hey. new hear.
thanks ahead of time for any help.
im about to enroll in a local community college for welding.
question is... am i missing anything important by not doing the full on associates degree where there are classes not directly related to welding? for example... "effective public speaking"
at this point im planning on only taking the welding classes but thats apparently just considered a certification course.
It really depends on what you plan to do in the future. You should consider that sometimes plans do change and the AAS degree could possibly open career avenues that would not be open otherwise. My school offers a certificate program and a diploma program and next fall we are adding an associate degree. The diploma and associate programs have a few academic requirements but the vast majority are welding and welding related.
You never know, at some point in the future you may even want to teach welding, and then that AAS degree will come in handy.
Like one of your other responses said, plans change, I had earned a 4 year degree in Industrial Technology and Taught welding at a High School , I have been welding since I was 12 years old, I taught my students with scrap metal and used equipment from a couple of businesses in the local area and by doing that my students were able to come out of High School and pass the welding tests that the local jobs had, I found that though I was teaching them they were making better money. Look at where you plan on working, you may find that they will provide on the job training for a person willing to show up every day and do a full days work, I now live in a town of 1300 people, with 3 factories that will teach you if you are good at being an employee. Show up on time, work your shift and not leave them hanging when a deadline is coming up. By going that route you can work as a welder and not spend the money on schools. It is definitely worth a try. You can also pick up night classes that teach you specialty welding if there is a different job you wish to do. You can train a Monkey to weld, but teaching someone to be a responsible employee is a different matter.
A good work ethic not withstanding, I try to approach teaching as outfitting my students with tools needed for success. Every process that they become proficient in, or every little tidbit of knowledge I can share is like adding tools to their tool belt. They are probably never going to be superman but I can help them be a little more like batman.
And keep in mind that being an effective speaker never held anyone back, but being ineffective has held several people back.
