Welding Technology
Snow College offers a Welding Technology program of approximately 63 semester hours of instruction, which prepares the student to meet job entry requirements. This program covers all welding processes commonly used in the fabrication, repair, and construction industries. It is taught by welding on both plate and pipe, and using ferrous and non-ferrous materials.
Students pay regular college tuition plus the cost of tools, coveralls, and safety equipment during their training. The purchased equipment is the personal property of the student.
An Associate of Applied Science degree is offered in this program.
Exact course descriptions and hours for the Welding Technology program match with other state schools and use national and international curriculum and task lists. There has been a working relationship between institutions to accept student hours and credit.
Students who complete an emphasis in Welding Technology at Snow College should be eligible for employment in the following career fields: construction, fabrication, maintenance, pipeline, industry, and private business.
Careers
What do Welders do?
Welders cut, shape and join sections of metal plate and pipes in a wide range of industries. These include construction and engineering, transport, aerospace, and offshore oil and gas. They also carry out repairs on manufacturing equipment and machinery.
If you want to put your practical skills to good use and can work accurately, this could be an ideal career for you
What skills do Welders need?
- Good hand-to-eye coordination
- The ability to work accurately
- Good concentration levels
- The ability to work without direct supervision
- The ability to understand technical plans and drawings
- Good math skills to work out measurements
- The ability to solve problems
- An understanding of safe working practices
In this job you will need to understand technical plans and have good math skills for working out measurements.
Working Hours and Conditions
You would normally work 40 hours a week. Shiftwork is common and overtime may be necessary to meet deadlines.
Your working conditions would depend on your job. For instance, in a shipyard, it would be cramped if you were working on repairs at the bottom of a ship's hull. If you worked on an oil pipeline or a rig out at sea, you would be exposed to all weather conditions.
You would usually wear protective clothing, such as a face-shield, apron or gloves. In some cases you might need to use specialist safety equipment, for example breathing apparatus for underwater welding work, or a safety harness for working at heights.
Construction
Welding is instrumental to the success of a construction project. Not only is it a handy repair tool for broken and damaged machine parts, it is the mainstay of production supplying any construction endeavor with the required raw materials to progress at the desired pace.
It is undertaken by skilled operators and has to be performed according to pre-defined mandates and a set of compliance rules in order to ensure that the joints are strong and immune to jostling and rust.
Fabrication
Welding fabrication is the building of metal structures by cutting, bending, and assembling processes. It is also a value added process that involves the construction of machines and structures from various raw materials.
Maintenance
Welding in maintenance jobs is using light to heavy welding to repair equipment, machinery, or buildings and facilities.
Pipeline
Plan, lay-out, weld, install test and repair all types of pipe and similar tubular products in accordance with all applicable plans, specifications, codes, and industry standards. Work in other crafts at levels appropriate to training and skills as requested by supervision.
Industry
Welding for different companies such as auto repair, trailer manufacturing, aerospace, and countless others.
Private business
Welders can have their own private welding businesses for repairing, creating, or manufacturing projects, ranging from artistic to contract work.
