Attention all welder who have attended welding school

admin

whats up welders, i am just trying to figure out what weldin school to go to, to get certified. my ultimate goal is to get certified and get a rig set up and go to work on the pipeline. i built boiler for 4 years and it was cool but i really want to travel and make some money. im just wandering if there is one school that may be better than a another. or even schools to stay away from. any feedback will be greatly appreciated                                                                             Thanks                                                                             Jacob
Reply:I took welding in high school, and did'nt learn a thing. Worked in the buisness for a while, now I am all set up. Get a job doing it, learn, learn, and learn some more. You will be in for a world of $hit as a new guy, be ready to put up or shut up.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:lincoln electric has great schools
Reply:What part of the country are you in and maybe someone from that part can lead you a bit better, not just any school will give you what you need or want.  John                   WelcomeSMAW,GMAW,FCAW,GTAW,SAW,PAC/PAW/OFCand Shielding Gases.  There all here. :
Reply:i am in waxahachie,tx about 30 mins. south of dallas. i have checked out a couple here on the net. i just thought i would tried to get some suggestions from some guy that have been through a program and got their certification.
Reply:I'm in Wa... I'm in Wak... I'm in Wakah...  He's in Texas!  See that wasn't hard at all. Practice stick welding...a lot! I don't think you will learn any bad habits on your own, not learning is a worse habit than anything.City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:I live in West Virginia. I am currently enrolled in Welding Technology and plan to certify.  The school I attend is Academy of Carrers and Technology. Same school that the high schools in my county attend along with Adult programs. I have learned so much in the 8 weeks I have completed. Brian
Reply:i have welded on 3,6, and 8" pipe a few months ago but i didnt have to take 6G test. i basically just showed that i could weld and they put me out there welding up some chiller pipes and gas lines. i learned alot quick and picked it up pretty quick, but i come from a mig background and i am good with a mig, but i think in order to really make some money one needs to have he's cert. in stick and own rig. my stick welding is decent but i want it to be topnotch and i want to know the theory behind what im doing instead of just gettin good and doin it. know what i mean
Reply:wannabepipeliner, If you don't mind going all the way down to Waco, I would highly recommend Texas State Technical College (TSTC). As far as I am concerned it has the best welding program in the state, and probably the country. (Yes, I am biased.) The instructors and staff are excellent.If all you want to do is weld pipelines I would recommend taking their 1-year certificate program (3 semesters) and then their Advanced Pipe course (1 semester). At the end of the Advanced Pipe course they usually have several companies (like Flour Daniels and Bectal) send people to give welding tests to the students. If the students pass they usually give them job offers on the spot. There have been many years where every single student in the course has had a job waiting for them before the semester is even through.I graduated from there last August with and Applied Sciences Degree in Welding Technology. The degree program is 5 semesters long. The first three are the same as the 1-year program, but the last two are where you get in to a lot more things like metallurgy, weld inspection, automation, and welding machine troubleshooting.There have been people who have taken the 1-year course, gone to work, made a lot of money, came back for the advanced pipe course, made more money, came back to do the last two semesters of the degree program, and made even more money as weld inspectors or testing technicians. Don't get too hung up on certifications. Most companies have you do a certification test before they hire you regardless of whether you are already certified or not. Having a cert only tells an employer that you were able to make a satisfactory weld once (the test plate). Having the completion certificate from a welding course and a pipe course from a respected welding school like TSTC tells an employer that you were able to make satisfactory welds for four semesters consistently enough for the instructors to pass you. At TSTC the instructors inspect welds to way above any of the standards and will not think twice about making you do it again* if it's not just right.*"do it again" and "damn, it" are the unofficial catchphrases/inside jokes of TSTC Welding (go there and you'll see what I mean).On the TSTC welding web page (http://www.waco.tstc.edu/wlt/) there's a lot more information as well as contact numbers.There's even a movie on that page about the programs. I was around when they were shooting most of that footage (that Ryan Curry guy was one of my classmates). I'm even in that movie for a couple of seconds at 8:23 and 8:47.Good luck with whatever you choose.-----------------TensaitekiAAS Welding Technology - Aug. 2007Visit Tensaiteki.com
Reply:Thanks Tensaiteki, i checked out the website and definately look like a topnotch school and thats what im looking for, and even better i am only an hour away from waco now.                                                              thanks guys for the feedback                                                                        jacob