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Every steel building, bridge, and industrial facility in this country depends on structural welds that do not fail. The AWS D1.1 code exists for one reason: to make sure the person holding the torch knows what they are doing. If you want to be that person, you need more than classroom hours. You need booth time.
At Western Welding Academy, our structural welding certificate program, Advanced Structural Welder, puts you in the booth 40 hours a week for 12 weeks. You will build your skills in stick, MIG hardwire, and flux-core on plate and pipe, then train for AWS D1.1 certification tests on 1-inch plate and 6-inch pipe. No filler. No busywork. Just welding.
94% of our graduates are hired within 90 days. Structural welders with multi-process skills and code-level training do not wait long for the phone to ring.
Structural welding certification proves you can produce welds that meet the strength and quality requirements of the AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code. This is the code that governs welding on steel buildings, bridges, heavy equipment, and industrial infrastructure across the United States.
When a fabrication shop, construction company, or manufacturing plant hires a structural welder, they test you against this standard. A failed structural weld is not a cosmetic problem. It is a safety problem. That is why employers do not just ask if you can weld. They ask if you can weld to code, in position, across multiple processes.
Holding a structural welding certificate from an intensive, hands-on program tells employers you have already been trained and tested to that standard. It gets you past the resume pile and into the weld test, where your skills speak for themselves.
AWS D1.1 is the most widely used structural welding code in the country. It sets the rules for:
Our program trains you on the processes and test coupons used in AWS D1.1 welder qualification, so you are ready to test when you graduate.
Community colleges spread welding training across semesters of general education and minimal booth time. We give you 12 weeks of concentrated, hands-on training built to get you tested and hired faster than a semester-based program.
You will spend 40 hours per week welding on plate and pipe. That is 85% of your total training time in the booth, running fillet welds, groove welds, and multi-pass joints. By the end of 12 weeks, you will have more booth hours than most community college students get in two years.
Structural welding is not a single-process job. Fabrication shops, shipyards, and construction sites use different processes depending on the material, position, and application. Our program trains you across all three:
Our instructors have built careers in pipeline, structural, and industrial welding. They know what inspectors look for because they have been through the same weld tests, on real job sites, for decades. When they coach you on joint fit-up, bead placement, and weld sequencing, it comes from fieldwork, not a textbook.
By the time you finish your 12 weeks at WWA, you will have welded hundreds of joints under instructor supervision, including the same plate and pipe coupons used for AWS D1.1 qualification. You walk into an employer weld test having already done the work.
This is a standalone 12-week program for anyone who wants to enter the structural welding field. No prior welding experience is required. You start with SMAW fundamentals, move into MIG hardwire and flux-core, and finish by welding AWS D1.1 test coupons on plate and pipe.
The Advanced Structural Welder program is separate from our pipe welding track. It is built for welders targeting careers in construction, shipbuilding, tank fabrication, and railroad work, where AWS D1.1 code compliance is the standard.
Structural welders are in demand anywhere steel gets built, repaired, or fabricated. The Advanced Structural Welder program prepares you for work in these industries:
Structural welding jobs remain resistant to automation because the work happens on variable geometry in unpredictable field conditions. As long as buildings go up and infrastructure gets repaired, structural welders will be in demand.
Fabrication shops and construction contractors test before they hire. Here is what they evaluate during a structural welder qualification test:
Our booth training is built around these same standards. When you show up to an employer weld test after graduating from WWA, the test will feel like another day in the booth.
According to industry data, structural welders earn between $40,000 and $70,000 in entry-level positions. Welders who hold multiple process certifications and can work in overhead and vertical positions command the highest rates.
Here are verified paychecks from real WWA graduates working in welding careers:
All earnings verified by graduate-submitted paychecks.
Structural welders working prevailing wage jobs on public infrastructure projects, overtime-heavy construction schedules, or in high-demand regions regularly earn above the national average. Multi-process certification is the fastest way to push your rate higher.
No hidden fees. Housing and tools are part of your $25,800 total cost.
Five steps. No entrance exam. No prior welding experience required. Year-round start dates available.
No previous welding experience is needed. The Advanced Structural Welder program accepts complete beginners and trains you from fundamentals to code-level structural welding in 12 weeks.
Structural welding focuses on joining steel components that carry loads in buildings, bridges, and industrial structures. The governing code is AWS D1.1. Pipe welding focuses on joining pipe for pipelines, pressure vessels, and process piping, governed by API 1104 and ASME Section IX. Both are in-demand career paths, and WWA offers dedicated programs for each.
The program trains you for two AWS D1.1 certification tests: a 1-inch plate test and a 6-inch Schedule 40 pipe test, both with a MIG hardwire root and flux-core fill and cap. WWA is an AWS Accredited Testing Facility, so you test on campus. Many employers still run their own weld test when you hire on, and your training prepares you to pass it.
The Advanced Structural Welder program covers three processes: SMAW (stick), GMAW (MIG hardwire), and FCAW (flux-core). You start with stick fundamentals, then train on MIG hardwire and flux-core across plate and pipe, giving you the skills structural employers test for.
No. The program accepts students with zero welding experience. You start with fundamentals and progress to multi-position, multi-process structural joints by graduation. The 85% booth time model means you build skills fast through repetition and instructor feedback, not lectures.
Time and focus. A community college welding program typically takes one to two years and includes general education requirements. Our program is 12 weeks of intensive, full-time training with 40 hours per week in the booth. You graduate with more hands-on welding hours than most community college graduates, in a fraction of the time.
Yes. Fully furnished student housing is included in your program cost. Utilities and WiFi are covered. The housing is located about 5 minutes from our campus in Gillette, Wyoming.
The Advanced Structural Welder program has year-round start dates, so you do not have to wait for a semester to begin. Apply, lock in your start date, and begin training with the next available class.
Yes. WWA offers private loan options through Climb Credit. You can also pay upfront using cash, 529 accounts, or education savings. Visit our Financial Aid page for details.
Every construction site, fabrication shop, and shipyard in the country needs welders who can pass a structural weld test. Start dates run year-round and every class has limited spots. Apply today, lock in your start date, and start training for the certification that puts you on the job.
Western Welding Academy is the only pipe welding school in the country that is solely owned and operated by real pipeline/pipe welders. At WWA we have the most elite, highest skilled welders in the world teaching students how to weld.
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