Welding Junior/Senior Option
Program Overview
Fort Hays Tech | Northwest delivers much more than a your typical classroom and book-learning experience — you will learn hands-on, acquiring essential skills and professional connections along the way.
Fort Hays Tech | Northwest’s welding department presents unique opportunities for you, the student, by devoting the majority of its program to actual work-based experience, including in-shop training and on-the-job site training. Additionally, our curriculum is continually being updated to provide you with the latest training for the industry as technology and equipment advance.
Welding is designed to teach specific skills in all aspects of the welding trade, which include arc welding, oxyacetylene welding, TIG, MIG, brazing, and semi-automatic cutting. Other related areas of study include blueprint reading, job layout, shop math, hard surfacing (ARC as well as powder torch), and pipe welding. You will learn welding processes that allow you to work with mild steel, cast iron, brass, aluminum, stainless steel, and some alloy metals. Fort Hays Tech | Northwest offers you several welding program options: a two-semester work-based track where you can receive your Associate's Degree or a Technical Certificate C; and an 18-week track specializing in pipe and plate welding where you can earn a Technical Certificate A.
First Year
| Course # | Course Name | Credits |
| WD 101 | OSHA 10 | 1 |
| WD 112 | Oxy-Fuel Welding | 2 |
| WD 115 | Cutting Processes | 3 |
| WD 133 | Blueprint Reading I | 3 |
| WD 154 | Practicum in Fabrication I | 2 |
| WD 141 | SMAW | 3 |
| WD 146 | GMAW | 3 |
| WD 148 | Automated Cutting Processes | 2 |
| WD 195 | Core Wire Welding | 6 |
| Total Year Credits | 22 |
Second Year
| Course # | Course Name | Credits |
| WD 153 | Welding Blueprint Reading II | 3 |
| WD 170 | GTAW | 3 |
| WD 180 | GMAW II | 4 |
| WD 184 | Practicum in Fabrication II | 2 |
| WD 150 | Pipe Welding-SMAW | 3 |
| WD 175 | SMAW II | 4 |
| WD 185 | Pipe Welding/TIG | 2 |
| AE 205 | Forklift Operator Training | 1 |
| Total Year Credits | 22 |
Download Program Guide Welding
Program Hours/Estimated Salary
Annual Salary Range: $25,000 - $50,000
PROGRAM HOURS: 7:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Tools
- Northwest Tech provides toolkits for in-classroom/shop use
- Safety Kit is $100 plus tax
- *This does not include the price of our General Education Classes and Books.
- *The core technical classes are covered through the Excel in CTE program.
Employment Options
- TIG Welder
- Pipe Welder
- Structural Welder
- Fabrications Shop
- Equipment Manufacturing & Repair
Faculty
Shea Vrbka
Welding Instructor
785-890-1576
shea.vrbka@fhnw.edu
Tim Davis
Welding Instructor
785-890-1576
tim.davis@fhnw.edu
More Info
Kayla Luera
Director of Enrollment Management & Outreach
785-890-1512
kayla.luera@fhnw.edu
