Tag Archives: Welding Courses Near Me Folsom CA 95630

Welding Schools Near Me | How to Become a Welder – Folsom CA

How to Find the Right Welding Certification Class near Folsom California

Folsom CA welding school studentSelecting the right welder vocational school near Folsom CA is an essential first step to beginning your new occupation as a professional welder. But since there are numerous schools to choose from, how do you determine which ones to consider? And more importantly, once you have narrowed down your choices, how do you pick the right one? Many people start by checking out the schools that are nearest to their homes. Once they have located those that are within commuting distance, they gravitate toward the least costly one. Yes, location and tuition cost are important concerns when evaluating welder technical 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 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.

Welding Degree and Certificate Training Programs

Folsom CA welder working on pipingThere are several options available to obtain training as a welder in a technical or trade school. You can receive a diploma, a certificate 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 offered combined with an apprenticeship program. Following are brief summaries of the most common welding programs available in the Folsom CA.

  • Certificate and Diploma Programs are normally made available by trade and technical schools and require about one year to finish. They are more hands-on training in nature, fashioned mainly to develop welding skills. They can furnish a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or supplemental skills for experienced welders.
  • Associate Degree Programs will take 2 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 furnishing the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.

Many municipalities and states do have licensing requirements for welders, so make sure to check for your location of future employment. As required, the welder school you select should ready you for any licensing exams that you will have to pass in addition to supplying the suitable training to become a professional welder.

Welding Certification Alternatives

Folsom CA welder working on poleThere are a number of organizations that provide welding certifications, which assess the skill level and knowledge of those applying. Numerous Folsom CA employers not only expect a degree or certificate from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a renowned 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 things that certification can acknowledge are the welder’s ability to

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

As earlier mentioned, many cities, states or local municipalities have licensing requirements for welders. Of those mandating 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 experienced welder. So similarly as with licensing, look into the requirements for your local area and verify that the welding trade school you choose preps you for certification if needed.

How to Select a Welding Tech Program

Folsom CA welder working on carOnce you have decided on the credential you would like to attain, a degree, certificate or diploma, you can start to compare schools. As you can imagine, there are numerous welding trade and technical schools in the Folsom CA area. That’s why it’s necessary to determine up front what qualifications your school of choice must have. We have already covered a couple of significant 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 should be considered. After all, the school you choose is going to furnish the training that will be the foundation of your new profession as a welder. So following are more factors you may want to consider before selecting a welding tech school.

Accreditation. It’s extremely important that the welder technical school you select is accredited by either a national or a regional organization. There are 2 basic kinds 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, such as Welding Technology. So make sure that the program you select is accredited, not just the school itself. Additionally, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting organization, such as the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). In addition to helping ensure that you obtain a quality education, the accreditation may also help in getting financial aid or student loans, which are often not available in Folsom CA for non-accredited schools. Also, for those states or local governments that require licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited also.

Job Assistance and Apprenticeship Programs. A large number of welder degree or certificate programs are provided combined with an apprenticeship program. Various other schools will assist in placing you in an apprenticeship or a job upon graduation. Ask if the schools you are reviewing help 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. More established 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 Folsom CA welding community.

Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students that start an instructional program and finish it. It’s essential that the welding program you choose has a higher completion rate. A reduced rate could mean that the students who were in the program were unhappy with the instruction, the teachers, or the facilities, and dropped out. The job placement rate is also a good indicator of the caliber of training. A high job placement rate will not only verify that the program has a good reputation within the field, but also that it has the network of Folsom CA employer relationships to assist students secure apprenticeships or employment upon graduation.

Up-to-date Equipment and Facilities. Once you have limited your choice of welding schools to 2 or 3 possibilities, you should think out going to the campuses to evaluate their facilities. Confirm that both the facilities and the equipment that you will be trained on are up-to-date. Specifically, the training equipment should be similar to what you will be using 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. Otherwise, ask a local Folsom CA welding contractor if they can give you a few suggestions.

School Location. Even though we already briefly covered the importance of location, there are a couple of additional points that we need to deal with. You should keep in mind that unless you have the ability to move, the welding program you choose needs to be within commuting distance of your Folsom CA home. If you do opt to attend an out-of-state school, apart from relocation costs there may be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is particularly true for welding certificate programs offered by community colleges. Also, if the school provides an apprenticeship or job placement program, often their placements are within the school’s local community. So the location of the school should be in a region or state where you subsequently will desire to work.

Smaller Classes. Individualized training is important for a manual trade such as welding. It’s possible to get lost in bigger classes and not obtain much individualized instruction. Find out what the average class size is for the welder programs you are considering. Ask if you can sit in on a couple of classes so that you can observe how much personal attention the students are getting. While there, talk with a few of the students and get their opinions. Similarly, speak with a couple of the trainers and ask what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they have earned.

Flexible Class Scheduling. Many people learn a new trade while still employed at their present job. Check to see that the class schedules for the schools you are considering are convenient enough to meet your needs. If you can only attend classes at night or on weekends near Folsom CA, confirm that the schools you are assessing offer those options. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, 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 due to work, sickness or family emergencies.

Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Folsom CA?

Perhaps you live in the Folsom California 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.

Folsom, California

Folsom is named for Joseph Libbey Folsom who purchased Rancho Rio de los Americanos from the heirs of San Francisco merchant William Alexander Leidesdorff, and laid out the town called Granite City, mostly occupied by gold miners seeking their fortune in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Though few amassed a great deal of wealth, the city prospered due to Joseph Folsom's lobbying to get a railway to connect the town with Sacramento. Joseph died in 1855, and Granite City was later renamed Folsom in his honor. The railway was abandoned in the 1980s[8] but opened up as the terminus of the Gold Line of Sacramento Regional Transit District's light rail service in 2005. A few former gold-rush era towns are located within the city limits of Folsom, including Prairie City, Salmon Falls, and Mormon Island (though these towns no longer exist).

The establishment of Folsom Prison came in 1880, when the Livermore family made an agreement with the state to donate land for the prison in exchange for prison labor. They planned to build a hydro-electric dam from the American River for a sawmill. Though the sawmill did not work out, the Livermores soon realized that the natural force of running water could provide enough power to transmit to Sacramento, and the Folsom Powerhouse, now a National Historic Landmark, was opened. At the time it was opened, it had the longest overhead run of electricity (22 miles) in the country. The powerhouse operated until 1952.

Folsom Dam was built in 1956, providing much-needed flood control and water rights for the Sacramento Valley. The creation of this dam also created one of the most popular lakes in Northern California, Folsom Lake. The dam is located on the southwest corner of the lake. The lake is an estimated 4.8 miles (7.7 km) from Granite Bay to the most southern point of Folsom Lake.

Online Welding Certificate and Degree Programs

pipe welder at work in Folsom CAWelding is very much a manual kind of vocation, and therefore not very suitable for training online. Having said that, there are a few online welding courses offered by certain community colleges and vocational schools in the greater Folsom CA area that may count toward a degree or certificate program. These courses primarily deal with such topics as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help give a novice a basis to initiate their training and education. Nevertheless, the most critical point is that you can’t learn how to weld or handle welding materials unless you actually do it. Naturally 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 better suited for experienced welders that desire to advance their knowledge or perhaps attain a more advanced degree. So if you should find an online welding degree or certificate program, be extremely cautious and confirm that the majority of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.

Choose the Best Welding Vocational Program Folsom CA

Selecting the best welding school will undoubtedly be the most critical decision you will make to launch your new trade. As we have addressed in this article, there are many things that you will need to examine and compare between the programs you are looking at. It’s a must that any welding school that you are evaluating includes a good deal of hands-on training. Classes need to be smaller in size and every student should have their personal welding machine to train with. Classroom education needs to offer a real-world frame of reference, and the course of study should be up-to-date and in-line with industry standards. Courses vary in duration and the kind of credential offered, so you will have to determine what length of program and degree or certificate will best serve your needs. Every training program provides different options for certification as well. Probably the best means to research your final list of schools is to visit each campus and speak with the faculty and students. Invest some time to sit in on 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 final outcome will be a new trade as a professional welder in Folsom CA.

 

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