How to Select a Welding Technical School near Preston Georgia

Selecting the right welder school near Preston GA is an important first step to starting your new occupation as a professional welder. But since there are so many schools to select from, how do you determine which ones to consider? And more significantly, once you have fine tuned your alternatives, how do you select the best one? Many prospective students start by looking at the schools that are closest to their homes. Once they have found those that are within commuting distance, they gravitate toward the cheapest one. Yes, location and the cost of tuition are necessary considerations when examining welder vocational schools, but they are not the only ones. Other considerations include such things as reputation, accreditation and job placement rates. So before starting your search for a trade school to become a welder, it’s prudent to establish a list of qualifications that your chosen school must have. But before we explore our due diligence checklist, let’s talk a little bit about how to become a welder.

Welder Certificate and Degree Training Programs

There are multiple options available to get training as a welder in a trade or vocational school. You can earn a diploma, a certificate or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are available in Welding Technology or Welding Engineering, but are more advanced degrees than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also offered along with an apprenticeship program. Following are brief summaries of the most typical welding programs offered in the Preston GA.

• Certificate and Diploma Programs are normally made available by technical and trade schools and require about a year to finish. They are more hands-on training in nature, fashioned primarily to develop welding skills. They can provide a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or additional skills for experienced welders.
• Associate Degree Programs will take two years to finish and are most often offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology furnishes a more extensive education than the diploma or certificate while still providing 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 potential employment. If needed, the welder school you choose should prepare you for any licensing examinations that you will need to pass in addition to providing the suitable training to become a professional welder.

Welder Certification Options

There are several organizations that provide welding certifications, which assess the skill level and knowledge of those applying. A large number of Preston GA employers not only require a certificate or degree from an accredited welding school, but also certification from a highly regarded agency like the American Welding Society (AWS). A variety of certifications are offered based on the kind of work that the welder does. Some of the things that certification can attest to are the welder’s ability to

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

As already stated, some states, cities or local municipalities have licensing mandates for welders. Of those requiring licensing, a number also require certification for various types 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 trade school you select prepares you for certification as needed.

How to Select a Welding Technical School

Once you have chosen the credential you would like to earn, a degree, certificate or diploma, you can start to evaluate schools. As you are no doubt aware, there are a large number of welder trade and technical schools in the Preston GA area. That’s why it’s important to determine in advance what qualifications your chosen school must have. We have already discussed two important ones that most people consider first, which are location and tuition cost. As stated, although they are very important qualifications, they are not the only ones that need to be looked at. After all, the school you decide on is going to provide the instruction that will be the foundation of your new career as a welder. So below are some additional factors you may need to consider before choosing a welder vocational school.

Accreditation. It’s very important that the welding vocational school you choose is accredited by either a regional or a national 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 an individual program the school has, such as Welding Technology. So make certain that the program you pick is accredited, not just the school alone. Also, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting agency, like the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). Besides helping ensure that you obtain an excellent education, the accreditation can also assist in securing financial aid or student loans, which are in many cases not offered in Preston GA for non-accredited schools. Finally, for those states or local governments that mandate licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited also.

Apprenticeship and Job Assistance Programs. A large number of welder degree or diploma programs are provided combined with an apprenticeship program. Some other schools will help place 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. These schools should have relationships with local unions and other metal working businesses to which they can place their students. More established 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 Preston GA welding community.

Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that start an instructional program and complete it. It’s important that the welder school you pick has a high completion rate. A reduced rate may mean that the students who were in the program were dissatisfied with the training, the instructors, 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 program has an excellent reputation within the industry, but also that it has the network of Preston GA contacts to assist students secure apprenticeships or employment after graduation.

Modern Equipment and Facilities. Once you have decreased your selection of welder programs to 2 or 3 possibilities, you should consider visiting the campuses to evaluate their facilities. Confirm that both the facilities and the equipment that you will be instructed on are modern. Specifically, the training equipment should be comparable 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, ask the master welder you are working under for guidance. Otherwise, ask a local Preston GA welding professional if they can give you a few tips.

School Location. Although we previously briefly covered the importance of location, there are a couple of additional points that we need to cover. You should keep in mind that unless you can relocate, the welding program you choose needs to be within driving distance of your Preston GA home. If you do decide to enroll in an out-of-state school, in addition to relocation costs there could be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is particularly true for welding degree programs offered by community colleges. Additionally, 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 an area or state where you subsequently will wish to work.

Smaller Classes. One-on-one training is important for a hands-on trade such as welding. It’s possible to be overlooked in larger classes and not get much individualized training. Find out what the average class size is for the welder programs you are looking at. Inquire if you can sit in on a couple of classes so that you can witness how much personal attention the students are receiving. While there, speak with several of the students and get their opinions. Also, speak with a couple of the teachers and ask what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they hold.

Convenient Class Schedules. Lots of folks learn a new profession while still working at their current job. Confirm that the class schedules for the schools you are reviewing are flexible enough to satisfy your needs. If you can only go to classes in the evenings or on weekends near Preston GA, make certain that the schools you are assessing provide those choices. If you can only enroll part-time, make sure that the school you decide on offers part-time enrollment. Also, ask what the policy is to make up classes if you you miss any because of work, illness or family emergencies.

Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Preston GA?

Perhaps you live in the Preston 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.

Online Welder Degree and Certificate Programs

Welding is truly a hands-on type of vocation, and therefore not extremely compatible with training online. Having said that, there are some online welding classes offered by specific community colleges and technical schools in the greater Preston GA area that can count toward a degree or certificate program. These classes mainly deal with such subjects as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help give a novice a basis to start their education and training. However, the most important 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 must be learned in an on-campus environment or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is more appropriate for experienced welders that want to advance their knowledge or possibly attain a more advanced degree. So if you should discover an online welding certificate or degree program, be very cautious and verify that the majority of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.

Pick the Ideal Welding Trade School Preston GA

Selecting the right welder school will probably be the most important decision you will make to launch your new career. As we have addressed in this article, there are several things that you will need to evaluate and compare among the schools you are considering. It’s a prerequisite that any welding school that you are considering includes a lot of hands-on training. Classes should be smaller in size and every student must have their own welding machine to train on. Classroom education needs to provide a real-world context, and the course of study should be up-to-date and in-line with industry standards. Programs differ in duration and the type of credential offered, so you will have to determine what length of program and credential will best satisfy your needs. Every training program provides different options for certification as well. Probably The ideal way to research your final list of schools is to go to each campus and speak with the students and faculty. Take the time to sit in on a few classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the training program you choose is the ideal one for you. With the proper training, effort and dedication, the final outcome will be a new occupation as a professional welder in Preston GA.