How to Select the Right Welder Degree Program near Parkersburg West Virginia
Locating the right welder technical school near Parkersburg WV is an essential first step to beginning your new career as a professional welder. But since there are so many 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 pick the best one? Many prospective students begin by reviewing the schools that are nearest to their homes. When they have identified those that are within driving distance, they are drawn toward the cheapest one. Yes, location and tuition cost are important considerations when examining welding vocational schools, but they are not the only ones. Other considerations include such things as accreditation, reputation and job placement rates. So before starting your search for a trade school to become a welder, it’s wise 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 Degree and Certificate Training
There are multiple options available to get training as a welder in a technical or trade school. You can receive a a certificate, a diploma or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are available in Welding Technology or Welding Engineering, but are more advanced degrees than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also made available along with an apprenticeship program. Following are short descriptions of the most typical welding programs available in the Parkersburg WV area.
- Diploma and Certificate 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, created mainly to teach welding skills. They can furnish 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 furnishes a more well-rounded education than the diploma or certificate while still providing the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.
Some municipalities and states do have licensing prerequisites for welders, therefore be sure to find out for your location of potential employment. If required, the welding school you pick should prepare you for any licensing exams that you will need to take in addition to furnishing the proper training to become a professional welder.
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Welding Certification Choices
There are multiple organizations that provide welder certifications, which test the skill level and knowledge of those applying. Numerous Parkersburg WV employers not only expect a degree or certificate from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a highly regarded agency like the American Welding Society (AWS). A variety of certifications are offered dependent on the type of work that the welder performs. 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 specific types of welds
- Perform in compliance with contract specifications
As already mentioned, some states, cities or local municipalities have licensing mandates for welders. Of those calling for licensing, some also require certification for various types of work. Certification is also a means to prove to employers that you are an exceptionally skilled and qualified welder. So similarly as with licensing, look into the requirements for your local area and make certain that the welder technical school you decide on preps you for certification as needed.
Topics to Ask Welding 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 a large number of welding trade and technical schools in the Parkersburg WV area. That’s why it’s necessary to decide up front what qualifications your school of choice must have. We have already discussed a couple of important ones that many people consider first, which are location and tuition cost. As stated, although they are very important 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 instruction that will be the foundation of your new profession as a welder. So following are some additional factors you may want to evaluate before selecting a welding vocational school.
Accreditation. It’s extremely important that the welder tech school you select is accredited by either a national or a regional organization. There are two basic kinds of accreditation. The school may receive Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on an individual program the school has, for example Welding Technology. So verify that the program you select is accredited, not just the school alone. Additionally, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting organization, like the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). Besides helping ensure that you receive a superior education, the accreditation may also assist in acquiring financial aid or student loans, which are often unavailable in Parkersburg WV for non-accredited schools. Also, 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. Numerous welder diploma or degree programs are provided in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Various other schools will help place you in an apprenticeship or a job upon graduation. Find out if the schools you are reviewing assist in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job assistance program. The schools should have partnerships with local unions and other metal working businesses to which they can place 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 develop relationships within the Parkersburg WV welding community.
Job Placement and Completion Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that start an academic program and finish it. It’s crucial that the welding school you choose has a higher completion rate. A reduced rate might mean 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 quality of training. A high job placement rate will not only confirm that the school has an excellent reputation within the trade, but also that it has the network of Parkersburg WV employer relationships to help students obtain apprenticeships or employment upon graduation.
Modern Facilities and Equipment. Once you have limited your choice of welder programs to 2 or 3 possibilities, you should consider going to the campuses to evaluate their facilities. Verify that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be trained on are up-to-date. In particular, the training equipment should be similar to what you will be working with on the job. If you are not sure what to look for, and are currently in an apprenticeship program, ask the master welder you are working under for guidance. Otherwise, ask a local Parkersburg WV welding professional if they can give you some tips.
School Location. Even though we already briefly covered the importance of location, there are a few additional issues that we need to deal with. You should bear in mind that unless you have the ability to relocate, the welder program you choose needs to be within commuting distance of your Parkersburg WV home. If you do decide to attend an out-of-state school, in addition to moving costs there might be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is particularly the case for welding degree programs offered by community colleges. Additionally, if the school provides an apprenticeship or job placement program, most likely their placements are within the school’s regional community. So the location of the school should be in a region or state where you subsequently will wish to work.
Smaller Classes. One-on-one instruction is essential for a manual trade such as welding. It’s possible to get overlooked in larger classes and not get much personalized instruction. Ask what the typical class size is for the welder programs you are considering. Inquire if you can sit in on some classes so that you can witness how much personal attention the students are getting. While there, talk with several of the students and get their feedback. Similarly, speak with a couple 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 programs you are reviewing are flexible enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only go to classes in the evenings or on weekends near Parkersburg WV, make sure that the schools you are considering offer those choices. If you can only enroll part-time, verify that the school you select offers part-time enrollment. Also, check to see what the policy is to make up classes should you miss any because of illness, work or family circumstances.
Online Welder Classes
Welding is very much a hands-on kind of trade, and consequently not extremely suitable for training online. Having said that, there are some online welding courses offered by certain community colleges and technical schools in the greater Parkersburg WV area that may count toward a certificate or degree program. These courses primarily deal with such subjects as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help provide a beginner a basis to begin their training and education. Nevertheless, the most critical point is that you can’t learn how to weld or work with welding materials until you actually do it. Clearly 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 want to advance their expertise or possibly attain a more advanced degree. So if you should discover an online welding certificate or degree program, be very cautious and make sure that the greater part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of environment.
Free Info on Accredited Trade Schools for Welders Near Me Parkersburg WV
Choosing the right welder school will probably be the most critical decision you will make to begin your new profession. You originally stopped by our website because you had an interest in Free Info on Accredited Trade Schools for Welders Near Me and wanted more information on the topic Free Info on Weekend Trade Schools for Welders Near Me. However, as we have discussed in this article, there are many things that you will need to examine and compare among the schools you are considering. It’s a prerequisite that any welder school that you are considering includes a lot of hands-on instruction. Classes need to be smaller in size and each student should have their own welding machine to train with. Classroom teaching should offer a real-world context, and the training program should be current and conform with industry standards. Courses differ in duration and the kind of credential offered, so you will need to determine what length of program and credential will best satisfy your needs. Every training program offers different possibilities for certification also. Probably The ideal means to research your short list of schools is to visit each campus and talk with the students and faculty. Take the time to monitor a few classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make certain that you are confident that the school you select is the ideal one for you. With the proper training, hard work and commitment, the end result will be a new occupation as a professional welder in Parkersburg WV.
Other West Virginia Welder Locations
Parkersburg, West Virginia
Parkersburg is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, West Virginia, United States.[5] Located at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha rivers, it is the state's third-largest city and the largest city in the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna metropolitan area. The population was 31,492 at the 2010 census. Its peak population was 44,797 in 1960. The city is about 14 miles south of Marietta, Ohio.
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad reached Parkersburg in 1857, but lacked a crossing over the Ohio River until after the American Civil War. When the B&O completed the Parkersburg Bridge (CSX) 1868–1870 to Belpre, it was the longest railroad bridge in the world.
The Bureau of the Public Debt, an agency of the U.S. Treasury Department, was relocated from the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area in the late 20th century and headquartered in Parkersburg. In October 2012, it was merged with the Financial Management Service to form the Bureau of the Fiscal Service.
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