I'm new to welding I've never welded, I'm going to take two, four week class's at a local school to learn the basic's of Mig and Tig, there's a college I'd like to go to after i learn the basic's to farther educated myself and learn the trade, It's called " the mordern day welding school", I'm just wondering if its worth the 5 grand to go and learn at the college. I want to learn so i can get a job doing welding, at a pipe factory. and do some fabing of stuff for fun.

 

Take classes at a local community college. You don't need to waste a ton of money on a school that will teach you the same thing. Often, many of the CC welding intructors have a TON of experience, and are exceptional welders (atleast in my experiences). Even for certs a community college can get you there.

Schools like "the fab school" and stuff, are a complete waste IMO.

 

Yep x2 for how much money they want you to pay for them to teach you, you could go out an buy your own welder/gas an teach your self for less money.

 

5 grand for 8 weeks is a ripoff IMO. I go to a technical center and it costs ~$700 for 9 weeks (you run on the high school schedule as there is a magnet high school there too). there is so much to learn and really its just a matter of time under the helmet before you become good.

 

I weld in school for 3 hours a day m-f since august, on 1G stick right now and practice TIG at home I would say about 10 hours a week. I work nights so I am guilty of taking naps when I get home from class at 10am. If I went to school fulltime I would probably be on MIG by now but I wouldnt have any tig skills so its a tradeoff. not that my tig skills are anything to brag about as I havent had it that long + setting up my garage. However being in school for 7 hours a day m-f kinda sucks and you cant tig or anything if you want to, you have to go stick > mig > fluxcore > tig > pipe in your choice of procedure, so you have more freedom at home.


what I have been thinking about doing, you can test at my school for $185, you get 14 days to work on it, my instructor just cant help you but he can critique welds. and they pay for the metal (1ft of 6" pipe is ~$100 unless you find some scrap). I might do this for stick on the 6" pipe. Ive been really good with 6010 and my 7018 is getting really good so I think I can pass the test with 14 days of practice 3 hours each day.


the school the OP is talking about seems rushed

 

Never took the classes but I've never heard a bad thing from one person that did CC over some 8k tech school!

 

Just purchase a good machine and metal and practice practice practice! I had NO training at all, just read on the forums a lot. here, weldingweb.com, watch the tutorials on you tube, miller's site has useful information etc
the information is out there. knowing the basics of setup and stuff is half of it, the rest is just practice. you can weld and post your welds on here and we can help you for free.

That's just my take on it. I'm not great by any means, but when I first got the machine I could barely lay a bead. Now I have produced some decent stacks of dimes with only a few bottles of argon and some metal i have purchased.

 

I learned a lot from community college, like the other guys said, anything else is a ripoff. CC instructors are as good as anywhere else. But I also agree the biggest thing is to practice practice and practice some more. If you can take some classes to get the basics and then get your own equipment you can get pretty good. But, if you want to be a professional, you will need schooling, CC is the best option to get started.

 

thanks for the info and that website link, im prolly gonna get a used set up so i can pratice alot.

 

all depeds what you wanna do, what school you go to and what your trying to get out of it.. cant put a price on learning

 

I went to CC to learn TIG. This was before most fab forums and I was pretty ignorant. I learned a lot but the teacher also neglected to tell me a lot. We never went over material prep. Which means I walked out not understanding the necessity of beveling or cleaning materials properly. I'd weld filthy aluminum and get mediocre results and wonder what was going on. If I had known a little prep work would have helped a whole bunch, I would have left that class with a lot more knowledge.

In the end, I think classes are worth it, but at the same time, it is kind of more cost effective to take whatever you would spend on a class and buy a machine. I'd also say learning in a class room environment might allow you to get some basic certs while you are there which could help you in the future. So, classes are great. Learning on your own can also be very effective. If you have the money and time, I'd take a class again.

 

Go with the city college route and get the basics down. Real world job is where you'll gain a crap load of knowledge and skill.

 

CC is the way to go. Don't expect to come out of there knowing everything though. The only way to REALLY learn is on the job. I personally have never been to a welding class but I've worked with countless people straight out of school and many people who have welded longer than I've been alive. We have all come to this conclusion. School gets you some basic experiance and knowledge and it can get you in the door at a lot of places so in that respect it's worth it.

 

As others have said, for the money you can buy your own mig/tig. The CC is going to teach you the basics, then after that it's just a matter of practice. The local CC teacher was extremely open to people bringing in stuff outside of class and asking for help.

 

Wow those prices are insane, I pay $140 for a year and have two, 3 hour classes a week, but it is through my trade and they focus more on Stick welding then anything else.

and I am a Union Ironworker by trade if any one was wondering.

 

I pay $255 For a semester plus the cost of the book and i get 1.5hrs of straight lecture and 4.5 hrs of welding lab through my local community college. and they offer a variety of welding class from MIG to Oxyacetylene welding.

SAVE YOUR MONEY!!!

 

I’ve been going to cc for almost 2 years now to get my welding degree, many would say its not worth a dang thing because your can learn more in the industry. That is very true, but I get to do every process for three months and I can practice for certification tests. If nothing else it’s a chance to do a lot of practice with someone who can help you better your skills or teach you the basics. Its also helpful to check out the shop prior to enrolling and ask the other students what they think about it.

 

the way I look at it, its alot easier to get your foot in the door with a company with time at a welding school, not to mention you should get paid better than someone who knows absolutely nothing.

that being said, just because you got thru welding school doesnt mean you can weld. We have kids that have been there full time for TWO YEARS, and still cant pass the 2G SMAW plate test, while Ill be bending my 1G test piece tomorrow and I only go part time. I swear when I lay down my root pass I just look at it since its so pretty

when I did my very first root pass on the 1G, he called the other 2 kids mentioned above and told them this is how to run a root, lol. Im sure that helped their self esteem

 

Not when you can join a government program that will get you all of your welding certificates, pay YOU to learn that trade skill and find you job placement.

But, then again, not everyone qualifies. Doing it through a college is just more time and money as as far as I've heard, less hands on.

 

Very true, but I can weld, at my cc we don’t let anyone do any cert below a 3G because its not necessary, if u can pass the 3G u get the 1G and 2G certification. I stared at 15 in high school and have been welding since then . I’m not saying I am the best but if you dedicate yourself while your at school you can become good. The kids who come out of school and cant weld didn’t try hard enough imo.

 

are you saying they dont even weld in 1g or 2g or they dont test? we only do a practice test with 1g and 2g but both a practice and actual test for 3g.

 

yes, especially tig classes at the cc, you just run through aluminum, steel, argon, tungsten,
clamps all for $100-$150

i believe you can even fill out a FAFSA and knock that down to zero depending on your income.

worst case scenario tax deductible

if you have the option, go for w/e certs they offer you.

 

what program?

 

First, how old are you and have you ever been convicted of a felony?

 

20
no, just want the name of the program.