How to Enroll In the Right Welding Technical School near Statesboro Georgia

Locating the right welding trade school near Statesboro GA is an important first step to launching your new occupation as a professional welder. But since there are so many schools to pick from, how do you know which ones to consider? And more notably, once you have fine tuned your alternatives, how do you select the right one? Most prospective students begin by checking out the schools that are nearest to their residences. Once they have identified those that are within commuting distance, they are drawn toward the least expensive one. Yes, location and the cost of tuition are crucial concerns when evaluating welder trade schools, but they are not the only ones. Other considerations 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 selected school must have. But before we explore our due diligence checklist, let’s cover a little bit about how to become a welder.

Welder Certificate and Degree Training

There are several options to receive training as a welder in a trade or vocational school. You can receive a diploma, a certificate or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are available in Welding Technology or Welding Engineering, but are more advanced degrees than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also made available in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Following are brief explanations of the most prevalent welding programs available in the Statesboro GA.

• Diploma and Certificate Programs are usually made available by technical and trade schools and require about 1 year to complete. They are more hands-on training in scope, fashioned largely 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 2 years to finish and are most often offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology offers a more well-rounded education than the certificate or diploma while still supplying the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.

Many states and municipalities do have licensing requirements for welders, therefore be sure to find out for your location of potential employment. If required, the welder school you choose should prepare you for any licensing examinations that you will have to pass in addition to providing the proper training to become a qualified welder.

Welding Certification Options

There are several institutions that offer welder certifications, which test the skill level and knowledge of those applying. Numerous Statesboro GA employers not only demand a degree or certificate from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a renowned organization like the American Welding Society (AWS). A variety of certifications are offered based on the type of work that the welder performs. A few of the things that certification can attest to are the welder’s ability to

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

As formerly stated, many states, cities or local municipalities have licensing mandates for welders. Of those mandating licensing, a number also require certification for various kinds of work. Certification is also a way to prove to employers that you are an exceptionally skilled and experienced welder. So just as with licensing, check the requirements for your location and make sure that the welding vocational school you select readies you for certification as needed.

Subjects to Ask Welder Vocational Schools

Once you have chosen the credential you want to earn, a degree, certificate or diploma, you can start to assess schools. As you can imagine, there are a large number of welding trade and vocational schools in the Statesboro GA area. That’s why it’s necessary to establish up front what qualifications your selected school must have. We have already discussed two important ones that many people consider first, which are location and tuition cost. As stated, although they are essential qualifiers, they are not the only ones that need to be looked at. After all, the school you select is going to provide the training that will be the foundation of your new career as a welder. So below are some additional factors you may want to consider before choosing a welder tech school.

Accreditation. It’s extremely important that the welder tech school you select is accredited by either a regional or a national agency. There are 2 standard 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 offers, for instance Welding Technology. So verify that the program you pick is accredited, not just the school itself. Additionally, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting agency, like the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). In addition to helping make sure that you obtain a quality education, the accreditation can also assist in getting financial assistance or student loans, which are in many cases not available in Statesboro GA for non-accredited schools. Finally, for those states or municipalities that require licensing, they may require that the welder training program be accredited also.

Apprenticeship and Job Placement Programs. Numerous welder certificate or degree programs are offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Some 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 assistance program. These schools must have associations 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 utilize for placements. These programs can help students find employment and establish relationships within the Statesboro GA welding community.

Job Placement and Completion Rates. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students that start an educational program and finish it. It’s essential that the welder school you pick has a higher completion rate. A reduced rate may indicate that the students who were in the program were unhappy with the instruction, the teachers, 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 affirm that the program has a good reputation within the field, but also that it has the network of Statesboro GA contacts to help students obtain apprenticeships or employment upon graduation.

Up-to-date Equipment and Facilities. After you have limited your choice of welding programs to 2 or 3 possibilities, you should think out going to the campuses to look over their facilities. Confirm that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be trained on are modern. Specifically, the training equipment should be comparable to what you will be working with 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 Statesboro GA welding contractor if they can give you a few suggestions.

School Location. Even though we already briefly covered the significance of location, there are a couple of additional points that we should deal with. You should bear in mind that unless you can relocate, the welding school you choose must be within commuting distance of your Statesboro GA home. If you do choose to attend an out-of-state school, besides moving expenses there might be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially the case for welding diploma programs offered by community colleges. Additionally, if the school offers a job placement or apprenticeship program, most likely their placements are within the school’s local community. So the location of the school should be in a region or state where you ultimately will wish to work.

Small Classes. Individualized training is important for a manual trade such as welding. It’s easy to be overlooked in bigger classes and not obtain much individualized training. Find out what the usual class size is for the welding schools you are considering. Inquire if you can sit in on a couple of classes so that you can see just how much personal attention the students are getting. While there, speak with several of the students and get their opinions. Also, talk with some of the trainers and find out what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they have earned.

Convenient Class Scheduling. Lots of folks learn a new trade 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 meet your needs. If you can only go to classes in the evenings or on weekends near Statesboro GA, make certain that the schools you are looking at offer those choices. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, make sure that the school you select offers part-time enrollment. Also, check to see what the policy is to make up classes should you miss any due to work, sickness or family responsibilities.

Online Welder Training Programs

Welding is truly a hands-on type of vocation, and consequently not very suitable for training online. Even so, there are a small number of online welding programs offered by various community colleges and trade schools in the greater Statesboro GA area that can count toward a degree or certificate program. These classes primarily deal with such topics as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help give a beginner a foundation to begin their training and education. Nevertheless, the most important point is that you can’t learn how to weld or use welding materials until you actually do it. Clearly 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 experienced welders that would like to advance their knowledge or possibly earn a more advanced degree. So if you should come across an online welding certificate or degree program, be extremely careful and confirm that the greater part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of environment.

Attending a Welding School in Statesboro GA?

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

Select the Right Welding Tech School Statesboro GA

Choosing the ideal welder training program will undoubtedly be the most important decision you will make to start your new trade. You originally stopped by our website because you had an interest in Learn To Be A Welder. However, as we have covered in this article, there are a number of things that you will need to examine and compare among the programs you are considering. It’s a must that any welding training that you are examining includes a lot of hands-on instruction. Classes need to be smaller in size and every student should have their own welding machine to train on. Classroom teaching should offer a real-world context, and the course of study should be up-to-date and in-line with industry standards. Training programs vary in duration and the kind of credential offered, so you will need to determine what length of program and certificate or degree will best satisfy your needs. Each program provides unique possibilities for certification as well. Probably the best approach to research your short list of schools is to go to each campus and speak with the faculty and students. Invest some time to sit in on a few classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the program you select is the ideal one for you. With the proper training, effort and dedication, the final outcome will be a new trade as a professional welder in Statesboro GA.