How to Choose a Welding Technical School near Valley Forge Pennsylvania
Selecting the right welding trade school near Valley Forge PA is an important first step to beginning your new occupation as a professional welder. But since there are a lot of schools to pick from, how do you determine which ones to consider? And more significantly, once you have narrowed down your choices, how do you pick the best one? Many people start by checking out the schools that are nearest to their homes. Once they have located those that are within driving distance, they are drawn toward the cheapest one. Yes, location and tuition cost are crucial considerations when examining welding trade schools, but they are not the only ones. Other factors include such things as accreditation, reputation and job placement rates. So before beginning 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 examine our due diligence checklist, let’s talk a little bit about how to become a welder.
Welder Certificate and Degree Programs
There are a number of options available to get training as a welder in a technical or trade school. You can receive a diploma, a certificate or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are offered in Welding Technology or Welding Engineering, but are more advanced programs than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also offered along with an apprenticeship program. Below are brief summaries of the most prevalent welding programs available in the Valley Forge PA.
- Diploma and Certificate Programs are usually offered by trade and technical schools and require about a year to complete. They are more hands-on training in nature, fashioned primarily to develop welding skills. They can provide a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or additional skills for working 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 well-rounded education than the certificate or diploma while still providing the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.
Some states and municipalities do have licensing requirements for welders, so be sure to check for your location of potential employment. If needed, the welding school you select should prep you for any licensing exams that you will have to take in addition to supplying the proper training to become a qualified welder.
Welder Certification Options
There are various institutions that offer welder certifications, which assess the knowledge and skill level of those applying. Many Valley Forge PA employers not only demand a degree or certificate from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a highly regarded agency such as the American Welding Society (AWS). A wide range of certifications are offered 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
- Work in compliance with specific codes
- Work with specified metal thicknesses
- Work with various kinds of welds
- Operate according to contract specifications
As earlier mentioned, some states, cities or local municipalities have licensing requirements for welders. Of those mandating licensing, some 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 verify that the welding vocational school you select preps you for certification as needed.
How to Decide on a Welding Vocational School
After you have decided on the credential you want to attain, a degree, certificate or diploma, you can start to assess schools. As you probably know, there are a large number of welding trade and technical schools in the Valley Forge PA area. That’s why it’s important to determine up front what qualifications your chosen school must have. We have already discussed 2 important ones that most people consider first, which are location and the cost of tuition. As stated, although they are essential qualifications, they are not the only ones that should be considered. After all, the program you choose is going to provide the instruction that will be the foundation of your new vocation as a welder. So below are more factors you might want to evaluate before picking a welding tech school.
Accreditation. It’s very important that the welding technical school you pick is accredited by either a regional or a national agency. There are 2 basic 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 verify that the program you choose is accredited, not just the school alone. Additionally, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting organization, for example the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). In addition to helping ensure that you get a superior education, the accreditation might also help in obtaining financial aid or student loans, which are in many cases not offered in Valley Forge PA for non-accredited schools. Finally, for those states or local governments that mandate licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited also.
Apprenticeship and Job Assistance Programs. A large number of welding diploma or degree programs are provided in conjunction 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 placement program. These schools must have partnerships with local unions and other 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 help students find employment and establish associations within the Valley Forge PA welding community.
Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that start an educational program and complete it. It’s crucial that the welder school you pick has a high completion rate. A low rate may signify that the students who enrolled in the program were dissatisfied with the training, the teachers, or the facilities, and quit. The job placement rate is also an indication of the quality of training. A higher job placement rate will not only affirm that the program has an excellent reputation within the field, but additionally that it has the network of Valley Forge PA contacts to help students obtain apprenticeships or employment after graduation.
Up-to-date Facilities and Equipment. Once you have limited your selection of welding programs to two or three options, you should think out visiting the campuses to inspect their facilities. Verify that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be trained on are up-to-date. In particular, the training equipment should be similar to what you will be working with on the job. If you are unsure what to look for, and are currently in an apprenticeship program, consult with the master welder you are working under for guidance. Otherwise, ask a local Valley Forge PA welding professional if they can give you some tips.
School Location. Although we previously briefly talked about the importance of location, there are a couple of additional points that we should deal with. You should bear in mind that unless you can move, the welder school you select needs to be within commuting distance of your Valley Forge PA home. If you do opt to enroll in an out-of-state school, apart from relocation expenses there may be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is particularly the case for welding diploma programs offered by community colleges. Furthermore, if the school offers an apprenticeship or job placement program, most likely 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 wish to work.
Smaller Classes. Individualized training is essential for a manual trade such as welding. It’s easy to be lost in larger classes and not receive much personalized training. Find out what the typical class size is for the welder schools you are reviewing. Ask if you can sit in on a couple of classes so that you can observe how much personal attention the students are receiving. While there, speak with several of the students and get their opinions. Similarly, talk to a few of the teachers and find out what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they hold.
Convenient Class Schedules. Many people learn a new trade while still employed at their present job. Make sure that the class schedules for the schools you are reviewing are convenient enough to meet your needs. If you can only attend classes at night or on weekends near Valley Forge PA, make sure that the schools you are considering provide those options. If you can only attend part-time, verify that the school you select offers part-time enrollment. Also, find out what the policy is to make up classes should you miss any because of work, illness or family circumstances.
Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Valley Forge PA?
Perhaps you live in the Valley Forge 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.
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
The Village of Valley Forge is an unincorporated settlement located on the west side of Valley Forge National Historical Park at the confluence of Valley Creek and the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania, United States. The remaining village is in Schuylkill Township of Chester County, but once spanned Valley Creek into Montgomery County. The name Valley Forge is often used to refer to anywhere in the general vicinity of the park, and many places actually in King of Prussia, Trooper, Oaks, and other nearby communities will use the name, leading to some ambiguity on the actual location of the modern village.
Valley Forge is known by travelers in the Philadelphia area as the westbound control city on Interstate 76 (the Schuylkill Expressway), as it is near where I-76 joins the Pennsylvania Turnpike. This remains, despite no exit being designated for Valley Forge, since the previous exit became the off-ramp to Mall Blvd., serving King of Prussia.
Online Welder Degree and Certificate Programs
Welding is truly a hands-on kind of trade, and consequently not extremely compatible with training online. Even so, there are a small number of online welding classes offered by certain community colleges and trade schools in the greater Valley Forge PA area that can be credited toward a certificate or degree program. These courses primarily cover such subjects as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help give a beginner a basis to initiate their training and education. However, the most critical point is that you can’t learn how to weld or use welding materials until you actually do it. Obviously that can’t be performed online. These skills need to be learned in an on-campus setting or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is more appropriate for seasoned welders that would like to advance their expertise or possibly earn a more advanced degree. So if you should discover an online welding degree or certificate program, be very cautious and confirm that the majority of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of environment.
Select the Best Welding Technical School Valley Forge PA
Picking the right welding training program will undoubtedly be the most critical decision you will make to begin your new trade. As we have discussed in this article, there are a number of things that you will need to assess and compare between the schools you are considering. It’s a must that any welding school that you are reviewing includes a considerable amount of hands-on training. Classes should be small in size and every student must have their own welding machine to train on. Classroom teaching should offer a real-world frame of reference, and the course of study should be current and in-line with industry standards. Courses vary in length and the type of credential provided, so you will have to determine what length of program and credential will best fulfill your needs. Each program provides unique possibilities for certification also. Perhaps the best way to research your short list of schools is to go to each campus and talk with the students and faculty. Invest some time to attend some classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make certain that you are confident that the training program you select is the ideal one for you. With the right training, hard work and commitment, the end outcome will be a new occupation as a professional welder in Valley Forge PA.
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