How to Select a Welder Certification Class near Temple Georgia

Finding the ideal welder trade school near Temple GA is an essential 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 fine tuned your alternatives, how do you pick the right one? A number of people start by looking at the schools that are nearest to their residences. Once they have located those that are within driving distance, they gravitate toward the cheapest one. Yes, location and the cost of tuition are crucial issues when reviewing welder trade schools, but they are not the only ones. Other factors include such things as reputation, accreditation and job placement rates. So before initiating your search for a vocational school to become a welder, it’s sensible to develop a list of qualifications that your chosen school must have. But before we explore our due diligence checklist, let’s cover a little bit about how to become a welder.

Welder Certificate and Degree Training Courses

There are several alternatives 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 courses than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also made available in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Following are brief explanations of the most prevalent welding programs available in the Temple GA.

• Diploma and Certificate Programs are usually offered by technical and trade schools and take about 1 year to complete. They are more hands-on training in scope, fashioned largely 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 diploma or certificate while still providing the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.

Many municipalities and states do have licensing requirements for welders, so be sure to find out for your location of potential employment. If needed, the welding school you choose should prep you for any licensing examinations that you will have to take in addition to providing the proper training to become a qualified welder.

Welder Certification Choices

There are a number of organizations that provide welding certifications, which evaluate the skill level and knowledge of those applying. A large number of Temple GA employers not only require a degree or certificate from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a highly regarded agency such as the American Welding Society (AWS). A variety of certifications are available based on the kind 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 certain metal thicknesses
• Work with various kinds of welds
• Work based on 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 way to prove to employers that you are an extremely skilled and experienced welder. So just as with licensing, check the requirements for your location and make sure that the welding vocational school you decide on preps you for certification as needed.

How to Decide on a Welding Technical School

Once you have decided on the credential you want to earn, a degree, certificate or diploma, you can start to compare schools. As you can imagine, there are many welding vocational and trade schools in the Temple GA area. That’s why it’s important to decide up front what qualifications your selected school must have. We have already covered two significant ones that many people consider first, which are location and the cost of tuition. As mentioned, although they are very important qualifiers, they are not the only ones that need to be considered. After all, the school you pick is going to furnish the education that will be the foundation of your new vocation as a welder. So below are more factors you might need to evaluate before picking a welder tech school.

Accreditation. It’s extremely important that the welding technical school you pick is accredited by either a national or a regional organization. There are two standard types of accreditation. The school may receive Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on an individual program the school offers, such as Welding Technology. So verify that the program you pick is accredited, not just the school itself. Additionally, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting organization, like the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). In addition to helping ensure that you obtain a quality education, the accreditation might also help in securing financial assistance or student loans, which are in many cases not available in Temple GA for schools that are not accredited. Finally, for those states or local governments that mandate licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited as well.

Job Placement and Apprenticeship Programs. Numerous welding degree or certificate programs are provided combined with an apprenticeship program. Some other schools will help place you in an apprenticeship or a job upon graduation. Ask if the schools you are reviewing assist in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job placement program. The schools must have relationships 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 utilize for placements. These programs can assist students in finding employment and develop relationships within the Temple GA welding community.

Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that start an educational program and finish it. It’s important that the welding program you select has a high completion rate. A lower rate may mean that the students who enrolled in the program were dissatisfied with the training, the teachers, or the facilities, and quit. The job placement rate is also a good indicator of the caliber of training. A high job placement rate will not only confirm that the school has a good reputation within the trade, but also that it has the network of Temple GA employer relationships to help students secure employment or apprenticeships upon graduation.

Modern Facilities and Equipment. Once you have narrowed down your choice of welding programs to 2 or 3 possibilities, you should consider visiting the campuses to inspect their facilities. Make sure that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be instructed on are modern. 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 already in an apprenticeship program, consult with the master welder you are working under for guidance. Otherwise, ask a local Temple GA welding professional if they can give you a few suggestions.

School Location. Even though we already briefly covered the importance of location, there are a few additional issues that we need to address. You should bear in mind that unless you are able to move, the welding program you choose must be within driving distance of your Temple GA home. If you do decide to attend an out-of-state school, besides moving costs there may be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially the case for welder certificate programs offered by community colleges. Also, if the school offers a job placement or apprenticeship program, most 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 want to work.

Small Classes. One-on-one instruction is important for a manual trade such as welding. It’s easy to get overlooked in bigger classes and not get much one-on-one instruction. Find out what the usual class size is for the welding programs you are looking at. Ask if you can attend a couple of classes so that you can experience just how much personal attention the students are getting. While there, speak with a few of the students and get their opinions. Also, chat with a few of the trainers and find out what their welding experience has been and what credentials and certifications they hold.

Flexible Class Schedules. Many people learn a new profession while still employed at their present job. Make sure that the class schedules for the programs you are reviewing are convenient enough to meet your needs. If you can only attend classes at night or on weekends near Temple GA, verify that the schools you are looking at provide those alternatives. If you can only enroll on a part-time basis, make sure that the school you choose offers part-time enrollment. Also, find out what the policy is to make up classes should you miss any due to work, sickness or family responsibilities.

Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Temple GA?

Perhaps you live in the Temple 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 Welding Training

Welding is truly a hands-on kind of trade, and for that reason not extremely compatible with online training. Even so, there are some online welding programs offered by certain community colleges and vocational schools in the greater Temple GA area that can be credited toward a degree or certificate program. These classes mainly cover such subjects as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help give a novice a basis to start their training and education. However, the most significant point is that you can’t learn how to weld or handle welding materials unless 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 better suited for experienced welders that want to advance their knowledge or possibly earn a more advanced degree. So if you should come across an online welding degree or certificate program, be very careful and make sure that the bulk of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.

Choose the Best Welding Technical Program Temple GA

Selecting the ideal welding school will probably be the most important decision you will make to launch your new trade. As we have discussed in this article, there are several things that you will need to assess and compare between the schools you are reviewing. It’s a must that any welding training program that you are evaluating includes a considerable amount of hands-on training. Classes should be small in size and each student must have their personal welding machine to train with. Classroom teaching needs to offer a real-world perspective, and the curriculum should be up-to-date and conform with industry standards. Courses vary in duration and the type of credential offered, so you will have to ascertain what length of program and degree or certificate will best serve your needs. Every program offers different possibilities for certification also. Perhaps the best way to research your short list of schools is to go to each campus and talk with the teachers and students. Invest some time to monitor some classes. Tour 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 result will be a new occupation as a professional welder in Temple GA.