How to Pick a Welder Certification Program near Waterboro Maine

Choosing the ideal welder school near Waterboro ME is an essential first step to starting your new career as a professional welder. But since there are numerous schools to select from, how do you know which ones to consider? And more notably, once you have fine tuned your choices, how do you pick the right one? Many people begin by reviewing the schools that are closest to their homes. When they have identified those that are within driving distance, they gravitate toward the least costly one. Yes, location and tuition cost are crucial concerns when evaluating welder vocational schools, but they are not the only ones. Other considerations 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 wise to establish a list of qualifications that your selected school must have. But before we examine our due diligence checklist, let’s cover a little bit about how to become a welder.

Welding Certificate and Degree Training Programs

There are several options to obtain 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 Technology or Welding Engineering, but are more advanced degrees than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also made available combined with an apprenticeship program. Below are short descriptions of the most prevalent welding programs offered in the Waterboro ME.

• Diploma and Certificate Programs are generally offered by trade and technical schools and require about a year to finish. They are more hands-on training in nature, fashioned primarily to teach welding skills. They can provide a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or supplemental 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 offers a more extensive education than the certificate or diploma while still providing the foundation that prepares students to enter the workforce.

Some states and municipalities do have licensing prerequisites for welders, therefore make sure to check for your location of potential employment. As required, the welding school you choose should prep you for any licensing examinations that you will need to pass in addition to providing the suitable training to become a qualified welder.

Welder Certification Alternatives

There are several organizations that offer welding certifications, which test the knowledge and skill level of those applying. Many Waterboro ME employers not only require a degree or certificate from an accredited welding school, but also certification from a highly regarded organization such as the American Welding Society (AWS). Different certifications are offered based on the type of work that the welder does. A few of the things that certification can acknowledge are the welder’s ability to

• Work in compliance with specific codes
• Work with specified metal thicknesses
• Work with specific kinds of welds
• Operate according to contract specifications

As earlier mentioned, some states, cities or local municipalities have licensing mandates for welders. Of those calling for licensing, some additionally require certification for different kinds of work. Certification is also a means to prove to employers that you are an extremely skilled and qualified welder. So just as with licensing, look into the requirements for your location and make sure that the welder vocational school you decide on readies you for certification as needed.

How to Choose a Welder Technical Program

As soon as you have chosen the credential you want to earn, a diploma, certificate or degree, you can start to evaluate schools. As you probably know, there are numerous welding trade and vocational schools in the Waterboro ME area. That’s why it’s essential to establish in advance what qualifications your chosen school must have. We have previously covered a couple of important ones that many people consider first, which are location and tuition cost. As mentioned, although they are essential qualifications, they are not the only ones that must be considered. After all, the program you choose is going to provide the instruction that will be the foundation of your new career as a welder. So following are more factors you might want to evaluate before selecting a welding tech school.

Accreditation. It’s extremely important that the welding technical school you choose is accredited by either a national or a regional agency. There are 2 standard types 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 example Welding Technology. So confirm 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 agency, such as the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). Besides helping ensure that you get an excellent education, the accreditation may also help in securing financial assistance or student loans, which are often not offered in Waterboro ME for non-accredited schools. Finally, for those states or local governments that require licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited also.

Apprenticeship and Job Assistance Programs. Numerous welder diploma or degree programs are offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Some other schools will assist in placing you in a job or an apprenticeship after graduation. Find out if the schools you are reviewing help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job placement program. These schools must have relationships 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 rely upon for placements. These programs can assist students in finding employment and develop associations within the Waterboro ME welding community.

Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that begin an instructional program and complete it. It’s essential that the welder school you choose has a higher completion rate. A lower rate may signify that the students who joined the program were dissatisfied with the instruction, the instructors, or the facilities, and dropped out. The job placement rate is also an indication of the quality of training. A high job placement rate will not only affirm that the school has an excellent reputation within the field, but additionally that it has the network of Waterboro ME employer relationships to help students secure apprenticeships or employment upon graduation.

Up-to-date Facilities and Equipment. Once you have decreased your selection of welder schools to two or three possibilities, you should think out going to the campuses to look over their facilities. Confirm that both the facilities and the equipment that you will be trained 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 not sure what to look for, and are already in an apprenticeship program, consult with the master welder you are working under for guidance. If not, ask a local Waterboro ME welding professional if they can give you a few pointers.

School Location. Although we previously briefly talked about the relevance of location, there are a couple of additional issues that we need to deal with. You should remember that unless you can relocate, the welding program you select needs to be within commuting distance of your Waterboro ME home. If you do choose to enroll in an out-of-state school, besides moving expenses there may be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially the case for welding diploma programs offered by community colleges. Additionally, if the school provides 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 subsequently will wish to work.

Smaller Classes. Individualized instruction is important for a manual trade such as welding. It’s easy to be overlooked in larger classes and not obtain much one-on-one instruction. Find out what the typical class size is for the welder schools you are reviewing. Inquire if you can attend a couple of classes so that you can witness just how much individual attention the students are getting. While there, speak with several of the students and get their evaluations. Also, talk with some of the trainers and ask what their welding experience has been and what credentials and certifications they have earned.

Flexible Class Scheduling. Some people learn a new profession while still employed at their current job. Verify that the class schedules for the programs you are considering are convenient enough to meet your needs. If you can only go to classes at night or on weekends near Waterboro ME, make certain that the schools you are looking at offer those alternatives. If you can only enroll on a part-time basis, make sure that the school you pick offers part-time enrollment. Also, find out 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 Waterboro ME?

Perhaps you live in the Waterboro Maine 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 Training Programs

Welding is truly a manual kind of vocation, and therefore not extremely suitable for training online. Even so, there are a small number of online welding programs offered by various community colleges and trade schools in the greater Waterboro ME area that may be credited toward a certificate or degree program. These classes primarily cover such topics as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help provide a novice a basis to begin their training and education. 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 performed online. These skills need to be learned in an on-campus environment or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is better suited for seasoned welders that want to advance their knowledge or possibly earn a more advanced degree. So if you should discover an online welding certificate or degree program, be extremely cautious and make sure that the larger part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.

Select the Best Welding Technical Program Waterboro ME

Choosing the best welder school will probably be the most critical decision you will make to launch your new career. As we have covered in this article, there are many things that you will need to assess and compare between the programs you are reviewing. It’s a necessity that any welding training that you are assessing includes a lot of hands-on training. Classes should be smaller in size and every student should have their personal welding machine to train with. Classroom education needs to provide a real-world frame of reference, and the curriculum should be up-to-date and in-line with industry standards. Programs differ in duration and the kind of credential offered, so you will need to decide what length of program and certificate or degree will best fulfill your needs. Each training program offers different options for certification also. Probably the best approach to research your final list of schools is to go to each campus and speak with the faculty and students. Invest some time to sit in on a few classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the school you decide on is the best one for you. With the right training, effort and dedication, the end result will be a new trade as a professional welder in Waterboro ME.