Tag Archives: Welding Tech Schools Near Me Northville MI 48167

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

How to Enroll In a Welder Certification Course near Northville Michigan

Northville MI welding school studentFinding the ideal welding trade school near Northville MI is an important first step to beginning your new career as a professional welder. But since there are so many 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 select the right one? A number of prospective students start by looking at the schools that are closest to their residences. When they have identified those that are within driving distance, they gravitate toward the least expensive one. Yes, location and the cost of tuition are necessary issues when evaluating welder vocational schools, but they are not the only ones. Other concerns 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 sensible to create a list of qualifications that your selected school must have. But before we delve into our due diligence checklist, let’s cover a little bit about how to become a welder.

Welding Degree and Certificate Training Programs

Northville MI welder working on pipingThere are multiple alternatives available to receive training as a welder in a trade or technical school. You can obtain a diploma, a certificate or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are offered in Welding Technology or Welding Engineering, but are more advanced courses than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also offered along with an apprenticeship program. Below are brief descriptions of the most typical welding programs available in the Northville MI.

  • Certificate and Diploma Programs are generally offered by trade and technical schools and take about a year to finish. They are more hands-on training in scope, designed mainly 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 two years to complete and are most often 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 prepares students to enter the workforce.

A number of states and municipalities do have licensing requirements for welders, so make sure to find out for your location of potential employment. If needed, the welding school you select should prepare you for any licensing exams that you will need to pass in addition to furnishing the suitable training to become a qualified welder.

Welder Certification Alternatives

Northville MI welder working on poleThere are a number of institutions that provide welder certifications, which test the knowledge and skill level of those applying. Numerous Northville MI employers not only demand a certificate or degree from an accredited welding school, but also certification from a highly regarded organization such as the American Welding Society (AWS). Different certifications are available dependent on the type of work that the welder performs. Just some of the things that certification can acknowledge are the welder’s ability to

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

As previously stated, various states, cities or local municipalities have licensing requirements for welders. Of those requiring licensing, a number additionally require certification for various kinds of work. Certification is also a means to prove to employers that you are an extremely skilled and knowledgeable welder. So just as with licensing, look into the requirements for your local area and confirm that the welder vocational school you choose prepares you for certification if needed.

How to Choose a Welder Trade School

Northville MI welder working on carWhen you have chosen the credential you would like to attain, a degree, certificate or diploma, you can begin to evaluate schools. As you probably know, there are numerous welder trade and technical schools in the Northville MI 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 the cost of tuition. As stated, although they are very important qualifiers, they are not the only ones that should be considered. After all, the program you select is going to furnish the instruction that will be the foundation of your new career as a welder. So below are some additional factors you might need to evaluate before choosing a welding trade school.

Accreditation. It’s very important that the welder tech school you select is accredited by either a regional or a national agency. There are two standard 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, 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, for example the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). Besides helping ensure that you get a superior education, the accreditation may also assist in acquiring financial assistance or student loans, which are often not available in Northville MI for non-accredited schools. Finally, for those states or local governments that require licensing, they may require that the welder training program be accredited as well.

Job Assistance and Apprenticeship Programs. A large number of welding diploma or degree programs are offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Some other schools will assist in placing you in an apprenticeship or a job after graduation. Find out if the schools you are looking at help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job placement program. The schools should have relationships with local unions and various metal working businesses to which they can refer their students. Older schools may have a more substantial network of graduates that they can rely upon for placements. These programs can help students find employment and develop relationships within the Northville MI welding community.

Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students that start an instructional program and complete it. It’s important that the welder school you select has a higher completion rate. A reduced rate may signify that the students who were in the program were unhappy with the instruction, the instructors, or the facilities, and dropped out. The job placement rate is also an indication of the caliber of training. A higher job placement rate will not only confirm that the program has a good reputation within the trade, but also that it has the network of Northville MI contacts to help students secure apprenticeships or employment after graduation.

Up-to-date Facilities and Equipment. After you have limited your choice of welding programs to two or three options, you should consider visiting the campuses to inspect their facilities. Confirm that both the facilities and the equipment that you will be trained on are modern. Specifically, the training equipment should be comparable to what you will be using on the job. If you are not sure what to look for, and are already in an apprenticeship program, ask the master welder you are working under for guidance. Otherwise, ask a local Northville MI welding contractor if they can give you a few suggestions.

School Location. Although we already briefly discussed the importance of location, there are a couple of additional points that we need to cover. You should remember that unless you have the ability to relocate, the welder school you pick must be within driving distance of your Northville MI home. If you do opt to enroll in an out-of-state school, in addition to relocation expenses there may be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially true for welding degree programs offered by community colleges. Additionally, 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 needs to be in a region or state where you ultimately will desire to work.

Smaller Classes. One-on-one training is important for a manual trade such as welding. It’s easy to be lost in bigger classes and not get much individualized instruction. Find out what the average class size is for the welding programs you are looking at. Inquire if you can sit in on a couple of classes so that you can see just how much personal attention the students are getting. While there, speak with a few of the students and get their evaluations. Also, talk with a couple of the teachers and ask what their welding experience has been and what credentials and certifications they hold.

Flexible Class Scheduling. Some people learn a new profession while still working at their current job. Confirm that the class schedules for the programs you are considering are convenient enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only go to classes at night or on weekends near Northville MI, make sure that the schools you are looking at provide those choices. If you can only enroll on a part-time basis, confirm that the school you decide on offers part-time enrollment. Also, ask what the policy is to make up classes should you miss any because of work, illness or family emergencies.

Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Northville MI?

Perhaps you live in the Northville 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.

Northville, Michigan

Northville is a city located in and divided by Oakland and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. The area is a suburb of Metropolitan Detroit. The population was 5,970 at the 2010 census.[7] Most of the city is in Oakland County and is surrounded by the city of Novi, while the other part is in Wayne County and is surrounded by Northville Township. Northville is served by Northville Public Schools. The city is located 21 miles (34 km) northeast of Ann Arbor and 29 miles (47 km) northwest of Detroit.

Northville was first settled in 1825, was incorporated as a Village in 1867, and as a City in 1955. It was originally one of two communities within Plymouth Township, until Northville Township split off to form its own township in 1898.

The first land patent in the Northville area was granted to Gideon Benton in 1823 where Cass Benton Park is currently located. The first settlers did not arrive, however, until 1825. Many of these first settlers were originally from New York State, but came from the nearby, already settled Plymouth community to Northville.

Online Welding Degree and Certificate Programs

pipe welder at work in Northville MIWelding is truly a manual type of trade, and therefore not extremely compatible with training online. Even so, there are a small number of online welding courses offered by certain community colleges and trade schools in the greater Northville MI area that may count toward a certificate or degree program. These courses mainly deal with such subjects as reading blueprints, safety,, and metallurgy. They can help give a novice a foundation to start their education and training. Nevertheless, the most important point is that you can’t learn how to weld or work with welding materials until you actually do it. Clearly that can’t be performed online. These skills must 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 expertise or perhaps earn 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 environment.

Select the Right Welding Technical School Northville MI

Choosing the ideal welding training program will probably be the most critical decision you will make to begin your new career. As we have addressed in this article, there are many factors that you will need to evaluate and compare among the programs you are reviewing. It’s a must that any welding training program that you are examining includes a good deal of hands-on instruction. Classes need to be small in size and every student must have their own welding machine to train with. Classroom instruction should offer a real-world perspective, and the curriculum should be current and in-line with industry standards. Training programs vary in duration and the type of credential provided, so you will need to decide what length of program and certificate or degree will best serve your needs. Every training program provides different options for certification as well. Perhaps the best means to research your short 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 training program you pick is the right one for you. With the proper training, hard work and dedication, the final result will be a new trade as a professional welder in Northville MI.

 

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