How to Select a Welder Training Program near Montgomery West Virginia
Locating the right welder school near Montgomery WV is an essential first step to launching your new occupation as a professional welder. But since there are a lot of schools to select from, how do you know which ones to consider? And more importantly, once you have fine tuned your options, how do you select the right one? Many people start by looking at the schools that are nearest to their residences. When they have located those that are within driving distance, they gravitate toward the least expensive one. Yes, location and tuition cost are necessary considerations when examining welder trade schools, but they are not the only ones. Other considerations 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 prudent to establish a list of qualifications that your selected school must have. But before we examine our due diligence checklist, let’s cover a little bit about how to become a welder.
Welder Degree and Certificate Training
There are several alternatives available to receive training as a welder in a technical or trade school. You can earn a diploma, a certificate or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are available in Welding Engineering or Welding Technology, but are more advanced programs than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also made available along with an apprenticeship program. Following are short summaries of the most prevalent welding programs available in the Montgomery WV.
- Certificate and Diploma Programs are normally made available by technical and trade schools and take about 1 year to finish. They are more hands-on training in nature, fashioned primarily to teach welding skills. They can furnish a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or supplemental skills for experienced welders.
- Associate Degree Programs will take two years to complete and are most often offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology provides a more well-rounded education than the certificate or diploma while still furnishing the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.
A number of municipalities and states do have licensing prerequisites for welders, therefore be sure to find out for your location of potential employment. As required, the welding school you select should prepare you for any licensing examinations that you will have to take in addition to furnishing the appropriate training to become a professional welder.
Welding Certification Options
There are various organizations that offer welding certifications, which test the skill level and knowledge of those applying. Numerous Montgomery WV employers not only require a degree or certificate from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a highly regarded agency like the American Welding Society (AWS). Different certifications are offered dependent on the type of work that the welder does. A few of the skills that certification can acknowledge are the welder’s ability to
- Operate in compliance with specific codes
- Work with certain metal thicknesses
- Work with specific kinds of welds
- Perform in compliance with contract specifications
As previously stated, many cities, states or local municipalities have licensing mandates for welders. Of those mandating licensing, some additionally require certification for various kinds of work. Certification is also a way to demonstrate to employers that you are a highly skilled and experienced welder. So just as with licensing, look into the requirements for your local area and make sure that the welder vocational school you decide on preps you for certification if needed.
How to Choose a Welder Vocational School
After you have decided on the credential you would like to attain, a diploma, certificate or degree, you can start to compare schools. As you probably know, there are many welder trade and vocational schools in the Montgomery WV area. That’s why it’s important to establish in advance what qualifications your selected school must have. We have already covered a couple of significant ones that most people consider first, which are location and tuition cost. As stated, although they are very important qualifications, they are not the only ones that should be considered. After all, the school you decide on is going to provide the education that will be the foundation of your new career as a welder. So following are some additional factors you might need to consider before selecting a welder tech school.
Accreditation. It’s very important that the welder technical school you choose is accredited by either a regional or a national 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 an individual program the school has, for instance Welding Technology. So make certain that the program you select is accredited, not just the school itself. Also, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting organization, such as the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). Besides helping make sure that you receive an excellent education, the accreditation can also help in getting financial assistance or student loans, which are in many cases not available in Montgomery WV for non-accredited schools. Finally, for those states or municipalities that require licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited as well.
Apprenticeship and Job Assistance Programs. Many welder diploma or degree programs are offered combined with an apprenticeship program. Other schools will help place you in a job or an apprenticeship after graduation. Ask if the schools you are considering assist in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job assistance program. The schools must have relationships 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 rely upon for placements. These programs can assist students in finding employment and develop relationships within the Montgomery WV welding community.
Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that enroll in an instructional program and complete it. It’s essential that the welder program you pick has a high completion rate. A reduced rate might indicate that the students who enrolled in the program were dissatisfied 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 higher job placement rate will not only confirm that the program has an excellent reputation within the field, but additionally that it has the network of Montgomery WV contacts to help students obtain apprenticeships or employment upon graduation.
Up-to-date Equipment and Facilities. Once you have limited your selection of welding programs to 2 or 3 possibilities, you should consider visiting the campuses to inspect their facilities. Make sure that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be trained on are up-to-date. In particular, 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. Otherwise, ask a local Montgomery WV welding professional if they can give you a few pointers.
School Location. Even though we previously briefly discussed the relevance of location, there are a few additional points that we need to cover. You should keep in mind that unless you have the ability to move, the welding program you select must be within commuting distance of your Montgomery WV home. If you do choose to enroll in an out-of-state school, besides moving expenses there may be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is particularly true for welding diploma programs offered by community colleges. Also, if the school offers an apprenticeship or job placement program, often their placements are within the school’s local community. So the location of the school should be in a region or state where you subsequently will desire to work.
Small Classes. One-on-one training is important for a manual trade such as welding. It’s easy to get overlooked in larger classes and not obtain much one-on-one instruction. Find out what the average class size is for the welder programs you are looking at. Ask if you can attend a couple of classes so that you can witness how much personal attention the students are getting. While there, talk with a few of the students and get their feedback. Similarly, talk to a couple of the instructors and find out what their welding experience has been and what credentials and certifications they hold.
Convenient Class Scheduling. Many people learn a new profession while still employed at their current job. Check to see that the class schedules for the programs you are looking at are convenient enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only go to classes in the evenings or on weekends near Montgomery WV, make sure that the schools you are considering provide those alternatives. If you can only enroll on a part-time basis, make sure that the school you select offers part-time enrollment. Also, find out what the policy is to make up classes should you miss any due to illness, work or family emergencies.
Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Montgomery WV?
Perhaps you live in the Montgomery West 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.
Montgomery, West Virginia
From 1876 to 1890, the town was called Coal Valley Post Office. The name then changed to Montgomery's Landing and then Coal Valley. In 1890 it was again renamed, as Cannelton. It was incorporated April 1, 1891 and the named Montgomery was settled upon, for James C. Montgomery,[6] one of the city's first settlers.
Late 19th c.growth was due to the construction of the Kanawha & Michigan Railroad across the river and the connection of the Virginian Railway at nearby Deepwater. In the early 1910s Montgomery was the shipping center for 26 different coal operations and the largest town in Fayette County at the time.[7]
From 1895 until it's 2017 move to Beckley, Montgomery was the home of West Virginia University Institute of Technology, popularly called WVU Tech. The city is currently home to BridgeValley Community and Technical College – Montgomery Campus.
Online Welder Certificate and Degree Programs
Welding is truly a hands-on type of profession, and consequently not extremely compatible with training online. Even so, there are some online welding classes offered by certain community colleges and vocational schools in the greater Montgomery WV area that may count toward a degree or certificate program. These courses primarily cover such topics as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help give a beginner a basis to initiate their education and training. However, the most significant point is that you can’t learn how to weld or work with welding materials until you actually do it. Obviously 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 more appropriate for experienced welders that would like to advance their expertise or possibly earn a more advanced degree. So if you should find an online welding certificate or degree program, be very careful and verify that the larger part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.
Select the Ideal Welding Tech Program Montgomery WV
Picking the ideal welder training program will probably be the most critical decision you will make to start your new career. As we have discussed in this article, there are a number of things that you will need to examine and compare between the programs you are considering. It’s a must that any welder training program that you are evaluating includes a good deal of hands-on instruction. Classes should be small in size and every student must have their personal welding machine to train on. Classroom instruction needs to provide a real-world perspective, and the course of study should be current and in-line with industry standards. Courses vary in duration and the kind of credential offered, so you will have to determine what length of program and credential will best satisfy your needs. Each program offers different options for certification also. Perhaps The ideal approach to research your final list of schools is to go to each campus and talk with the faculty and students. Invest some time to sit in on some classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the school you decide on is the ideal one for you. With the right training, effort and dedication, the final outcome will be a new occupation as a professional welder in Montgomery WV.
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