Welding Schools Near Me | How to Become a Welder – West des Moines IA

How to Pick a Welder Certification Program near West des Moines Iowa

West des Moines IA welding school studentChoosing the right welding vocational school near West des Moines IA is an important first step to starting 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 notably, once you have fine tuned your choices, how do you select the best one? A number of people begin by checking out the schools that are closest to their residences. Once they have identified those that are within driving distance, they are drawn toward the cheapest one. Yes, location and tuition cost are crucial considerations when examining welding vocational schools, but they are not the only ones. Other concerns include such things as accreditation, reputation and job placement rates. So before starting your search for a vocational school to become a welder, it’s sensible to establish a list of qualifications that your selected 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 Classes

West des Moines IA welder working on pipingThere are a number of options available to receive 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 available in Welding Technology or Welding Engineering, but are more advanced programs than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also made available combined with an apprenticeship program. Following are short summaries of the most prevalent welding programs offered in the West des Moines IA.

  • Diploma and Certificate Programs are generally offered by trade and technical schools and take about one 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 experienced welders.
  • Associate Degree Programs will take 2 years to finish and are usually offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology provides a more well-rounded education than the certificate or diploma while still supplying the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.

Many municipalities and states do have licensing prerequisites for welders, therefore be sure to find out for your location of potential employment. As required, the welding school you choose should ready you for any licensing examinations that you will need to pass in addition to providing the suitable training to become a qualified welder.

Welding Certification Options

West des Moines IA welder working on poleThere are various organizations that provide welder certifications, which test the knowledge and skill level of those applying. Many West des Moines IA employers not only require a certificate or degree from an accredited welding school, but also certification from a respected organization like the American Welding Society (AWS). Different certifications are available based on the type of work that the welder does. Just some of the skills that certification can attest to are the welder’s ability to

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

As already mentioned, various states, cities or local municipalities have licensing mandates for welders. Of those calling for licensing, some also require certification for different 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, look into the requirements for your local area and verify that the welder tech school you select readies you for certification as needed.

How to Choose a Welder Vocational School

West des Moines IA welder working on carAfter you have decided on the credential you want to obtain, a certificate, diploma or degree, you can start to compare schools. As you probably know, there are numerous welder trade and vocational schools in the West des Moines IA area. That’s why it’s essential to decide up front what qualifications your selected school must have. We have previously covered two significant ones that many people look at 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 choose is going to provide the education that will be the foundation of your new vocation as a welder. So following are more factors you might need to evaluate before choosing a welding tech school.

Accreditation. It’s essential that the welding trade school you decide on is accredited by either a regional or a national agency. There are two basic 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 example Welding Technology. So make certain that the program you pick is accredited, not just the school itself. Additionally, 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 receive an excellent education, the accreditation might also assist in getting financial assistance or student loans, which are often not offered in West des Moines IA for non-accredited schools. Also, for those states or local governments that mandate licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited also.

Apprenticeship and Job Placement Programs. Numerous welder degree or certificate programs are offered in conjunction 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 reviewing help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job assistance program. The schools must have partnerships 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 develop relationships within the West des Moines IA welding community.

Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students that start an instructional program and complete it. It’s crucial that the welding school you select has a high completion rate. A low rate might signify that the students who were in the program were dissatisfied with the training, the instructors, or the facilities, and quit. The job placement rate is also an indication of the quality of training. A higher job placement rate will not only verify that the program has an excellent reputation within the industry, but additionally that it has the network of West des Moines IA employer relationships to help students secure employment or apprenticeships after graduation.

Up-to-date Facilities and Equipment. Once you have narrowed down your choice of welding schools to 2 or 3 possibilities, you should consider going to the campuses to look over their facilities. Make sure that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be instructed 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, ask the master welder you are working under for guidance. If not, ask a local West des Moines IA welding contractor if they can give you a few suggestions.

School Location. Even though we already briefly talked about the significance of location, there are a couple of additional issues that we need to deal with. You should remember that unless you can move, the welder program you select must be within driving distance of your West des Moines IA home. If you do choose to attend an out-of-state school, apart from relocation expenses there may be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially the case for welder diploma 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 local community. So the location of the school should be in an area or state where you ultimately will want to work.

Small Classes. One-on-one instruction is essential for a hands-on trade such as welding. It’s possible to be overlooked in larger classes and not receive much one-on-one training. Find out what the usual class size is for the welder programs you are looking at. Ask if you can sit in on a couple of classes so that you can see just how much individual attention the students are getting. While there, speak with a few of the students and get their opinions. Similarly, talk with some of the instructors and find out what their welding experience has been and what credentials and certifications they have earned.

Convenient Class Scheduling. Some people learn a new trade while still working at their current job. Check to see that the class schedules for the schools you are considering are flexible enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only go to classes in the evenings or on weekends near West des Moines IA, make sure that the schools you are reviewing offer those alternatives. If you can only enroll part-time, verify that the school you pick offers part-time enrollment. Also, ask what the policy is to make up classes should you miss any because of work, sickness or family emergencies.

Will You Be Attending Welding School Near West des Moines IA?

Perhaps you live in the West des Moines 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.

West Des Moines, Iowa

West Des Moines is a city in Polk, Dallas, and Warren counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 56,609.[4][5] West Des Moines is the second-largest city in the Des Moines metropolitan area and the tenth-largest city in Iowa. It ranked 94th in Money magazine's list of the "100 Best Places to Live and Launch" in 2008, 77th and 57th on the 100 Best Places to Live in 2014 and 2015, respectively, and 18th on the Hipster Cities of 2015.[6][7][8]

The West Des Moines area used to be home to the Sac and Fox tribes. Near the stroke of midnight on October 11, 1845 a gunshot was fired by a cattle farmer, James Cunningham Jordan (1813–1893) and the tribes left. His residence, the Jordan House, has been restored and is now home to the West Des Moines Historical Society. In West Des Moines' early years, the town was a trading and shipping junction. West Des Moines incorporated as the city of Valley Junction on October 9, 1893.

In its early days Valley Junction was home to the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad's switching facilities and repair shops due to its location at the junction of several railroad lines. The Rock Island's facilities moved out of Valley Junction and back into Des Moines in 1936.

Online Welder Degree and Certificate Programs

pipe welder at work in West des Moines IAWelding is very much a manual kind of vocation, and for that reason not extremely compatible with online training. However, there are some online welding classes offered by specific community colleges and technical schools in the greater West des Moines IA area that may be credited toward a certificate or degree program. These courses mainly cover such topics as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help provide a beginner a basis to initiate their education and training. Nevertheless, the most important point is that you can’t learn how to weld or handle welding materials unless you actually do it. Naturally 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 desire to advance their knowledge or perhaps earn a more advanced degree. So if you should discover an online welding degree or certificate program, be extremely careful and verify that the bulk of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.

Pick the Ideal Welding Vocational School West des Moines IA

Picking the right welding school will undoubtedly be the most important decision you will make to start your new career. As we have addressed in this article, there are several things that you will need to assess and compare among the schools you are considering. It’s a necessity that any welder training that you are evaluating includes a considerable amount of hands-on training. Classes should be small in size and each student should have their personal welding machine to train on. Classroom teaching 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 length and the kind of credential offered, so you will need to decide what length of program and degree or certificate will best satisfy your needs. Each training program offers unique options for certification as well. Perhaps The ideal approach to research your final list of schools is to check out each campus and talk with the faculty and students. Invest some time to monitor a few classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make certain that you are confident that the training program you select is the ideal one for you. With the proper training, hard work and dedication, the final result will be a new career as a professional welder in West des Moines IA.

 

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