Being totally green, I'd like to explore this field. I can join one now, or wait until the fall, when a community college will offer one for the first time.
What should I be looking for in a good curriculum?
Curriculum, syllabus, whatever you call it ain't worth ****. They can paint you a rosy picture, but then not deliver. Remember, it's just a sales pitch to get you to sign a check with their name on it. One semester doesn't a weldor make. To cover it all, you will need more than one. Probably four with practical work experience thrown in. Being able to stand in a booth and weld pretty don't mean much. Can you do it out in the field hanging off a ladder or laying in the mud?
Talk to students and ask if they are learning. Ask about the instructor. A good instructor can teach you more useful information in a day than a bad one can in a semester. I have seen bad ones that spent their entire class in their offices.
Look at the shop and equipment. Is it new stuff? Do they have a variety of machines so, just in case, you want to try something other than what you are working on, you can? Do they offer certifictions? That's important, and a good school can usually get them done cheaper than if you went on your own. Take all the cert tests you think you can pass.
Ask around, and see if you can find a welder that will teach you. You might not spend as much time learning book things, but you will get more specialized practical welding time. If you are going to just weld with one process, you won't be spending a lot of time on something else.
If you are really going to be a weldor, all the information you will learn about safety, metallurgy, chemistry, physics, and such will be very useful. If you just want to learn MIG so you can build garden sculptures, you won't spend as much time just doing that as you would with a private tutor.
Just some thoughts to kick around. Go talk to the students and the instructor and follow your instincts. Be sure to ask the students what they think of the instructor. Try to get in the classes of the good one.
When I went to a community college once to get a TIG pipe cert, the instructor was an ex-Navy weldor. They are good, or they don't make it. They hand them a mop or paintbrush instead. The other instructor was a minority member, wore polyester golf shirts and fancy shoes, and I never saw him in or around the welding booths. Guess which one taught the most, and was regarded by the students?
Steve
Although I'm not one to be too concerned with political correctness, I'm wondering what point you're making by mentioning that the instructor you didn't like was a "minority member". I understand the mention of the shoes and shirt, but the race thing has me mystified. Or am I misinterpreting?
Peter
George, are you wanting to learn for personal use (hobby welding), or as a career possibility? This may make a significant difference in what you need/want from a course.
Andy
Career, difinitely. And, I'm not at an ideal age to be starting this.
where are you?
Here in Austin, at the Austin Community College, there is a well defined curriculum for becoming a certified welder. They also have a very interesting apprentice program, where you get paid for working while taking the courses, making more as you go through the program.
Check out
"Associate of Applied Science Degree This option is for the student desiring a production-based degree, and offers a synthesis of manipulative skills and technical knowledge. Its versatility allows the graduate to pursue a career as a code welder, or to work in supervision by utilizing the technical competencies acquired from academic course work."
Good luck in pursuing this. I took a couple of their continuing education courses and became very interested in going further, but at 51, I decided I was too old and tired...
Just stating the facts in a politically correct manner. The man didn't know his job, and would not have been in that position had it been in the open market.
There is nothing there but what is stated. You are free to read into it whatever you want.
Steve
IMHO new doesn't mean much. New is nice, usually, although in my experience some of the best machines every built are some of the old grey Lincolns. Some process, like surface tension transfer, are only available in new gear. But at an employer you are unlikely to have the latest and best. Most employers run their gear into the ground. Being forced to figure out current settings on a machine without a digital meter while learning is a good thing. What is important is reliable equipment that has the appropriate capabilities for what you are doing.
A certification test doesn't mean anything for folks who are not going to make a living welding. Even if you are, passing a certification test on 6" of plate or pipe doesn't mean you are qualified. It just means you passed that test on that day. And most employers are going to require their own test, anyway. I know of one case where a guy passed an employer's certification test with flying colors and lasted less than a week on the job. Turns out the only thing he could weld right was that certification test, which he had practiced months for.
Well, there are welders and then there are welders. I have seen folks who have welded for twenty or more years who cannot pass a certification test. If you find a good one, who is willing and able to teach, go for it. OTOH at the worst, you will learn bad things.
Real good idea.
FWIW, if you local community college has an introductory or survey course that introduces you to a few of the processes, like oxyacetylene, stick, TIG and MIG, I recommend you take it. You shold be able to learn enough to decide which direction you want to go.
Yahbut ..........
Sometimes, you can just walk into a shop and sense that things are old, and in disrepair. Even people who don't know a lot can sense this.
When I go to a car repair shop, this stands out. But, then, I have had two mechanics who could fix ANYTHING, and get it right, and not charge an arm and a leg. It was hazardous to just walk into their shop. Crap laying everywhere, etc, etc.
When I go to rent stuff, like I would be doing in going to a welding class, I want to see "good" stuff.
MHO, YMMV
Steve
Key to success is equipment in good working order and enough to go around. It is certainly very frustrating for a student to be faced with equipment that breaks down or doesn't work properly, particularly if there aren't enough units to start with. Some of that can be expected with even new equipment. OTOH the old grey Lincolns just go and go. They were based on simpler technology than the units of today. Welding power sources are just are a hell of an environment for digital electronics.
Please don't forget to purchase books on the James F. Lincoln web site, they have the books standard to welding like "The procedure handbook of Arc Welding". They have one small book for beginners and you can also purchase the "Metals and how to weld them". Sometimes these books if read on a regular basis and understood, can help you when you are a beginner. Another thing is to hear the advises every good welder on this newsgroup can give to you. Sometimes they are tough, but my experience in life is that you learn a lot when pushed hard to learn. Peter, Puerto Rico/USA
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