How to Pick a Welder Trade School near Atlantic North Carolina

Locating the ideal welding technical school near Atlantic NC is an important first step to starting your new occupation as a professional welder. But since there are so many schools to choose 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 start by looking at the schools that are closest to their residences. Once they have found those that are within driving distance, they gravitate toward the cheapest one. Yes, location and the cost of tuition are crucial considerations when reviewing welding trade schools, but they are not the only ones. Other considerations include such things as accreditation, reputation and job placement rates. So before initiating your search for a trade 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 Degree and Certificate Training Courses

There are multiple options available to receive training as a welder in a technical or trade school. You can obtain a a certificate, a diploma or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are offered in Welding Technology or Welding Engineering, but are more advanced degrees than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also offered along with an apprenticeship program. Following are short descriptions of the most typical welding programs available in the Atlantic NC.

• Certificate and Diploma Programs are generally offered by trade and technical schools and require about one year to complete. They are more hands-on training in nature, designed primarily to teach welding skills. They can provide 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 certificate or diploma while still supplying the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.

Some municipalities and states do have licensing requirements for welders, therefore don’t forget to find out for your location of future employment. If needed, the welding school you choose should prepare you for any licensing exams that you will have to pass in addition to furnishing the proper training to become a qualified welder.

Welder Certification Options

There are several organizations that offer welder certifications, which test the skill level and knowledge of those applying. Many Atlantic NC employers not only expect a certificate or degree from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a renowned agency such as the American Welding Society (AWS). A wide range of certifications are offered based upon the kind of work that the welder performs. Some of the skills that certification can attest to are the welder’s ability to

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

As earlier mentioned, many states, cities or local municipalities have licensing requirements for welders. Of those mandating licensing, some additionally require certification for various types of work. Certification is also a way to prove to employers that you are a highly skilled and knowledgeable welder. So just as with licensing, look into the requirements for your location and confirm that the welding vocational school you select prepares you for certification as needed.

How to Choose a Welding Tech School

Once you have chosen the credential you want to obtain, a degree, certificate or diploma, you can begin to evaluate schools. As you are no doubt aware, there are a large number of welder trade and technical schools in the Atlantic NC area. That’s why it’s essential to determine in advance what qualifications your school of choice must have. We have already covered a couple of significant ones that many people look at first, which are location and the cost of tuition. As stated, although they are very important qualifiers, they are not the only ones that need to be considered. After all, the program you choose is going to provide the education that will be the foundation of your new career as a welder. So below are more factors you may want to evaluate before selecting a welder technical school.

Accreditation. It’s extremely important that the welding tech school you pick is accredited by either a national or a regional agency. There are two standard types of accreditation. The school may earn Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on a single program the school has, for example Welding Technology. So make certain that the program you select is accredited, not just the school alone. Also, 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 receive an excellent education, the accreditation might also assist in obtaining financial aid or student loans, which are in many cases not offered in Atlantic NC for schools that are not accredited. Also, for those states or local governments that mandate licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited also.

Job Placement and Apprenticeship Programs. Many welder diploma or degree programs are provided combined with an apprenticeship program. Some other schools will assist in placing 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 placement program. These schools should have relationships with local unions and various metal working businesses to which they can place their students. More established schools may have a larger network of graduates that they can rely upon for placements. These programs can assist students in finding employment and develop associations within the Atlantic NC welding community.

Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that start an instructional program and finish it. It’s important that the welding program you choose has a higher completion rate. A low rate could indicate that the students who joined the program were unhappy with the instruction, the instructors, or the facilities, and dropped out. 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 program has an excellent reputation within the industry, but additionally that it has the network of Atlantic NC contacts to assist students obtain apprenticeships or employment upon graduation.

Modern Facilities and Equipment. Once you have limited your choice of welder schools to two or three possibilities, you should consider visiting the campuses to evaluate their facilities. Make sure that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be trained on are modern. Specifically, 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 Atlantic NC welding professional if they can give you some suggestions.

School Location. Even though we already briefly talked about the relevance of location, there are a few additional issues that we should address. You should keep in mind that unless you can move, the welder program you pick needs to be within commuting distance of your Atlantic NC home. If you do opt to attend an out-of-state school, in addition to moving costs there could be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially true for welder degree programs offered by community colleges. Additionally, 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 should be in an area or state where you ultimately will want to work.

Smaller Classes. Personalized instruction is essential for a manual trade such as welding. It’s possible to get overlooked in bigger classes and not get much individualized training. Find out what the typical class size is for the welder 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 a few of the students and get their feedback. Similarly, speak with a few of the instructors and ask what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they have earned.

Convenient Class Scheduling. Lots of folks learn a new trade while still working at their present job. Verify that the class schedules for the schools you are reviewing are flexible enough to satisfy your needs. If you can only attend classes at night or on weekends near Atlantic NC, verify that the schools you are assessing provide those choices. If you can only enroll on a part-time basis, make certain that the school you select offers part-time enrollment. Also, ask what the policy is to make up classes should you miss any due to illness, work or family circumstances.

Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Atlantic NC?

Perhaps you live in the Atlantic North Carolina 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 Certificate and Degree Programs

Welding is truly a manual kind of profession, and therefore not extremely suitable for training online. However, there are a small number of online welding courses offered by specific community colleges and vocational schools in the greater Atlantic NC area that can count toward a certificate or degree program. These classes mainly cover such subjects as reading blueprints, safety,, and metallurgy. They can help give a beginner a foundation to start their education and training. Nevertheless, the most important point is that you can’t learn how to weld or use 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 more appropriate for experienced welders that want to advance their knowledge or possibly obtain a more advanced degree. So if you should discover an online welding degree or certificate program, be extremely cautious and make certain that the bulk of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.

Pick the Best Welding Technical School Atlantic NC

Selecting the ideal welding school will probably be the most important decision you will make to start your new career. As we have covered in this article, there are a number of factors that you will need to assess and compare between the schools you are looking at. It’s a prerequisite that any welder school that you are assessing includes a considerable amount of hands-on training. Classes need to be smaller in size and each student must have their own welding machine to train with. Classroom instruction should offer a real-world perspective, and the course of study should be current and in-line with industry standards. Courses differ in duration and the type of credential provided, so you will have to ascertain what length of program and degree or certificate will best serve your needs. Each training program provides different options for certification also. Probably the best way 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 training program you choose is the right one for you. With the right training, hard work and dedication, the end result will be a new occupation as a professional welder in Atlantic NC.