How to Find the Right Welder Degree Program near Atkins Virginia

Locating the ideal welder vocational school near Atkins VA 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 know which ones to consider? And more significantly, once you have fine tuned your options, how do you select the right one? Most prospective students begin by looking at the schools that are nearest to their residences. Once they have found those that are within driving distance, they are drawn toward the least costly one. Yes, location and tuition cost are important concerns when examining welding technical schools, but they are not the only ones. Other considerations include such things as reputation, accreditation and job placement rates. So before initiating your search for a trade school to become a welder, it’s wise to develop a list of qualifications that your chosen school must have. But before we delve into our due diligence checklist, let’s talk a little bit about how to become a welder.

Welding Certificate and Degree Training

There are multiple alternatives available to obtain 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 offered in Welding Engineering or Welding Technology, but are more advanced programs than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also made available combined with an apprenticeship program. Below are short summaries of the most prevalent welding programs available in the Atkins VA.

• Certificate and Diploma Programs are generally made available by trade and technical schools and take about a year to finish. They are more hands-on training in nature, fashioned primarily to teach welding skills. They can furnish a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or additional 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 well-rounded education than the certificate or diploma while still providing the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.

Many municipalities and states do have licensing prerequisites for welders, so be sure to find out for your location of potential employment. If needed, the welding school you select should prepare you for any licensing examinations that you will need to take in addition to providing the proper training to become a professional welder.

Welder Certification Options

There are multiple institutions that provide welder certifications, which assess the skill level and knowledge of those applying. Many Atkins VA employers not only expect a certificate or degree from an accredited welding program, but also certification from a highly regarded organization such as the American Welding Society (AWS). A wide range of certifications are offered based upon the type of work that the welder performs. A few of the skills that certification can acknowledge are the welder’s ability to

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

As formerly stated, various states, cities or local municipalities have licensing requirements for welders. Of those requiring licensing, a number additionally require certification for different types of work. Certification is also a means to demonstrate to employers that you are a highly skilled and experienced welder. So similarly as with licensing, check the requirements for your location and verify that the welding vocational school you choose readies you for certification as needed.

How to Pick a Welder Vocational Program

As soon as you have chosen the credential you want to attain, a certificate, diploma or degree, you can start to compare schools. As you are no doubt aware, there are many welding trade and technical schools in the Atkins VA area. That’s why it’s important to decide up front what qualifications your selected school must have. We have already discussed 2 significant ones that most people look at first, which are location and tuition cost. As stated, although they are very important qualifiers, they are not the only ones that need to be looked at. After all, the program you choose is going to furnish the education that will be the foundation of your new vocation as a welder. So below are more factors you might want to consider before picking a welding trade school.

Accreditation. It’s extremely important that the welder tech school you decide on is accredited by either a regional or a national organization. There are two basic types of accreditation. The school may attain Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on a single program the school offers, such as Welding Technology. So confirm that the program you select is accredited, not just the school alone. Additionally, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting agency, like the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). In addition to helping ensure that you receive a quality education, the accreditation might also help in obtaining financial assistance or student loans, which are often not offered in Atkins VA for non-accredited schools. Also, for those states or local governments that require licensing, they may require that the welder training program be accredited also.

Apprenticeship and Job Placement Programs. Many welding certificate or degree programs are provided combined with an apprenticeship program. Some 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 should have associations with local unions and other metal working businesses to which they can place their students. More established schools may have a more substantial network of graduates that they can rely upon for referrals. These programs can help students find employment and develop associations within the Atkins VA welding community.

Completion and Job Placement Rates. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students that begin an educational program and complete it. It’s important that the welder school you select has a higher completion rate. A reduced rate could indicate that the students who joined 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 caliber of training. A high job placement rate will not only affirm that the program has an excellent reputation within the field, but also that it has the network of Atkins VA contacts to help students secure apprenticeships or employment upon graduation.

Modern Equipment and Facilities. After you have limited your choice of welder programs to 2 or 3 possibilities, you should consider visiting the campuses to look over their facilities. Confirm that both the equipment and the facilities that you will be instructed on are up-to-date. In particular, the training equipment should be similar to what you will be working with on the job. If you are uncertain 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 Atkins VA welding professional if they can give you a few tips.

School Location. Even though we previously briefly discussed the importance of location, there are a few additional points that we should deal with. You should bear in mind that unless you can relocate, the welding program you pick needs to be within commuting distance of your Atkins VA home. If you do decide to attend an out-of-state school, apart from relocation expenses there might be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially the case for welding degree programs offered by community colleges. Also, if the school offers 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 want to work.

Small Classes. Individualized training is important for a hands-on trade such as welding. It’s easy to be lost in bigger classes and not get much personalized training. Find out what the usual class size is for the welder schools you are considering. Inquire if you can sit in on a couple of classes so that you can experience just how much individual attention the students are receiving. While there, talk with several of the students and get their opinions. Similarly, chat with a few of the trainers and find out what their welding experience has been and what certifications and credentials they hold.

Flexible Class Schedules. Many people learn a new profession while still working at their current job. Verify that the class schedules for the programs you are looking at are convenient enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only attend classes in the evenings or on weekends near Atkins VA, verify that the schools you are reviewing offer those choices. If you can only enroll on a part-time basis, make certain that the school you decide on offers part-time enrollment. Also, find out what the policy is to make up classes should you miss any because of work, sickness or family circumstances.

Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Atkins VA?

Perhaps you live in the Atkins Virginia 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.

Online Welder Training

Welding is very much a hands-on kind of vocation, and for that reason not extremely suitable for training online. Even so, there are some online welding classes offered by specific community colleges and vocational schools in the greater Atkins VA area that can count toward a certificate or degree program. These classes primarily deal with such topics as reading blueprints, safety,, and metallurgy. They can help provide a beginner a basis to begin their education and training. Nevertheless, the most important point is that you can’t learn how to weld or handle welding materials until you actually do it. Naturally 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 better suited for experienced welders that want to advance their knowledge or possibly earn a more advanced degree. So if you should discover an online welding degree or certificate program, be very cautious and confirm that the larger part of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of environment.

Pick the Right Welding Vocational School Atkins VA

Picking the ideal welding school will probably be the most important decision you will make to begin your new profession. As we have addressed in this article, there are a number of things that you will need to assess and compare between the schools you are reviewing. It’s a necessity that any welding school that you are considering includes a good deal of hands-on instruction. Classes should be small in size and every student should have their own welding machine to train with. Classroom instruction should provide a real-world context, and the curriculum should be current and in-line with industry standards. Programs differ in length and the kind of credential provided, so you will have to ascertain what length of program and certificate or degree will best satisfy your needs. Every training program provides different possibilities for certification as well. Perhaps the best approach to research your final list of schools is to go to each campus and talk with the students and faculty. Invest some time to monitor a few classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make certain that you are confident that the program you choose is the right one for you. With the right training, hard work and commitment, the final outcome will be a new trade as a professional welder in Atkins VA.