Hi everyone I'm interested in learning how to weld, and would like to take a welding course. My question is sents I have no prior experience with welding will most teachers have patience for students. I just hate taking crash and burn courses and boom your out the door. It just seems like to me learning to weld should take tons of hours practicing. I just want to get my feet wet with welding and see how it goes from there. if anyone has any advise for me or tips I would be happy to hear from you.
The first place to look is your own technical colleges.
Lincoln has a school in Cleveland.
Hobart has a school.
Miller has a school.
Read through some of the posts in other areas in the eductaion dept.
Mike
I hope you have an excellent experience with any welding school that you may attend.
Ask questions before you enroll and after. Search out students that have attended or are presently attending. Question them remembering that you are gonna get "best instructors/school" and "worst instructor/school" answers. Ask why these answers were given. Visit the welding lab on a busy day/evening. Hopefully, the instructor will allow you to tour the lab and speak to people.
I have been training weldors for over 20 years in the local community colleges and a high school. I have had personal experiences with numerous instructors that have worked with me, for me, and around me. Each one had their own personallity. I expect all instructors that work with me to spend lab time welding with students. If an instructor has personal business, projects, class prep, etc, it will be done after the student leaves. The student is why the instructor has a job.
There are certain things that must be accomplished by the students. This is a way that grades are determined for some classes. Other classes may allow you to work on one technique for as long as the class runs.
Find out from the instructor what type of class you will be enrolling in. Here at this college I have short classes, medium length classes, and semester long five day a week classes in my regular classes. I also have continueing education classes that will allow a student to work on personal projects, but no credit is given. Make sure of what you expect to get before you lay your money down.
Hope you get what you are looking for.
Thanks guys for the help (:
The Lincoln School in Cleveland or the Hobart School in Troy, Ohio seem to have the best overall cirriculum.
Don't discount your local community colleges, however. Many of these have good programs tied directly to the AWS. You got to ask around.
Good Luck
brande
Good teachers have patience, it is ridiculous to assume that a person who enrolls in a beginners course in anything allready knows how to do it, although sometimes they do. On the other hand some students are inept enough to ultimately exhaust said patience.
My inclination is to recommend the community adult ed approach. Courses are usually short and inexpensive so if you hate it you haven't invested much. If you like it you can expand later.
Bill
We have a 2-year program at Mesabi Range College in Eveleth, MN. Students have the option of taking a 1-year Basic Welding Certificate or expanding to the 2-year Entry Level Welding or the 2-year Advanced Welding Program. The 2-year programs end with a diploma. Nearly all of our students complete the program with, at least, one welding certification. We have curriculum based on the AWS S.E.N.S.E. curriculum. Our instructors are CWI/CWE's. Typically, We spend approximately 20+ hrs a week in the shop. We start Sept. 2nd and we have 4 day weeks. We have tutors to help out. Let me say that we haven't lost a student who is really serious about becoming a qualified welder. If you are interested, give me a call at (218) 744-7510 and I'll gert some printd info out to you.
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