How to Pick a Welding Certificate Program near Arkansas City Kansas

Locating the ideal welding school near Arkansas City KS is an essential first step to beginning your new occupation as a professional welder. But since there are numerous schools to pick from, how do you determine which ones to consider? And more notably, once you have narrowed down your options, how do you pick the right one? A number of people start by checking out 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 tuition cost are important concerns when examining welding 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 vocational school to become a welder, it’s prudent to develop a list of qualifications that your chosen school must have. But before we delve into our due diligence checklist, let’s talk a little bit about how to become a welder.

Welding Certificate and Degree Training Courses

There are multiple alternatives available to get training as a welder in a trade or technical school. You can obtain a diploma, a certificate or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are available in Welding Engineering or Welding Technology, but are more advanced programs than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also offered along with an apprenticeship program. Following are brief summaries of the most prevalent welding programs available in the Arkansas City KS.

• Diploma and Certificate Programs are generally made available by trade and technical schools and take about 1 year to complete. They are more hands-on training in nature, created 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 complete and are usually offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology furnishes a more extensive education than the diploma or certificate while still supplying the foundation that prepares students to enter the workforce.

Many states and municipalities do have licensing requirements for welders, so make sure to find out for your location of potential employment. As needed, the welder school you choose should prepare you for any licensing examinations that you will need to take in addition to supplying the suitable training to become a qualified welder.

Welding Certification Options

There are various organizations that offer welder certifications, which test the skill level and knowledge of those applying. Many Arkansas City KS employers not only expect a degree or certificate from an accredited welding school, but also certification from a highly regarded agency such as the American Welding Society (AWS). Different certifications are offered based upon the kind of work that the welder performs. A few of the things that certification can attest to are the welder’s ability to

• Operate in compliance with specific codes
• Work with certain metal thicknesses
• Work with specific types of welds
• Perform in compliance with contract specifications

As earlier stated, many states, cities or local municipalities have licensing requirements for welders. Of those requiring licensing, a number also 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 location and confirm that the welder tech school you choose preps you for certification as needed.

How to Select a Welding Trade Program

Once you have decided on the credential you want to earn, a degree, certificate or diploma, you can start to evaluate schools. As you can imagine, there are a large number of welder trade and vocational schools in the Arkansas City KS area. That’s why it’s important to determine in advance what qualifications your school of choice must have. We have previously discussed a couple of important ones that most people consider first, which are location and tuition cost. As stated, although they are essential qualifications, they are not the only ones that should be looked at. After all, the program you select is going to provide the instruction that will be the foundation of your new vocation as a welder. So below are more factors you may want to consider before choosing a welding tech school.

Accreditation. It’s extremely important that the welder vocational school you decide on is accredited by either a regional or a national agency. There are two basic 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 has, for example Welding Technology. So verify 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, for example the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). Besides helping ensure that you receive a superior education, the accreditation may also help in obtaining financial aid or student loans, which are often not available in Arkansas City KS 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.

Apprenticeship and Job Assistance Programs. Many welding 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. Ask if the schools you are reviewing help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job assistance program. These schools should have relationships with local unions and other 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 referrals. These programs can assist students in finding employment and establish associations within the Arkansas City KS welding community.

Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students that enroll in an educational program and complete it. It’s crucial that the welder school you pick has a higher completion rate. A low rate might indicate that the students who were in the program were unhappy with the instruction, the teachers, or the facilities, and quit. The job placement rate is also an indication of the quality of training. A high job placement rate will not only confirm that the school has an excellent reputation within the field, but also that it has the network of Arkansas City KS employer relationships to assist students obtain apprenticeships or employment upon graduation.

Modern Equipment and Facilities. Once you have narrowed down your selection of welder schools to two or three options, you should consider going to the campuses to look over their facilities. Verify that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be taught on are up-to-date. In particular, the training equipment should be comparable to what you will be using in the field. If you are unsure what to look for, and are currently in an apprenticeship program, ask the master welder you are working under for guidance. Otherwise, ask a local Arkansas City KS welding professional if they can give you some suggestions.

School Location. Although we already briefly discussed the importance of location, there are a few additional issues that we should cover. You should bear in mind that unless you are able to relocate, the welding school you choose must be within driving distance of your Arkansas City KS home. If you do opt to attend an out-of-state school, apart from moving expenses there may be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially true for welder degree 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 regional community. So the location of the school needs to be in an area or state where you ultimately will wish to work.

Smaller Classes. Personalized instruction is essential for a hands-on trade such as welding. It’s easy to be overlooked in bigger classes and not get much one-on-one instruction. Ask what the typical class size is for the welder schools you are considering. Ask if you can sit in on a couple of classes so that you can experience how much personal attention the students are getting. While there, speak with several of the students and get their opinions. Similarly, chat with a couple of the teachers and find out what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they have earned.

Convenient Class Schedules. Some people learn a new profession while still employed at their present job. Confirm that the class schedules for the programs you are reviewing are flexible enough to satisfy your needs. If you can only go to classes at night or on weekends near Arkansas City KS, confirm that the schools you are considering provide those choices. If you can only enroll on a part-time basis, verify that the school you decide on offers part-time enrollment. Also, check to see what the protocol is to make up classes should you miss any due to illness, work or family circumstances.

Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Arkansas City KS?

Perhaps you live in the Arkansas City Kansas 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 very much a hands-on kind of trade, and consequently not extremely compatible with online training. Even so, there are some online welding courses offered by certain community colleges and trade schools in the greater Arkansas City KS area that may count toward a certificate or degree program. These courses primarily cover such topics as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help give a beginner a foundation to initiate their training and education. However, the most critical point is that you can’t learn how to weld or use welding materials unless you actually do it. Naturally that can’t be accomplished online. These skills must be learned in an on-campus setting or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is more appropriate for experienced welders that would like to advance their knowledge or perhaps attain a more advanced degree. So if you should come across an online welding certificate or degree program, be extremely careful and confirm that the majority of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of environment.

Choose the Best Welding Tech School Arkansas City KS

Picking the best welding training program will probably be the most important decision you will make to begin your new profession. As we have addressed in this article, there are several things that you will need to evaluate and compare among the schools you are looking at. It’s a necessity that any welder training program that you are evaluating includes a lot of hands-on instruction. Classes need to be small in size and every student must have their own welding machine to train on. Classroom instruction needs to provide a real-world frame of reference, and the training program should be current and conform with industry standards. Training programs vary in length and the type of credential offered, so you will have to ascertain what length of program and degree or certificate will best satisfy your needs. Every training program offers different options for certification as well. Probably the best means to research your short list of schools is to go to each campus and talk with the students and faculty. Invest some time to monitor a few classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make certain that you are confident that the program you decide on is the best one for you. With the right training, effort and dedication, the final result will be a new trade as a professional welder in Arkansas City KS.