If you’re looking to become a welder in Minnesota, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we give a quick rundown of what a welder’s career path looks like, followed by welding schools and training programs – plus scholarships! – in Minnesota.
Welding is an exciting career path that offers a lot of different opportunities. Welders are tradespeople who join metals like steel, aluminum, brass and stainless steel using a variety of welding techniques such as Shielded Metal Arc, Gas Metal Arc, Flux Cored Arc, Gas Tungsten Arc Welding Processes Oxy/Fuel, Plasma Arc, Carbon Air Arc Cutting and Gouging Processes.
In the U.S. and elsewhere, skilled welders are in high demand due to the fact that welding is involved throughout every stage of industrial operations, with many jobs in manufacturing, construction, and repair.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, welders, cutters, solderers and brazers are expected to see 3 percent job growth in 2019-2029. According to the American Welding Society (AWS) there will be a shortage of more than 375,000 welders by 2023.
That means that now is a great time to get into welding.
The average hourly wage for welders in Minnesota is $25.22, which is 22 percent higher than the national average, so Minnesota is a good place to become a welder.
(And many more).
To become a welder, you’ll typically need a high school diploma or equivalent and many shops offer on-the-job training and apprenticeships. That said, many employers will prefer candidates with a formal diploma or Associate’s Degree, and more technically qualified welders with broader skillsets tend to earn more – which makes formal welding training a good investment in your future.
Welders who have the ability to read blueprints and fabricate products to specification are in particularly high demand.
Keep reading for our roundup of the top welding schools in Minnesota as well as scholarship opportunities.
Below, we’ve rounded up a collection of welding training programs and scholarships in Minnesota.
Long considered an art form, metalworking is a hands-on creative learning experience where you solve problems with your mind and body. Minneapolis College’s Welding and Metal Fabrication program provides you with the technical knowledge and hands-on skills needed to gain entry-level employment in manufacturing, construction and various other industries.
1501 Hennepin Avenue Minneapolis, Minnesota
Certificate
Day and Evening
1-2 Years
The Welding Program at Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount, Minnesota offers a variety of training in different welding processes specific to our trade. Students will gain knowledge through theory in class and hands-on experience in the welding lab.
The major topics and welding processes will be covered in this nine-month course to ready the student for entry level positions in the industry. Subjects that are covered include: Shielded Metal Arc, Gas Metal Arc, Flux Cored Arc, Gas Tungsten Arc Welding Processes Oxy/Fuel, Plasma Arc, Carbon Air Arc Cutting and Gouging Processes.
Students will work with a variety of metals which include: steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. Shop Fabrication, Blueprint Reading, Math, Visual Inspection, and Safety are covered in the curriculum.
1300 145th St E Rosemount, Minnesota
Diploma
Day and Evening
1-2 Years
$8,371
Students doing a Welding and Metal Fabrication Certificate at St. Cloud Technical & Community College in St. Cloud, Minnesota, learn a variety of techniques, including Shielded Metal Arc Welding, Oxy-Acetylene Welding and Brazing, Gas Metal Arc Welding, Gas Tungsten Arc Welding, fuel gas and plasma cutting. They will also learn metallurgy, fabrication and equipment, automated machining, CADD, blueprint reading and safety procedures.
Welds will be made to industry standards using the AWS D1.1 Structural Code and AWS D1.3 structural welding code-sheet steel. Welds will be done in all positions, and guided bend tests will be made to check weld quality.
Skills Acquired:
1540 Northway Drive St. Cloud, Minnesota
Diploma
Day
1-2 Years
Earning a Basic Welding Certificate through Century College in North White Bear Lake, Minnesota will prepare students for entry level positions in the welding industries.
Students will:
The certificate is a first look into welding, and can launch you into a career or prepare you for your next steps in education.
3300 Century Avenue North White Bear Lake, MN
Certificate
Day
1-2 Years
Less than $12,300
The Anoka Technical College Welding Technology program in Anoka, Minnesota offers a Welding Fabricator Certificate designed and taught by industry professionals to provide graduates exceptional welding skills for success in the workplace. The program is designed as a series of building blocks to provide quick access into a welding career. This flexibility allows students to stop and restart as their life allows.
1355 W Main St Anoka, Minnesota
Certificate
Day and Evening
Less than 1 Year
The Welding Technology Diploma at Anoka Technical College in Anoka, Minnesota is designed and taught by industry professionals to provide graduates exceptional welding skills for success in the workplace. The program is designed as a series of building blocks to provide quick access into a welding career. This flexibility allows students to stop and restart as their life allows.
1355 W Main St Anoka, Minnesota
Diploma
Day and Evening
1-2 Years
The Welding Degree at Anoka Technical College in Anoka, Minnesota is designed and taught by industry professionals to provide graduates exceptional welding skills for success in the workplace. The program is designed as a series of building blocks to provide quick access into a welding career. This flexibility allows students to stop and restart as their life allows.
1355 W Main St Anoka, Minnesota
Associate’s Degree
Day and Evening
2 Years
The Welding Diploma at Saint Paul College in Saint Paul, Minnesota will teach you some of the most commonly used techniques used in welding today.
Our goal is to prepare you for jobs in the welding industry. To become a successful welder, you'll need both the theoretical foundation as well as related hands-on activities every day. Applying shop safety concepts and blueprint reading skills in metal working projects will help you excel as a student and throughout your career.
We have more than eighty booths in our welding lab, equipped with welding machines that are capable of MIG, TIG, and SMAW welding processes on various metals, such as mild steel, stainless steel, and aluminum.
Welders are often required to create products for the industry in which they work, by performing fabrication duties such as operating metal shears, press brakes, grinders, torches, and even CNC equipment that will shape, cut, and bend metals. You'll gain fabrication skills through hands-on experience with various projects.
Welding fabrication is widely used in aircraft, automobile, trucking, shipbuilding, pipefitting, plumbing, sheet metal, ironworking and other trades that use metals. Skilled welders may become layout specialists, engineers, technicians, supervisors, Certified Welding Inspectors or private shop owners.
235 Marshall Avenue Saint Paul, Minnesota
Diploma
Traditional in-class and hands-on training in state-of-the-art labs on Saint Paul College campus, St. Paul, MN.
Day and evening classes are available.
1-2 Years
$9,699
Knowledgeable. Efficient. Competent.
Those words can describe you after you complete training in the Welding and Metal Fabrication program at Hennepin Technical College in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. Whether your objective is to gain additional skills or embark on a rewarding career, this program will give you the solid foundation necessary to achieve your goals. The curriculum encompasses basic welding and fabrication methods, blueprint reading, and advanced technical skills, providing you with the essential knowledge and hands on experience you need to succeed.
The field of welding continues to evolve, with significant advancements in technology. Welders can specialize in an exciting variety of disciplines, including robotics and other automated systems, nanotechnology, pipe-fitting, alternative energy applications, infrastructure fabrication, underwater welding, and inspection. Welding has become a dominant force in virtually every aspect of our daily lives, and with the continued advances the industry is experiencing, welding will provide almost endless opportunities for those on the cutting edge.
9000 Brooklyn Boulevard Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
Diploma
Day and Evening
2 Years
Looking for a career as a welder? With the Welding Technology certificate from Dunwoody Welding Technology in Minneapolis, Minnesota, you’ll learn all the standard welding methods used in industry, including oxygen-fuel and cutting, shielded metal arc, gas metal arc, and gas tungsten arc.
Train in our state-of-the-industry welding lab. Practice creating even, strong welds using both steel and aluminum alloys. During your final semester, you’ll plan, select materials for, and complete a welding fabrication project.
The program’s curriculum is closely aligned with standards set forth by the American Welding Society (AWS), which ensures you graduate with the skills employers are looking for.
All faculty members are AWS-certified welders, and students are encouraged to join the local AWS student chapter.
Credits earned in the Welding Technology certificate directly transfer into Dunwoody’s Welding & Metal Fabrication associate’s degree program.
818 Dunwoody Boulevard Minneapolis, Minnesota
Certificate
Day
1-2 Years
Master the various welding, cutting, and fabrication processes required in a 21st-century manufacturing facility and enter the job market with both welding and machining skills doing Welding and Metal Fabrication Degree at Dunwoody College of Technology in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Spend year one in Dunwoody’s state-of-the-art welding, where you’ll learn the standard welding methods used in industry, including oxygen-fuel and cutting, shielded metal arc, gas metal arc, and gas tungsten arc.
During year two, you’ll be in Dunwoody’s state-of-the-industry machine shop, learning engineering drawing, manual and CNC (computer numeric controlled) milling and turning, and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing.
The program’s curriculum is closely aligned with standards set forth by the American Welding Society (AWS) and the National Institute of Metalworking Skills (NIMS), which ensures you graduate with the skills industry values.
This degree directly transfers into Dunwoody’s Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering Technology.
818 Dunwoody Boulevard Minneapolis, Minnesota
Associate’s Degree
Day
2 Years
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