How to Select the Right Welding Trade School near Beckley West Virginia

Finding the ideal welder technical school near Beckley WV is an important first step to launching your new career as a professional welder. But since there are numerous schools to pick from, how do you determine which ones to consider? And more importantly, once you have fine tuned your options, how do you pick the right one? Most people begin by reviewing the schools that are nearest to their residences. Once they have identified those that are within commuting distance, they are drawn toward the cheapest one. Yes, location and tuition cost are necessary considerations 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 initiating your search for a vocational school to become a welder, it’s prudent to establish a list of qualifications that your chosen school must have. But before we explore our due diligence checklist, let’s talk a little bit about how to become a welder.

Welding Degree and Certificate Training Programs

There are several alternatives available to receive training as a welder in a trade or vocational 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 programs than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Following are short descriptions of the most prevalent welding programs offered in the Beckley WV.

• Certificate and Diploma Programs are usually made available by technical and trade schools and take about 1 year to complete. They are more hands-on training in scope, fashioned largely to develop welding skills. They can provide a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or additional 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 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 prerequisites for welders, therefore make sure to find out for your location of potential employment. As required, the welding school you pick should prepare you for any licensing examinations that you will have to pass in addition to supplying the proper training to become a qualified welder.

Welder Certification Alternatives

There are various institutions that offer welder certifications, which assess the skill level and knowledge of those applying. Numerous Beckley WV employers not only expect a degree or certificate from an accredited welding school, but also certification from a highly regarded agency such as the American Welding Society (AWS). A variety of certifications are offered based on the type of work that the welder performs. Just some of the skills that certification can acknowledge are the welder’s ability to

• Work in compliance with specific codes
• Work with certain metal thicknesses
• Work with various types of welds
• Perform based on contract specifications

As previously mentioned, various cities, states or local municipalities have licensing mandates for welders. Of those mandating licensing, a number additionally require certification for different types of work. Certification is also a way to demonstrate to employers that you are an exceptionally skilled and knowledgeable welder. So similarly as with licensing, check the requirements for your location and make sure that the welding tech school you decide on readies you for certification if needed.

Topics to Ask Welding Technical Schools

After you have chosen the credential you want to earn, a diploma, certificate or degree, you can start to evaluate schools. As you are no doubt aware, there are a large number of welding trade and vocational schools in the Beckley WV area. That’s why it’s important to determine up front what qualifications your selected school must have. We have already covered two important ones that many people look at 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 looked at. After all, the school you pick is going to furnish the training that will be the foundation of your new career as a welder. So below are some additional factors you may need to consider before choosing a welding vocational school.

Accreditation. It’s essential that the welder trade school you decide on is accredited by either a national or a regional organization. There are 2 basic types of accreditation. The school may attain Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on a single program the school has, such as Welding Technology. So verify that the program you choose is accredited, not just the school alone. Also, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting agency, for example the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). Besides helping ensure that you get an excellent education, the accreditation may also assist in obtaining financial assistance or student loans, which are often unavailable in Beckley WV for schools that are not accredited. Also, for those states or local governments that require licensing, they may require that the welder training program be accredited as well.

Apprenticeship and Job Placement Programs. A large number of welding degree or certificate programs are provided in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Various other schools will help place you in an apprenticeship or a job upon graduation. Find out if the schools you are considering help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job placement program. The schools must have relationships with local unions and various 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 referrals. These programs can assist students in finding employment and establish relationships within the Beckley WV welding community.

Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that start an educational program and finish it. It’s essential that the welder program you pick has a higher completion rate. A lower rate might indicate that the students who enrolled in the program were unhappy with the instruction, the teachers, or the facilities, and quit. The job placement rate is also an indication of the caliber of training. A high job placement rate will not only affirm that the program has a good reputation within the trade, but additionally that it has the network of Beckley WV contacts to help students secure apprenticeships or employment after graduation.

Up-to-date Equipment and Facilities. Once you have decreased your selection of welder programs to two or three possibilities, you should think out going to the campuses to evaluate their facilities. Make sure that both the facilities and the equipment that you will be trained on are up-to-date. Specifically, the training equipment should be similar to what you will be working with in the field. If you are uncertain what to look for, and are already in an apprenticeship program, consult with the master welder you are working under for guidance. If not, ask a local Beckley WV welding professional if they can give you a few pointers.

School Location. Although we already briefly talked about the relevance of location, there are a few additional issues that we need to cover. You should keep in mind that unless you can move, the welder program you pick needs to be within driving distance of your Beckley WV home. If you do opt to enroll in an out-of-state school, in addition to moving expenses there could be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is particularly true for welder diploma programs offered by community colleges. Also, if the school provides a job placement or apprenticeship 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 wish to work.

Small Classes. One-on-one instruction is important for a manual trade such as welding. It’s easy to get overlooked in larger classes and not obtain much personalized instruction. Find out what the average class size is for the welder programs you are looking at. Inquire if you can attend a couple of classes so that you can experience how much individual attention the students are getting. While there, speak with a few of the students and get their evaluations. Similarly, talk to a few of the teachers and ask what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they have earned.

Convenient Class Schedules. Many people learn a new trade while still employed at their current job. Confirm that the class schedules for the schools you are reviewing are flexible enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only attend classes at night or on weekends near Beckley WV, verify that the schools you are looking at provide those alternatives. If you can only attend part-time, make sure that the school you pick offers part-time enrollment. Also, ask what the policy is to make up classes should you miss any due to illness, work or family responsibilities.

Online Welder Courses

Welding is truly a manual type of trade, and for that reason not extremely compatible with training online. Having said that, there are some online welding courses offered by specific community colleges and technical schools in the greater Beckley WV area that can count toward a degree or certificate program. These courses mainly deal with such subjects as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help provide a novice a basis to begin their education and training. Nevertheless, the most important point is that you can’t learn how to weld or work with welding materials unless you actually do it. Naturally that can’t be performed online. These skills must be learned in an on-campus environment or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is better suited for experienced welders that want to advance their knowledge or perhaps attain a more advanced degree. So if you should find an online welding degree or certificate program, be very cautious and make certain that the larger part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of environment.

Attending a Welding School in Beckley WV?

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

Select the Right Welding Technical School Beckley WV

Choosing the right welder school will undoubtedly be the most critical decision you will make to begin your new profession. You originally stopped by our website because you had an interest in Stainless Steel Welding Course. However, as we have covered in this article, there are several things that you will need to examine and compare among the schools you are looking at. It’s a necessity that any welder school that you are reviewing includes a lot of hands-on training. Classes need to be smaller in size and every student must have their own welding machine to train on. Classroom education needs to offer a real-world frame of reference, and the course of study should be current and conform with industry standards. Programs differ in length and the type of credential offered, so you will have to ascertain what length of program and credential will best fulfill your needs. Every training program offers unique options for certification as well. Perhaps the best means 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 pick is the best one for you. With the right training, hard work and commitment, the end result will be a new trade as a professional welder in Beckley WV.