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Welding Schools Near Me | How to Become a Welder – Mount Pleasant MI

How to Find the Right Welding Trade School near Mount Pleasant Michigan

Mount Pleasant MI welding school studentChoosing the right welder vocational school near Mount Pleasant MI is an important first step to beginning your new career as a professional welder. But since there are a lot of schools to choose from, how do you determine which ones to consider? And more notably, once you have narrowed down your options, how do you pick the right one? A number of prospective students start by checking out the schools that are closest to their residences. When they have located those that are within driving distance, they gravitate toward the least expensive one. Yes, location and tuition cost are important considerations when examining welder technical schools, but they are not the only ones. Other factors include such things as accreditation, reputation and job placement rates. So before beginning your search for a trade school to become a welder, it’s prudent to create a list of qualifications that your chosen school must have. But before we explore our due diligence checklist, let’s cover a little bit about how to become a welder.

Welder Certificate and Degree Training

Mount Pleasant MI welder working on pipingThere are multiple alternatives available to obtain training as a welder in a trade or technical school. You can earn a a certificate, a diploma or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are offered in Welding Technology or Welding Engineering, but are more advanced programs than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also made available in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Below are short summaries of the most common welding programs available in the Mount Pleasant MI.

  • Diploma and Certificate Programs are generally made available by technical and trade schools and take about 1 year to finish. They are more hands-on training in nature, designed primarily to develop welding skills. They can furnish a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or additional skills for experienced welders.
  • Associate Degree Programs will take 2 years to complete and are usually offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology provides a more well-rounded education than the diploma or certificate while still providing the foundation that prepares students to enter the workforce.

Many municipalities and states do have licensing requirements for welders, therefore be sure to find out for your location of future employment. If required, the welding school you pick should ready you for any licensing exams that you will have to pass in addition to furnishing the appropriate training to become a qualified welder.

Welding Certification Options

Mount Pleasant MI welder working on poleThere are a number of institutions that offer welding certifications, which assess the skill level and knowledge of those applying. Many Mount Pleasant MI employers not only require a certificate or degree from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a highly regarded agency such as the American Welding Society (AWS). A variety of certifications are offered based upon the type of work that the welder does. Some of the things that certification can acknowledge are the welder’s ability to

  • Operate in compliance with specific codes
  • Work with specific metal thicknesses
  • Work with various types of welds
  • Work according to contract specifications

As formerly mentioned, some states, cities or local municipalities have licensing requirements for welders. Of those calling for licensing, a number also require certification for various types of work. Certification is also a way to demonstrate to employers that you are an extremely skilled and knowledgeable welder. So just as with licensing, check the requirements for your local area and make sure that the welder technical school you decide on readies you for certification as needed.

How to Decide on a Welder Trade Program

Mount Pleasant MI welder working on carAfter you have decided on the credential you would like to earn, a diploma, certificate or degree, you can begin to evaluate schools. As you can imagine, there are a large number of welder trade and technical schools in the Mount Pleasant MI area. That’s why it’s essential to decide in advance what qualifications your school of choice must have. We have already discussed two significant ones that most people consider first, which are location and tuition cost. As mentioned, although they are very important qualifiers, they are not the only ones that need to be looked at. After all, the program you pick is going to furnish the training that will be the foundation of your new career as a welder. So below are some additional factors you may need to evaluate before selecting a welding vocational school.

Accreditation. It’s very important that the welding technical school you choose is accredited by either a national or a regional organization. There are 2 standard kinds of accreditation. The school may earn Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on a specific program the school has, such as Welding Technology. So confirm that the program you select is accredited, not just the school itself. 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 ensure that you get a superior education, the accreditation may also assist in obtaining financial assistance or student loans, which are in many cases not available in Mount Pleasant MI for schools that are not accredited. Finally, 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. Many welding degree or diploma programs are offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Other schools will assist in placing you in an apprenticeship or a job after graduation. Find out if the schools you are reviewing assist in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job placement program. The schools should have partnerships with local unions and other metal working businesses to which they can refer their students. Older schools may have a larger network of graduates that they can utilize for placements. These programs can help students find employment and establish relationships within the Mount Pleasant MI welding community.

Job Placement and Completion Rates. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students that begin an instructional program and complete it. It’s essential that the welder program you pick has a higher completion rate. A low rate could signify that the students who enrolled in the program were dissatisfied with the instruction, the instructors, or the facilities, and quit. The job placement rate is also an indication of the caliber of training. A high job placement rate will not only verify that the school has a good reputation within the industry, but additionally that it has the network of Mount Pleasant MI employer relationships to help students secure apprenticeships or employment after graduation.

Modern Equipment and Facilities. After you have limited your selection of welder programs to two or three possibilities, you should consider visiting the campuses to inspect their facilities. Confirm that both the facilities and the equipment that you will be instructed on are modern. In particular, the training equipment should be comparable to what you will be working with on the job. 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. Otherwise, ask a local Mount Pleasant MI welding contractor if they can give you a few suggestions.

School Location. Even though we previously briefly discussed the importance of location, there are a couple of additional issues that we should address. You should keep in mind that unless you can relocate, the welder school you choose needs to be within commuting distance of your Mount Pleasant MI home. If you do opt to enroll in an out-of-state school, in addition to moving expenses there might be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially the case for welder diploma programs offered by community colleges. Furthermore, if the school provides a job placement or apprenticeship program, more than likely their placements are within the school’s local community. So the location of the school should be in a region or state where you ultimately will desire to work.

Small Classes. Personalized training is essential for a hands-on trade such as welding. It’s possible to be lost in larger classes and not get much personalized training. Ask what the typical class size is for the welder schools you are looking at. Ask if you can attend a couple of classes so that you can observe just how much personal attention the students are getting. While there, speak with a few of the students and get their evaluations. Similarly, talk to a few of the instructors and ask 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 employed at their current job. Make sure that the class schedules for the schools you are considering are flexible enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only go to classes at night or on weekends near Mount Pleasant MI, make certain that the schools you are assessing provide those alternatives. If you can only enroll part-time, confirm that the school you choose offers part-time enrollment. Also, ask what the policy is to make up classes if you you miss any because of work, sickness or family responsibilities.

Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Mount Pleasant MI?

Perhaps you live in the Mount Pleasant Michigan 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.

Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Part of the city (with a population of 8,741) is located within the Isabella Indian Reservation, the base of the federally recognized Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Nation. This is the site of the Tribe's Soaring Eagle Casino.

The city is home to the main campuses of Central Michigan University, one of the largest universities in the state with 20,000 students at Mount Pleasant, and Mid Michigan Community College. The student population nearly doubles the population of the city during the academic year, making it a college town.

Until the mid-19th century, this area was occupied by historical bands of the Ojibwa people, known by English speakers as the Chippewa. In the early decades of the century, they ceded vast amounts of land to the United States government, which wanted to extinguish Native American land titles to enable settlement by European Americans.

Online Welder Certificate and Degree Programs

pipe welder at work in Mount Pleasant MIWelding is very much a hands-on type of profession, and for that reason not extremely compatible with online training. Having said that, there are some online welding classes offered by certain community colleges and trade schools in the greater Mount Pleasant MI area that may be credited toward a degree or certificate program. These classes primarily deal with such subjects as reading blueprints, safety,, and metallurgy. They can help give a novice a foundation to initiate their training and education. However, the most critical point is that you can’t learn how to weld or handle welding materials unless 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 extremely cautious and make sure that the larger part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of environment.

Choose the Best Welding Vocational School Mount Pleasant MI

Selecting the ideal welding school will undoubtedly be the most critical decision you will make to start your new trade. As we have discussed in this article, there are a number of factors that you will need to examine and compare between the schools you are reviewing. It’s a prerequisite that any welder school that you are reviewing includes a lot of hands-on training. Classes need to be smaller in size and every student must have their own welding machine to train on. Classroom teaching needs to provide a real-world context, and the course of study should be up-to-date and conform with industry standards. Courses vary in duration and the kind of credential provided, so you will have to ascertain what length of program and certificate or degree will best fulfill your needs. Every program offers unique options for certification also. Perhaps The ideal way to research your final list of schools is to go to each campus and talk with the students and instructors. Take the time to sit in on a few classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the program you decide on is the best one for you. With the right training, hard work and commitment, the final result will be a new occupation as a professional welder in Mount Pleasant MI.

 

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