Welding Course Prices

[roadhunter]

I went to a welding schools once. EWC in Torrington WY. Looked like a fun place to learn. I was just there to get a cert.

I'd save my money and focus on reading and watching youtube videos while practicing on your schedule. Lots of good videos out there. Heck you can pretty much get SA as you teacher for free if you post pics and ask questions.

 

[Arc weld]

If you could get SA in person, you'd learn 100 times more. You can read all the books and watch all the videos you want but there is absolutely no substitute to actually picking up a stinger and doing it. I've seen some self taught welders and could have helped them with 5 minutes of instruction but they were so arrogant thinking they know what they're doing I never offered.

 

[D2Cat]

I watched over 45 hours of video and read 4 books by Arnold Palmer. I'm so good now, I give golf lessons!

 

[roadhunter]

Laugh all you want but it's a great value for someone getting started as opposed to paying hundreds of dollars for a beginners welding course. I am self taught and would have loved to have some videos to watch when I was getting started. I still watch ChuckE2009 videos occasionally.

If I had $500 to spend on learning how to weld I'd buy a welder with that money and then I could practice at home on my schedule as opposed to spending that $500 bucks on a community college course and getting a few hours a week of practice for a few months.

Even if you do take the classes watching some of these guys who make videos (Jody with welding tips and tricks is another favorite) can certainly help IMO. Some people just learn better by watching videos than sitting in a class.

 

[MossRoad]

After I finished my electronic degrees I took several welding classes at our local community college just for personal knowledge. This was about 30+ years ago. A couple old guys teaching gas, stick and MIG. Was well worth the time and money ( a lot less $$ back then, of course). I'd like to go back and learn TIG.

 

[dragoneggs]

Yeah check is in the mail SA! :laughing: Amazing what he taught me in a couple hours. Should have recorded it. Having an experienced welder show you a few things is invaluable. That said, there is no substitute for experience.

 

[Turbys_1700]

My dad got me started a long time ago. All we had was an old Smith stick welder and an oxy-acetylene unit. Pretty much all we needed on the farm. Picked up a mig couple years ago. Pop taught me a lot.

I checked our classes here and a 5 credit hour course in stick is 441.25. That is a 16 week class consisting of 2 hours per week of instruction and 9 hours per week of practice. They run those in the afternoons for folks working and typically stay pretty full. I did not see anything scheduled in the con ed side. I think those are set up on an as needed basis.

 

[Arc weld]

Do you want to learn how to weld or how to make sparks? Nothing beats one on one instruction with an experienced welder like Shield Arc. Next best thing is a course with an experienced instructor. Half the stuff on the internet and/or you-tube you can't believe. Bad habits can be hard to break. Learn to do it right and save yourself a lot of frustration. A better machine and better instruction cuts the learning curve way down.

 

[lilranch2001]

I took a welding class when I was much younger working for a fabricator
He wouldn't let me weld on anything until I passed a course

The teacher was drunk or close to it every night, and the guy was still an awesome welder, and teacher
He was the reason I became one of the top welders for the fabricator, ended up doing mostly field welding after proving myself in the shop

Best class I ever took!

 

[Garandman]

Have a Maker Space nearby? Here they charge $130 to $350.

 

[crazyal]

A good friend has two schools (one here and one in Wisconsin) dedicated to just teaching welding. I worked for him doing non-destructive testing. So his approach is to teach how to weld along with knowing what a good weld (and bad weld) is by doing both non destructive and destructive testing. But he focuses on producing welders who want to become certified welders. I never thought to ask about if he had thought about teaching for the guy who had no plans to take it up as a career. Most of his schooling is hands on with some teaching code and techniques in a classroom.

 

[IslandTractor]

I took two evening welding classes at a local vocational high school. Most of the "students" were old farts like myself. One course covered stick and tig and the other was on mig and oxyfuel. Each was about 12 weeks of two and a half hour sessions. Each session started with a brief lecture and then welding exercises. The instructor was a very experienced ironworker/welder but he wasn't much of a lecturer. Very helpful on the practicum though. I recall paying about $450 per course which included all materials and welding equipment. I found I enjoyed the oxyfuel and TIG best followed by MIG and stick. I never did make a really good looking stick weld.

Wish I'd never used the school's Miller 350. Pulse spray transfer MIG absolutely spoiled me. Wish I could afford one.

 

[dstig1]

I took the evening welding class here at what was then called St. Paul Technical College (they changed the name to something more generic later). Most of their classes were aimed at people looking to weld for a career or as part of one, so they were all day-time classes. They had one evening class - ~4hrs once a week on Thurs, IIRC. I took it 25 yrs ago and then again about 8-10 yrs ago. It was in the $300-400 range both times, including fees and basic supplies. I brought my own auto dark helmet. It had a mix of students. A few folks like me looking to learn for hobby/home use, some young kids who apparently didn't have the time or something to take the day classes, and a few guys who were working and wanted to learn and/or improve their welding skills for their job. That last group and the hobby guys like me were the ones who took it seriously. Many of the kiddies didn't show up or were late a lot. I would think instructors would like those 2 groups as they want to learn and care about it. If you are trying to influence someone to start a "hobbyist" class that might be a good point to make to help sway them. This class said it was "stick only" but a lot depended on the teacher. My second time the guy was really good and wanted to expose us to a variety of things. Still it was 80% stick, and as many of you know, if you learn stick, the rest is not so hard. But for whatever reason, I still can't do MIG vertical up, even though I passed bends tests with 6010 vert up in the class...