Hello vagabond, last night I replied (or should I say attempted) to your post, lost it with an errant keystroke. In Washington state the WAC's require a very minimal number of requirements to be met to actually teach a vocational trade or classes associated with it when instructing at a post-secondary level (the K-12 system is different, they do require a minimum of a bachelors, I believe, and possibly even a masters). Generally, a minimum of five years of recent verifiable experience in the particular trade that you plan on teaching in and the ability to meet vocational certification requirements (this portion is the one that requires some additional work and class, course, seminar, short-term training, or other forms of skills upgrades). Degrees will sometimes be included as a desirable or required portion of a particular job posting for teaching at various institutions or schools. There may also be additional requirements of having particular current welding certifications, being an AWS CWI/CWE or WABO examiner, sometimes these institutions will be steadfast on their additional requirements, other times they are just trying to attain more and are willing to take less. Once hired there is a tenure process, this is the time when all of these additional requirements will generally be implemented and tracked by the tenure committee, this generally is set-up as a 3 year process and after this time it is decided by this committee whether or not to award tenure. If tenure isn't awarded, you will be terminated. Most of the time those additional requirements might cover classroom management and technique classes, psychology type courses, diversity, advising practices, and all of the associated workings of the particular institution as well as being integrated into the other areas of the institution. When you come to a particular institution looking for work it is no different than most other jobs, they would like you to have everything, yet they will take what you have to offer if you appear to meet the basic criteria. Many times, depending on the make-up of the hiring committee, degrees and educational type accolades will be the deciding factors, other times if the committee is actually made up from individuals who understand the trades better, those things won't be as important as your actual skills relative to the trade. I apologize for not giving you more definite answers to your questions, but they are different for various areas of the state and between different institutions. There are also community colleges with welding programs, technical colleges, and sometimes others still that are called Vo-Techs within the state, all of these schools have slightly different types of funding models, emphasis on trade importance, and other factors.
     If you can, see about finding some part-time teaching at the institution in the area where you would like to teach. This is really the best way to determine which types of additional training, degrees and such, might be required for the full-time job. It will also help you to determine if the institution's politics are something that you can live with. Additionally, you will be able to figure out if the wages are workable for you, industry pays better overall compared to education, yet there are definite advantages in other areas for the educational track. Insurance is usually the best that can be had, retirements are possibly the best compared to any industry, additional educational opportunities are readily available, access to up to date and advanced technologies is usually good, and time off is phenomenal compared to other types of work. So you have to weigh all of the variables when making your decision. Having trade skills, being a people person with good communication skills, possessing any trade skills other than the one you're hired for, and being willing to continually learn will usually help immensely. Best of luck and regards, Allan