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

How to Find the Right Welding Certificate Program near Oxford Alabama

Oxford AL welding school studentSelecting the right welding school near Oxford AL is an important first step to launching your new occupation as a professional welder. But since there are numerous schools to select from, how do you determine which ones to consider? And more significantly, once you have fine tuned your choices, how do you pick the right one? Most people begin by looking at the schools that are closest to their residences. When they have found those that are within driving distance, they are drawn toward the cheapest one. Yes, location and tuition cost are necessary issues when evaluating welder 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 trade school to become a welder, it’s sensible to develop a list of qualifications that your chosen school must have. But before we examine our due diligence checklist, let’s cover a little bit about how to become a welder.

Welding Degree and Certificate Training Classes

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

  • Certificate and Diploma Programs are usually offered by technical and trade schools and take about a year to finish. They are more hands-on training in nature, fashioned mainly to develop 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 finish and are most often offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology furnishes a more extensive education than the certificate or diploma while still supplying the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.

Some municipalities and states do have licensing requirements for welders, so make sure to check for your location of potential employment. As needed, the welding school you choose should prep you for any licensing examinations that you will need to pass in addition to furnishing the proper training to become a professional welder.

Welder Certification Options

Oxford AL welder working on poleThere are various organizations that offer welding certifications, which test the skill level and knowledge of those applying. Many Oxford AL employers not only require a degree or certificate from an accredited welding school, but also certification from a respected agency like the American Welding Society (AWS). Different certifications are available dependent on the type of work that the welder does. Just 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 already stated, many states, cities or local municipalities have licensing requirements for welders. Of those mandating licensing, some also require certification for various types of work. Certification is also a way to demonstrate to employers that you are an exceptionally skilled and experienced welder. So just as with licensing, look into the requirements for your location and make certain that the welder tech school you choose preps you for certification as needed.

How to Choose a Welder Trade Program

Oxford AL welder working on carAfter you have decided on the credential you want to earn, a certificate, diploma or degree, you can begin to compare schools. As you are no doubt aware, there are numerous welder trade and technical schools in the Oxford AL area. That’s why it’s necessary to determine in advance what qualifications your school of choice must have. We have previously discussed a couple of important ones that most people consider first, which are location and the cost of tuition. As stated, although they are very important qualifiers, they are not the only ones that need to be looked at. After all, the school you decide on is going to provide the training that will be the foundation of your new vocation as a welder. So following are more factors you may want to evaluate before picking a welder tech school.

Accreditation. It’s very important that the welder trade school you select 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 an individual program the school offers, for example Welding Technology. So confirm that the program you select 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 ensure that you obtain an excellent education, the accreditation can also help in acquiring financial assistance or student loans, which are frequently not offered in Oxford AL for non-accredited schools. Finally, for those states or local governments that require licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited as well.

Apprenticeship and Job Placement Programs. Numerous welding certificate or degree programs are provided combined with an apprenticeship program. Some other schools will help place you in a job or an apprenticeship after graduation. Find out if the schools you are considering assist in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job placement program. These schools must have partnerships with local unions and various 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 help students find employment and develop associations within the Oxford AL welding community.

Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students that enroll in an instructional program and finish it. It’s crucial that the welder program you pick has a higher completion rate. A lower rate could mean that the students who joined the program were unhappy with the instruction, the instructors, or the facilities, and dropped out. 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 additionally that it has the network of Oxford AL employer relationships to assist students secure apprenticeships or employment after graduation.

Up-to-date Facilities and Equipment. Once you have narrowed down your choice of welder programs to 2 or 3 options, you should consider visiting the campuses to evaluate their facilities. Verify that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be trained on are modern. Specifically, the training equipment should be similar to what you will be working with in the field. If you are unsure what to look for, and are currently in an apprenticeship program, ask the master welder you are working under for guidance. Otherwise, ask a local Oxford AL welding professional if they can give you a few tips.

School Location. Even though we already briefly discussed the significance of location, there are a couple of additional points that we need to deal with. You should remember that unless you have the ability to relocate, the welding program you choose must be within commuting distance of your Oxford AL home. If you do choose to enroll in an out-of-state school, apart from relocation 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. Furthermore, if the school provides a job placement or apprenticeship program, most likely 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 want to work.

Small Classes. One-on-one training is essential for a manual trade such as welding. It’s easy to be lost in bigger classes and not obtain much individualized instruction. Find out what the typical class size is for the welding programs you are looking at. Ask if you can sit in on a couple of classes so that you can witness how much individual attention the students are receiving. While there, talk with a few of the students and get their opinions. Also, speak with some of the trainers and ask what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they hold.

Convenient Class Schedules. Many people learn a new profession while still working at their present job. Make sure that the class schedules for the programs you are considering are flexible enough to meet your needs. If you can only attend classes in the evenings or on weekends near Oxford AL, verify that the schools you are assessing provide those options. If you can only attend part-time, confirm that the school you pick offers part-time enrollment. Also, check to see 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 Oxford AL?

Perhaps you live in the Oxford 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.

Oxford, Alabama

Oxford is a city in Calhoun and Talladega counties in the State of Alabama. The population was 21,348 at the 2010 census,[3] an increase of 46.3% since the 2000 Census. Oxford is one of two principal cities of and included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Founded in the early 1850s, Oxford was the first city in Calhoun County to be incorporated, in 1852.[4] The name "Oxford" was due to the presence of a narrow crossing of Chocolocco Creek that allowed farmers to ford cattle from one side of the creek to the other. Since 1970, Oxford has annexed large amounts of land to the south and west, including the communities of Coldwater and Bynum. In 1970, it was all in Calhoun County, but today it includes areas in Talladega County.[5]

A smaller municipality, Hobson City, was once a part of Oxford. The area, then known as the Mooree Quarter, is one square mile, and is located north and west of Oxford, and south and west of Anniston. In the last years of the 19th century, according to tradition, in the course of political elections, a black man managed to be elected justice of the peace in Oxford. This being unacceptable to the city fathers, they appealed to the powers in the state capital, and an 'arrangement' was made. The city boundaries were redrawn, in similar fashion to a gerrymander, and the quarter was excluded, becoming a town unto itself. The new town became incorporated on August 16, 1899 as Hobson City, taking the name of a naval hero of the Spanish–American War.[6] The intention was that the largely black population of this quarter would no longer skew the elections of the now almost exclusively white Oxford. Another result was the creation of only the second town in the United States (after Eatonville, Florida) with 100% black government, and an almost 100% black population (at least at first).[7]

Online Welder Degree and Certificate Programs

pipe welder at work in Oxford ALWelding is very much a manual kind of vocation, and for that reason not extremely suitable for online training. However, there are some online welding courses offered by certain community colleges and vocational schools in the greater Oxford AL area that may count toward a certificate or degree program. These classes primarily cover such topics as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help give a beginner a foundation to start their education and training. Nevertheless, the most critical point is that you can’t learn how to weld or handle welding materials until you actually do it. Obviously that can’t be done online. These skills need to be learned in an on-campus environment or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is better suited for seasoned welders that want to advance their knowledge or perhaps attain a more advanced degree. So if you should find an online welding certificate or degree program, be very cautious and confirm that the larger part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.

Pick the Ideal Welding Vocational Program Oxford AL

Selecting the right welding training program will undoubtedly be the most important decision you will make to launch your new profession. As we have addressed in this article, there are several factors that you will need to examine and compare between the schools you are reviewing. It’s a prerequisite that any welder training that you are evaluating includes a good deal of hands-on instruction. Classes should be smaller in size and every student should have their personal welding machine to train with. Classroom education needs to offer a real-world context, and the course of study should be up-to-date and in-line with industry standards. Courses differ in length and the type of credential provided, so you will need to decide what length of program and degree or certificate will best serve your needs. Every program provides different options for certification as well. Probably The ideal means to research your short list of schools is to check out each campus and speak with the faculty and students. Invest some time to attend a few classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the program you pick is the right one for you. With the right training, hard work and dedication, the final outcome will be a new career as a professional welder in Oxford AL.

 

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