KIMBALL — They may just be traditional high school kids, talking about writing essays for an English class, complaining about their math homework and getting ready for the weekend.

But once they set foot inside the welding and woodworking shop at Kimball High School, it's time for business.

Donning heavy dark green jackets, thick yellow leather gloves and full-faced welding helmets, not much other than experience separates Tracy Nelson's basic and advanced welding students from the professionals.

"You have to learn different types of welds," said Cole Czech, 18. "And we have to display our understanding of those welds."

The 18-year-old, who graduated in May, plans on taking some of his knowledge with him as he starts his first semester at the University of North Dakota in the aeronautical engineering program.

"It doesn't matter what field you're interested in," Czech said. "It's good to have the general know-how."

Cramped into a small portion of the shop are several styles of welders where students have to display proficiency by successfully completing 75 welds during the course. Each student has to have experience doing wire welding, arc (or stick) welding and oxy-acetylene welding.

Wire welding, a standard procedure in industry, involves using a thin wire that is fed constantly as the two pieces of metal are heated.  The thin metal creates a bond, or a weld, that holds the two pieces together. Arc or stick welding swaps out the thin wire for a metal rod to make a stronger and thicker weld. Oxy-acetylene welding uses a gas mixture of oxygen and acetylene to create a flame that is capable of melting the two metals together.

"We have about 16 to 20 students in the class," said A.J. Lerum, Kimball High School's 2016-2015 interim agricultural instructor. "We always have a rotation of students doing some welding and some preparation."

The metal used at Kimball High School is donated scrap metal from a local company.

Nelson's course takes in students with all levels of welding experience. The course is an elective available from freshman year on up.

"We want a little bit more mature students," Lerum said. "Especially since there is only one instructor."

Lerum said at the beginning of the class students learn how welding work and how to properly prepare the metal.They watch demonstrations to learn how to make the proper welds.

"You have to know the (composition) of the metal," Lerum said. "You have to get the welder set right. You have to know how thick the weld can be."

Kimball High School students are not just learning the basics of welding. They are learning how to weld up to industry standards.

"We partner with St. Cloud Technical & Community College so when students go up there they get college credit," Lerum said.

Nelson's welding courses provide students with one college credit.

It's something her student, Jacob Lindberg, 15, appreciates.

Lindberg, a junior now, said he decided to take Nelson's welding class last year because of his dad.

"My dad owned a little (welding) shop," Lindberg said. "And I would always go with him down to the shop. I sat there for hours watching him. And one day he wanted to me to try it. And I've been welding ever since."

Lindberg admits the course was pretty easy for him. But he said the knowledge will help him down the road.

"I don't know what I really want to do yet. I could be a mechanic or a welder, both are good careers. But welding is a good skill to learn," he said.

Fellow classmate Kade Reddemann, 16, came into Nelson's class with little welding experience.

A junior now, Reddemann said friends influenced him to take welding last spring.

But for him, welding has sparked a new hobby for him. Especially when it comes to stick welding.

"It's like melting butter on a piece of metal," he said. "It takes a lot of practice and a lot of patience. If you go too fast it's not good. If you go too slow it's not good either."

Reddemann said he spent most of his after-school free time in the shop working on welds. And that work paid off.

"I was one of three students to get extra credit on a weld," he said.

Lerum knows that not all of the students taking basic or advanced welding will become welders or going into the welding field. But what he does know is that students taking Nelson's course are excited to learn and challenge themselves with this very hands-on class.

"The students enjoy doing this," he said. "And they know there is opportunity for employment (in this field)."

Follow Vicki Ikeogu on Twitter @VickiSCTimes or on Facebook at facebook.com/sctimesvicki. Call her at 259-3662. Get complete SPARK coverage at www.sctimes.com/spark.

The welding profession is one of the most in-demand careers in Central Minnesota. Several area colleges offer training in this field and have a nearly 100 percent placement rate. Here is a short summary.

Please note each program has different criteria and expectations for its graduates. 

• Alexandria Technical & Community College offers a 44-credit welding program with a 100 percent placement rate. Costs for the program are about $158.94 per credit, not including student fees.

• Central Lakes College offers two welding programs. The first is a 45-credit welding and fabrication diploma, which averages a 97 percent placement rate. The second program is a 60-credit welding and fabrication associate degree. This program has a 100 percent placement rate. Both have tuition costs of $194.10 per credit, not including student fees.

• Ridgewater College offers three welding programs. The first is a 72-credit welding associate degree. The second program is a 64-credit welding diploma. The third is a 34-credit one-year welding diploma. All have a 100 percent placement rate. Tuition costs, including fees, range between $179.14 and $199.54 per credit.

• St. Cloud Technical & Community College offers a 37-credit welding diploma program. This program has a 100 percent placement rate. Tuition costs are $176.48 per credit, not including student fees.

Not sure what it's like to be a welder? Well, students at Kimball High School have a pretty good idea. Times reporter Vicki Ikeogu and photojournalist Kimm Anderson got an up-close look at Tracy Nelson's welding course and saw how high school students were learning how to weld like pros. Check out the video at sctimes.com. 

On Oct. 2, Times Media will explore the machining profession. Our coverage will include a conversation with computer numerical control machine operator and business owner Al Scherping of CNC COPS LLC and a profile of Talon Innovations of Sauk Rapids. On Oct. 3, Times Media  will feature the Foley High School CNC program that allows students to learn firsthand how to work a CNC plasma cutter.

Throughout the 2016-17 school year, Times Media will dive into several different career options that require at most an associate degree from a technical and/or community college.

After CNC machining, planned coverage includes robotics and mechatronics, Nov. 6-7; plumbing and electrical, Dec. 4-5; carpentry, Jan. 1-2; automotive and trucking, Feb. 5-6; service industries/hospitality, March 5-6; managerial and business management, April 2-3; and health care May 7-8 and June 4-5.

Explore other career options for free with our online tool and stay up-to-date on the latest Spark news by visiting www.sctimes.com/spark.