How to Choose the Right Welder Certification Program near Evergreen Park Illinois
Choosing the right welding technical school near Evergreen Park IL is an important first step to launching 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 significantly, once you have fine tuned your choices, how do you select the right one? A number of people start by looking at the schools that are nearest to their homes. When they have found those that are within commuting distance, they gravitate toward the least expensive one. Yes, location and the cost of tuition are crucial considerations when reviewing welding vocational schools, but they are not the only ones. Other considerations include such things as reputation, accreditation and job placement rates. So before starting your search for a vocational school to become a welder, it’s wise to create 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.
Welder Degree and Certificate Training Courses
There are several options to get training as a welder in a technical or trade school. You can receive 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 brief descriptions of the most typical welding programs offered in the Evergreen Park IL.
- Diploma and Certificate Programs are normally made available by trade and technical schools and take about one year to complete. They are more hands-on training in nature, fashioned primarily 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 finish and are usually offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology furnishes a more extensive education than the diploma or certificate while still supplying the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.
Many states and municipalities do have licensing prerequisites for welders, so don’t forget to check for your location of future employment. As required, the welding school you select should ready you for any licensing exams that you will have to take in addition to providing the suitable training to become a qualified welder.
Welder Certification Alternatives
There are various institutions that offer welding certifications, which test the skill level and knowledge of those applying. Numerous Evergreen Park IL employers not only expect a degree or certificate from an accredited welding school, but also certification from a renowned organization like the American Welding Society (AWS). Different certifications are offered based on the kind of work that the welder does. A few of the things that certification can acknowledge are the welder’s ability to
- Work in compliance with specific codes
- Work with certain metal thicknesses
- Work with specific types of welds
- Perform according to contract specifications
As already mentioned, various states, cities or local municipalities have licensing requirements for welders. Of those requiring licensing, some additionally require certification for various types of work. Certification is also a means to demonstrate to employers that you are an extremely skilled and experienced welder. So similarly as with licensing, look into the requirements for your local area and confirm that the welder technical school you select preps you for certification if needed.
Subjects to Ask Welder Trade Schools
After you have decided on the credential you would like to obtain, a diploma, certificate or degree, you can start to assess schools. As you can imagine, there are numerous welder trade and technical schools in the Evergreen Park IL area. That’s why it’s essential to decide up front what qualifications your selected school must have. We have already covered a couple of significant ones that most people look at first, which are location and tuition cost. As mentioned, although they are very important qualifiers, they are not the only ones that should be considered. After all, the program you choose 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 may want to evaluate before picking a welder tech school.
Accreditation. It’s extremely important that the welder trade school you pick is accredited by either a national or a regional agency. There are 2 basic types of accreditation. The school may receive Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on a single program the school has, such as Welding Technology. So confirm that the program you choose is accredited, not just the school itself. 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). In addition to helping ensure that you get a quality education, the accreditation can also help in getting financial aid or student loans, which are in many cases not offered in Evergreen Park IL for schools that are not accredited. Also, for those states or municipalities that mandate licensing, they may require that the welder training program be accredited as well.
Apprenticeship and Job Assistance Programs. A large number of welding degree or certificate programs are offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Various other schools will help place you in a job or an apprenticeship upon graduation. Ask if the schools you are reviewing assist in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job placement program. These schools should have associations with local unions and other metal working businesses to which they can refer 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 Evergreen Park IL welding community.
Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that enroll in an instructional program and finish it. It’s crucial that the welder school you pick has a higher completion rate. A low rate may indicate that the students who joined the program were dissatisfied with the instruction, the teachers, or the facilities, and quit. The job placement rate is also a good indicator of the quality of training. A higher job placement rate will not only confirm that the program has an excellent reputation within the trade, but also that it has the network of Evergreen Park IL contacts to help students secure employment or apprenticeships upon graduation.
Up-to-date Equipment and Facilities. After you have limited your selection of welding schools to two or three possibilities, you should think out going to the campuses to evaluate their facilities. Make sure that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be taught on are modern. In particular, 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 already in an apprenticeship program, consult with the master welder you are working under for guidance. Otherwise, ask a local Evergreen Park IL welding professional if they can give you some tips.
School Location. Although we already briefly talked about the importance 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 school you choose needs to be within driving distance of your Evergreen Park IL home. If you do choose to attend an out-of-state school, besides relocation expenses there may be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially true for welder degree programs offered by community colleges. Additionally, if the school offers 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 ultimately will want to work.
Smaller Classes. One-on-one instruction is essential for a hands-on trade such as welding. It’s possible to get lost in bigger classes and not get much individualized training. Find out what the typical class size is for the welding schools you are reviewing. Ask if you can attend some classes so that you can observe how much personal attention the students are receiving. While there, talk with some of the students and get their opinions. Also, chat with a couple of the instructors and ask what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they hold.
Convenient Class Schedules. Lots of folks learn a new profession while still employed at their current job. Check to see that the class schedules for the schools you are looking at are flexible enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only attend classes in the evenings or on weekends near Evergreen Park IL, make sure that the schools you are considering offer those options. If you can only attend part-time, make sure that the school you pick offers part-time enrollment. Also, find out what the protocol is to make up classes should you miss any because of work, sickness or family circumstances.
Online Welding Training Programs
Welding is very much a manual kind of profession, and therefore not extremely suitable for online training. Having said that, there are a small number of online welding classes offered by various community colleges and trade schools in the greater Evergreen Park IL area that may be credited toward a certificate or degree program. These courses mainly cover such topics as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help provide a beginner a basis to start their education and training. However, the most important point is that you can’t learn how to weld or use welding materials unless you actually do it. Clearly that can’t be performed 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 desire to advance their expertise or possibly earn a more advanced degree. So if you should come across an online welding certificate or degree program, be very cautious and confirm that the majority of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of environment.
Attending a Welding School in Evergreen Park IL?
If you have decided to enroll in a welder training program in the Evergreen Park Illinois area, you may find the following information both informative and helpful about the location of your new school campus.
Evergreen Park, Illinois
As early as 1828, a German farming family had settled in the area of what is now Evergreen Park. In the succeeding decades, other German immigrants arrived. Kedzie Avenue and 95th Street crisscrossed the farmland and provided access to markets.
The first railroad (now the Grand Trunk Railroad) came through the area in 1873. In 1875, the community built its first school just west of 95th and Kedzie. The school and the stores that began to cluster around this intersection defined the community's main business area. Nearby, a real-estate developer, with a vision of the Arc de Triomphe area of Paris, laid out a star-shaped park with eight streets radiating from it. The evergreen trees planted in the park inspired the village's name. The location and layout of the park was intended to be the center of town, but 95th St and Kedzie Ave. later proved a more accurate midpoint. After the death of Mayor Henry Klein shortly after the village's 75th anniversary, the park was renamed Klein Park in his honor. [4]
In 1888 St. Mary's Cemetery opened, and mourners traveled by train from Chicago. Restaurants and taverns were created to provide meals for cemetery visitors. Within five years, the village had become a recreation center that attracted hundreds of Chicagoans to its picnic groves, beer gardens, and dance halls. The first of the village's 13 churches was established in 1893.
Find the Right Welding Vocational Program Evergreen Park IL
Selecting the ideal welding school 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 Associate Degree Welding Technology. However, as we have covered in this article, there are a number of factors that you will need to evaluate and compare among the programs you are looking at. It’s a prerequisite that any welder training that you are considering includes a considerable amount of hands-on training. Classes need to be smaller in size and each student must have their personal welding machine to train on. Classroom teaching needs to offer a real-world perspective, and the curriculum should be current and in-line with industry standards. Courses differ in duration and the type of credential provided, so you will have to determine what length of program and credential will best fulfill your needs. Every program offers unique possibilities for certification also. Perhaps The ideal means to research your short list of schools is to go to each campus and speak with the teachers and students. Take the time to monitor some classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the training program you decide on is the right one for you. With the proper training, hard work and dedication, the end outcome will be a new trade as a professional welder in Evergreen Park IL.
Business Results 1 - 10 of 40
15 Reviews 
3 Reviews 
1 Reviews 
2 Reviews 1 Reviews 1 Reviews 
7 Reviews 
404 Reviews 
4 Reviews 
17 Reviews 