GNTC Welding Graduates Double Salaries in Georgia

Georgia Northwestern Technical College's Welding and Joining Technology program has placed more than 300 graduates in jobs since 2015, with recent classes seeing 75 percent employment rates.

Yosdel Castaneda, who graduated in 2024, doubled her salary when she moved from part-time work to a full-time welding position at Astec Industries in Chattanooga. She also gained health insurance and paid time off.

"I love that welding is hands-on and challenging," Castaneda said. "I'm always learning something new about how to weld certain metals and positions."

The 18- to 24-month diploma program covers Shielded Metal Arc, Gas Metal Arc, Flux Core Arc, and Gas Tungsten Arc welding, along with blueprint reading, fabrication, pipe welding, and structural plate welding.

GNTC offers the program at four locations: Floyd County Campus in Rome, Polk County College and Career Academy in Cedartown, Walker County Campus in Rock Spring, and Whitfield Murray Campus in Dalton.

Instructors Billy Brown and Shawn Daniel placed about 200 students in jobs over the past four years. Employers including Astec, Komatsu, Miller Industries, Scenic City Mechanical, and Textron contact the college to fill openings.

Cory Lewis, a GNTC graduate now working as a welder and fabricator for Komatsu America Corp. in Chattanooga, credited the instructors' teaching. "They did a great job teaching me the fundamentals to prepare me for the workforce," Lewis said.