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Welding Schools Near Me | How to Become a Welder – Aitkin MN

How to Choose a Welding Training Class near Aitkin Minnesota

Aitkin MN welding school studentChoosing the right welding technical school near Aitkin MN is an essential first step to beginning 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 significantly, once you have narrowed down your choices, how do you pick the right one? A number of people begin by reviewing the schools that are nearest to their residences. Once they have identified those that are within driving distance, they gravitate toward the cheapest one. Yes, location and tuition cost are crucial issues when examining welder vocational schools, but they are not the only ones. Other considerations include such things as accreditation, reputation and job placement rates. So before initiating your search for a vocational school to become a welder, it’s prudent to establish a list of qualifications that your selected school must have. But before we explore our due diligence checklist, let’s talk a little bit about how to become a welder.

Welder Certificate and Degree Training Classes

Aitkin MN welder working on pipingThere are several options available to get 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 available in Welding Engineering or Welding Technology, but are more advanced courses than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also offered combined with an apprenticeship program. Following are brief explanations of the most common welding programs available in the Aitkin MN.

  • Certificate and Diploma Programs are generally made available by trade and technical schools and take about 1 year to complete. They are more hands-on training in scope, created primarily to develop 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 finish and are usually offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology offers a more extensive education than the certificate or diploma while still providing the foundation that prepares students to enter the workforce.

A number of municipalities and states do have licensing requirements for welders, so be sure to find out for your location of future employment. As required, the welder school you select should prepare you for any licensing examinations that you will need to take in addition to supplying the proper training to become a qualified welder.

Welding Certification Alternatives

Aitkin MN welder working on poleThere are a number of organizations that provide welding certifications, which assess the skill level and knowledge of those applying. Numerous Aitkin MN employers not only expect a degree or certificate from an accredited welding school, but also certification from a renowned agency such as the American Welding Society (AWS). A variety of certifications are offered dependent on the type of work that the welder does. Just some of the skills 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
  • Operate according to contract specifications

As already mentioned, many states, cities or local municipalities have licensing requirements for welders. Of those requiring 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 just as with licensing, look into the requirements for your location and verify that the welder vocational school you choose preps you for certification if needed.

How to Select a Welder Tech School

Aitkin MN welder working on carOnce you have decided on the credential you want to earn, a certificate, diploma or degree, you can begin to evaluate schools. As you are no doubt aware, there are a large number of welding trade and vocational schools in the Aitkin MN area. That’s why it’s important to determine up front what qualifications your school of choice must have. We have already discussed two important ones that most 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 considered. After all, the school you choose is going to provide the training that will be the foundation of your new vocation as a welder. So below are some additional factors you might need to consider before choosing a welder vocational school.

Accreditation. It’s extremely important that the welding tech school you select is accredited by either a national or a regional organization. There are two basic types of accreditation. The school may earn Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on a single program the school offers, for example Welding Technology. So confirm that the program you pick is accredited, not just the school itself. Also, 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). Besides helping make sure that you receive a superior education, the accreditation might also help in securing financial assistance or student loans, which are frequently not offered in Aitkin MN for schools that are not accredited. Also, for those states or municipalities that require licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited as well.

Apprenticeship and Job Placement Programs. Many welding degree or diploma programs are offered 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 looking at 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 place their students. Older schools may have a more substantial network of graduates that they can utilize for placements. These programs can help students find employment and establish relationships within the Aitkin MN welding community.

Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students that start an educational program and complete it. It’s essential that the welder school you choose has a high completion rate. A reduced rate could mean that the students who joined the program were dissatisfied with the instruction, the teachers, or the facilities, and quit. The job placement rate is also a good indicator of the caliber of training. A higher job placement rate will not only confirm that the school has a good reputation within the trade, but also that it has the network of Aitkin MN employer relationships to help students obtain employment or apprenticeships after graduation.

Modern Facilities and Equipment. After you have decreased your selection of welding programs to 2 or 3 possibilities, you should think out going to the campuses to look over their facilities. Confirm that both the facilities and the equipment that you will be instructed on are modern. Specifically, 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, ask the master welder you are working under for guidance. Otherwise, ask a local Aitkin MN welding contractor if they can give you a few tips.

School Location. Although we previously briefly covered the significance of location, there are a few additional points that we should address. You should keep in mind that unless you are able to relocate, the welding program you pick needs to be within driving distance of your Aitkin MN 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 especially true for welding certificate programs offered by community colleges. Furthermore, if the school offers a job placement or apprenticeship program, more than 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 ultimately will want to work.

Smaller Classes. Personalized training is essential for a manual trade such as welding. It’s easy to get overlooked in bigger classes and not get much one-on-one training. Find out what the typical class size is for the welder programs you are reviewing. Inquire if you can sit in on some classes so that you can see just how much personal attention the students are getting. While there, speak with some of the students and get their feedback. Similarly, talk with a couple of the trainers and find out what their welding experience has been and what credentials and certifications they have earned.

Flexible Class Schedules. Some people learn a new trade while still working at their present job. Confirm that the class schedules for the schools you are looking at are flexible enough to meet your needs. If you can only attend classes in the evenings or on weekends near Aitkin MN, confirm that the schools you are looking at offer those alternatives. If you can only attend part-time, make certain that the school you select offers part-time enrollment. Also, check to see what the protocol is to make up classes should you miss any because of work, illness or family responsibilities.

Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Aitkin MN?

Perhaps you live in the Aitkin Minnesota area, or have decided to enroll in a Welding Program that has a campus near there.  In either case, you may find this bit of history both interesting and informative.

Aitkin, Minnesota

Before the establishment of City of Aitkin, a transient community of Lexington was located at the mouth of the Ripple River.[10] However, maps from the 1860s erroneously depict the village of Ojibway (or Ogibeway), known today as Riverton, at the mouth of the Ripple River. Due to the importance of trade Lexington provided to the region, the Northern Pacific Railroad was then planned to pass near there. Aitkin was founded in 1870 when the Northern Pacific Railroad was extended to that point, replacing and then annexing Lexington.[11] The city and county were named for William Alexander Aitken, a partner of the American Fur Company and chief factor of the company's regional operations in the early 19th century.[12] Many industries had attracted people to the town. In the late 19th and early 20th century, a massive wave of immigration, mostly from present-day Ireland, Germany, and Scandinavian countries, moved into the Aitkin area to pursue the logging and riverboat industries. After the Great Depression and World War II, the logging industry has changed the town into a farming community, consisting mostly of cattle and poultry, which continued until the late 1970s to early 1980s. A creamery [13] and a turkey plant was one of the town's major economic and industrial contributors. Not many farms are currently in operation in Aitkin and many abandoned farms can be seen throughout the county. By the 1990s, Aitkin had changed into a community for retirement and tourism, especially with the lake areas, and that continues up to today. Health care, education, human services, and non-profit organizations are some of the major contributors to the modern-day Aitkin economy, along with the hospitality industry.

Aitkin throughout the years in various locations has been impacted by occasional flooding of the Mississippi River. Major notable floods had reached past 20 feet (6 m) such as the 1950 flood and nearly 19 feet (6 m), such as the summer flooding in 2012. Much damage has taken place in the town because of the floods, and the 2012 flood was one of the first floods that overflowed the lake areas, flooding the cabins, since it was caused by heavy rainfall instead of melting snow.

Five properties in Aitkin are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the 1901 Patrick Casey House, the 1902 Potter/Casey Company Building, the 1911 Aitkin Carnegie Library, the 1916 Northern Pacific Depot, and the Aitkin County Courthouse and Jail (built in 1920 and 1915, respectively).[14]

Online Welder Classes

pipe welder at work in Aitkin MNWelding is very much a manual kind of trade, and for that reason not extremely suitable for training online. Even so, there are a small number of online welding programs offered by various community colleges and trade schools in the greater Aitkin MN area that can be credited toward a certificate or degree program. These classes mainly cover such subjects as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help provide a beginner a foundation to start their training and education. Nevertheless, the most significant point is that you can’t learn how to weld or use welding materials until you actually do it. Obviously that can’t be accomplished online. These skills need to be learned in an on-campus setting or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is better suited for experienced welders that desire to advance their expertise or perhaps attain a more advanced degree. So if you should discover an online welding degree or certificate program, be extremely careful and confirm that the bulk of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of environment.

Pick the Right Welding Trade School Aitkin MN

Picking the ideal welding training program will probably be the most important decision you will make to begin your new trade. As we have discussed in this article, there are many factors that you will need to evaluate and compare among the schools you are reviewing. It’s a must that any welding training that you are assessing includes a considerable amount of hands-on instruction. Classes should be small in size and each student should have their personal welding machine to train with. Classroom education needs to provide a real-world frame of reference, and the curriculum should be current and in-line with industry standards. Training programs differ in length and the type of credential provided, so you will need to ascertain what length of program and credential will best satisfy your needs. Every training program provides unique possibilities for certification as well. Probably The ideal way to research your short list of schools is to visit each campus and speak with the faculty and students. Take the time to attend a few classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the training program you choose is the right one for you. With the proper training, hard work and commitment, the final result will be a new career as a professional welder in Aitkin MN.

 

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