Category Archives: Virginia

Welding Schools Near Me | How to Become a Welder – West Point VA

How to Choose a Welding Trade School near West Point Virginia

West Point VA welding school studentSelecting the right welding trade school near West Point VA 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 determine which ones to consider? And more notably, once you have narrowed down your choices, how do you pick the right one? Many people start by checking out the schools that are closest to their homes. Once they have identified those that are within commuting distance, they gravitate toward the cheapest one. Yes, location and tuition cost are crucial considerations when examining welding technical 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 vocational school to become a welder, it’s sensible to create a list of qualifications that your chosen school must have. But before we examine our due diligence checklist, let’s cover a little bit about how to become a welder.

Welding Degree and Certificate Training Programs

West Point VA welder working on pipingThere are several alternatives 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 available in Welding Engineering or Welding Technology, but are more advanced degrees than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also made available combined with an apprenticeship program. Below are brief explanations of the most common welding programs available in the West Point VA.

  • Diploma and Certificate Programs are usually offered by trade and technical schools and require about one year to complete. They are more hands-on training in scope, designed mainly to develop welding skills. They can furnish a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or additional skills for working welders.
  • Associate Degree Programs will take 2 years to complete and are most often offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology provides a more extensive education than the certificate or diploma while still providing the foundation that prepares students to enter the workforce.

Many states and municipalities do have licensing prerequisites for welders, therefore be sure to check for your location of potential employment. If required, the welder school you choose should prep you for any licensing exams that you will need to take in addition to supplying the suitable training to become a qualified welder.

Welder Certification Options

West Point VA welder working on poleThere are various institutions that provide welding certifications, which assess the skill level and knowledge of those applying. A large number of West Point VA employers not only demand a degree or certificate from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a respected agency like the American Welding Society (AWS). A variety of certifications are available dependent on the kind of work that the welder does. Some of the skills that certification can attest to are the welder’s ability to

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

As previously stated, many cities, states or local municipalities have licensing requirements for welders. Of those mandating licensing, some additionally require certification for different types of work. Certification is also a means to demonstrate to employers that you are a highly skilled and knowledgeable welder. So just as with licensing, look into the requirements for your local area and make sure that the welding technical school you select preps you for certification as needed.

How to Decide on a Welder Vocational Program

West Point VA welder working on carAfter you have decided on the credential you want to obtain, a certificate, diploma or degree, you can start to assess schools. As you can imagine, there are numerous welding trade and technical schools in the West Point VA area. That’s why it’s essential to determine in advance what qualifications your chosen school must have. We have already covered a couple of important ones that most people consider first, which are location and the cost of tuition. As stated, although they are very important qualifications, they are not the only ones that need to be considered. After all, the program you choose is going to furnish the training that will be the foundation of your new profession as a welder. So following are more factors you may want to consider before choosing a welding tech school.

Accreditation. It’s essential that the welder tech school you pick is accredited by either a national or a regional organization. There are 2 basic kinds of accreditation. The school may receive Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on an individual program the school has, for instance Welding Technology. So make certain 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, like the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). Besides helping make sure that you receive a quality education, the accreditation can also assist in obtaining financial aid or student loans, which are often not offered in West Point VA for schools that are not accredited. Finally, for those states or municipalities that mandate licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited as well.

Job Assistance and Apprenticeship Programs. Numerous welder degree or diploma programs are offered combined with an apprenticeship program. Other schools will assist in placing you in a job or an apprenticeship after graduation. Find out if the schools you are considering assist in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job assistance program. The schools must have partnerships with local unions and various metal working businesses to which they can place their students. Older schools may have a more substantial network of graduates that they can rely upon for placements. These programs can help students find employment and develop relationships within the West Point VA welding community.

Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that start an academic program and complete it. It’s important that the welding school you choose has a higher completion rate. A lower rate could signify that the students who were in the program were unhappy 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 higher job placement rate will not only confirm that the school has an excellent reputation within the trade, but additionally that it has the network of West Point VA employer relationships to assist students secure employment or apprenticeships upon graduation.

Up-to-date Facilities and Equipment. After you have limited your selection of welding programs to two or three possibilities, you should think out visiting the campuses to evaluate 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 similar to what you will be using 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. Otherwise, ask a local West Point VA welding contractor if they can give you some suggestions.

School Location. Even though we previously briefly discussed the significance of location, there are a few additional points that we need to deal with. You should bear in mind that unless you have the ability to relocate, the welder school you choose needs to be within commuting distance of your West Point VA home. If you do opt to attend an out-of-state school, apart from relocation expenses there might be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially the case for welder degree programs offered by community colleges. Also, 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 needs to be in a region or state where you ultimately will wish to work.

Smaller Classes. Individualized instruction is essential for a manual trade such as welding. It’s easy to get overlooked in bigger classes and not obtain much one-on-one instruction. 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 experience how much personal attention the students are receiving. While there, talk with a few of the students and get their evaluations. Also, talk with a couple of the trainers and find out what their welding experience has been and what credentials and certifications they have earned.

Convenient Class Schedules. Some people learn a new trade while still employed at their present job. Confirm that the class schedules for the schools you are considering are flexible enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only go to classes at night or on weekends near West Point VA, make sure that the schools you are considering offer those options. If you can only enroll part-time, make certain 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 circumstances.

Will You Be Attending Welding School Near West Point VA?

Perhaps you live in the West Point Virginia 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.

West Point, Virginia

West Point is located at 37°32′37″N 76°48′19″W / 37.54361°N 76.80528°W / 37.54361; -76.80528 (37.543733, −76.805366).[3] The York River is formed at West Point by the confluence of the Mattaponi and Pamunkey rivers; from there, it separates the Virginia Peninsula and Middle Peninsula regions of eastern Virginia as it flows approximately 40 miles to the Chesapeake Bay.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 6.7 square miles (17.2 km²), of which, 5.2 square miles (13.3 km²) of it is land and 1.5 square miles (4.0 km²) of it (23.12%) is water.

The current site of West Point was once the site of Cinquoteck, a Native American village of the local Mattaponi, an Algonquian-speaking tribe affiliated with the Powhatan Confederacy. During the first half of the 17th century, the Confederacy and the English colonists who established their first permanent settlement at Jamestown in 1607 were frequently in conflict. By mid-century, the Natives had been largely overcome, including the area of Cinquoteck, by the ever-expanding Colony of Virginia.

Online Welder Certificate and Degree Programs

pipe welder at work in West Point VAWelding is very much a hands-on type of vocation, and consequently not extremely compatible with online training. Having said that, there are a small number of online welding courses offered by certain community colleges and vocational schools in the greater West Point VA area that may count toward a degree or certificate program. These classes primarily deal with such subjects as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help provide a beginner a foundation to start their training and education. However, the most important point is that you can’t learn how to weld or work with welding materials unless you actually do it. Clearly that can’t be done 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 would like to advance their expertise or possibly obtain a more advanced degree. So if you should discover an online welding degree or certificate program, be extremely careful and make certain that the larger part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of environment.

Select the Right Welding Trade School West Point VA

Selecting the ideal welder training program will undoubtedly be the most critical decision you will make to start your new trade. As we have covered in this article, there are several factors that you will need to examine and compare among the programs you are looking at. It’s a prerequisite that any welder school that you are considering includes a lot of hands-on instruction. Classes should be small in size and every student should have their personal welding machine to train with. Classroom instruction needs to offer a real-world frame of reference, and the course of study should be current and in-line with industry standards. Courses differ in length and the kind of credential offered, so you will have to decide what length of program and degree or certificate will best satisfy your needs. Each program provides unique possibilities for certification as well. Perhaps the best approach to research your final list of schools is to go to each campus and speak with the students and instructors. Take the time to attend a few classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make certain that you are confident that the program you choose is the right one for you. With the proper training, effort and dedication, the end result will be a new occupation as a professional welder in West Point VA.

 

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