How to Enroll In a Welder Training Class near Audubon Iowa
Locating the right welding school near Audubon IA is an essential first step to starting your new career as a professional welder. But since there are numerous schools to pick from, how do you determine which ones to consider? And more significantly, once you have fine tuned your choices, how do you pick the best one? Most prospective students start by reviewing the schools that are nearest to their homes. When they have identified those that are within driving distance, they are drawn toward the cheapest one. Yes, location and tuition cost are crucial issues when examining welder trade schools, but they are not the only ones. Other factors include such things as accreditation, reputation and job placement rates. So before starting your search for a trade school to become a welder, it’s prudent to develop a list of qualifications that your chosen school must have. But before we examine our due diligence checklist, let’s talk a little bit about how to become a welder.
Welding Certificate and Degree Training Courses
There are several alternatives available to obtain training as a welder in a trade or technical school. You can receive 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 made available in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Below are short descriptions of the most common welding programs available in the Audubon IA.
- Certificate and Diploma Programs are normally made available by trade and technical schools and take about a year to complete. They are more hands-on training in scope, fashioned mainly to teach 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 2 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 providing the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.
Some municipalities and states do have licensing prerequisites for welders, therefore make sure to find out for your location of future employment. If needed, the welder school you select should prep you for any licensing examinations that you will have to pass in addition to supplying the suitable training to become a qualified welder.
Welder Certification Options
There are a number of organizations that provide welder certifications, which assess the knowledge and skill level of those applying. Many Audubon IA employers not only expect a degree or certificate from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a respected organization such as the American Welding Society (AWS). A variety of certifications are offered based on the type of work that the welder does. A few of the things that certification can attest to are the welder’s ability to
- Operate in compliance with specific codes
- Work with specific metal thicknesses
- Work with certain types of welds
- Operate according to contract specifications
As formerly mentioned, various states, cities or local municipalities have licensing mandates for welders. Of those calling for licensing, a number also require certification for various kinds of work. Certification is also a way to demonstrate to employers that you are an extremely skilled and qualified welder. So just as with licensing, check the requirements for your location and make certain that the welder trade school you decide on prepares you for certification as needed.
How to Pick a Welder Vocational School
As soon as you have decided on the credential you would like to attain, a certificate, diploma or degree, you can start to evaluate schools. As you probably know, there are many welding trade and vocational schools in the Audubon IA area. That’s why it’s necessary to establish in advance what qualifications your selected school must have. We have previously discussed a couple of significant ones that most people consider first, which are location and the cost of tuition. As stated, although they are essential qualifiers, they are not the only ones that need to be considered. After all, the school you select is going to provide the education that will be the foundation of your new vocation as a welder. So below are more factors you may want to evaluate before selecting a welder tech school.
Accreditation. It’s extremely important that the welder vocational school you choose is accredited by either a regional or a national agency. There are two basic kinds of accreditation. The school may earn Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on a single program the school has, for example Welding Technology. So make sure 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 agency, for example the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). Besides helping ensure that you get a quality education, the accreditation can also assist in acquiring financial aid or student loans, which are often unavailable in Audubon IA 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 as well.
Apprenticeship and Job Placement Programs. Many welding degree or certificate programs are offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Other schools will assist in placing you in a job or an apprenticeship after graduation. Ask if the schools you are reviewing help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job placement program. These schools must have partnerships 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 assist students in finding employment and develop associations within the Audubon IA welding community.
Job Placement and Completion Rates. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students that start an instructional program and finish it. It’s crucial that the welder school you pick has a high completion rate. A low rate could mean that the students who were in the program were unhappy with the training, the instructors, or the facilities, and quit. The job placement rate is also an indication of the quality of training. A high job placement rate will not only affirm that the school has an excellent reputation within the industry, but also that it has the network of Audubon IA contacts to help students secure apprenticeships or employment after graduation.
Modern Equipment and Facilities. Once you have narrowed down your selection of welding programs to two or three possibilities, you should think out going to the campuses to inspect their facilities. Make sure that both the facilities and the equipment that you will be taught on are modern. In particular, the training equipment should be comparable to what you will be using in the field. If you are uncertain 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 Audubon IA welding contractor if they can give you some suggestions.
School Location. Even though we already briefly discussed the importance of location, there are a few additional points that we should address. You should bear in mind that unless you have the ability to move, the welding school you choose needs to be within driving distance of your Audubon IA home. If you do choose to enroll in an out-of-state school, besides moving costs there could be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially true for welder degree programs offered by community colleges. Furthermore, if the school offers a job placement or apprenticeship program, more than likely their placements are within the school’s regional community. So the location of the school needs to be in a region or state where you subsequently will want to work.
Smaller Classes. Individualized instruction is essential for a manual trade such as welding. It’s possible to get overlooked in bigger classes and not obtain much personalized instruction. Find out what the average class size is for the welding schools you are reviewing. Inquire if you can sit in on some classes so that you can see how much personal attention the students are getting. While there, speak with a few of the students and get their evaluations. Similarly, talk with a few of the teachers and ask what their welding experience has been and what credentials and certifications they have earned.
Flexible Class Scheduling. Some people learn a new profession while still employed at their current job. Check to see that the class schedules for the schools you are considering are convenient enough to meet your needs. If you can only attend classes at night or on weekends near Audubon IA, make sure that the schools you are looking at offer those alternatives. If you can only enroll on a part-time basis, make certain that the school you select offers part-time enrollment. Also, check to see what the policy is to make up classes should you miss any due to work, sickness or family circumstances.
Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Audubon IA?
Perhaps you live in the Audubon Iowa 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.
Audubon, Iowa
Audubon was laid out by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, on September 23, 1878. An auction sale of town lots was held on October 15, 1878 with a total sales of $6,190. The railroad was completed on December 6, 1878 and by December 16, 1878 over fifty houses, a bank, five general stores, one jewelry store, two hotels, one restaurant, three meat markets, three blacksmith shops, one harness shop, one livery stable, two coal yards, two lumber yards, one elevator, three grain dealers, and a school house were built. With the four months of rapid growth in Audubon there was already talk of moving the county seat from Exira which was 13 miles away. In 1879 the railroad built what was to become the county courthouse and leased it to the county for five years free of cost, in case the county seat was moved to Audubon. In the 1879 general election the vote approved the moving of the county seat to Audubon.[9]
Although the railroad was responsible for starting the town, Ethelbert J. Freeman was the driving force behind the growth of Audubon. Having lived in Exira, Freeman was the agent for the sale of the railroad lands and the town lots and was one of the first people to live in Audubon. Already active in county politics, he became the first mayor of Audubon and was prominent in the incorporation of the town in 1880. Freeman was half owner of the Citizens Bank, chief of the fire department, and became the manager of the waterworks built in 1882 and later manager of the electric light plant when it was built in 1891.[9][10]
The first postmaster was Arthur L. Sanborn, appointed February 15, 1879. The town post office contains a mural, Audubon's Trip Down the Ohio and Mississippi – 1820, painted in 1942 by Virginia Snedeker. Federally commissioned murals were produced from 1934 to 1943 in the United States through the Section of Painting and Sculpture, later called the Section of Fine Arts, of the Treasury Department.[11] Robert Hunter was the first school teacher from 1878 to 1879. The school keep growing in size and enrollment and by the fall of 1887 the school had eight school rooms, a teaching staff of 10, and 416 pupils enrolled. Audubon was a well-established city by 1900, and growth slowed after that. In 1915 the city was recorded to have a public library, 9 lawyers, 10 medical professionals, 3 veterinarians, 7 clergymen, 4 bankers and many other businesses.[9]
Online Welder Training
Welding is truly a manual kind of profession, and therefore not extremely compatible with online training. Even so, there are a small number of online welding classes offered by specific community colleges and trade schools in the greater Audubon IA area that may be credited toward a degree or certificate program. These courses primarily deal with such subjects as reading blueprints, safety,, and metallurgy. They can help give a novice a basis to begin their education and training. However, the most significant point is that you can’t learn how to weld or work with welding materials unless you actually do it. Clearly that can’t be performed online. These skills have to be learned in an on-campus setting or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is better suited for seasoned welders that would like to advance their expertise or possibly earn a more advanced degree. So if you should discover an online welding certificate or degree program, be very careful and make certain that the majority of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.
Find the Ideal Welding Tech Program Audubon IA
Selecting the best welding school will probably be the most important decision you will make to begin your new profession. As we have covered in this article, there are several factors that you will need to examine and compare between the programs you are considering. It’s a necessity that any welding training program that you are considering includes a considerable amount of hands-on instruction. Classes need to be smaller in size and each student must have their own welding machine to train on. Classroom education needs to offer a real-world frame of reference, and the training program should be current and in-line with industry standards. Courses vary in length and the kind of credential offered, so you will need to determine what length of program and credential will best satisfy your needs. Each program offers unique options for certification also. Probably the best means to research your final list of schools is to visit each campus and talk with the students and instructors. Take the time to attend a few classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the school you decide on is the best one for you. With the proper training, effort and commitment, the end result will be a new trade as a professional welder in Audubon IA.
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