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Welding Schools Near Me | How to Become a Welder – Blackfoot ID

How to Enroll In a Welding Degree Program near Blackfoot Idaho

Blackfoot ID welding school studentSelecting the right welder technical school near Blackfoot ID is an essential first step to starting your new career as a professional welder. But since there are so many schools to select from, how do you know which ones to consider? And more notably, once you have fine tuned your options, how do you pick the right one? A number of prospective students start by reviewing the schools that are nearest to their residences. Once they have identified those that are within driving distance, they are drawn toward the least costly one. Yes, location and the cost of tuition are necessary considerations when examining welding technical schools, but they are not the only ones. Other concerns include such things as reputation, accreditation and job placement rates. So before starting your search for a vocational school to become a welder, it’s sensible 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.

Welding Certificate and Degree Training

Blackfoot ID welder working on pipingThere are a number of options available to obtain training as a welder in a trade or technical school. You can earn 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 made available combined with an apprenticeship program. Following are brief explanations of the most prevalent welding programs available in the Blackfoot ID.

  • Certificate and Diploma Programs are generally offered by trade and technical schools and require about a year to finish. They are more hands-on training in scope, fashioned largely to develop welding skills. They can furnish a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or supplemental 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 furnishes a more well-rounded education than the certificate or diploma while still supplying the foundation that prepares students to enter the workforce.

Many states and municipalities do have licensing requirements for welders, therefore be sure to check for your location of future employment. If required, the welding school you select should prep you for any licensing exams that you will have to pass in addition to supplying the appropriate training to become a professional welder.

Welder Certification Alternatives

Blackfoot ID welder working on poleThere are various organizations that offer welding certifications, which assess the knowledge and skill level of those applying. A large number of Blackfoot ID 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 kind of work that the welder does. A few of the skills that certification can attest to are the welder’s ability to

  • Operate in compliance with specific codes
  • Work with certain metal thicknesses
  • Work with specific kinds of welds
  • Work based on contract specifications

As previously stated, some cities, states or local municipalities have licensing requirements for welders. Of those mandating licensing, some additionally require certification for different kinds of work. Certification is also a means to demonstrate to employers that you are an extremely skilled and experienced welder. So just as with licensing, look into the requirements for your location and confirm that the welder vocational school you select prepares you for certification if needed.

How to Select a Welding Vocational Program

Blackfoot ID welder working on carWhen you have chosen the credential you would like to obtain, a diploma, certificate or degree, you can start to assess schools. As you are no doubt aware, there are numerous welder vocational and trade schools in the Blackfoot ID area. That’s why it’s important to establish in advance what qualifications your selected school must have. We have already covered a couple of significant ones that most people look at first, which are location and tuition cost. As stated, although they are essential qualifications, they are not the only ones that should be looked at. After all, the program you pick is going to provide the education that will be the foundation of your new vocation as a welder. So below are some additional factors you may want to consider before picking a welder technical school.

Accreditation. It’s extremely important that the welding technical school you choose is accredited by either a regional or a national 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 a single program the school has, for instance Welding Technology. So confirm 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 make sure that you receive a quality education, the accreditation may also help in getting financial aid or student loans, which are often not offered in Blackfoot ID for non-accredited schools. Also, for those states or municipalities that mandate licensing, they may require that the welder training program be accredited also.

Job Assistance and Apprenticeship Programs. Many welder diploma or degree programs are offered combined with an apprenticeship program. Various other schools will assist in placing you in an apprenticeship or a job after graduation. Ask if the schools you are looking at assist in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job placement program. These schools must have partnerships with local unions and other 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 develop associations within the Blackfoot ID welding community.

Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that enroll in an instructional program and complete it. It’s crucial that the welding school you pick has a high completion rate. A reduced rate may mean that the students who enrolled in the program were dissatisfied with the training, 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 affirm that the program has an excellent reputation within the industry, but also that it has the network of Blackfoot ID employer relationships to help students obtain employment or apprenticeships after graduation.

Modern Equipment and Facilities. Once you have limited your selection of welding programs to 2 or 3 possibilities, you should think out visiting the campuses to evaluate their facilities. Make sure that both the facilities and the equipment that you will be taught on are up-to-date. In particular, the training equipment should be similar to what you will be working with in the field. If you are not sure what to look for, and are already in an apprenticeship program, consult with the master welder you are working under for guidance. If not, ask a local Blackfoot ID welding contractor if they can give you a few suggestions.

School Location. Although we previously briefly discussed the importance of location, there are a couple of additional points that we should address. You should remember that unless you have the ability to relocate, the welding program you pick must be within commuting distance of your Blackfoot ID home. If you do decide to enroll in an out-of-state school, besides relocation expenses there may be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially the case for welder degree programs offered by community colleges. Additionally, if the school provides a job placement or apprenticeship program, often their placements are within the school’s local community. So the location of the school should be in an area or state where you ultimately will want to work.

Small Classes. Personalized training is important for a manual trade such as welding. It’s possible to be overlooked in bigger classes and not receive much personalized training. Find out what the average class size is for the welder schools you are reviewing. Ask if you can sit in on a couple of classes so that you can see how much personal attention the students are receiving. 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 certifications and credentials they hold.

Flexible Class Scheduling. Some people learn a new profession while still employed at their present job. Verify that the class schedules for the programs you are reviewing are convenient enough to satisfy your needs. If you can only attend classes at night or on weekends near Blackfoot ID, make sure that the schools you are looking at provide those alternatives. If you can only attend part-time, make sure that the school you decide on offers part-time enrollment. Also, find out what the policy is to make up classes if you you miss any due to work, illness or family circumstances.

Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Blackfoot ID?

Perhaps you live in the Blackfoot Idaho 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.

Blackfoot, Idaho

Blackfoot is a city in Bingham County, Idaho, United States. The population was 11,899 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Bingham County.[5] Blackfoot boasts the largest potato industry in any one area, and is known as the "Potato Capital of the World."[6] It is the site of the Idaho Potato Museum (a museum and gift shop that displays and explains the history of Idaho's potato industry), and the home of the world's largest baked potato and potato chip. Blackfoot is also the location of the Eastern Idaho State Fair, which operates between Labor Day weekend and the following weekend.

The city of Blackfoot is located near the center of Bingham County, on the south side of the Snake River. It was designated the county seat by the Thirteenth Territorial Legislature on January 13, 1885.[7] Originally, the county seat was to be Eagle Rock (the original name for Idaho Falls). However, supposedly, on the night before the legislation was to be signed, men from Blackfoot bribed a clerk to erase Eagle Rock and write in Blackfoot. The measure went through without opposition and was signed by the governor.[8] The origin of this accusation, written many years after the event, was a Blackfoot newspaper editor named Byrd Trego. The battle for county seat between Eagle Rock and Blackfoot was a political tug-of-war involving sectional and anti-Mormon factions in the Idaho Legislature. The leader of the southeastern Idaho anti-Mormons was a Yale graduate named Fred T. Dubois, who settled in Blackfoot in 1880. The legislative maneuvering to overturn Eagle Rock as the county seat naturally left “disparaging rumors intimating some skullduggery on Blackfoot’s part.”[9]

Frederick S. Stevens and Joe Warren were the first permanent white settlers of record in Bingham County.[10] In 1866 Stevens and Warren filed claims in the Snake River Valley near the present-day location of Blackfoot, where they started farming and ranching.[11] The area was a flat, expansive plain of sagebrush frequented by Indians. To create a place of safety for the scattered settlers when they feared Indian trouble, Mr. Warren outfitted his cabin with holes between the logs where men could stand guard, day or night, until the natives left the neighborhood.[12] When the Utah Northern Railroad signed contracts to expand north into Idaho in the 1870s, some of the settlers laid out a town on the Shilling and Lewis homesteads.[13] The planned town, named Blackfoot, which was what the area had been called by fur traders, was near the Corbett stage station, about a mile from the Snake River, and two miles from the Blackfoot River.[14]

Online Welder Schools

pipe welder at work in Blackfoot IDWelding is truly a manual type of profession, and therefore not very suitable for training online. Having said that, there are a small number of online welding programs offered by various community colleges and vocational schools in the greater Blackfoot ID area that can be credited toward a certificate or degree program. These classes mainly cover such subjects as reading blueprints, safety,, and metallurgy. They can help give a beginner a foundation to begin their education and training. Nevertheless, the most critical point is that you can’t learn how to weld or use welding materials until you actually do it. Clearly that can’t be done online. These skills have to be learned in an on-campus environment 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 extremely careful and make certain that the majority of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of environment.

Pick the Ideal Welding Vocational School Blackfoot ID

Choosing the right welding school will undoubtedly be the most important decision you will make to begin your new trade. As we have addressed in this article, there are several factors that you will need to examine and compare among the schools you are looking at. It’s a prerequisite that any welding training program that you are considering includes a lot of hands-on training. Classes should be smaller in size and each student must have their personal welding machine to train on. Classroom teaching should provide a real-world context, and the training program should be current and in-line with industry standards. Training programs vary in length and the kind of credential provided, so you will need to ascertain what length of program and credential will best serve your needs. Each training program offers different options for certification as well. Probably the best means to research your final list of schools is to check out each campus and speak with the students and instructors. Take the time to monitor some classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the program you pick is the ideal one for you. With the proper training, hard work and commitment, the end result will be a new career as a professional welder in Blackfoot ID.

 

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