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Welding Schools Near Me | How to Become a Welder – Butler AL

How to Find the Right Welder Trade School near Butler Alabama

Butler AL welding school studentChoosing the right welder vocational school near Butler AL is an essential first step to launching your new career as a professional welder. But since there are a lot of schools to select from, how do you determine which ones to consider? And more importantly, once you have narrowed down your options, how do you pick the right one? Many people start by checking out the schools that are nearest to their residences. When they have located those that are within commuting distance, they gravitate toward the cheapest one. Yes, location and tuition cost are necessary issues when examining welding trade schools, but they are not the only ones. Other concerns include such things as reputation, accreditation and job placement rates. So before initiating your search for a vocational school to become a welder, it’s prudent to develop a list of qualifications that your selected 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 Certificate and Degree Training Programs

Butler AL welder working on pipingThere are multiple alternatives available to get training as a welder in a technical or trade school. You can obtain a a certificate, a diploma 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 offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Following are brief explanations of the most common welding programs offered in the Butler AL.

  • Certificate and Diploma Programs are usually made available by trade and technical schools and take about one year to finish. They are more hands-on training in scope, designed largely to teach welding skills. They can provide 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 usually offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology offers 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 states and municipalities do have licensing requirements for welders, so be sure to check for your location of potential employment. As required, the welder school you pick should prep you for any licensing exams that you will have to pass in addition to supplying the appropriate training to become a professional welder.

Welder Certification Options

Butler AL welder working on poleThere are multiple organizations that provide welding certifications, which test the knowledge and skill level of those applying. Numerous Butler AL employers not only expect a certificate or degree from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a respected organization like the American Welding Society (AWS). A variety of certifications are available based upon the kind of work that the welder does. Some 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 certain kinds of welds
  • Work in compliance with contract specifications

As earlier stated, various states, cities or local municipalities have licensing mandates for welders. Of those requiring licensing, many additionally require certification for various types of work. Certification is also a means to demonstrate to employers that you are an extremely skilled and qualified welder. So similarly as with licensing, check the requirements for your location and confirm that the welder trade school you decide on prepares you for certification as needed.

How to Choose a Welder Vocational School

Butler AL welder working on carAs soon as you have decided on the credential you want to obtain, a degree, certificate or diploma, you can begin to evaluate schools. As you probably know, there are many welder trade and vocational schools in the Butler AL area. That’s why it’s necessary to determine in advance what qualifications your school of choice must have. We have previously covered 2 significant ones that many people look at first, which are location and tuition cost. As mentioned, although they are very important qualifications, they are not the only ones that should be considered. After all, the school you select is going to furnish the education that will be the foundation of your new career as a welder. So following are more factors you may want to consider before picking a welding tech school.

Accreditation. It’s essential that the welder tech school you pick is accredited by either a regional or a national organization. There are two standard types of accreditation. The school may attain Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on a specific program the school offers, for example Welding Technology. So make sure 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 organization, for example the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). In addition to helping ensure that you obtain a superior education, the accreditation can also assist in acquiring financial aid or student loans, which are frequently not available in Butler AL for schools that are not accredited. Finally, for those states or local governments that require licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited also.

Apprenticeship and Job Assistance Programs. Many welding degree or certificate programs are offered combined with an apprenticeship program. Other schools will help place you in a job or an apprenticeship 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 associations with local unions and other metal working businesses to which they can refer their students. Older schools may have a larger network of graduates that they can utilize for placements. These programs can assist students in finding employment and establish associations within the Butler AL welding community.

Job Placement and Completion Rates. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students that start an academic program and finish it. It’s crucial that the welder program you choose has a high completion rate. A low rate might signify that the students who were in the program were unhappy with the instruction, the instructors, 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 confirm that the school has an excellent reputation within the trade, but additionally that it has the network of Butler AL employer relationships to assist students secure apprenticeships or employment after graduation.

Modern Facilities and Equipment. Once you have decreased your choice of welding programs to 2 or 3 options, 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 using in the field. If you are unsure what to look for, and are currently in an apprenticeship program, consult with the master welder you are working under for guidance. If not, ask a local Butler AL welding professional if they can give you a few pointers.

School Location. Even though we previously briefly covered the importance of location, there are a couple of additional issues that we should cover. You should bear in mind that unless you have the ability to relocate, the welding program you pick needs to be within driving distance of your Butler AL home. If you do decide to enroll in an out-of-state school, in addition to relocation costs there may be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is particularly the case for welding degree programs offered by community colleges. Additionally, if the school provides an apprenticeship or job placement program, more than 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 subsequently will want to work.

Small Classes. Personalized instruction is important for a manual trade such as welding. It’s possible to be overlooked in larger classes and not get much personalized training. Find out what the usual class size is for the welding schools you are considering. Inquire if you can sit in on some classes so that you can witness how much individual attention the students are getting. While there, speak with several of the students and get their opinions. Similarly, speak with some of the teachers and find out what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they hold.

Convenient Class Scheduling. Some people learn a new trade while still employed at their present job. Confirm that the class schedules for the programs you are reviewing are flexible enough to meet your needs. If you can only go to classes in the evenings or on weekends near Butler AL, make sure that the schools you are considering provide those options. If you can only attend part-time, confirm that the school you select offers part-time enrollment. Also, find out what the protocol is to make up classes if you you miss any because of work, sickness or family responsibilities.

Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Butler AL?

Perhaps you live in the Butler Alabama 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.

Butler, Alabama

When Choctaw County was formed in 1847, Butler was created as the county seat. The town was located and settled in 1848. It is named in honor of Colonel Pierce Butler, a soldier killed in the Mexican–American War.[5]

As of the census[9] of 2010, there were 1,894 people, 826 households, and 488 families residing in the city. The population density was 340 inhabitants per square mile (130/km2). There were 958 housing units at an average density of 171 per square mile (66/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 71.4% White, 26.7% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, and 0.7% from two or more races. 0.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 826 households out of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.5% were married couples living together, 17.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.9% were non-families. 37.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.84.

Online Welding Schools

pipe welder at work in Butler ALWelding is very much a hands-on kind of profession, and for that reason not very compatible with training online. However, there are a small number of online welding programs offered by specific community colleges and vocational schools in the greater Butler AL area that may count toward a degree or certificate program. These courses mainly deal with such topics as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help give a novice a foundation to initiate their education and training. However, the most important point is that you can’t learn how to weld or work with welding materials until you actually do it. Clearly that can’t be done online. These skills must be learned in an on-campus setting or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is more appropriate for experienced welders that want to advance their knowledge or perhaps earn a more advanced degree. So if you should find an online welding degree or certificate program, be extremely careful and make certain that the greater part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of environment.

Select the Ideal Welding Tech School Butler AL

Picking the right welding school will probably be the most important decision you will make to begin your new trade. As we have discussed in this article, there are several things that you will need to evaluate and compare between the programs you are reviewing. It’s a necessity that any welding school that you are examining includes a lot of hands-on instruction. Classes need to be smaller in size and each student should have their own welding machine to train on. Classroom instruction should offer a real-world perspective, and the training program should be current and in-line with industry standards. Courses vary in length and the type of credential offered, so you will need to decide what length of program and credential will best fulfill your needs. Every training program offers unique options for certification also. Perhaps the best way 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 certain that you are confident that the training program you decide on is the ideal one for you. With the right training, hard work and dedication, the end result will be a new trade as a professional welder in Butler AL.

 

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