How to Pick a Welder Certificate Program near Concord Massachusetts
Locating the right welding school near Concord MA is an important first step to launching your new career as a professional welder. But since there are so many schools to pick from, how do you determine which ones to consider? And more notably, once you have fine tuned your choices, how do you pick the right one? Most people begin by checking out the schools that are nearest to their homes. Once they have located those that are within commuting distance, they are drawn toward the least expensive one. Yes, location and the cost of tuition are crucial issues when examining welding vocational schools, but they are not the only ones. Other considerations include such things as accreditation, reputation and job placement rates. So before beginning your search for a trade school to become a welder, it’s sensible to create a list of qualifications that your selected school must have. But before we examine our due diligence checklist, let’s cover a little bit about how to become a welder.
Welding Certificate and Degree Training Classes
There are multiple alternatives available to obtain training as a welder in a trade or vocational school. You can receive a diploma, a certificate or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are available in Welding Engineering or Welding Technology, but are more advanced degrees than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also made available along with an apprenticeship program. Following are brief explanations of the most prevalent welding programs offered in the Concord MA.
- Diploma and Certificate Programs are normally made available by technical and trade schools and take about 1 year to finish. They are more hands-on training in scope, fashioned largely to teach 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 two years to complete and are usually offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology provides a more extensive education than the certificate or diploma while still furnishing the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.
Many municipalities and states do have licensing requirements for welders, therefore be sure to check for your location of future employment. If required, the welder school you choose should ready you for any licensing examinations that you will need to pass in addition to supplying the proper training to become a professional welder.
Welder Certification Choices
There are a number of organizations that provide welder certifications, which test the skill level and knowledge of those applying. Many Concord MA employers not only require a degree or certificate from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a renowned agency such as the American Welding Society (AWS). Different certifications are offered based on the kind of work that the welder performs. A few 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 various kinds of welds
- Work according to contract specifications
As earlier mentioned, various states, cities or local municipalities have licensing requirements for welders. Of those calling for licensing, many additionally require certification for different types of work. Certification is also a means to prove to employers that you are a highly skilled and qualified welder. So just as with licensing, check the requirements for your location and verify that the welder technical school you decide on prepares you for certification if needed.
How to Choose a Welding Technical Program
As soon as you have chosen the credential you want to earn, a degree, certificate or diploma, you can start to evaluate schools. As you are no doubt aware, there are many welder trade and technical schools in the Concord MA area. That’s why it’s important to establish up front what qualifications your chosen school must have. We have previously covered a couple of significant ones that most people consider first, which are location and the cost of tuition. As mentioned, although they are essential qualifications, they are not the only ones that need to be considered. After all, the school you pick is going to provide the education that will be the foundation of your new career as a welder. So below are some additional factors you might want to evaluate before selecting a welder tech school.
Accreditation. It’s essential that the welder technical school you decide on is accredited by either a regional or a national agency. There are two basic types of accreditation. The school may earn 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 certain that the program you choose is accredited, not just the school itself. Additionally, 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 get a quality education, the accreditation can also assist in getting financial assistance or student loans, which are in many cases unavailable in Concord MA for non-accredited schools. Also, for those states or local governments that mandate licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited as well.
Apprenticeship and Job Assistance Programs. A large number of welder certificate or degree programs are provided 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 looking at help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job placement program. The schools must have relationships with local unions and other metal working businesses to which they can refer their students. More established schools may have a larger network of graduates that they can rely upon for placements. These programs can help students find employment and establish relationships within the Concord MA welding community.
Job Placement and Completion Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that begin an instructional program and finish it. It’s important that the welding program you pick has a high completion rate. A reduced rate might signify that the students who were in the program were unhappy 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 an excellent reputation within the field, but also that it has the network of Concord MA employer relationships to help students obtain apprenticeships or employment after graduation.
Up-to-date Equipment and Facilities. Once you have decreased your selection of welder programs to 2 or 3 options, you should consider visiting the campuses to inspect their facilities. Make sure that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be instructed on are up-to-date. In particular, the training equipment should be comparable to what you will be working with on the job. 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 Concord MA welding professional if they can give you some suggestions.
School Location. Even though we already briefly discussed the importance of location, there are a couple of additional points that we need to deal with. You should keep in mind that unless you have the ability to relocate, the welding school you choose must be within commuting distance of your Concord MA home. If you do opt to attend an out-of-state school, apart from relocation costs there might be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially true for welding certificate programs offered by community colleges. Additionally, if the school provides an apprenticeship or job placement program, most 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 ultimately will want to work.
Small Classes. Personalized instruction is essential for a hands-on trade such as welding. It’s possible to be lost in bigger classes and not obtain much personalized training. Find out what the average class size is for the welder schools you are reviewing. Inquire if you can attend a couple of classes so that you can see how much personal attention the students are getting. While there, talk with a few of the students and get their evaluations. Similarly, speak with a couple of the teachers and find out what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they hold.
Convenient Class Schedules. Many people learn a new profession while still employed at their present job. Confirm that the class schedules for the programs you are reviewing are convenient enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only go to classes in the evenings or on weekends near Concord MA, confirm that the schools you are reviewing provide those options. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, make sure that the school you select offers part-time enrollment. Also, ask what the protocol is to make up classes should you miss any because of illness, work or family responsibilities.
Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Concord MA?
Perhaps you live in the Concord Massachusetts 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.
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord (/ˈkɒŋkərd/) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668.[1] The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is located near where the confluence of the Sudbury and Assabet rivers forms the Concord River.
The area which became the town of Concord was originally known as Musketaquid, an Algonquian word for "grassy plain". It was one of the scenes of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the initial conflict in the American Revolutionary War. It developed into a remarkably rich literary center during the mid-nineteenth century. Featured were Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Amos Bronson Alcott, Louisa May Alcott and Henry David Thoreau, all of whose homes are preserved in modern-day Concord. The now-ubiquitous Concord grape was developed here.
The area which became the town of Concord was originally known as "Musketaquid", situated at the confluence of the Sudbury and Assabet rivers.[2] The name Musketaquid was an Algonquian word for "grassy plain", fitting the area's low-lying marshes and kettle holes.[3] Native Americans had cultivated corn crops there; the rivers were rich with fish and the land was lush and arable.[4] However, the area was largely depopulated by the smallpox plague that swept across the Americas after the arrival of Europeans.[5]
Online Welder Training
Welding is truly a manual type of trade, and consequently not extremely suitable for training online. Having said that, there are a small number of online welding classes offered by specific community colleges and vocational schools in the greater Concord MA area that may be credited toward a degree or certificate program. These courses primarily deal with such subjects as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help give a beginner a foundation to begin their training and education. Nevertheless, the most critical point is that you can’t learn how to weld or use welding materials until you actually do it. Naturally that can’t be performed online. These skills must be learned in an on-campus environment or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is better suited for experienced welders that would like to advance their knowledge or perhaps obtain a more advanced degree. So if you should discover an online welding certificate or degree program, be extremely cautious and make sure that the greater part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of environment.
Pick the Right Welding Vocational Program Concord MA
Selecting the ideal welder 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 things that you will need to assess and compare between the schools you are looking at. It’s a must that any welding training program that you are assessing includes a considerable amount of hands-on instruction. Classes should be small in size and each student should have their personal welding machine to train on. Classroom education should provide a real-world context, and the curriculum should be current and in-line with industry standards. Training programs differ in length and the kind of credential provided, so you will need to ascertain what length of program and degree or certificate will best fulfill your needs. Each training program offers different options for certification also. Perhaps The ideal approach to research your short list of schools is to check out each campus and talk with the students and faculty. Take the time to attend a few classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the training program you decide on is the right one for you. With the right training, hard work and commitment, the final outcome will be a new occupation as a professional welder in Concord MA.
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