered it in 1781. Harvey was a member of the Sons of Liberty, an eminent colonial-era group that fought against Great Britain's Stamp Act of 1765. As of the 2010 census, the population of the borough of Harveys Lake was 2,791.[4]
Harveys Lake became a major resort destination in the early 20th century, attracting tourists from all over the Northeast. Hotels, cottages, boathouses, a casino, and even an amusement park were constructed around the lake. The grand Hotel Oneonta was especially prominent in the early 1900s; former United States President Theodore Roosevelt was a guest in August 1912.[5]
From 1952 to 1956, Pennsylvania State Senator T. Newell Wood hosted the Brynfan Tyddyn Road Race around his estate in Harveys Lake.[6] Brynfan Tyddyn is Welsh for "large farm on a hilltop" and the race consisted of 10 laps around a 3.5 mile course around the estate.[7] The race was discontinued in 1957 after a fatal accident and officials determined the course was too dangerous and difficult for participants and spectators to reach.[8]
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