How to Pick a Welder Certification Program near Lilburn Georgia
Choosing the ideal welding school near Lilburn GA is an important first step to launching your new career as a professional welder. But since there are a lot of schools to pick from, how do you determine which ones to consider? And more notably, once you have narrowed down your alternatives, how do you select the best one? Most people begin by looking at the schools that are closest to their homes. When they have found those that are within driving distance, they gravitate toward the least costly one. Yes, location and tuition cost are crucial issues when evaluating 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 vocational school to become a welder, it’s prudent to develop a list of qualifications that your chosen school must have. But before we delve into our due diligence checklist, let’s cover a little bit about how to become a welder.
Welder Degree and Certificate Training Courses
There are a number of options to receive training as a welder in a trade or vocational school. You can receive a a certificate, a diploma or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are offered in Welding Technology or Welding Engineering, but are more advanced degrees than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Following are short descriptions of the most common welding programs available in the Lilburn GA.
- Diploma and Certificate Programs are generally offered by trade and technical schools and take about 1 year to finish. They are more hands-on training in scope, designed largely to teach welding skills. They can furnish a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or specialized skills for working welders.
- Associate Degree Programs will take 2 years to finish and are most often offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology provides a more well-rounded education than the diploma or certificate while still furnishing the foundation that prepares students to enter the workforce.
Some municipalities and states do have licensing requirements for welders, so be sure to find out for your location of future employment. As needed, the welding school you choose should prep you for any licensing exams that you will need to pass in addition to providing the suitable training to become a qualified welder.
Welding Certification Options
There are several organizations that provide welding certifications, which evaluate the knowledge and skill level of those applying. Numerous Lilburn GA employers not only require a degree or certificate from an accredited welding school, but also certification from a highly regarded organization like the American Welding Society (AWS). A wide range of certifications are available dependent on the type of work that the welder does. Some 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 various types of welds
- Operate according to contract specifications
As previously mentioned, many states, cities or local municipalities have licensing mandates for welders. Of those mandating licensing, a number additionally require certification for different kinds of work. Certification is also a way to prove to employers that you are a highly skilled and qualified welder. So similarly as with licensing, look into the requirements for your location and confirm that the welding tech school you choose prepares you for certification as needed.
How to Decide on a Welding Trade Program
As soon as you have decided on the credential you want to earn, a certificate, diploma or degree, you can start to assess schools. As you are no doubt aware, there are numerous welder trade and technical schools in the Lilburn GA area. That’s why it’s essential to establish up front what qualifications your school of choice must have. We have previously covered a couple of significant ones that many people consider first, which are location and the cost of tuition. As mentioned, although they are essential qualifications, they are not the only ones that must be considered. After all, the school you decide on is going to provide the training that will be the foundation of your new profession as a welder. So below are more factors you might need to consider before choosing a welder technical school.
Accreditation. It’s very important that the welding trade school you choose is accredited by either a national or a regional organization. There are two standard kinds of accreditation. The school may earn Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on an individual program the school offers, such as Welding Technology. So make sure that the program you choose is accredited, not just the school alone. Also, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting agency, for example the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). In addition to helping ensure that you obtain a superior education, the accreditation might also assist in obtaining financial assistance or student loans, which are frequently unavailable in Lilburn GA for non-accredited schools. Also, for those states or municipalities that mandate licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited as well.
Job Assistance and Apprenticeship Programs. Numerous welding certificate or degree programs are offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Various other schools will assist in placing you in a job or an apprenticeship after graduation. Find out if the schools you are looking at assist in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job placement program. The schools should have associations 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 rely upon for referrals. These programs can assist students in finding employment and establish associations within the Lilburn GA welding community.
Job Placement and Completion Rates. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students that start an instructional program and finish it. It’s important that the welder program you pick has a high completion rate. A lower rate may signify that the students who enrolled in the program were unhappy with the training, the teachers, or the facilities, and quit. The job placement rate is also a good indicator of the quality of training. A high job placement rate will not only confirm that the school has an excellent reputation within the industry, but additionally that it has the network of Lilburn GA contacts to help students obtain apprenticeships or employment upon graduation.
Up-to-date Facilities and Equipment. After you have decreased your choice 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 taught on are up-to-date. In particular, the training equipment should be comparable to what you will be using in the field. If you are uncertain 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 Lilburn GA welding professional if they can give you some suggestions.
School Location. Even though we previously briefly talked about the significance of location, there are a few additional issues that we need to address. You should remember that unless you are able to relocate, the welder school you select must be within driving distance of your Lilburn GA home. If you do choose to enroll in an out-of-state school, apart from relocation expenses there could be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is particularly true for welder degree programs offered by community colleges. Also, if the school offers an apprenticeship or job placement 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 subsequently will desire to work.
Small Classes. Individualized training is essential for a hands-on trade such as welding. It’s easy to be lost in bigger classes and not obtain much individualized training. Find out what the usual class size is for the welder programs you are reviewing. Ask if you can sit in on some classes so that you can witness just how much personal attention the students are getting. While there, speak with some of the students and get their feedback. Also, talk with some of the instructors and ask what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they hold.
Convenient Class Scheduling. Lots of folks learn a new profession while still employed at their current job. Check to see that the class schedules for the schools you are looking at are flexible enough to satisfy your needs. If you can only attend classes in the evenings or on weekends near Lilburn GA, verify that the schools you are reviewing provide those alternatives. If you can only enroll on a part-time basis, verify that the school you select offers part-time enrollment. Also, ask what the policy is to make up classes should you miss any because of work, sickness or family responsibilities.
Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Lilburn GA?
Perhaps you live in the Lilburn Georgia 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.
Lilburn, Georgia
Lilburn is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. The population was 11,596 at the 2010 census.[3] The estimated population was 12,655 in 2015.[4] It is a developed suburb of Atlanta and a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area.
Lilburn is located in western Gwinnett County at 33°53′20″N 84°8′27″W / 33.88889°N 84.14083°W / 33.88889; -84.14083 (33.888853, -84.140897).[5]U.S. Route 29 (Lawrenceville Highway) passes through the center of town, leading southwest 19 miles (31 km) to downtown Atlanta and northeast 11 miles (18 km) to Lawrenceville, the Gwinnett County seat.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Lilburn has a total area of 6.4 square miles (16.5 km2), of which 6.3 square miles (16.4 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km2), or 0.82%, is water.[3]
Online Welding Training
Welding is very much a manual kind of vocation, and for that reason not extremely compatible with online training. Having said that, there are a few online welding courses offered by various community colleges and vocational schools in the greater Lilburn GA area that can count toward a certificate or degree program. These courses primarily deal with such topics as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help provide a beginner a foundation to initiate their education and training. Nevertheless, the most important point is that you can’t learn how to weld or handle welding materials until you actually do it. Obviously that can’t be done online. These skills must 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 knowledge or perhaps earn a more advanced degree. So if you should discover an online welding certificate or degree program, be extremely careful and verify that the greater part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.
Find the Best Welding Vocational Program Lilburn GA
Picking the best welding training program will undoubtedly be the most critical decision you will make to launch your new trade. As we have addressed in this article, there are several things that you will need to assess and compare between the schools you are considering. It’s a prerequisite that any welder training that you are examining includes a lot of hands-on training. Classes need to be smaller in size and each student must have their own welding machine to train on. Classroom teaching needs to provide a real-world perspective, and the course of study should be up-to-date and in-line with industry standards. Courses vary in length and the type of credential offered, so you will need to determine what length of program and degree or certificate will best fulfill your needs. Every program provides unique options for certification also. Probably The ideal way to research your final list of schools is to visit each campus and talk with the students and instructors. Invest some time to monitor some classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make certain that you are confident that the training program you choose is the best one for you. With the proper training, hard work and commitment, the end result will be a new trade as a professional welder in Lilburn GA.
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