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

How to Choose a Welding Degree Program near Colfax California

Colfax CA welding school studentEnrolling in the ideal welder vocational school near Colfax CA is an essential first step to beginning your new occupation as a professional welder. But since there are numerous schools to select from, how do you know which ones to consider? And more significantly, once you have narrowed down your options, how do you pick the best one? Most people start by checking out the schools that are closest to their homes. Once they have located those that are within commuting distance, they gravitate toward the least expensive one. Yes, location and the cost of tuition are important considerations when reviewing welder trade schools, but they are not the only ones. Other considerations include such things as reputation, accreditation and job placement rates. So before beginning your search for a vocational school to become a welder, it’s wise 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.

Welder Certificate and Degree Training

Colfax CA welder working on pipingThere are a number of options to obtain training as a welder in a technical or trade school. You can earn a diploma, a certificate or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are offered in Welding Engineering or Welding Technology, but are more advanced courses than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also offered combined with an apprenticeship program. Following are short descriptions of the most common welding programs offered in the Colfax CA.

  • Certificate and Diploma Programs are generally offered by technical and trade schools and require about a year to complete. They are more hands-on training in scope, created largely to teach welding skills. They can provide a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or additional 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 extensive 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 welder school you select should prep you for any licensing exams that you will need to pass in addition to supplying the proper training to become a qualified welder.

Welding Certification Choices

Colfax CA welder working on poleThere are various organizations that offer welding certifications, which evaluate the knowledge and skill level of those applying. A large number of Colfax CA employers not only require a degree or certificate from an accredited welding school, but also certification from a respected agency such as the American Welding Society (AWS). A variety of certifications are available dependent on the kind of work that the welder performs. Just some of the things that certification can attest to are the welder’s ability to

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

As previously stated, various cities, states or local municipalities have licensing mandates for welders. Of those requiring licensing, a number additionally require certification for various types of work. Certification is also a means to demonstrate to employers that you are a highly skilled and knowledgeable welder. So similarly as with licensing, look into the requirements for your location and make sure that the welder tech school you select prepares you for certification if needed.

How to Decide on a Welding Tech School

Colfax CA welder working on carAs soon as you have chosen the credential you would like to earn, a diploma, certificate or degree, you can begin to compare schools. As you are no doubt aware, there are many welder trade and vocational schools in the Colfax CA area. That’s why it’s essential to decide up front what qualifications your selected school must have. We have already covered 2 significant ones that many people look at first, which are location and tuition cost. As mentioned, although they are very important qualifications, they are not the only ones that should be considered. After all, the program you decide on is going to furnish the education that will be the foundation of your new career as a welder. So following are more factors you might want to evaluate before choosing a welding trade school.

Accreditation. It’s very important that the welding trade school you decide on is accredited by either a national or a regional agency. There are 2 standard kinds of accreditation. The school may attain Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on a specific program the school offers, for instance Welding Technology. So make sure that the program you choose is accredited, not just the school itself. Additionally, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting organization, like the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). Besides helping make sure that you obtain a superior education, the accreditation might also help in obtaining financial aid or student loans, which are frequently not available in Colfax CA for schools that are not accredited. Also, for those states or local governments that require licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited also.

Job Placement and Apprenticeship Programs. A large number of welder degree or diploma programs are offered combined with an apprenticeship program. Some other schools will help place you in an apprenticeship or a job upon graduation. Find out if the schools you are reviewing help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job placement program. These schools should have partnerships with local unions and other metal working businesses to which they can place their students. Older schools may have a larger network of graduates that they can rely upon for referrals. These programs can help students find employment and establish associations within the Colfax CA welding community.

Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students that begin an academic program and finish it. It’s important that the welder program you pick has a higher completion rate. A reduced rate may indicate that the students who joined the program were unhappy with the instruction, the instructors, or the facilities, and quit. The job placement rate is also a good indicator of the caliber of training. A higher job placement rate will not only affirm that the program has an excellent reputation within the industry, but additionally that it has the network of Colfax CA contacts to help students secure apprenticeships or employment upon graduation.

Up-to-date Equipment and Facilities. Once you have decreased your selection of welding schools to two or three options, you should think out visiting the campuses to evaluate their facilities. Verify that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be trained on are up-to-date. In particular, the training equipment should be similar to what you will be using on the job. If you are unsure what to look for, and are already in an apprenticeship program, ask the master welder you are working under for guidance. If not, ask a local Colfax CA welding contractor if they can give you some pointers.

School Location. Even though we previously briefly covered the relevance of location, there are a few additional issues that we should address. You should keep in mind that unless you can relocate, the welder school you pick needs to be within driving distance of your Colfax CA home. If you do choose to enroll in an out-of-state school, besides moving expenses there might be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is particularly the case for welding certificate 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 local community. So the location of the school needs to be in a region or state where you subsequently will desire to work.

Small Classes. One-on-one instruction is essential for a manual trade such as welding. It’s possible to get overlooked in larger classes and not receive much personalized training. Ask what the usual class size is for the welder programs you are looking at. Ask if you can sit in on a couple of classes so that you can witness how much personal attention the students are getting. While there, talk with some of the students and get their feedback. Similarly, chat with a few of the trainers and find out what their welding experience has been and what credentials and certifications they have earned.

Flexible Class Schedules. Lots of folks learn a new profession while still employed at their current job. Confirm that the class schedules for the schools you are looking at are convenient enough to satisfy your needs. If you can only attend classes in the evenings or on weekends near Colfax CA, confirm that the schools you are looking at provide those options. If you can only enroll on a part-time basis, make certain that the school you pick offers part-time enrollment. Also, check to see what the protocol is to make up classes if you you miss any because of work, sickness or family circumstances.

Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Colfax CA?

Perhaps you live in the Colfax 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.

Colfax, California

Colfax (formerly, Alden Grove, Alder Grove, Illinoistown, and Upper Corral) is a city in Placer County, California,[6] at the crossroads of Interstate 80 and State Route 174. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,963 at the 2010 census. The town is named in honor of U.S. Vice President Schuyler Colfax (1869–73), a bronze statue of whom stands at Railroad Street and Grass Valley Street.[8] (This is the only known statue of Schuyler Colfax in the United States[9]). Some of the town's notable features include the newly restored Southern Pacific Railroad colonnade-style depot (which houses the Colfax Museum and Chamber of Commerce) built in 1905,[10] the downtown shops on Main Street, and Colfax High School, which serves a large surrounding area.

Originally inhabited by the Maidu and Miwok Indians, by the mid-19th century the city site was known as Alder Grove; however, as development increased, the city became known as Illinoistown. In April 1852, the Reelfoot Williams Gang robbed a Nevada City stagecoach of $7,000 in gold bullion near Illinoistown. This was the first stagecoach robbery in the gold country.[11][12]

Later it was renamed Colfax after then Speaker of the House (and later Vice President) Schuyler Colfax who visited the town in 1865 while inspecting progress of construction of the Central Pacific Railroad, the western portion of the first transcontinental railroad. The city was the southern terminus of the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad from 1876 until the railroad’s removal in 1942. Historic U.S. Route 40 also runs through the city as well as the more modern Interstate 80. The city is mentioned in Jules Verne’s book, Around the World in Eighty Days.

Online Welder Classes

pipe welder at work in Colfax CAWelding is truly a manual type of trade, and for that reason not extremely compatible with training online. However, there are a few online welding courses offered by certain community colleges and vocational schools in the greater Colfax CA area that may be credited toward a degree or certificate program. These courses primarily deal with such subjects as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help give a beginner a basis to begin their training and education. Nevertheless, the most critical point is that you can’t learn how to weld or use welding materials unless you actually do it. Clearly that can’t be accomplished 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 possibly obtain a more advanced degree. So if you should come across 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.

Choose the Best Welding Vocational Program Colfax CA

Selecting the best welding school will probably be the most important decision you will make to begin your new profession. As we have discussed in this article, there are several factors that you will need to evaluate and compare among the schools you are reviewing. It’s a necessity that any welder school that you are assessing includes a lot of hands-on training. Classes need to be smaller in size and each student should have their own welding machine to train on. Classroom instruction needs to offer a real-world context, and the training program should be up-to-date and in-line with industry standards. Programs differ in length and the type of credential provided, so you will have to determine what length of program and credential will best satisfy your needs. Each program offers different possibilities for certification also. Probably the best approach to research your final list of schools is to visit each campus and speak with the teachers and students. Invest some time to monitor some classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the program you decide on 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 Colfax CA.

 

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