How to Pick the Best Welding Certificate Program near Oreland Pennsylvania
Locating the right welder school near Oreland PA is an essential first step to launching your new occupation as a professional welder. But since there are a lot of schools to select from, how do you know which ones to consider? And more notably, once you have fine tuned your choices, how do you select the best one? A number of prospective students begin by checking out the schools that are closest to their homes. Once they have identified 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 reviewing welding technical 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 prudent to create 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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Welding Degree and Certificate Training Classes
There are multiple options to obtain training as a welder in a technical or trade school. You can earn a diploma, a certificate or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are offered 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 common welding programs available in the Oreland PA area.
- Certificate and Diploma Programs are usually made available by trade and technical schools and require about one year to complete. They are more hands-on training in nature, fashioned largely 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 finish and are usually offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology provides a more extensive education than the certificate or diploma while still furnishing 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 check for your location of potential employment. As required, the welder school you choose should prepare you for any licensing examinations that you will need to pass in addition to supplying the suitable training to become a professional welder.
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Welding Certification Choices
There are various institutions that offer welder certifications, which evaluate the skill level and knowledge of those applying. Numerous Oreland PA employers not only require a degree or certificate from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a highly regarded organization such as the American Welding Society (AWS). Different certifications are offered based on the type of work that the welder performs. Just some of the things that certification can attest to are the welder’s ability to
- Operate in compliance with specific codes
- Work with specific metal thicknesses
- Work with specific types of welds
- Operate in compliance with contract specifications
As previously stated, many states, cities or local municipalities have licensing mandates for welders. Of those mandating licensing, a number also require certification for different types of work. Certification is also a means to prove to employers that you are an extremely skilled and experienced welder. So similarly as with licensing, check the requirements for your local area and verify that the welding tech school you decide on prepares you for certification as needed.
Questions to Ask Welding Vocational Programs
After you have chosen the credential you want to obtain, a degree, certificate or diploma, you can start to evaluate schools. As you are no doubt aware, there are a large number of welder vocational and trade schools in the Oreland 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 many people look at first, which are location and tuition cost. As mentioned, although they are very important qualifiers, they are not the only ones that must be considered. After all, the school you choose 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 choosing a welder vocational school.
Accreditation. It’s very important that the welder technical school you select is accredited by either a national or a regional agency. There are 2 basic kinds 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 select is accredited, not just the school itself. Also, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting agency, for example the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). Besides helping ensure that you receive an excellent education, the accreditation might also help in acquiring financial aid or student loans, which are often not offered in Oreland PA for schools that are not accredited. Also, for those states or municipalities that mandate licensing, they may require that the welder training program be accredited also.
Apprenticeship and Job Placement Programs. A large number of welding degree or diploma programs are provided in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Some other schools will assist in placing you in an apprenticeship or a job upon graduation. Find out if the schools you are considering help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job assistance program. The schools should have relationships with local unions and other metal working businesses to which they can place their students. Older schools may have a more substantial network of graduates that they can rely upon for placements. These programs can assist students in finding employment and establish relationships within the Oreland PA welding community.
Job Placement and Completion Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that begin an instructional program and complete it. It’s crucial that the welder school you select has a higher completion rate. A low rate might 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 verify that the program has a good reputation within the field, but also that it has the network of Oreland PA contacts to assist students obtain employment or apprenticeships after graduation.
Up-to-date Facilities and Equipment. After you have narrowed down your choice of welding schools to two or three options, you should consider going to the campuses to look over their facilities. Verify that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be instructed on are up-to-date. In particular, the training equipment should be similar to what you will be using in the field. If you are uncertain what to look for, and are already in an apprenticeship program, consult with the master welder you are working under for guidance. If not, ask a local Oreland PA welding contractor if they can give you some suggestions.
School Location. Even though we already briefly talked about the significance of location, there are a few additional issues that we need to address. You should bear in mind that unless you have the ability to move, the welding school you select must be within driving distance of your Oreland PA home. If you do decide to attend an out-of-state school, besides relocation expenses there might be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is particularly the case for welder diploma programs offered by community colleges. Furthermore, if the school provides a job placement or apprenticeship program, often 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 want to work.
Small Classes. One-on-one instruction is important for a manual trade such as welding. It’s easy to be overlooked in larger classes and not get much individualized training. Ask what the average class size is for the welder schools you are looking at. 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 a few of the students and get their opinions. Similarly, talk with a few of the trainers and find out what their welding experience has been and what credentials and certifications they hold.
Flexible Class Scheduling. Lots of folks 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 meet your needs. If you can only go to classes at night or on weekends near Oreland PA, make sure that the schools you are looking at offer those options. If you can only attend part-time, make sure that the school you choose 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 emergencies.
Online Welding Schools
Welding is truly a manual kind of vocation, and for that reason not extremely suitable for online training. Even so, there are some online welding classes offered by specific community colleges and technical schools in the greater Oreland PA area that can be credited toward a degree or certificate program. These courses mainly deal with such topics as reading blueprints, safety,, and metallurgy. They can help give a beginner a basis to initiate their education and training. Nevertheless, the most significant point is that you can’t learn how to weld or handle welding materials until you actually do it. Naturally that can’t be done online. These skills need to be learned in an on-campus setting or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is more appropriate for experienced welders that desire to advance their expertise or possibly obtain a more advanced degree. So if you should discover an online welding certificate or degree program, be very careful and confirm that the larger part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of environment.
Guide to Online Welding Schools Oreland PA
Selecting the right welding school will probably be the most important decision you will make to start your new career. You originally stopped by our website because you had an interest in Guide to Online Welding Schools and wanted more information on the topic Guide to Part Time Welding Schools. However, as we have covered in this article, there are a number of things that you will need to examine and compare between the programs you are looking at. It’s a necessity that any welding training program that you are evaluating includes a good deal of hands-on instruction. Classes need to be smaller in size and every student should have their own welding machine to train with. Classroom education should provide a real-world context, and the training program should be current and in-line with industry standards. Courses vary in length and the kind of credential provided, so you will have to decide what length of program and certificate or degree will best satisfy your needs. Every training program provides unique options for certification also. Probably the best way to research your short list of schools is to go to each campus and speak with the teachers and students. Take the time to monitor some classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make certain that you are confident that the school you pick is the best one for you. With the right training, effort and commitment, the final outcome will be a new career as a professional welder in Oreland PA.
Other Pennsylvania Welder Locations
Oreland, Pennsylvania
Oreland is a United States census-designated place (CDP) in Springfield and Upper Dublin townships, just outside the Chestnut Hill and Mount Airy areas of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Oreland has a ZIP code of 19075, and the population was 5,678 at the 2010 census.
In 1686, Thomas Fitzwater discovered vast lime deposits on his land in Oreland. He erected a kiln to process it, which by 1693 had attracted the attention of William Penn. Penn ordered a highway built from the port of the Delaware River to the kiln. Named Limekiln Pike, and still in existence today, it was one of the first roads in the area. These lime deposits and the ore deposits also found in the area gave Oreland its name. Mining and farming would dominate Oreland's economy until the 20th century, when Oreland transformed into a residential suburb of Philadelphia, as it remains today.
The village of Oreland was not laid out until 1889 near the North Penn Railroad running along the east side of town (currently SEPTA's Lansdale/Doylestown Line). The Plymouth Railroad ran from Conshohocken to Oreland through Plymouth and Flourtown. The tracks were mostly removed in the 1980s. The path where the trains used to run begins northeast of the Oreland Station Apartments, next to Ehrenpfort Road, and runs southwest towards Flourtown. The actual tracks, which still connect to SEPTA's Lansdale/Doylestown Line, end near the corner of Montgomery Avenue and Lyster Road. The path continues all the way to Flourtown, although in the 1990s the path was cut at Oreland Mill Road by housing built on both sides. The remainder of the path today is used primarily by children, runners and bikers.
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