Getting an Education for Welding

Going to school for welding is becoming an increasingly popular option every year. From a literal standpoint you don't need to go to school for welding, however it's probably in your best interest. If you're planning on getting a job almost anywhere above minimum wage you should at least have your high school diploma or a GED at the least.

My best advice would be, don't drop out of high school. Even if you don't think math or science are important to you as a welder (which I would disagree,) it is still important to be a well rounded person. If you can match, or even outperform, someone in welding, you won't get the job if you lack skills for basic math or don't understand the basic scientific concepts of welding itself. Once you get through high school, you have a couple options, I'll outline a few of them.

Go to a Welding Career School
Going to a local or regional welding career (otherwise known as vocational,) schools will vary, and its not something you should jump straight into. The reason for this is because some career schools can be very poor and give you a bad education. Some schools are known for having bad quality, but luckily we have access to the internet. There are several things you should check out before actually attending the school

Attendance fee's -  This shouldn't be a major difference, but is definitely something to look in to. The reason I say this is because if you have to pay a bit more for a couple years to make more for the rest of your life, I'd say it is worth it.


Job Placement for graduates - Obviously if a low number of graduates are actually getting a job then you are likely going to have a hard time finding a job.

Reviews Online - Check out what people have to say, if people have a lot to say then it might be a good choice.

Welding Technical School
Keep in mind, that even if you graduate from a career school, this is still a very viable option. Many people intentially go to a career school to get a firm grasp in welding, before they actually head off to a technical school. Technical schools usually have higher reputation, and offer a much more in-depth training and education.

Technical school is basically just a 2 year school, which doesn't really bother with learning broad subjects. They just specialize in getting an in-depth education. Technical schools will look much better then a diploma or a career school for a job. Getting an education at a technical school will give you a great advantage over those who don't. In my next post I'll be going over some good schools to check out if you're looking into different technical schools.