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Welding Schools Near Me | How to Become a Welder – Starkville MS

How to Find the Right Welding Trade School near Starkville Mississippi

Starkville MS welding school studentFinding the right welding trade school near Starkville MS is an essential first step to launching your new occupation as a professional welder. But since there are a lot of schools to choose from, how do you determine which ones to consider? And more significantly, once you have narrowed down your alternatives, how do you pick the right one? Most prospective students start by looking at the schools that are nearest to their residences. When they have identified those that are within commuting distance, they gravitate toward the least expensive one. Yes, location and tuition cost are important issues when examining welding technical schools, but they are not the only ones. Other factors include such things as reputation, accreditation and job placement rates. So before beginning 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 cover a little bit about how to become a welder.

Welding Certificate and Degree Training Programs

Starkville MS welder working on pipingThere are a number of options to obtain training as a welder in a trade or technical school. You can obtain 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. Below are short descriptions of the most prevalent welding programs offered in the Starkville MS.

  • Diploma and Certificate Programs are usually made available by technical and trade schools and require about 1 year to finish. They are more hands-on training in nature, designed largely to develop welding skills. They can provide a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or additional skills for experienced welders.
  • Associate Degree Programs will take 2 years to complete and are usually offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology offers a more extensive education than the certificate or diploma while still providing the foundation that prepares students to enter the workforce.

Many municipalities and states do have licensing requirements for welders, so don’t forget to check for your location of future employment. As needed, the welder school you choose should prep you for any licensing examinations that you will need to take in addition to supplying the suitable training to become a professional welder.

Welder Certification Options

Starkville MS welder working on poleThere are multiple organizations that offer welding certifications, which assess the knowledge and skill level of those applying. Numerous Starkville MS employers not only demand a certificate or degree from an accredited welding school, but also certification from a renowned organization such as the American Welding Society (AWS). Different certifications are offered based upon the type of work that the welder performs. Some of the things that certification can attest to are the welder’s ability to

  • Work in compliance with specific codes
  • Work with specific metal thicknesses
  • Work with certain kinds of welds
  • Operate according to contract specifications

As earlier mentioned, many cities, states or local municipalities have licensing requirements for welders. Of those calling for licensing, some also require certification for various kinds of work. Certification is also a way to demonstrate to employers that you are a highly skilled and experienced welder. So just as with licensing, check the requirements for your location and confirm that the welder vocational school you select preps you for certification as needed.

How to Choose a Welding Tech Program

Starkville MS welder working on carWhen you have chosen the credential you want to obtain, a diploma, certificate or degree, you can begin to evaluate schools. As you probably know, there are many welder vocational and trade schools in the Starkville MS area. That’s why it’s necessary to determine up front what qualifications your school of choice must have. We have already discussed two significant ones that many people look at first, which are location and the cost of tuition. As stated, although they are essential qualifications, they are not the only ones that should be considered. After all, the program you choose is going to furnish the education that will be the foundation of your new career as a welder. So below are some additional factors you may want to evaluate before picking a welder tech school.

Accreditation. It’s essential that the welder trade school you pick is accredited by either a regional or a national organization. There are two basic kinds of accreditation. The school may attain Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on a specific program the school offers, such as Welding Technology. So confirm that the program you select is accredited, not just the school alone. Also, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting organization, such as the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). In addition to helping ensure that you receive a superior education, the accreditation may also help in acquiring financial aid or student loans, which are in many cases unavailable in Starkville MS for schools that are not accredited. Finally, for those states or local governments that mandate licensing, they may require that the welding training program be accredited also.

Apprenticeship and Job Assistance Programs. Many welder certificate or degree programs are offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Other schools will help place you in an apprenticeship or a job after graduation. Find out if the schools you are reviewing assist in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job assistance program. The schools must have relationships 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 rely upon for referrals. These programs can help students find employment and establish relationships within the Starkville MS welding community.

Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that begin an academic program and finish it. It’s crucial that the welding program you pick has a high completion rate. A low rate might indicate that the students who enrolled in the program were dissatisfied with the instruction, the instructors, or the facilities, and dropped out. The job placement rate is also an indication of the quality of training. A high job placement rate will not only confirm that the school has a good reputation within the field, but additionally that it has the network of Starkville MS employer relationships to help students obtain employment or apprenticeships after graduation.

Modern Equipment and Facilities. After you have decreased your choice of welding programs to 2 or 3 options, you should consider going to the campuses to look over their facilities. Verify that both the facilities and the equipment that you will be trained on are modern. Specifically, the training equipment should be comparable to what you will be using in the field. If you are unsure what to look for, and are already in an apprenticeship program, consult with the master welder you are working under for guidance. If not, ask a local Starkville MS welding contractor if they can give you some suggestions.

School Location. Although we previously briefly covered the importance of location, there are a couple of additional points that we should cover. You should keep in mind that unless you have the ability to relocate, the welding program you pick must be within driving distance of your Starkville MS home. If you do decide to enroll in an out-of-state school, besides moving expenses there may 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, often their placements are within the school’s regional community. So the location of the school should be in a region or state where you subsequently will wish to work.

Small Classes. Individualized instruction is important for a manual trade such as welding. It’s possible to be overlooked in larger classes and not get much one-on-one training. Ask what the typical class size is for the welding schools you are reviewing. Ask if you can sit in on a few classes so that you can see just how much personal attention the students are receiving. While there, talk with several of the students and get their feedback. Similarly, chat with some of the trainers and ask what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they hold.

Convenient Class Schedules. Some people learn a new profession while still employed at their present job. Verify that the class schedules for the schools you are looking at are convenient enough to satisfy your needs. If you can only go to classes at night or on weekends near Starkville MS, make sure that the schools you are looking at provide those options. If you can only enroll part-time, make sure that the school you decide on offers part-time enrollment. Also, check to see what the policy is to make up classes if you you miss any due to work, sickness or family responsibilities.

Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Starkville MS?

Perhaps you live in the Starkville Mississippi 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.

Starkville, Mississippi

Starkville is a city in, and the county seat of, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States.[5]Mississippi State University, the state's land-grant institution and a public flagship university, is located partially in Starkville and partially in an adjacent unincorporated area. The population was 25,352 in 2017.[6] Starkville is the most populous city of the Golden Triangle region of Mississippi. The Starkville micropolitan statistical area includes all of Oktibbeha County.

The growth and development of Mississippi State in recent decades has made Starkville a marquee American college town. College students and faculty have created a ready audience for several annual art and entertainment events such as the Cotton District Arts Festival, Super Bulldog Weekend, and Bulldog Bash. The Cotton District, North America's oldest new urbanist community,[7] is an active student quarter and entertainment district located halfway between Downtown Starkville and the Mississippi State University campus.

The Starkville area has been inhabited for over 2100 years. Artifacts in the form of clay pot fragments and artwork dating from that time period have been found east of Starkville at the Herman Mound and Village site, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The village site can be accessed from the Indian Mound Campground. The earthwork mounds were made by early Native Americans of moundbuilder cultures as part of their religious and political cosmology.

Online Welding Training

pipe welder at work in Starkville MSWelding is very much a hands-on type of trade, and for that reason not extremely compatible with training online. However, there are a few online welding classes offered by various community colleges and vocational schools in the greater Starkville MS area that can be credited toward a degree or certificate program. These courses mainly cover such topics as reading blueprints, safety,, and metallurgy. They can help provide a beginner a basis to begin their training and education. However, 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 want to advance their expertise or possibly attain a more advanced degree. So if you should discover an online welding degree or certificate program, be extremely careful and verify that the larger part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of environment.

Find the Ideal Welding Trade School Starkville MS

Selecting the right welding training program will probably be the most critical decision you will make to begin your new trade. As we have covered in this article, there are many things that you will need to examine and compare between the schools you are reviewing. It’s a must that any welder training program that you are evaluating includes a considerable amount of hands-on instruction. Classes should be small in size and each student must have their own welding machine to train on. Classroom instruction should offer a real-world frame of reference, and the course of study should be current and conform with industry standards. Training programs vary in length and the type of credential provided, so you will need to ascertain what length of program and degree or certificate will best fulfill your needs. Each program provides unique possibilities for certification also. Perhaps The ideal means to research your final list of schools is to visit each campus and speak with the students and faculty. Invest some time to monitor some classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the program you decide on is the right one for you. With the proper training, hard work and dedication, the final outcome will be a new occupation as a professional welder in Starkville MS.

 

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