All the responses I received during my research confused me. What are the rules or regulations for certifications and is there a book on general welding practices, like when a welder must be certified?

If a welding school offers an Associate Degree in Specialized Welding Technology that takes 16 months to complete, how logical are the following items?

1) Students are given the AWS D1.1 qualification test (3-G and 4-G) on 3/8 plates during the 7th month of
training. If we assume the student passes the tests and is certified, As the student will still be in school
and not working will the qualification expire in 6 months?

2) If this school is an AWS Supported Educational Institution and has CWE and CWI instructors. Do you
think it would be an acceptable practice to perform “in-house” testing to pre-qualified procedures.
(This would allow the school to save $$$$$$$$$ and allow funds for updated and modern equipment)

3) Just how important is all the HOOPLA with welding certifications, regardless of who or where they are
from. Is it not the manufacture or contractor who is responsible for the job. When I finish school and
start my own company; I plan on testing all welders who will work on code jobs.

THANKS YOU-ALL-- I WILL BE WAITING FOR YOUR INPUT