Welding Program

The welding program at Southwest Wisconsin Technical College prepares students for careers as welding engineers, manufacturing engineers, application engineers, sales engineers, and project engineer or manager. The program focuses on applying technical knowledge and skills to join or cut metal surfaces. Program course include: arc welding, resistance welding, brazing and soldering, cutting, high-energy beam welding and cutting, solid state welding, ferrous and non-ferrous materials, oxidation-reduction reactions, welding metallurgy, welding process and heat treating, structural design, safety, and codes and standards. Get more details below including other Wisconsin colleges that offer welding program.

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Southwest Wisconsin Technical College

Also known as Southwest Tech

1930 Grand Avenue, Wausau, WI

Located near the beautiful rolling hills in Fennimore in Wisconsin, the Southwest Wisconsin Technical College is a technical college that delivers excellent educational opportunities to students as well as empowering the community that it serves. Also known as Southwest Tech, it covers 30 districts including Grant, Lafayette, Crawford and Richland.

The school started accepting enrollees on July 1, 1967 and it was conceived through Chapter 292 Laws of Wisconsin of 1965. Its first ever program was Farm Training considering that Fennimore was largely a farming town back then. Today, Southwest Tech offers associate degrees and technical diplomas. There are about more than 50 courses offered at this community college under diverse disciplines including agriculture, business and marketing, information technology, healthcare, public safety and industrial courses.

Since Southwest Tech only offers associate degrees, students who wish to transfer to other universities and colleges to take up a four-year bachelor’s course can take advantage of the transfer center of the school to assist them in their transfer needs. The University Transfer Program allows students to transfer to many public and private universities within and out of Wisconsin area without any problems.

On the other hand, the tuition fee rate of Southwest Tech is set by the Wisconsin Technical College System Board. For the Academic Year of 2013-2014, the tuition fee rate for in-district student is $122  per credit hour while out-of-district enrollees have to pay $182 per credit hour.

Students Enrolled in the Welding Program

Get more details below regarding enrollment, academics, and school demographics. Southwest Tech offers a less than two-year award program in welding.

Students by Gender (2019)

Students by Race (2019)

Source: IPEDS Survey 2012-2020: Data obtained from the US Dept. of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Data may vary depending on school and academic year.

Career Options for Graduates

Welders, Cutters, and Welder Fitters

Description

Use hand-welding or flame-cutting equipment to weld or join metal components or to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products.

Career Outlook & Projections ()

According to the BLS, welders, cutters, and welder fitters employment is expected to grow at a rate of 3.6% from 2014 to 2024

Salary & Wages

• Wausau, WI
  • Total Employment: 510
  • Average Hourly Rate: $18.63
  • Average Annual Salary: $38750

Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

Description

Set up, operate, or tend welding, soldering, or brazing machines or robots that weld, braze, solder, or heat treat metal products, components, or assemblies. Includes workers who operate laser cutters or laser-beam machines.

Career Outlook & Projections ()

According to the BLS, welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders employment is expected to shrink at a rate of -18.0% from 2014 to 2024

Salary & Wages

• Wausau, WI
  • Average Hourly Rate: $15.99
  • Average Annual Salary: $33270

Source: Job descriptions, estimated salary and wages, and projected job growth are taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).