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Welding Schools Near Me | How to Become a Welder – Mesa AZ

How to Find the Right Welder Technical School near Mesa Arizona

Mesa AZ welding school studentFinding the ideal welding technical school near Mesa AZ is an essential first step to beginning your new occupation as a professional welder. But since there are numerous schools to select from, how do you know which ones to consider? And more significantly, once you have narrowed down your alternatives, how do you select the best one? A number of prospective students start by checking out 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 important considerations when examining welder technical schools, but they are not the only ones. Other factors 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 delve into our due diligence checklist, let’s cover a little bit about how to become a welder.

Welder Degree and Certificate Training Courses

Mesa AZ welder working on pipingThere are several options to get training as a welder in a trade or vocational school. You can earn a a certificate, a diploma or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are offered in Welding Engineering or Welding Technology, but are more advanced programs than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also made available in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Following are short summaries of the most common welding programs available in the Mesa AZ.

  • Certificate and Diploma Programs are normally made available by trade and technical schools and require about a year to complete. They are more hands-on training in scope, created largely to teach welding skills. They can furnish a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or specialized skills for experienced welders.
  • Associate Degree Programs will take 2 years to complete and are most often offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology furnishes a more extensive education than the diploma or certificate while still furnishing the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.

Many states and municipalities do have licensing requirements for welders, so make sure to find out for your location of potential employment. If required, the welding school you pick should ready you for any licensing examinations that you will need to take in addition to providing the suitable training to become a professional welder.

Welding Certification Choices

Mesa AZ welder working on poleThere are various institutions that offer welder certifications, which assess the knowledge and skill level of those applying. Numerous Mesa AZ employers not only require a certificate or degree from an accredited welding school, but also certification from a highly regarded agency such as the American Welding Society (AWS). A wide range of certifications are offered based upon the type of work that the welder performs. A few of the skills that certification can attest to are the welder’s ability to

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

As already stated, 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 demonstrate to employers that you are a highly skilled and knowledgeable welder. So just as with licensing, look into the requirements for your local area and make certain that the welding trade school you decide on readies you for certification as needed.

How to Choose a Welder Tech Program

Mesa AZ welder working on carWhen you have chosen the credential you would like to attain, a degree, certificate or diploma, you can start to compare schools. As you can imagine, there are numerous welder vocational and trade schools in the Mesa AZ area. That’s why it’s essential to establish up front what qualifications your chosen school must have. We have already discussed a couple of important ones that many people look at first, which are location and the cost of tuition. As mentioned, although they are essential qualifications, they are not the only ones that should be considered. After all, the school you decide on is going to provide the training that will be the foundation of your new profession as a welder. So following are more factors you might need to consider before picking a welding technical school.

Accreditation. It’s essential that the welding vocational school you decide on is accredited by either a regional or a national organization. There are two standard kinds 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 confirm that the program you choose is accredited, not just the school alone. Also, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting organization, such as the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). In addition to helping ensure that you get a superior education, the accreditation might also assist in securing financial assistance or student loans, which are frequently not offered in Mesa AZ for non-accredited schools. Finally, for those states or local governments that require licensing, they may require that the welder training program be accredited also.

Job Assistance and Apprenticeship Programs. A large number of welder degree or diploma programs are offered combined with an apprenticeship program. Other schools will help place you in an apprenticeship or a job after graduation. Find out if the schools you are considering assist in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job placement program. These schools should 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 placements. These programs can assist students in finding employment and establish relationships within the Mesa AZ welding community.

Job Placement and Completion Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that enroll in an educational program and finish it. It’s essential that the welding school you select has a higher completion rate. A reduced rate might indicate that the students who were in the program were dissatisfied with the instruction, the instructors, or the facilities, and quit. The job placement rate is also a good indicator of the caliber of training. A high job placement rate will not only verify that the program has an excellent reputation within the industry, but also that it has the network of Mesa AZ contacts to help students secure employment or apprenticeships upon graduation.

Up-to-date Equipment and Facilities. Once you have limited your choice of welding schools to two or three 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. In particular, the training equipment should be similar to what you will be using on the job. 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 Mesa AZ welding contractor if they can give you some suggestions.

School Location. Even though we already briefly discussed the significance of location, there are a couple of additional issues that we should cover. You should remember that unless you are able to relocate, the welder school you select needs to be within driving distance of your Mesa AZ home. If you do choose to enroll in an out-of-state school, in addition to moving costs there might be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is particularly true for welder diploma programs offered by community colleges. Furthermore, 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 should be in an area or state where you subsequently will wish to work.

Smaller Classes. One-on-one training is important for a hands-on trade such as welding. It’s possible to get overlooked in larger classes and not receive much one-on-one instruction. Find out what the usual class size is for the welder schools you are looking at. Inquire if you can sit in on some classes so that you can witness just how much individual attention the students are getting. While there, talk with a few of the students and get their evaluations. Similarly, talk to some of the trainers and find out what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they hold.

Flexible Class Schedules. Many people learn a new profession while still employed at their present job. Verify that the class schedules for the schools you are considering are flexible enough to meet your needs. If you can only attend classes in the evenings or on weekends near Mesa AZ, confirm that the schools you are assessing offer those options. If you can only enroll part-time, make sure that the school you pick offers part-time enrollment. Also, check to see what the policy is to make up classes should you miss any because of work, sickness or family responsibilities.

Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Mesa AZ?

Perhaps you live in the Mesa Arizona 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.

Mesa, Arizona

Mesa (/ˈmeɪsə/ MAY-sə) is a city in Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a suburb located about 20 miles (32 km) east of Phoenix. Mesa is the central city of the East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by Tempe on the west, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community on the north, Chandler and Gilbert on the south along with Queen Creek, and Apache Junction on the east.

Mesa is the third-largest city in Arizona, after Phoenix and Tucson, and the 36th-largest city in the US. The city is home to 439,041 people as of 2010 according to the Census Bureau. Mesa is home to numerous higher education facilities including the Polytechnic campus of Arizona State University.

The history of Mesa dates back at least 2,000 years to the arrival of the Hohokam people. The Hohokam, whose name means "All Used Up" or "The Departed Ones", built the original canal system. The canals were the largest and most sophisticated in the prehistoric New World. Some were up to 90 feet (27 m) wide and 10 feet (3.0 m) deep at their head gates, extending for as far as 16 miles (26 km) across the desert. By A.D. 1100 water could be delivered to an area over 110,000 acres (450 km2), transforming the Sonoran Desert into an agricultural oasis. By A.D. 1450, the Hohokam had constructed hundreds of miles of canals many of which are still in use today.[4]

Online Welder Certificate and Degree Programs

pipe welder at work in Mesa AZWelding is truly a hands-on kind of trade, and consequently not extremely compatible with training online. However, there are a small number of online welding courses offered by certain community colleges and vocational schools in the greater Mesa AZ area that may count toward a certificate or degree program. These courses primarily deal with such topics as reading blueprints, safety,, and metallurgy. They can help provide a novice 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. Naturally that can’t be done online. These skills need to be learned in an on-campus setting or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is more appropriate for seasoned welders that would like to advance their knowledge or possibly attain a more advanced degree. So if you should find an online welding certificate or degree program, be extremely cautious and make certain that the majority of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.

Select the Best Welding Trade School Mesa AZ

Picking the best welding training program will probably be the most important decision you will make to begin your new trade. As we have addressed in this article, there are several factors that you will need to assess and compare among the schools you are reviewing. It’s a necessity that any welding training that you are evaluating includes a considerable amount of hands-on instruction. Classes should be small in size and each student must have their personal welding machine to train with. Classroom instruction needs to offer a real-world context, and the course of study should be up-to-date and conform with industry standards. Programs differ in duration and the kind of credential offered, so you will have to ascertain what length of program and certificate or degree will best serve your needs. Each training program provides different options for certification also. Probably the best approach to research your short list of schools is to visit each campus and speak with the teachers and students. Take the time to attend some classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make certain that you are confident that the program you decide on is the right one for you. With the proper training, effort and dedication, the end result will be a new career as a professional welder in Mesa AZ.

 

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