If you want to become a welder in Oklahoma, you should begin with making some research.
Learn some welding basics and look for available training programs.
It can be absolutely time-consuming so we’ve decided to save your time and prepare some useful data for you.
Article Table of Contents
Welder’s Employment Outlook in Oklahoma
Before making your mind, you need to learn some welding basics and facts about the job in Oklahoma.
That’s why we’ve prepared for you some useful info.
Average Welder’s Salary in Oklahoma
Working as a welder in Oklahoma, you can earn a median salary of $44 040 which is $21.70 per hour.
A median salary throughout the country, at the same time, is $39 390.
Speaking of the top 10% of welders in Oklahoma have a salary of about $62 230 while the top 10% of welders throughout the country earn about $62 100 per year.
Welding: What Is It?
In simple words, welding – it’s a process of joining metal pieces.
To make it, you should use numerous tools to heat and melt metal.
Welder’s Duties and Roles
There are lots of responsibilities should perform.
However, there some duties that are especially important:
- Studying and understanding specific sketches, blueprints, and instructions. Also, a welder should be able to follow all these instructions properly.
- Raw structure/material analysis in order to determine appropriate methods required for an excellent result. There are about 100 welding methods such as gas tungsten arc welding, shielded metal arc welding, or gas metal arc welding.
- Usage of appropriate tools depending on the chosen method.
- Maintaining equipment and tools so it meets all the requirements. There is a variety of different types of tools including electric and manual equipment. Sometimes, welders should be able to use numerous combination of tools to perform their job properly.
Where Can Certified Welders Work in Oklahoma?
There is the whole bunch of industries where certified welder can work in Oklahoma.
There are such options as:
- Construction of buildings and bridges;
- Manufacturing;
- Aerospace applications;
- Gas & oil field power plants and refineries;
- Shipbuilding;
- Auto & motorcycle fabrication and repair.
Similar Career Options in Oklahoma
If you don’t feel like becoming a welder bust still, want to work with your own hands, there some similar career options.
You just need to look for alternative careers in Oklahoma.
These options may as well interest you:
- Boilermaker;
- Soldering and Brazing;
- Plumber, Pipefitter, and Steamfitter;
- Sheet Metal Worker.
Reasons for Becoming a Welder in Oklahoma
In fact, everyone has its own reason to choose a certain career.
Of course, it’s true for welding as well but still, there are some reasons that are common for almost everyone.
To begin with, you should know that welding has an excellent outlook.
It means that you’ll be able to find your employment easily.
Moreover, the number of welding careers offers are going to grow constantly in the future.
One other point is that this career is absolutely rewarding and fulfilling as you can be proud of the work you do.
Finally, there is a great variety of job offers for welders.
You can work in various industries performing a number of duties.
Top 14 Welding Certification Schools in Oklahoma
There are 14 schools that offer welding training programs in Oklahoma:
- 4c Welding & Industrial Center, Inc. is located in Hugo, Oklahoma.
- Eastern Oklahoma Vocational Center is a part of the Eastern Oklahoma County Technology Center.
- Gordon Cooper Vocational Tech School is in the list of the best welding schools in Oklahoma. If you want to learn about the programs available there, just visit “Career Majors A to Z” page.
- Great Plains Technology Center provides one of the best welding classes in the state of Oklahoma.
- Guthrie Job Corps Center offers 8-12 weeks Advanced Technology Welding program.
- Meridian Technology Center is located in Stillwater, Oklahoma. It has two welding programs: Welding I & Welding II.
- Mid Del Technology Center has the Structural Welder program that has classes on six main welding methods and requires 840 credit hours.
- Mid-America Vo-Tech is an excellent welding school but still, it doesn’t provide financial aid.
- North West Tech has great welding program, offers financial services and career counseling.
- Pioneer Technology Center is one another great tech center in the state. It offers a wide range of training programs.
- Red River Technology Center is located in Duncan, Oklahoma.
- Tri County Technology Center has a retention rate of 92-97%.
- Wes Watkins Technology Center has 4 welding programs.
- Moore Norman Technology Center is one of the best welding schools in the state of Oklahoma.
The List of the Best Welding Schools in Oklahoma
In the table below, there is contact info of the schools listed above.
School | Location | Contact Information | Phone Number |
---|---|---|---|
4c Welding And Industrial Center, Inc | 2689 US 70 Hwy. Hugo, OK 74743 United States | Lena D Kopp | (580) 326-9417 |
Eastern Oklahoma Vocational Center | 4601 N. Choctaw Rd, Choctaw, OK 73020 United States | Paul Childers | (405) 390-9591 |
Gordon Cooper Vocational Tech School | One John C Bruton Blvd, Shawnee, OK 74801 United States | Tommie E Daniels | (405) 273-7493 |
Great Plains Area Vo-Tech School | 4500 SW Lee Blvd, Lawton, OK 73505 United States | Allen Bellamy | (580) 250-5626 |
Guthrie Job Corps Center | Default Job Corps Center, 3106 West University, Guthrie, OK 73044 United States | (405) 282-9930 | |
Meridian Technology Center | 1312 South Sangre Rd, Stillwater, OK 74074 United States | Jamey Valega | (405) 377-3333 |
Mid Del Lewis Eubanks Area | Vo-Tech, 1621 Maple Drive, Midwest City, OK 73112 United States | Dave Williams | (405) 739-1707 |
Mid-America Vo-Tech | P.O. Box H, Wayne, OK 73095 United States | Michael J Roberts | (405) 449-3391 |
Moore Norman Tech Center | 4701 12Th Ave NW, Norman, OK 73071 United States | Lyman Lenker | (405) 364-5763 |
North West Technology Center – Fairview | 801 Vo-Tech Drive, Fairview, OK 73737 United States | Daniels Simmons | (580) 227-3708 |
Pioneer Technology Center | 2101 N. Ashponca City, OK 74601 United States | Ted Rowe | (580) 762-8336 |
Red River Technology Center | P.O. Box 1807, Duncan, OK 73534 United States | Jerry Morris | (405) 255-2903 |
Tri County Technology Center | 6101 Nowata Rd, Bartlesville, OK 74006 United States | James Larmore | (918) 331-3250 |
Wes Watkins Technology Center | 7892 HWY 9 Wetumka, OK 74883 United States | Linda Sanford | (405) 452-5500 |
Keep in mind that the information in the table may change so we recommend you to doublecheck it.
Tulsa Welding Schools in Oklahoma
At the moment, Tulsa Welding School (TWS) provides one main program in their facility in Oklahoma.
Those individuals who want to become a welder can get this program currently:
- Professional Welder Program – takes roughly 7 months (the length pertains to graduating in normal time for this program).
Popular Degree Programs
Conclusion
Now, as you’ve got all the important info about welding, you can make a final decision.
Make sure you’ve checked the info about welding schools in Oklahoma and just start moving towards your goal!
Frequently Asked Questions
How can you tell if a weld is bad?
There are many ways to tell if a weld is of low quality.
If you can see cracks along the middle of the bead or a lack of uniformity, it is very likely that the weld was poorly done.
Other signs of a bad weld include a weld that is too thin or a lack of discoloration of the parent metal.
Can you drag when MIG welding?
Many welders debate over whether you should push or drag the rod.
According to John Leisner of Miller Electric, “If it produces slag, you drag.”
This means that when you are welding with a stick or flux-core wire welder, you should drag the wire or rod.
When you are using a MIG welder, on the other hand, you should push the wire.
What can I weld and sell?
We already covered some of the basics of starting and running your own welding business.
That said, if you are looking to weld and sell rather than work on requested welds, we have some ideas for you.
MIG welding objects that you can make and sell include dishware sets, desk accessories (e.g., pen and pencil holders), home decorations (sculptures, wall art, etc.).
You can sell your completed projects on sites like Etsy or Amazon or at your local farmers’ market.
Read the full guide: How to Become a Certified Welder