How to Choose a Welder Degree Program near Woodbury Connecticut
Selecting the right welding vocational school near Woodbury CT is an essential first step to beginning your new career as a professional welder. But since there are numerous schools to select from, how do you know which ones to consider? And more importantly, once you have narrowed down your choices, how do you select the best one? A number of prospective students start by looking at the schools that are closest to their residences. Once they have identified those that are within driving distance, they gravitate toward the least costly one. Yes, location and tuition cost are important considerations when evaluating welding technical 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 trade school to become a welder, it’s wise to establish a list of qualifications that your chosen school must have. But before we explore our due diligence checklist, let’s cover a little bit about how to become a welder.
Welding Certificate and Degree Training Programs
There are multiple options to receive training as a welder in a trade or technical school. You can earn a diploma, a certificate or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are offered in Welding Engineering or Welding Technology, but are more advanced courses than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Following are brief descriptions of the most typical welding programs available in the Woodbury CT.
- Certificate and Diploma Programs are generally offered by trade and technical schools and take about 1 year to finish. They are more hands-on training in scope, created largely to develop welding skills. They can furnish a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or supplemental skills for working welders.
- Associate Degree Programs will take two years to finish and are usually 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 states and municipalities do have licensing prerequisites for welders, so make sure to check for your location of future employment. As needed, the welding school you choose should prepare you for any licensing exams that you will need to take in addition to furnishing the appropriate training to become a professional welder.
Welder Certification Alternatives
There are several organizations that offer welder certifications, which evaluate the skill level and knowledge of those applying. Numerous Woodbury CT employers not only demand a degree or certificate 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 on the type of work that the welder does. Just some of the skills that certification can acknowledge are the welder’s ability to
- Work in compliance with specific codes
- Work with specific metal thicknesses
- Work with various kinds of welds
- Work according to contract specifications
As previously stated, some cities, states or local municipalities have licensing mandates for welders. Of those calling for licensing, some also require certification for various types of work. Certification is also a means to prove to employers that you are an exceptionally skilled and qualified welder. So similarly as with licensing, look into the requirements for your location and confirm that the welding tech school you choose readies you for certification if needed.
How to Choose a Welding Trade Program
After you have decided on the credential you would like to earn, a certificate, diploma or degree, you can begin to evaluate schools. As you probably know, there are a large number of welder trade and technical schools in the Woodbury CT area. That’s why it’s necessary to decide in advance what qualifications your chosen school must have. We have already covered two important ones that many people consider first, which are location and the cost of tuition. As mentioned, although they are very important qualifications, they are not the only ones that must be considered. After all, the program you choose is going to provide the instruction that will be the foundation of your new profession as a welder. So following are some additional factors you might want to consider before choosing a welding technical school.
Accreditation. It’s very important that the welding tech school you pick is accredited by either a regional or a national organization. There are 2 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 has, for instance Welding Technology. So make sure 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). Besides helping ensure that you obtain a superior education, the accreditation might also assist in acquiring financial aid or student loans, which are frequently not available in Woodbury CT for schools that are not accredited. Also, for those states or local governments that mandate licensing, they may require that the welder training program be accredited also.
Job Assistance and Apprenticeship Programs. Many welding degree or certificate programs are offered combined with an apprenticeship program. Some other schools will assist in placing you in an apprenticeship or a job upon graduation. Find out if the schools you are looking at help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job placement program. The schools should have relationships with local unions and other metal working businesses to which they can place their students. More established schools may have a larger network of graduates that they can utilize for placements. These programs can help students find employment and establish relationships within the Woodbury CT welding community.
Job Placement and Completion Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that start an educational program and complete it. It’s essential that the welder program you choose has a high completion rate. A low rate might signify that the students who joined the program were dissatisfied with the training, 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 verify that the program has a good reputation within the industry, but also that it has the network of Woodbury CT employer relationships to assist students obtain employment or apprenticeships after graduation.
Modern Equipment and Facilities. After you have decreased your choice of welder programs to 2 or 3 options, you should consider going to the campuses to evaluate their facilities. Make sure that both the facilities and the equipment that you will be taught on are up-to-date. In particular, the training equipment should be comparable 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 Woodbury CT welding contractor if they can give you a few suggestions.
School Location. Although we already briefly discussed the importance of location, there are a few additional issues that we need to address. You should bear in mind that unless you are able to move, the welder program you select needs to be within driving distance of your Woodbury CT home. If you do opt to enroll in an out-of-state school, besides relocation costs there could be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is particularly true for welder degree programs offered by community colleges. Also, if the school offers an apprenticeship or job placement program, most likely their placements are within the school’s local community. So the location of the school needs to be in a region or state where you subsequently will desire to work.
Smaller Classes. Personalized training is essential for a hands-on trade such as welding. It’s easy to get overlooked in bigger classes and not obtain much individualized instruction. Find out what the usual class size is for the welder schools you are considering. Ask if you can sit in on some classes so that you can experience just how much individual attention the students are getting. While there, talk with several of the students and get their opinions. Similarly, talk with a couple of the instructors and ask what their welding experience has been and what credentials and certifications they hold.
Flexible Class Scheduling. Lots of folks learn a new trade while still employed at their present job. Make sure that the class schedules for the schools you are considering are convenient enough to satisfy your needs. If you can only attend classes at night or on weekends near Woodbury CT, verify that the schools you are reviewing offer those alternatives. If you can only enroll part-time, verify that the school you choose offers part-time enrollment. Also, find out what the protocol is to make up classes should you miss any due to work, illness or family emergencies.
Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Woodbury CT?
Perhaps you live in the Woodbury Connecticut 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.
Woodbury, Connecticut
Woodbury is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 9,975 at the 2010 census.[1] The town center is also designated by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place (CDP). Woodbury was founded in 1673.
The center of Woodbury is distinctive because, unlike many New England towns, it is not nucleated. In Woodbury, the older buildings are arrayed in linear fashion along both sides of a road that stretches for over a mile. The public buildings in the National Register Historic District include the First Congregational Church (1818), the Old Town Hall (1846), the United Methodist Church, the St. Paul's Episcopal Church (1785), and the North Congregational Church (1816).
The most notable of the public buildings is the Masonic Temple (1839). It is a modest, clapboard, Greek Revival temple, notable less for its architecture than for its dramatic location, situated atop a high cliff accessed by a long flight of steps (there is a modern road at the rear). It is visible from a distance and is especially dramatic at night, when it is illuminated by spotlights. The Woodbury Temple echoes the many temples of the Greek world that were perched at the edge of high places from which they could be seen from miles around and from far out at sea.
Online Welder Training
Welding is truly a manual kind of trade, and for that reason not very suitable for training online. However, there are a few online welding courses offered by certain community colleges and vocational schools in the greater Woodbury CT area that can 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 beginner a foundation to initiate their education and training. However, the most critical point is that you can’t learn how to weld or handle welding materials unless you actually do it. Obviously that can’t be accomplished online. These skills must be learned in an on-campus environment or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is more appropriate for seasoned welders that desire to advance their expertise or perhaps earn a more advanced degree. So if you should come across an online welding certificate or degree program, be extremely careful and make certain that the greater part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.
Find the Right Welding Technical Program Woodbury CT
Choosing the best welding school will undoubtedly be the most critical decision you will make to launch your new trade. As we have covered in this article, there are several factors that you will need to examine and compare among the programs you are looking at. It’s a necessity that any welding training that you are reviewing includes a lot of hands-on instruction. Classes should be smaller in size and each student should have their own welding machine to train on. Classroom teaching needs to offer a real-world context, and the curriculum should be up-to-date and conform with industry standards. Programs vary in length and the type of credential provided, so you will have to decide what length of program and credential will best fulfill your needs. Each training program provides different possibilities for certification also. Probably The ideal means to research your short list of schools is to visit each campus and talk with the students and faculty. Take the time to sit in on some classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the school you choose is the ideal one for you. With the proper training, effort and commitment, the final result will be a new trade as a professional welder in Woodbury CT.
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