How to Pick a Welding Degree Program near Allison Park Pennsylvania

Enrolling in the ideal welding trade school near Allison Park PA is an important first step to launching your new career as a professional welder. But since there are so many schools to select from, how do you determine which ones to consider? And more importantly, once you have fine tuned your options, how do you select the best one? Many prospective students begin by looking at the schools that are nearest to their residences. Once they have found those that are within commuting distance, they gravitate toward the least costly one. Yes, location and the cost of tuition are crucial issues when evaluating welding trade schools, but they are not the only ones. Other factors 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 sensible to establish a list of qualifications that your chosen school must have. But before we explore our due diligence checklist, let’s cover a little bit about how to become a welder.

Welder Degree and Certificate Training Classes

There are several options available to obtain training as a welder in a technical or trade 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 degrees than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also offered along with an apprenticeship program. Below are brief explanations of the most common welding programs offered in the Allison Park PA.

• Certificate and Diploma Programs are generally offered by trade and technical schools and require about 1 year to complete. They are more hands-on training in scope, created mainly to develop welding skills. They can provide a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or specialized 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 furnishes a more extensive education than the certificate or diploma while still furnishing the foundation that prepares students to enter the workforce.

A number of municipalities and states do have licensing requirements for welders, therefore make sure to find out for your location of potential employment. If required, the welder school you select should prepare you for any licensing exams that you will have to pass in addition to providing the proper training to become a qualified welder.

Welder Certification Alternatives

There are a number of institutions that offer welder certifications, which test the knowledge and skill level of those applying. Numerous Allison Park PA employers not only demand a certificate or degree from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a highly regarded agency like the American Welding Society (AWS). A wide range of certifications are available based on 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 certain metal thicknesses
• Work with specific kinds of welds
• Perform according to contract specifications

As formerly mentioned, some cities, states or local municipalities have licensing mandates for welders. Of those mandating licensing, some additionally require certification for different types 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, check the requirements for your local area and confirm that the welding vocational school you choose readies you for certification if needed.

How to Decide on a Welding Tech Program

As soon as you have decided on the credential you would like to earn, a diploma, certificate or degree, you can begin to evaluate schools. As you can imagine, there are many welding vocational and trade schools in the Allison Park PA area. That’s why it’s necessary to determine in advance what qualifications your school of choice must have. We have already discussed 2 important ones that most people consider first, which are location and tuition cost. As stated, although they are essential qualifiers, they are not the only ones that need to be considered. After all, the program you decide on is going to provide the training that will be the foundation of your new vocation as a welder. So following are some additional factors you may want to evaluate before choosing a welding tech school.

Accreditation. It’s extremely important that the welding technical school you select 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 specific program the school offers, such as Welding Technology. So make certain that the program you select is accredited, not just the school itself. Additionally, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting agency, like the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). In addition to helping make sure that you obtain a quality education, the accreditation can also help in securing financial assistance or student loans, which are often not available in Allison Park PA for non-accredited schools. Also, for those states or municipalities that require licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited also.

Apprenticeship and Job Placement Programs. A large number of welding certificate 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 upon graduation. Find out if the schools you are looking at help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job assistance program. These schools must have partnerships with local unions and other metal working businesses to which they can refer their students. More established schools may have a larger network of graduates that they can utilize for placements. These programs can help students find employment and develop associations within the Allison Park PA welding community.

Job Placement and Completion Rates. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students that begin an instructional program and complete it. It’s essential that the welder program you pick has a high completion rate. A low rate may mean that the students who joined the program were dissatisfied with the instruction, the teachers, or the facilities, and dropped out. The job placement rate is also a good indicator of the quality of training. A higher job placement rate will not only confirm that the school has an excellent reputation within the industry, but additionally that it has the network of Allison Park PA contacts to assist students secure apprenticeships or employment after graduation.

Up-to-date Facilities and Equipment. Once you have narrowed down your choice of welder schools to 2 or 3 possibilities, you should think out visiting the campuses to evaluate their facilities. Make sure that both the facilities and the equipment that you will be taught on are up-to-date. Specifically, the training equipment should be comparable to what you will be using on the job. If you are uncertain 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 Allison Park PA welding contractor 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 points that we should address. You should bear in mind that unless you have the ability to relocate, the welding school you choose needs to be within driving distance of your Allison Park PA home. If you do choose to enroll in an out-of-state school, apart from moving costs there could be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is particularly true for welding degree 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 wish to work.

Smaller Classes. One-on-one training is essential for a hands-on trade such as welding. It’s easy to be overlooked in larger classes and not receive much individualized training. Find out what the usual class size is for the welding programs you are considering. Inquire if you can attend a couple of classes so that you can experience just how much personal attention the students are receiving. While there, speak with a few of the students and get their opinions. Also, speak with some of the instructors and find out what their welding experience has been and what credentials and certifications they hold.

Convenient Class Schedules. Some people learn a new profession while still working at their present job. Verify that the class schedules for the schools you are considering are flexible enough to satisfy your needs. If you can only go to classes at night or on weekends near Allison Park PA, verify that the schools you are looking at provide those options. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, confirm that the school you pick offers part-time enrollment. Also, find out what the policy is to make up classes if you you miss any because of illness, work or family emergencies.

Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Allison Park PA?

Perhaps you live in the Allison Park 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 Welding Schools

Welding is very much a manual kind of profession, and for that reason not very compatible with training online. Even so, there are a few online welding programs offered by certain community colleges and vocational schools in the greater Allison Park PA area that may be credited toward a certificate or degree program. These classes mainly deal with such topics as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help give a beginner a foundation to start their education and training. Nevertheless, 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 must be learned in an on-campus environment or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is better suited for seasoned welders that would like to advance their expertise or perhaps earn a more advanced degree. So if you should discover an online welding certificate or degree program, be extremely careful and confirm that the greater part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.

Find the Right Welding Technical Program Allison Park PA

Picking the right welder training program will undoubtedly be the most critical decision you will make to start your new profession. As we have discussed in this article, there are many factors that you will need to examine and compare between the schools you are considering. It’s a must that any welding training that you are assessing includes a good deal of hands-on training. Classes should be small in size and every student should have their own welding machine to train with. Classroom instruction needs to offer 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 need to decide what length of program and certificate or degree will best fulfill your needs. Every program provides different possibilities for certification as well. Perhaps the best way to research your final list of schools is to check out each campus and speak with the teachers and students. Invest some time to sit in on a few classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make certain that you are confident that the school you choose is the right one for you. With the proper training, hard work and dedication, the final result will be a new trade as a professional welder in Allison Park PA.