In this article, we have curated a list of the best welding schools in Houston in 2023. Feel free to engage this article as it will help answer many of your unanswered questions about welding colleges in Houston.
A welder is similar to an artist. To make something new, you combine various elements. Welding science and technology have evolved, and global standards have been established.
Getting a welding certificate or an associate’s degree is a great way to understand the skill. Welding is an art that is a part of the engineering body. A welder is responsible for assembling all metal or steelworks built by an engineer or technician before they can be used effectively.
Houston has become a hub for many industries over the years. The petrochemical and manufacturing industries are two of the main drivers of the Houston economy, and these industries rely heavily on welders to achieve their objectives.
Houston is home to many educational institutions, including the best welding and metal fabrication schools, which provide free or paid field training. Before enrolling in any of the training schools, it is always advisable to conduct thorough research.
To join the welding body in Houston, you must first enroll in a welding school, either a vocational school or a community college. After completing your training, certificates are issued. These schools are ready to help you gain in-depth knowledge and understanding of the skill.
So this article is eye-opening for people who want to practice welding in Houston but are unsure which school to attend. This will serve as a guide to the best plumbing schools in Houston.
Table of Contents
Is Welding a Good Career Path in Houston?
Welding is a respected and sought-after profession, with good pay, exciting challenges, and rewarding jobs. Welders can earn certificates that allow them to work in various areas with varying specifications.
Welding is an excellent career choice for anyone looking for a job that allows them to work in various industries. Welders in the greater Houston area make more than $50,000 per year.
Welders can earn a good living by becoming certified in as little as three months. Another advantage of welding is that it is a self-employment opportunity.
Welders can also advance their careers as welding technicians, welding inspectors, welding engineers, welding managers, and business owners in the welding industry. With the addition of new welding industries such as spaceports and renewable energies, skilled welders will remain in high demand in this “blue collar” occupation.
Also, check: 15 Best Welding Schools In San Diego
Are there Welding Schools in Houston
Few schools in Houston offer plumbing programs. These schools are:
- Universal Technical Institute
- Aviation Institute Of Maintenance
- Houston Community College
- The Precision Welding Academy
- MIAT College Of Technology
- Lone Star College
- San Jacinto College
- Griffin’s Industrial Welding School (GIWS)
- Tulsa Welding School (Welding School In North Houston)
- South Coast Welding Academy
- Industrial Welding Academy
- Arclabs Welding School
- Barbara Jordan Career Center
Also, check: 15 Best Welding Schools in Utah
How to Become a Certified Welder in Houston
Before you start working full-time, you will need to get certified in the type of welding you want to do. Most employers would require the fundamental AWS Certified Welder certification.
To obtain this credential, you want to pass an exam, which is out there at several AWS Accredited Testing Facilities. There are not any prerequisites for taking this exam. It’ll include a written section and test your welding ability and efficiency.
Also, check: Welding Schools In North Carolina | A Detailed Guide
How to Renew Your Welding Certification in Houston
You can renew your license up to 90 days before it expires by mailing the completed renewal application, copies of the specified identification, and your $25 fee. If you renew your license after it has expired, you want to pay an additional $10. If your license has expired for quite a year, you’re no longer eligible for renewal.
How Much Do Welders Make in Houston?
In the Houston, TX, Area, the estimated total to buy a Welder is $47,726 per annum, with a mean salary of $44,905 per annum. These figures represent the median, the midpoint of the salary ranges calculated by our proprietary Total Pay Estimate model and based on salaries submitted by our users.
The extra pay is estimated to be $2,821 per annum. Additional compensation may include a cash bonus, a commission, tips, and a share. The “Most Likely Range” represents values between the 25th and 75th percentiles of all available pay data for this role.
Also, check: Welding Schools In Iowa | A Detailed Guide
How Long is Welding School in Houston?
A welding certification typically takes students seven months to 2 years to get. The time it takes to finish your welding certification depends on the Houston welding training program you choose.
An undergraduate certificate will typically take two years to finish. However, if you want to complete a specialized welding program, you’ll need to complete 4 to 5 courses in your area, which can take some time but is well worth it.
Best Welding Schools in Houston
#1. Universal Technical Institute
With the Welding Technology program, you can train to become a skilled welder in less than nine months.
This training, developed together with industry leader Lincoln Electric, is meant to provide you with the knowledge, skills, and hands-on experience that the industry values.
You’ll learn MIG, TIG, stick, and flux-cored welding processes as a welder-in-training at UTI Houston. You’ll also find out how to weld in the fixed, rolling, and overhead positions for pipe, also as the flat, horizontal, vertical, and overhead parts for plate or sheet.
As a graduate of UTI’s welding program, you’ll be prepared to begin a career as an entry-level welder. However, experienced welders are required in a variety of industries.
#2.Aviation Institute Of Maintenance
This program is for people that enjoy working with machines, their hands, and metals. This course provides students with practical training and skills in flame cutting and welding, as well as theoretical knowledge about welding, blueprints, shop prints, and more.
Graduates of the mixture Welding program receive a Diploma and are eligible to take the American Welding Society (AWS) 3G-4G examination for Welding Certification. They will work as welder fitters, maintenance welders, fabricators, sub-arc operators, and MIG welders.
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#3. Houston Community College
The Welding Technology program is meant to provide students with the skills needed for entry-level positions in the welding industry.
This course focuses on hands-on training and welding technique mastery. Students hone their technical skills in metal fabrication, metallurgy, and manipulative welding. Students learn field terminology in English to advance professionally and technically.
The training adheres to industry standards and prepares students to require the American Welding Society’s certification exam. Outside of the formal training provided in these offerings, students who complete the training are liable to fill out their certification test application and schedule and take their certification test.
#4. Precision Welding Academy
Precision Welding Academy LLC’s mission is to coach and develop the best welders and fabricators in the world through precision training. They provide diploma programs that prepare students for careers in welding.
These welding programs are carefully planned to supply the best training possible despite their short length. Also, Precision Welding Academy LLC programs are designed to stress maximum welding proficiency.
Read Also: 15 Best Welding Schools In San Antonio
#5. MIAT College Of Technology
MIAT College of Technology’s Welding diploma programs provides hands-on training, practical experience, and industry support needed to pursue a technical career.
Classes within the Advanced Welding Technology program are interactive and led by dedicated school instructors with years of professional experience working with welding equipment. You will get one-on-one attention and personal support to help you quickly learn new welding skills and first-hand technical knowledge to help you enter the workforce. Welding technician skills include Professional Tools and Skills, Drawings, Symbols, Metal Characteristics, Arc Welding and Welding, soldering, fitting, and fabricating pipes.
If you complete the welding program at MIAT College of Technology, you’ll be prepared for an entry-level job in various settings. Graduates enter service, manufacturing, construction, commissioning, and sales positions.
#6. Lone Star College
The five welding certificate programs Lone Star College offers can teach you the basics of various welding methods. You’ll study joint designs and welding equipment safety. you’ll also learn how to read construction blueprints from the perspective of a welder. A certificate program in inspection technology is additionally available at the school. A number of the courses you take as part of these certificate programs may be applied toward an associate’s degree in welding technology.
Gas metal arc welding, shielded metal arc welding, gas tungsten arc welding, layout and fabrication welding, pipe welding, and inspection technology are all possible fields of study.
Read Also: 15 Best Welding Schools In Wyoming
#7. San Jacinto College
San Jacinto’s various welding certificate programs prepare you for a spread of professional welding tasks, like conducting pipe welding tests according to commercial standards and understanding general welding codes, and are located about 15 miles from Houston. After finishing this program, you’ll be able to apply for entry-level jobs as a helper, tacker, or structural welder. You should also consider continuing your welding education through the school’s associate’s degree program.
Gas-shielded welding, art welding, pipe welding, and structural welding are all options for study.
#8. Griffin’s Industrial Welding School (GIWS)
Griffin’s Industrial Welding School (GIWS) is committed to teaching students the trade of welding through a singular curriculum focusing on one-on-one instruction. The training will prepare graduates for entry-level and advanced positions requiring welding skills and techniques.
Aside from learning basic welding skills, students will also be taught how to apply welding theories in all their projects during their accelerated welding classes. This provides career opportunities for all future welders who graduate from Griffin Industrial Welding School. Griffin Industrial will essentially assist you in laying the groundwork for your welding career.
Regardless, becoming a master welder will take a long time. During these years, you’ll most likely be involved in various projects such as railroad construction, pipeline repair, car assembly, and ship-building. You’ll also collaborate with other industry professionals, enhancing your professional career.
Read Also: 15 Best Welding Schools in Arkansas
#9. Tulsa Welding School (Welding School in North Houston)
Tulsa Welding School may be a fantastic place to learn how to weld.
The School has an on-campus welding lab with equipment and tools and real-world projects for students to work on. They also teach industrial technologies like blueprint reading, welding techniques, and gas tungsten arc welding.
The coursework at Tulsa Welding School will prepare you for the AWS GMAW (Glow Metal Arc Welding) certification exam (American Welding Society). Most employers require this exam before hiring you.
Read Also: 15 Best Welding Schools in Tennessee
#10. South Coast Welding Academy
South Coast Welding Academy’s intensive master welding program prepares students for careers within the industry. The curriculum includes structural welding on flux cored/mig/stick/and tig and pipe welding on change cored/mig/stick/and tig. Pipeline welding or specialty alloy welding are two options for college kids.
All students will master all welding processes. There are both day and evening classes available—Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
#11. Industrial Welding Academy
Industrial Welding Academy’s Shielded Metal Arc Welding Pipe course is one of five welding programs available. Arc welding safety and, therefore, the Shielded Metal Arc Welding process (SMAW-Plate), techniques, and electrode selection for the welding plate to satisfy the ASME welding code will be covered by students.
The curriculum consists of 96 hours of instruction, with 24 hours of lecture and 72 hours of lab. To complete the course, students must pass a skills test.
Graduates will be prepared to work in various industries performing general entry-level production and maintenance welding.
They’re going to be awarded a Certificate of Achievement. Students can choose from day and evening schedules.
Flux Core Arc Welding, Gas Metal Arc Welding, Gas Tungsten Arc Welding, and Shielded Metal Arc Welding Plate are the other courses available.
There are both morning and evening classes available.
Read Also: 15 Best Welding Schools In Las Vegas
#12. Arclabs Welding School
AWS’s comprehensive welding program trains adults to become skilled master welders in four welding processes, including GMAW, SMAW, FCAW, and GTAW. The curriculum involves 900 contact hours of theory and practical work and 400 hours of welding with specialty metals such as stainless steel and aluminum.
Students will gain experience in pipe welding, including high-pressure pipe safety codes, high purity pipe or pipes within the oil and gas industry, and structural welding, which incorporates building large metal structures, repairing, cutting, and joining beams, columns, and girders, and welding alloy metals like chrome steel, aluminum, and copper. Graduates will be able to apply for three AWS certifications, which can allow them to work as professional welders in the industry.
Day classes are held Monday through Thursday from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Full-time evening classes are held Monday through Thursday from 3:45 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. and Friday from 2:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
#13. Barbara Jordan Career Center
The Barbara Jordan Career Center’s Welding program allows high school students to learn and develop skills related to the processes and techniques used in the commercial construction and fabrication industries.
Throughout the program, weld safety is emphasized. Students will spend most of the day at their home campus completing academic classes. The remaining half the day will be devoted to participation in the welding pathway’s real-life career curriculum. Graduates will receive 16 credits towards a structural welding certificate from Houston junior college.
How Much Do Welding Schools Cost in Houston?
The cost of tuition to become a certified welder in Houston is primarily determined by the school you attend. Tuition fees can also vary depending on factors such as the training type, the program length, and the state. Some courses provide certification after a 7-month training period, while others may take up to 2 years to finish.
Welding school tuition typically starts around $5,000 for courses lasting 3-7 months. College welding programs can cost up to $15,000 for courses that last up to fifteen months.
Welding Schools in Houston FAQs
Is welding a viable career path?
Welding is one of the highest-paying skilled trades in the country, with a median entry-level wage of quite $40,000 per annum, or roughly $20 per hour. It’s also an accessible career because all that is usually required to begin learning the trade is a high school diploma (or GED).
How much do welders make?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the typical welder earns $42,000 per annum. Consistent with BLS statistics, 50% of welders within the United States make more than that figure, and 50% earn less. Consistent with Fabricators and Manufacturers Association surveys, most entry-level welders start at around $17 per hour.
How many hours do welders work per day?
Welders work full-time and regularly work overtime. They will work up to ten hours a day if necessary. They primarily work outside and are frequently exposed to hazardous situations. They’ll work in confined spaces, scaffolding, or inclement weather.
Conclusion
Welding could also be the right path for you if you want a job that is in high demand and pays well.
Today’s article discussed how to become a certified welder by providing information about the necessary training programs available at local community colleges or technical schools.
If you would like assistance locating opportunities in your field, contact the welding schools in Houston listed above for more information.
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