How to Pick the Right Welder Technical School near Huntington West Virginia
Enrolling in the right welding technical school near Huntington WV is an essential first step to beginning your new career as a professional welder. But since there are numerous schools to select from, how do you determine which ones to consider? And more notably, once you have fine tuned your choices, how do you pick the right one? Most prospective students begin by checking out the schools that are closest to their homes. When they have found those that are within driving distance, they are drawn toward the least expensive one. Yes, location and the cost of tuition are important concerns when evaluating welding technical schools, but they are not the only ones. Other concerns 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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Welder Certificate and Degree Training Courses
There are several options available to obtain training as a welder in a technical or trade school. You can obtain a diploma, a certificate or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are available in Welding Engineering or Welding Technology, but are more advanced programs than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also offered along with an apprenticeship program. Below are short explanations of the most common welding programs offered in the Huntington WV area.
- Diploma and Certificate Programs are generally offered by technical and trade schools and take about 1 year to complete. They are more hands-on training in scope, designed mainly to teach welding skills. They can provide a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or additional skills for experienced welders.
- Associate Degree Programs will take two years to finish and are usually offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology furnishes a more extensive education than the certificate or diploma while still supplying the foundation that prepares students to enter the workforce.
A number of states and municipalities do have licensing prerequisites for welders, therefore don’t forget to check for your location of future employment. If needed, the welder school you select should prep you for any licensing exams that you will need to pass in addition to furnishing the proper training to become a qualified welder.
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Welder Certification Options
There are several organizations that offer welding certifications, which test the skill level and knowledge of those applying. Many Huntington WV employers not only demand a certificate or degree from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a renowned agency such as the American Welding Society (AWS). A wide range of certifications are available based on the kind of work that the welder performs. A few of the things that certification can attest to are the welder’s ability to
- Work in compliance with specific codes
- Work with specific metal thicknesses
- Work with certain kinds of welds
- Work according to contract specifications
As already mentioned, some cities, states or local municipalities have licensing mandates for welders. Of those mandating licensing, some also require certification for various kinds of work. Certification is also a means to prove to employers that you are an exceptionally skilled and knowledgeable welder. So similarly as with licensing, look into the requirements for your local area and make certain that the welding trade school you choose preps you for certification if needed.
What to Ask Welding Tech Schools
Once you have decided on the credential you want to attain, a certificate, diploma or degree, you can start to compare schools. As you probably know, there are many welding vocational and trade schools in the Huntington WV area. That’s why it’s important to establish in advance what qualifications your chosen school must have. We have previously discussed a couple of significant ones that many people consider first, which are location and tuition cost. As mentioned, although they are essential qualifications, they are not the only ones that need to be looked at. After all, the school you decide on is going to provide the training that will be the foundation of your new vocation as a welder. So following are some additional factors you might want to consider before picking a welder technical school.
Accreditation. It’s extremely important that the welding technical school you select is accredited by either a national or a regional organization. There are 2 standard types of accreditation. The school may attain Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on an individual program the school offers, for instance Welding Technology. So make certain that the program you choose is accredited, not just the school alone. Additionally, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting agency, such as the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). In addition to helping make sure that you obtain a quality education, the accreditation might also help in securing financial aid or student loans, which are frequently not available in Huntington WV 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.
Job Assistance and Apprenticeship Programs. Many welder diploma or degree programs are offered combined with an apprenticeship program. Other schools will assist in placing 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. These schools should have relationships with local unions and various 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 referrals. These programs can assist students in finding employment and establish associations within the Huntington WV welding community.
Job Placement and Completion Rates. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students that start an instructional program and finish it. It’s important that the welder program 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 an indication of the caliber of training. A higher job placement rate will not only verify that the program has a good reputation within the field, but additionally that it has the network of Huntington WV contacts to help students obtain employment or apprenticeships upon graduation.
Modern Facilities and Equipment. Once you have limited your selection of welder programs to 2 or 3 options, you should think out visiting the campuses to look over their facilities. Verify that both the facilities and the equipment that you will be instructed on are up-to-date. In particular, the training equipment should be comparable to what you will be using on the job. If you are unsure what to look for, and are currently in an apprenticeship program, consult with the master welder you are working under for guidance. If not, ask a local Huntington WV welding professional if they can give you a few suggestions.
School Location. Even though we already briefly covered the significance of location, there are a few additional issues that we need to deal with. You should remember that unless you are able to move, the welding program you select must be within commuting distance of your Huntington WV home. If you do opt to attend an out-of-state school, apart from moving expenses there may be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is particularly the case for welder 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 an area or state where you ultimately will desire to work.
Smaller Classes. One-on-one instruction is important for a manual trade such as welding. It’s possible to get lost in bigger classes and not receive much personalized training. Ask what the usual class size is for the welder programs you are considering. Inquire if you can attend a few classes so that you can witness how much individual attention the students are getting. While there, talk with a few of the students and get their feedback. Also, talk to some of the instructors and ask what their welding experience has been and what credentials and certifications they hold.
Convenient Class Schedules. Many people learn a new trade while still working at their present job. Confirm that the class schedules for the programs you are looking at are convenient enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only attend classes at night or on weekends near Huntington WV, verify that the schools you are looking at offer those alternatives. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, make sure that the school you decide on offers part-time enrollment. Also, check to see what the protocol is to make up classes should you miss any due to illness, work or family responsibilities.
Online Welder Training Programs
Welding is very much a manual type of vocation, and consequently not very compatible with online training. However, there are a few online welding courses offered by specific community colleges and technical schools in the greater Huntington WV area that may be credited toward a certificate or degree program. These classes mainly deal with such topics as reading blueprints, safety,, and metallurgy. They can help give a beginner a basis to begin their training and education. However, the most important point is that you can’t learn how to weld or handle welding materials unless you actually do it. Obviously that can’t be accomplished online. These skills must be learned in an on-campus environment or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is more appropriate for seasoned welders that would like to advance their expertise or possibly earn a more advanced degree. So if you should come across 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.
Free Info on Local Welding Schools Huntington WV
Choosing 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 Local Welding Schools and wanted more information on the topic Free Info on Night Welding Schools. However, as we have discussed in this article, there are several factors that you will need to assess and compare among the programs you are reviewing. It’s a prerequisite that any welding training program that you are reviewing includes a lot of hands-on instruction. Classes should be small in size and every student must have their own welding machine to train on. Classroom instruction should offer a real-world context, and the curriculum should be up-to-date and conform with industry standards. Training programs differ in length and the kind of credential provided, so you will need to decide what length of program and certificate or degree will best satisfy your needs. Every training program offers different possibilities for certification as well. Perhaps the best approach to research your final list of schools is to visit each campus and speak with the students and instructors. Invest some time to attend some classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the school you decide on is the right one for you. With the right training, effort and commitment, the end outcome will be a new career as a professional welder in Huntington WV.
Other West Virginia Welder Locations
Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne Counties[5] in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Cabell County, and largest city in the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, sometimes referred to as the Tri-State Area. A historic and bustling city of commerce and heavy industry, Huntington has benefited from its location on the Ohio River at the mouth of the Guyandotte River. It is home to the Port of Huntington Tri-State, the second-busiest inland port in the United States.[6]
Surrounded by extensive natural resources, the industrial sector is based in coal, oil, chemicals and steel, all of which support Huntington's diversified economy. The city is a vital rail-to-river transfer point for the marine transportation industry. Also, it is considered a scenic locale in the western foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. This location was selected by Collis Potter Huntington as ideal for the western terminus of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, the predecessor of what would become CSX Transportation which still operates CSX Transportation-Huntington Division in the city to date.
The railroad founded Huntington as one of the nation's first planned communities to facilitate the railroad and other transportation-related industries at the railway's western terminus. The site, previously a collection of agricultural homesteads, developed fast after the railroad's completion in 1871 and is eponymously named for the railroad company's founder Collis Potter Huntington. The first identifiable permanent settlement, Holderby's Landing, was founded in 1775 in the Colony of Virginia. With the exception of the neighborhoods of Westmoreland and Spring Valley, most of the city is in Cabell County.[7]
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