How to Choose the Best Welder Certificate Program near Somerset Pennsylvania
Choosing the right welding technical school near Somerset PA is an essential first step to launching your new career as a professional welder. But since there are numerous schools to pick from, how do you know which ones to consider? And more significantly, once you have fine tuned your options, how do you select the right one? Most prospective students start by looking at the schools that are nearest to their homes. When they have identified those that are within commuting distance, they are drawn toward the cheapest one. Yes, location and the cost of tuition are necessary concerns when evaluating welding vocational schools, but they are not the only ones. Other factors include such things as reputation, accreditation and job placement rates. So before initiating your search for a trade school to become a welder, it’s sensible to develop a list of qualifications that your selected 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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Welding Certificate and Degree Training
There are multiple options available to obtain 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 available in Welding Engineering or Welding Technology, but are more advanced courses than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Below are brief descriptions of the most common welding programs available in the Somerset PA area.
- Certificate and Diploma Programs are generally made available by trade and technical schools and take about a year to complete. They are more hands-on training in scope, fashioned primarily 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 two years to complete and are most often offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology provides a more well-rounded education than the certificate or diploma while still providing the foundation that prepares students to enter the workforce.
Many states and municipalities do have licensing requirements for welders, therefore make sure to check for your location of potential employment. As needed, the welder school you pick should ready you for any licensing exams that you will have to take in addition to furnishing the proper training to become a professional welder.
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Welder Certification Alternatives
There are a number of organizations that provide welder certifications, which test the knowledge and skill level of those applying. Numerous Somerset PA employers not only require a certificate or degree from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a highly regarded agency like 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 acknowledge are the welder’s ability to
- Operate in compliance with specific codes
- Work with certain 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 calling for licensing, some additionally require certification for various kinds of work. Certification is also a means to demonstrate to employers that you are an extremely skilled and qualified welder. So just as with licensing, check the requirements for your location and verify that the welder vocational school you choose prepares you for certification if needed.
Subjects to Ask Welder Technical Schools
When you have chosen the credential you want to attain, a degree, certificate or diploma, you can begin to assess schools. As you can imagine, there are many welder trade and technical schools in the Somerset PA area. That’s why it’s necessary to decide up front what qualifications your selected school must have. We have already discussed two significant ones that many people look at first, which are location and the cost of tuition. As mentioned, although they are essential qualifiers, they are not the only ones that must be looked at. After all, the program you select is going to furnish the training that will be the foundation of your new profession as a welder. So below are some additional factors you may need to evaluate before selecting a welder trade school.
Accreditation. It’s essential that the welder tech school you pick is accredited by either a national or a regional organization. There are 2 basic types 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, such as Welding Technology. So make sure that the program you select is accredited, not just the school itself. Additionally, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting agency, such as the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). Besides helping make sure that you obtain an excellent education, the accreditation can also assist in getting financial assistance or student loans, which are in many cases not offered in Somerset 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 as well.
Job Placement and Apprenticeship Programs. Many welding degree or certificate programs are offered combined with an apprenticeship program. Various other schools will assist in placing you in an apprenticeship or a job after graduation. Find out if the schools you are reviewing help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job placement program. These 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 utilize for referrals. These programs can assist students in finding employment and develop associations within the Somerset PA welding community.
Job Placement and Completion Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that start an academic program and complete it. It’s essential that the welder program you choose has a high completion rate. A reduced rate may mean that the students who joined 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 quality of training. A higher job placement rate will not only affirm that the program has an excellent reputation within the trade, but also that it has the network of Somerset PA contacts to assist students secure apprenticeships or employment upon graduation.
Modern Facilities and Equipment. After you have narrowed down your choice of welder programs to 2 or 3 possibilities, you should think out visiting the campuses to evaluate their facilities. Confirm that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be taught 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 currently in an apprenticeship program, consult with the master welder you are working under for guidance. Otherwise, ask a local Somerset PA welding professional if they can give you some suggestions.
School Location. Even though we previously briefly covered the relevance of location, there are a few additional issues that we need to deal with. You should keep in mind that unless you can relocate, the welder school you select must be within commuting distance of your Somerset PA home. If you do opt to enroll in an out-of-state school, besides relocation expenses there may be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is particularly the case for welder certificate programs offered by community colleges. Furthermore, if the school offers an apprenticeship or job placement 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 ultimately will wish to work.
Smaller Classes. One-on-one training is important for a manual trade such as welding. It’s easy to be overlooked in larger classes and not obtain much one-on-one instruction. Find out what the usual class size is for the welder programs you are reviewing. Ask if you can sit in on some classes so that you can observe how much individual attention the students are getting. While there, speak with some of the students and get their opinions. Similarly, speak with some of the trainers and find out what their welding experience has been and what credentials and certifications they hold.
Convenient Class Scheduling. Some people learn a new trade while still working at their current job. Verify that the class schedules for the schools you are considering are convenient enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only attend classes in the evenings or on weekends near Somerset PA, confirm that the schools you are assessing provide those choices. If you can only attend part-time, verify that the school you select offers part-time enrollment. Also, find out what the protocol is to make up classes should you miss any due to work, sickness or family circumstances.
Online Welding Training
Welding is truly a hands-on type of vocation, and consequently not extremely compatible with online training. Having said that, there are some online welding programs offered by certain community colleges and vocational schools in the greater Somerset PA area that may be credited toward a certificate or degree program. These classes primarily deal with such subjects as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help give a novice a basis to begin their training and education. Nevertheless, the most important 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 done online. These skills must 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 perhaps attain a more advanced degree. So if you should find an online welding degree or certificate program, be very cautious and verify that the larger part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.
Welding School Somerset PA
Selecting the best welding school will undoubtedly 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 Welding School and wanted more information on the topic How Long To Become A Welder. However, as we have covered in this article, there are several things that you will need to evaluate and compare among the schools you are reviewing. It’s a prerequisite that any welding training program that you are examining includes a lot of hands-on instruction. Classes should be small in size and each student should have their own welding machine to train with. Classroom teaching needs to provide a real-world perspective, and the training program should be current and conform with industry standards. Training programs differ in duration and the type of credential provided, so you will have to ascertain what length of program and degree or certificate will best fulfill your needs. Each training program provides different possibilities for certification also. Perhaps the best means to research your short list of schools is to visit each campus and speak with the students and instructors. Take the time to monitor a few classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the training program you decide on is the ideal one for you. With the proper training, effort and commitment, the final outcome will be a new trade as a professional welder in Somerset PA.
Other Pennsylvania Welder Locations
Somerset County, Pennsylvania
Somerset County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 77,742.[1] Its county seat is Somerset.[2] The county was created from part of Bedford County on April 17, 1795, and named after the county of Somerset in England.
Southwestern Pennsylvania began as a huge area called Cumberland County. As population increased, the area was split into smaller counties. Bedford County was formed from part from Cumberland in 1771 and is referred to as "Old Bedford County" and contained what are now 20 smaller counties. In 1773 part of Bedford County was split off to form Westmoreland County. In 1787 Bedford County was split in half with northern part becoming Huntingdon County and southern part remained as a smaller Bedford County. Somerset County was split off from the western part Bedford County 17 April 1795. In 1804 the northern half of Somerset County was split off to form Cambria County. No further splits from Somerset County occurred since 1804.[3]
George Washington passed through the area of Somerset County in 1753 on a scouting expedition at the beginning of the French-Indian War.[4] The Forbes Road cuts through Somerset County. This 200-mile stretch from Carlisle to what is now Pittsburgh was created by Brigadier General John Forbes in the British Expedition of 1758 to Fort Duquesne. Forbes Ford was one of two great western land routes cut through the wilderness to create supply lines from the east.[5] It was later the primary route of pioneers travelling to Ohio Country.
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