How to Choose a Welder Technical School near Aliquippa Pennsylvania

Finding the ideal welder technical school near Aliquippa PA 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 importantly, once you have fine tuned your choices, how do you select the best one? Most prospective students start by reviewing the schools that are nearest to their homes. When they have located those that are within driving distance, they are drawn toward the least costly one. Yes, location and tuition cost are necessary issues when examining welder vocational schools, but they are not the only ones. Other considerations include such things as reputation, accreditation and job placement rates. So before starting your search for a trade school to become a welder, it’s sensible to develop a list of qualifications that your selected 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 several options available to get training as a welder in a technical or trade school. You can earn a diploma, a certificate 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 along with an apprenticeship program. Following are brief explanations of the most prevalent welding programs offered in the Aliquippa PA.

• Diploma and Certificate Programs are generally made available by technical and trade schools and require about 1 year to complete. They are more hands-on training in scope, fashioned mainly to develop 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 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 diploma or certificate while still supplying the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.

A number of states and municipalities do have licensing requirements for welders, therefore don’t forget to check for your location of future employment. As required, the welder school you choose should prepare you for any licensing examinations that you will have to take in addition to furnishing the proper training to become a qualified welder.

Welding Certification Choices

There are various organizations that provide welding certifications, which test the knowledge and skill level of those applying. A large number of Aliquippa PA employers not only require a degree or certificate from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a renowned organization like the American Welding Society (AWS). A variety of certifications are available based on the type of work that the welder does. A few of the things that certification can attest to are the welder’s ability to

• Work in compliance with specific codes
• Work with specific metal thicknesses
• Work with specific types of welds
• Perform according to contract specifications

As already mentioned, some states, cities or local municipalities have licensing requirements for welders. Of those requiring licensing, many also require certification for various types of work. Certification is also a means to demonstrate to employers that you are an extremely skilled and knowledgeable welder. So similarly as with licensing, look into the requirements for your local area and make certain that the welding tech school you select readies you for certification as needed.

How to Pick a Welder Trade Program

After you have decided on the credential you would like to obtain, a degree, certificate or diploma, you can start to compare schools. As you probably know, there are a large number of welder trade and technical schools in the Aliquippa PA area. That’s why it’s essential to decide in advance what qualifications your selected school must have. We have previously covered two significant ones that most people look at first, which are location and the cost of tuition. As mentioned, although they are very important qualifiers, they are not the only ones that should be looked at. After all, the program you decide on is going to furnish the education that will be the foundation of your new profession as a welder. So following are some additional factors you may need to evaluate before choosing a welder tech school.

Accreditation. It’s extremely important that the welding tech school you decide on is accredited by either a regional or a national organization. There are two standard types of accreditation. The school may attain Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on a single program the school has, for instance Welding Technology. So confirm that the program you pick is accredited, not just the school itself. 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 ensure that you obtain a quality education, the accreditation can also assist in acquiring financial aid or student loans, which are in many cases not offered in Aliquippa PA for non-accredited schools. Also, for those states or local governments that require licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited also.

Job Placement and Apprenticeship Programs. A large number of welding degree or certificate programs are offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Other schools will help place you in an apprenticeship or a job after graduation. Find out if the schools you are looking at assist in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job placement program. These schools should have partnerships 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 develop associations within the Aliquippa PA welding community.

Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students that begin an academic program and complete it. It’s essential that the welding program you pick has a high completion rate. A reduced rate might mean that the students who were in 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 also that it has the network of Aliquippa PA contacts to assist students obtain employment or apprenticeships after graduation.

Modern Equipment and Facilities. After you have limited your choice of welder programs to two or three options, you should consider going to the campuses to inspect their facilities. Verify that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be taught on are up-to-date. Specifically, the training equipment should be comparable to what you will be working with in the field. If you are not sure what to look for, and are currently in an apprenticeship program, ask the master welder you are working under for guidance. If not, ask a local Aliquippa PA welding professional if they can give you a few pointers.

School Location. Even though we previously briefly discussed the importance of location, there are a few additional issues that we need to cover. You should remember that unless you have the ability to move, the welding program you select must be within commuting distance of your Aliquippa PA 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 particularly true 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 local community. So the location of the school needs to be in an area or state where you ultimately will want to work.

Smaller Classes. Personalized training is essential for a manual trade such as welding. It’s easy to get overlooked in bigger classes and not receive much personalized training. Ask what the typical class size is for the welder programs you are reviewing. Inquire if you can attend some classes so that you can witness just how much individual attention the students are receiving. While there, talk with some of the students and get their feedback. Similarly, speak with a few of the instructors and find out what their welding experience has been and what credentials and certifications they hold.

Flexible Class Scheduling. Lots of folks learn a new profession while still working at their present job. Confirm that the class schedules for the programs you are reviewing are convenient enough to meet your needs. If you can only attend classes in the evenings or on weekends near Aliquippa PA, make certain that the schools you are considering provide those choices. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, verify that the school you pick offers part-time enrollment. Also, check to see what the policy is to make up classes should you miss any because of work, sickness or family circumstances.

Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Aliquippa PA?

Perhaps you live in the Aliquippa Pennsylvania 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 Courses

Welding is truly a manual kind of trade, and for that reason not very suitable for training online. Even so, there are a small number of online welding programs offered by certain community colleges and technical schools in the greater Aliquippa PA area that may count toward a degree or certificate program. These courses mainly cover such topics as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help give a novice a basis to initiate their education and training. However, the most critical point is that you can’t learn how to weld or work with welding materials until you actually do it. Naturally that can’t be accomplished online. These skills need 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 perhaps earn a more advanced degree. So if you should find an online welding degree or certificate program, be extremely cautious and confirm that the bulk of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of environment.

Find the Best Welding Tech Program Aliquippa PA

Picking the right welder school will probably be the most critical decision you will make to start your new trade. As we have addressed in this article, there are many factors that you will need to assess and compare between the programs you are reviewing. It’s a prerequisite that any welding 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 personal welding machine to train on. Classroom instruction should offer a real-world perspective, and the training program should be up-to-date and in-line with industry standards. Courses vary in duration and the kind of credential provided, so you will have to decide what length of program and credential will best serve your needs. Every training program provides unique possibilities for certification also. Probably The ideal way to research your short list of schools is to visit each campus and speak with the students and instructors. Invest some time to sit in on a few classes. Tour 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 commitment, the final outcome will be a new career as a professional welder in Aliquippa PA.