How to Choose the Best Welding Training Class near Lansford Pennsylvania
Selecting the ideal welder school near Lansford PA is an essential first step to starting your new occupation as a professional welder. But since there are a lot of schools to choose from, how do you know which ones to consider? And more significantly, once you have fine tuned your options, how do you select the best one? Most people start by looking at the schools that are closest to their residences. When they have located those that are within commuting distance, they gravitate toward the least expensive one. Yes, location and tuition cost are crucial considerations when examining welder trade 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 prudent to establish 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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Welding Certificate and Degree Programs
There are several options available to receive 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 degrees 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 Lansford PA area.
- Diploma and Certificate Programs are generally offered by trade and technical schools and require about one year to finish. They are more hands-on training in scope, designed largely to teach welding skills. They can provide a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or additional skills for working welders.
- Associate Degree Programs will take 2 years to finish and are most often offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology offers a more extensive 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 prerequisites for welders, therefore be sure to check for your location of potential employment. If needed, the welder school you pick should ready you for any licensing examinations that you will need to pass in addition to supplying the appropriate training to become a professional welder.
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Welder Certification Choices
There are various organizations that offer welding certifications, which test the skill level and knowledge of those applying. A large number of Lansford PA employers not only require a degree or certificate from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a respected organization like the American Welding Society (AWS). A wide range of certifications are available based on the kind of work that the welder performs. Just some of the things that certification can acknowledge 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 earlier mentioned, some cities, states or local municipalities have licensing mandates for welders. Of those requiring licensing, some additionally require certification for various types of work. Certification is also a means to prove to employers that you are an exceptionally skilled and experienced welder. So just as with licensing, check the requirements for your local area and make certain that the welder trade school you decide on prepares you for certification if needed.
What to Ask Welder Tech Programs
When you have decided on the credential you want to obtain, a degree, certificate or diploma, you can start to compare schools. As you probably know, there are a large number of welding trade and technical schools in the Lansford PA area. That’s why it’s essential to determine in advance what qualifications your selected school must have. We have already discussed 2 significant ones that most people consider first, which are location and the cost of tuition. As mentioned, although they are essential qualifications, they are not the only ones that need to be looked at. After all, the school you select is going to provide the instruction that will be the foundation of your new profession as a welder. So below are some additional factors you may need to evaluate before picking a welding vocational school.
Accreditation. It’s essential that the welder technical school you choose is accredited by either a national or a regional organization. There are 2 standard kinds of accreditation. The school may receive Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on a specific program the school has, for example 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 ensure that you obtain a superior education, the accreditation can also assist in obtaining financial assistance or student loans, which are often not available in Lansford PA for non-accredited schools. Finally, for those states or municipalities that require licensing, they may require that the welder training program be accredited as well.
Job Assistance and Apprenticeship Programs. Many welding certificate or degree programs are provided combined with an apprenticeship program. Other schools will help place you in a job or an apprenticeship upon graduation. Find out if the schools you are considering assist in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job assistance program. The schools must have partnerships with local unions and various metal working businesses to which they can refer their students. More established schools may have a larger network of graduates that they can rely upon for placements. These programs can assist students in finding employment and establish associations within the Lansford PA welding community.
Job Placement and Completion Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that begin an academic program and finish it. It’s essential that the welding program you choose has a high completion rate. A reduced rate may signify that the students who were in the program were unhappy with the training, 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 program has a good reputation within the industry, but additionally that it has the network of Lansford PA contacts to assist students obtain employment or apprenticeships after graduation.
Up-to-date Equipment and Facilities. Once you have narrowed down your selection of welder programs to two or three options, you should consider visiting the campuses to evaluate their facilities. Confirm that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be instructed on are up-to-date. Specifically, the training equipment should be similar to what you will be working with in the field. If you are unsure what to look for, and are already in an apprenticeship program, consult with the master welder you are working under for guidance. Otherwise, ask a local Lansford PA welding contractor if they can give you some pointers.
School Location. Even though we already briefly discussed the relevance of location, there are a few additional issues that we should address. You should keep in mind that unless you are able to relocate, the welder school you choose must be within driving distance of your Lansford PA home. If you do choose to enroll in an out-of-state school, in addition to 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 local community. So the location of the school should be in an area or state where you ultimately will desire to work.
Small Classes. One-on-one instruction is essential for a manual trade such as welding. It’s easy to be overlooked in bigger classes and not get much one-on-one instruction. Ask what the average class size is for the welder schools you are looking at. Inquire if you can sit in on a few classes so that you can see how much individual attention the students are getting. While there, speak with some of the students and get their feedback. Also, speak with some of the trainers and ask what their welding experience has been and what credentials and certifications they have earned.
Convenient Class Schedules. Lots of folks learn a new trade while still working at their present job. Verify that the class schedules for the programs you are reviewing are flexible enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only go to classes at night or on weekends near Lansford PA, confirm that the schools you are considering offer those alternatives. If you can only enroll part-time, make sure that the school you pick offers part-time enrollment. Also, check to see what the policy is to make up classes if you you miss any because of work, sickness or family responsibilities.
Online Welder Training
Welding is truly a manual type of trade, and for that reason not very suitable for online training. Even so, there are a few online welding classes offered by specific community colleges and technical schools in the greater Lansford PA area that can count toward a degree or certificate program. These classes mainly cover such topics as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help provide a beginner a foundation to begin their training and education. Nevertheless, the most important point is that you can’t learn how to weld or use welding materials until you actually do it. Clearly that can’t be performed online. These skills have to be learned in an on-campus setting or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is better suited for seasoned welders that would like to advance their expertise or possibly obtain a more advanced degree. So if you should come across an online welding degree or certificate program, be very careful and make certain that the larger part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of environment.
Compare Online Welding Trade Schools Lansford PA
Picking the ideal welder training program will probably 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 Compare Online Welding Trade Schools and wanted more information on the topic Compare Part Time Welding Trade Schools. However, as we have discussed in this article, there are several factors that you will need to examine and compare among the programs you are considering. It’s a prerequisite that any welder training program that you are assessing includes a lot of hands-on instruction. Classes need to be small in size and each student must have their personal welding machine to train with. Classroom education should provide a real-world context, and the course of study should be current and in-line with industry standards. Courses vary in length and the kind of credential offered, so you will have to determine what length of program and degree or certificate will best serve your needs. Each program offers unique options for certification also. Probably The ideal means to research your final list of schools is to check out each campus and speak with the teachers and students. Take the 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, effort and commitment, the end outcome will be a new occupation as a professional welder in Lansford PA.
Other Pennsylvania Welder Locations
Lansford, Pennsylvania
Lansford is a county-border borough (town) in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, United States, located 37 miles (60 km) northwest of Allentown and 19 miles south of Hazleton in the Panther Creek Valley about 72 miles (116 km) from Greater Philadelphia[a] and abutting the cross-county sister-city of Coaldale in Schuylkill County. The whole valley was owned and subdivided into separate lots by the historically important Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company (locally called "the Old Company") which likely settled some structures on the lands by 1827.[b]
Lansford grew with the development of local anthracite coal mines, and was named after Asa Lansford Foster, who was an advocate for merging the small "patch towns" that developed in the area surrounding the anthracite coal mines. The population was 3,941 at the 2010 Census, a steep decline from a high of 9,632 at the 1930 census common to many mining towns in northeastern Pennsylvania.[4]
The old No. 9 Mine and Museum in Lansford, a deep mine which operated from 1855 to 1972, is now open as a tourist attraction offering tours of the mine and a wealth of information on local mining history. A museum occupying the mine's former Wash Shanty building on the site displays a large collection of mining artifacts.
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