How to Select the Right Welder Certificate Program near Winston Salem North Carolina

Finding the ideal welding school near Winston Salem NC is an essential first step to beginning your new career as a professional welder. But since there are so many schools to select 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? Many prospective students begin by checking out the schools that are nearest to their homes. When they have found those that are within commuting distance, they are drawn toward the least expensive one. Yes, location and the cost of tuition are crucial issues when reviewing welder 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 vocational school to become a welder, it’s sensible to create a list of qualifications that your chosen school must have. But before we delve into our due diligence checklist, let’s cover a little bit about how to become a welder.

Welding Degree and Certificate Training Courses

There are a number of alternatives available to receive training as a welder in a trade or vocational school. You can obtain a a certificate, a diploma 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 offered combined with an apprenticeship program. Below are short summaries of the most common welding programs available in the Winston Salem NC.

• Diploma and Certificate Programs are normally offered by trade and technical schools and take about 1 year to finish. They are more hands-on training in scope, fashioned primarily to develop welding skills. They can furnish a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or supplemental 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 provides a more extensive education than the diploma or certificate while still furnishing the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.

A number of states and municipalities do have licensing prerequisites for welders, so be sure to check for your location of future employment. If needed, the welder school you select should ready you for any licensing examinations that you will have to take in addition to furnishing the suitable training to become a professional welder.

Welder Certification Choices

There are multiple organizations that provide welder certifications, which evaluate the knowledge and skill level of those applying. Many Winston Salem NC employers not only demand a degree or certificate from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a renowned agency like the American Welding Society (AWS). A variety of certifications are available based upon the kind of work that the welder performs. Just some of the skills that certification can attest to are the welder’s ability to

• Work in compliance with specific codes
• Work with certain metal thicknesses
• Work with certain kinds of welds
• Work in compliance with contract specifications

As formerly mentioned, some cities, states or local municipalities have licensing mandates for welders. Of those calling for licensing, a number additionally require certification for various kinds of work. Certification is also a means to prove to employers that you are a highly skilled and experienced welder. So similarly as with licensing, look into the requirements for your location and make certain that the welding tech school you select preps you for certification if needed.

Topics to Ask Welder Tech Programs

After you have chosen the credential you would like to attain, a diploma, certificate or degree, you can begin to evaluate schools. As you can imagine, there are a large number of welding trade and technical schools in the Winston Salem NC area. That’s why it’s essential to decide up front what qualifications your chosen school must have. We have already covered a couple of important ones that most people look at first, which are location and tuition cost. As mentioned, although they are essential qualifications, they are not the only ones that must be looked at. After all, the program you choose is going to furnish the education that will be the foundation of your new career as a welder. So below are some additional factors you might want to evaluate before choosing a welder vocational school.

Accreditation. It’s very important that the welder trade school you decide on is accredited by either a regional or a national agency. There are two basic 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 verify that the program you choose is accredited, not just the school itself. Additionally, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting agency, such as the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). Besides helping make sure that you get an excellent education, the accreditation can also assist in getting financial aid or student loans, which are in many cases unavailable in Winston Salem NC for schools that are not accredited. Finally, for those states or municipalities that require licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited also.

Apprenticeship and Job Assistance Programs. Many welder 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 reviewing help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job placement program. The schools must have associations 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 placements. These programs can assist students in finding employment and establish relationships within the Winston Salem NC welding community.

Job Placement and Completion Rates. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students that enroll in an instructional program and complete it. It’s important that the welding program you choose has a higher completion rate. A lower rate could signify that the students who enrolled in the program were unhappy with the instruction, the teachers, or the facilities, and dropped out. The job placement rate is also an indication of the caliber of training. A high job placement rate will not only verify that the program has an excellent reputation within the trade, but also that it has the network of Winston Salem NC contacts to assist students obtain apprenticeships or employment upon graduation.

Up-to-date Equipment and Facilities. Once you have limited your choice of welding programs to 2 or 3 options, you should think out visiting the campuses to look over their facilities. Verify that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be instructed on are up-to-date. Specifically, 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 currently in an apprenticeship program, ask the master welder you are working under for guidance. If not, ask a local Winston Salem NC welding professional if they can give you a few pointers.

School Location. Although we previously briefly discussed the importance of location, there are a few additional points that we should deal with. You should keep in mind that unless you can relocate, the welder program you select needs to be within commuting distance of your Winston Salem NC home. If you do choose to enroll in an out-of-state school, besides relocation costs there may be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially the case for welder diploma programs offered by community colleges. Furthermore, 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 subsequently will want to work.

Small Classes. One-on-one instruction is important for a manual trade such as welding. It’s easy to be overlooked in bigger classes and not receive much one-on-one instruction. Find out what the usual class size is for the welding schools you are reviewing. Ask if you can sit in on some classes so that you can experience how much personal attention the students are getting. While there, speak with several of the students and get their opinions. Similarly, chat with a couple of the teachers and ask what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they have earned.

Convenient Class Scheduling. Lots of folks learn a new profession while still employed at their current job. Make sure that the class schedules for the programs you are looking at are flexible enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only attend classes at night or on weekends near Winston Salem NC, verify that the schools you are assessing offer those options. If you can only attend part-time, make certain that the school you choose offers part-time enrollment. Also, ask what the protocol is to make up classes if you you miss any because of illness, work or family emergencies.

Online Welder Degree and Certificate Programs

Welding is truly a hands-on kind of vocation, and therefore not very compatible with online training. Having said that, there are some online welding programs offered by specific community colleges and vocational schools in the greater Winston Salem NC area that may be credited toward a certificate or degree program. These classes mainly cover such subjects as reading blueprints, safety,, and metallurgy. They can help provide a beginner a foundation to start their education and training. However, the most critical point is that you can’t learn how to weld or handle welding materials unless you actually do it. Naturally that can’t be done online. These skills have to be learned in an on-campus setting or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is more appropriate for seasoned welders that desire to advance their knowledge or perhaps obtain a more advanced degree. So if you should find an online welding certificate or degree program, be very cautious and verify that the bulk of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of environment.

Attending a Welding School in Winston Salem NC?

If you have decided to enroll in a welder training program in the Winston Salem North Carolina area, you may find the following information both informative and helpful about the location of your new school campus.

Pick the Ideal Welding Tech Program Winston Salem NC

Picking the right welding training program will probably be the most critical decision you will make to begin your new trade. You originally stopped by our website because you had an interest in Welding School Cost. However, as we have covered in this article, there are several factors that you will need to evaluate and compare between the programs you are considering. It’s a necessity that any welder training program that you are evaluating includes a considerable amount of hands-on instruction. Classes should be smaller in size and each student must have their own welding machine to train on. Classroom education needs to offer a real-world context, and the curriculum should be current and in-line with industry standards. Training programs vary in length and the type of credential offered, so you will have to determine what length of program and degree or certificate will best fulfill your needs. Each training program provides unique possibilities for certification also. Probably the best way to research your short list of schools is to visit each campus and talk with the faculty and students. Invest some time to monitor a few classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the program you choose is the best one for you. With the proper training, hard work and commitment, the end result will be a new trade as a professional welder in Winston Salem NC.

Business Results 1 - 10 of 1

Design Architectural Welding and Construction

6 Reviews

Fences & Gates, Metal Fabricators, Masonry/Concrete

Phone:

Raleigh, NC 27616