How to Pick a Welder Degree Program near Bourbon Indiana

Locating the ideal welding school near Bourbon IN is an important first step to beginning your new occupation as a professional welder. But since there are numerous schools to pick from, how do you know which ones to consider? And more notably, once you have fine tuned your alternatives, how do you select the right one? A number of people start by checking out the schools that are closest to their homes. When they have found those that are within driving distance, they are drawn toward the cheapest one. Yes, location and tuition cost are necessary concerns when examining welder vocational schools, but they are not the only ones. Other concerns include such things as accreditation, reputation and job placement rates. So before starting your search for a trade school to become a welder, it’s wise to establish 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.

Welding Certificate and Degree Training

There are multiple options to obtain training as a welder in a trade or technical school. You can obtain a a certificate, a diploma or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are offered in Welding Engineering or Welding Technology, but are more advanced degrees than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also made available combined with an apprenticeship program. Below are brief summaries of the most common welding programs offered in the Bourbon IN.

• Diploma and Certificate Programs are normally made available by technical and trade schools and take about a year to finish. They are more hands-on training in nature, designed largely to teach 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 provides a more extensive education than the certificate or diploma while still providing the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.

Many states and municipalities do have licensing prerequisites for welders, so don’t forget to check for your location of future employment. If needed, the welder school you choose should prepare you for any licensing examinations that you will have to take in addition to supplying the proper training to become a professional welder.

Welder Certification Alternatives

There are various organizations that provide welder certifications, which assess the knowledge and skill level of those applying. Many Bourbon IN employers not only expect a certificate or degree from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a respected organization such as the American Welding Society (AWS). A wide range of certifications are offered based upon the type of work that the welder does. Just some of the skills that certification can acknowledge 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 formerly mentioned, many cities, states or local municipalities have licensing mandates for welders. Of those calling for licensing, some also require certification for various kinds of work. Certification is also a way to prove to employers that you are an exceptionally skilled and experienced welder. So just as with licensing, look into the requirements for your local area and verify that the welding tech school you select preps you for certification if needed.

How to Select a Welding Vocational School

When you have decided on the credential you would like to earn, a diploma, certificate or degree, you can begin to assess schools. As you can imagine, there are a large number of welding trade and vocational schools in the Bourbon IN area. That’s why it’s essential to establish up front what qualifications your selected school must have. We have previously discussed a couple of significant ones that many people look at first, which are location and the cost of tuition. As mentioned, although they are essential qualifiers, they are not the only ones that need to be considered. After all, the school you choose is going to furnish the training that will be the foundation of your new profession as a welder. So below are more factors you may need to evaluate before choosing a welder trade school.

Accreditation. It’s very important that the welder trade school you select is accredited by either a regional or a national 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 a specific program the school has, such as Welding Technology. So confirm 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 agency, like the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). Besides helping ensure that you get an excellent education, the accreditation can also help in acquiring financial aid or student loans, which are in many cases not offered in Bourbon IN for schools that are not accredited. Finally, for those states or local governments that require licensing, they may require that the welder training program be accredited also.

Apprenticeship and Job Assistance Programs. A large number of welding diploma or degree programs are provided combined with an apprenticeship program. Various other schools will help place you in a job or an apprenticeship after graduation. Ask if the schools you are looking at help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job assistance program. These schools should have associations with local unions and various metal working businesses to which they can place their students. More established schools may have a more substantial network of graduates that they can utilize for referrals. These programs can help students find employment and establish associations within the Bourbon IN welding community.

Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that enroll in an educational program and finish it. It’s crucial that the welder school you select has a higher completion rate. A low rate could mean that the students who joined the program were unhappy with the training, the instructors, or the facilities, and dropped out. The job placement rate is also an indication of the quality of training. A higher job placement rate will not only verify that the school has an excellent reputation within the trade, but additionally that it has the network of Bourbon IN employer relationships to help students obtain employment or apprenticeships upon graduation.

Modern Facilities and Equipment. After you have decreased your selection of welder schools to two or three options, you should think out going to the campuses to look over their facilities. Verify that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be taught on are modern. In particular, the training equipment should be similar to what you will be working with in the field. If you are uncertain 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 Bourbon IN welding contractor if they can give you a few suggestions.

School Location. Even though we already briefly covered the relevance of location, there are a few additional issues that we should address. You should bear in mind that unless you can relocate, the welding school you select must be within commuting distance of your Bourbon IN home. If you do decide to attend an out-of-state school, in addition to relocation expenses there may be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is particularly the case for welder certificate programs offered by community colleges. Additionally, if the school offers an apprenticeship or job placement program, often their placements are within the school’s regional community. So the location of the school should be in a region or state where you ultimately will desire to work.

Smaller Classes. One-on-one instruction is essential for a manual trade such as welding. It’s easy to be lost in larger classes and not obtain much individualized instruction. Ask what the average class size is for the welding programs you are considering. Ask if you can attend some classes so that you can experience how much personal attention the students are getting. While there, talk 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 Scheduling. Some people learn a new profession while still employed at their present job. Check to see that the class schedules for the schools you are looking at are flexible enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only go to classes at night or on weekends near Bourbon IN, verify that the schools you are looking at provide those choices. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, make sure 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 illness, work or family responsibilities.

Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Bourbon IN?

Perhaps you live in the Bourbon Indiana 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 Courses

Welding is very much a manual type of vocation, and therefore not extremely suitable for online training. Having said that, there are some online welding courses offered by certain community colleges and trade schools in the greater Bourbon IN area that can be credited toward a certificate or degree program. These courses mainly cover such subjects as reading blueprints, safety,, and metallurgy. They can help provide a beginner a basis to begin their education and training. Nevertheless, the most significant point is that you can’t learn how to weld or work with welding materials until you actually do it. Obviously that can’t be done online. These skills have to be learned in an on-campus setting or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is better suited for seasoned welders that desire to advance their knowledge or perhaps earn a more advanced degree. So if you should discover an online welding degree or certificate program, be extremely careful and make certain that the greater part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.

Select the Right Welding Technical School Bourbon IN

Choosing the ideal welder school will undoubtedly be the most important decision you will make to start your new career. As we have addressed in this article, there are many factors that you will need to examine and compare between the schools you are reviewing. It’s a necessity that any welding training program that you are reviewing includes a considerable amount of hands-on training. Classes need to be small in size and each student should have their own welding machine to train with. Classroom instruction needs to offer a real-world context, and the curriculum should be current and in-line with industry standards. Programs differ in length and the type of credential offered, so you will have to decide what length of program and certificate or degree will best satisfy your needs. Every program provides unique possibilities for certification also. Perhaps The ideal way to research your short list of schools is to visit each campus and talk with the teachers and students. Take the time to attend some classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the program you decide on is the ideal one for you. With the right training, hard work and dedication, the end outcome will be a new career as a professional welder in Bourbon IN.