Lincoln Tech Welding Program: Is It the Right Choice for You?

Choosing a welding program is a significant decision that requires careful consideration. Lincoln Tech offers welding programs at several of its campuses. This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of Lincoln Tech's welding programs, the skills you can acquire, and factors to consider before enrolling.

Welding: An In-Demand Career

Commercial and Public Service construction work requiring highly skilled tradespeople continues to grow. Repair, maintenance, and new construction is fueling a steady need for individuals skilled in welding technologies, and there is a growing shortage of these technicians in infrastructure as well as the auto and diesel industries. Skilled welders have the ability to find employment in almost all major industries. Welding is needed wherever there is a need for building and maintaining infrastructure. Simply put, anywhere there is a need to permanently join two or more pieces of similar metal, then welding is most likely the top answer. Welding requirements span all heavy industries, including construction, ship and aircraft building, automotive assembly and manufacturing. Welders are also needed for surface and submerged welding for at-sea oil rigs, as well as pipelines that span over land or under bodies of water. More than 1,600 additional welding jobs are projected to open every year until at least 2032.

Lincoln Tech Welding Programs: An Overview

At Lincoln Tech’s nine welding schools, whose locations span from Denver all the way to the east coast and places in between, you can train to become a skilled welder. Lincoln Tech offers four different welding programs, three of which have additional training in either pipefitting or metal fabrication. While the three programs differ slightly in specialized material, they all feature the most-used welding processes utilized in the majority of applications in the industry; Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW), MIG (Metal, Inert Gas) or GMAW (Gas, Metal Arc Welding), and TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding. Welding students start with in-depth study of the properties of metals, and move on to a robust hands-on training regimen where they learn to competently join multiple pieces of metal to the correct specifications. Lincoln Tech Welding instructors are experienced and credentialed welding professionals. Instructors must also have earned their National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) credentials.

Curriculum and Training

The Welding Technology program prepares the student to enter many industries as a new welder. Graduates will have completed the following training:

Significant practice time welding plate metal, carbon steel plates, aluminum, and stainless steel in individual welding booths.
Learning & perfecting precision cuts in steel plates and pipe using superheated gasses.
Learning the properties of certain metals and how metal transitions between its liquid and solid states during the welding process.
Welding in horizontal, vertical, and overhead settings.
Build hands-on skills in a variety of welding procedures for plate steel and piping. These processes include Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW), Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW/MIG), Flux Core Arc Welding (FCAW), and Gas Tungsten Arc Gas Welding (GTAW/TIG). Three of these four methods are standard welding processes used in construction, fabrication, and/or plant maintenance work settings.
Completion of a 10-hour OSHA approved safety orientation.

Specific Campus Programs

Melrose Park, IL

Lincoln Tech’s Melrose Park campus offers Welding training that can teach you the necessary skills to enter this in-demand career field. Comprised of eight courses spanning 960 hours of in-depth training. Welding instructors at our Melrose Park campus are experienced and credentialed welding professionals. Instructors must also have earned their National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) credentials.

Mahwah, NJ

The Welding and Metal Fabrication Technology program at our Mahwah campus includes an introduction to metal fabrication to help enhance your newly acquired skills. These skills can be of immediate use in the construction, manufacturing, mining, and agriculture industries, to name a few.

Training Highlights at Our Mahwah, NJ Welding School

Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW)
Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW/MIG)
Flux Core Arc Welding (FCAW)
Tungsten Arc Gas Welding (GTAW/TIG)
Metal fabrication techniques
Welding plate metal, carbon steel plates, aluminum, and stainless steel
Welding in horizontal, vertical, and overhead settings

When you graduate, you’ll be prepared to complete pre-qualification tests for construction, structural or pipe related projects. You’ll also qualify to test for Level One certification from the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER).

Columbia, MD

Lincoln Tech’s Columbia campus offers a Welding and Metal Fabrication program that can help put you on the road to a career in construction, manufacturing, shipbuilding, mining, agriculture and more. Industry-specific welding facilities, including individual booths, offer everything you need to learn the science and art of welding.

Skills Acquired at Our Columbia, MD Welding School

Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW)
Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW/MIG)
Flux Core Arc Welding (FCAW)
Tungsten Arc Gas Welding (GTAW/TIG)
Metal fabrication techniques
Welding plate metal, carbon steel plates, aluminum, and stainless steel
Welding in horizontal, vertical, and overhead settings

When you graduate, you’ll be prepared to complete pre-qualification tests for construction, structural or pipe-related projects.

South Plainfield, NJ

Lincoln Tech’s South Plainfield campus is ready to help you build in-demand skills for this exciting career field. The Welding Technology program at our South Plainfield campus can train you in the skills needed to start a career in construction, manufacturing, mining, agriculture and more.

Training Highlights at our South Plainfield, NJ Welding School

Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW)
Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW/MIG)
Flux Core Arc Welding (FCAW)
Tungsten Arc Gas Welding (GTAW/TIG)
Welding plate metal, carbon steel plates, aluminum, and stainless steel
Welding in horizontal, vertical, and overhead settings

When you graduate, you’ll be prepared to complete pre-qualification tests for construction, structural or-pipe related projects. You’ll also qualify to test for Level One certification from the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER).

Cost and Financial Aid

The Department of Education currently estimates the price of attendance and financial aid availability for the most popular program at the Lincoln Tech campus selected. Prices are subject to change every academic year. To see the tuition and fee breakdown of all programs offered at Lincoln Tech, please visit our Tuition and Fees page. The estimates shall not be binding on the Secretary of Education, the institution of higher education, or the State. Students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in order to be eligible for, and receive, an actual financial aid award that includes Federal grant, loan, or work-study assistance.

Important Considerations and Potential Drawbacks

While Lincoln Tech highlights the potential benefits of its welding programs, it is crucial to consider feedback from past students before making a decision.Some students have expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of instruction, resources, and overall value of the program.Here are some recurring concerns:

Lack of Sufficient Supplies: Several reviews mention a consistent shortage of welding materials, leading to wasted time and hindering the learning process.
Instructor Quality: Some students have reported that instructors are unhelpful, lazy, or lack sufficient expertise. Some instructors would teach themselves with YouTube videos before teaching the students.
Self-Learning Required: Many students felt they had to teach themselves using online resources due to inadequate instruction and support.
Lack of Certification: Some programs may not include industry-standard welding certifications, requiring additional expenses for private inspectors.
Financial Aid Issues: Some students have reported issues with financial aid, including delays in payments and unexpected charges.
Poor Management: Several reviewers cited mismanagement as a significant problem, leading to disorganization and a lack of support for students.
Broken or Non-Functional Facilities: Some students have reported issues with the school facilities, such as broken ventilation systems, non-functional bathrooms, and broken hand washing stations.
Job Placement Assistance: Some students felt that the school did not adequately prepare them for entry-level welding positions or provide sufficient job placement assistance.

Read also: Affording LMU: A Guide

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