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Most Popular Precision Metal Working Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region

2023 Most Popular Precision Metal Working Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region

124 Colleges

Finding the Best Precision Metal Working Basic Certificate School for You

With 54,790 degrees and certificates handed out in 2021-2022, precision metal working is the #7 most popular major in the United States.

It's not easy to decide which trade school program to enroll in when you have so many options available. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Trade College Search has created its Most Popular Precision Metal Working Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 124 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones were the most popular basic certificate programs for trade school students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Precision Metal Working program at each school on the list.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Precision Metal Working Basic Certificate Colleges.

#1

Ivy Tech Community College

Indianapolis, IN

Our analysis found Ivy Tech Community College to be the most popular school for precision metal working students who want to pursue a basic certificate in the Great Lakes Region . Ivy Tech Community College is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Indianapolis.

Women make up 10% of the precision metal working majors at the school.

Full Precision Metal Working at Ivy Tech Community College Report

#2

Stark State College

North Canton, OH

Out of the 124 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Stark State College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Stark State College is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of North Canton.

Of the 179 students majoring in precision metal working at Stark State College, 98% are male and 2% are female.

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The in-demand basic certificate programs at Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular precision metal working schools in the Great Lakes Region . WITC is a small public school located in the rural area of Shell Lake.

About 10% of the students majoring in precision metal working at the school are women while 90% are male.

Full Precision Metal Working at Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southwestern Illinois College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Precision Metal Working Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. SWIC is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Belleville.

Of the 223 students majoring in precision metal working at SWIC, 91% are male and 9% are female.

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The in-demand basic certificate programs at Fox Valley Technical College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular precision metal working schools in the Great Lakes Region . FVTC is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Appleton.

Women make up 10% of the precision metal working majors at the school.

Read full report on Precision Metal Working at Fox Valley Technical College

Northcentral Technical College ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Precision Metal Working Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. North Central Technical College is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Wausau.

Women make up 11% of the precision metal working majors at the school.

Read full report on Precision Metal Working at Northcentral Technical College

Lewis and Clark Community College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Precision Metal Working Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Lewis and Clark Community College is a small public school located in the small suburb of Godfrey.

Of the 122 students majoring in precision metal working at Lewis and Clark Community College, 89% are male and 11% are female.

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Gateway Technical College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Precision Metal Working Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Gateway Technical College is a moderately-sized public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Kenosha.

Women make up 20% of the precision metal working majors at the school.

Full Precision Metal Working at Gateway Technical College Report

William Rainey Harper College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Precision Metal Working Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Harper College is a large public school located in the large suburb of Palatine.

Of the 45 students majoring in precision metal working at Harper College, 93% are male and 7% are female.

Full Precision Metal Working at William Rainey Harper College Report

#10

Illinois Central College

East Peoria, IL

With a ranking of #10, Illinois Central College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for precision metal working students working on their basic certificate. ICC is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of East Peoria.

Women make up 20% of the precision metal working majors at the school.

Full Precision Metal Working at Illinois Central College Report

Sauk Valley Community College ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Precision Metal Working Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Sauk Valley Community College is a small public school located in the rural area of Dixon.

Of the 39 students majoring in precision metal working at Sauk Valley Community College, 92% are male and 8% are female.

Full Precision Metal Working at Sauk Valley Community College Report

#12

Lakeshore Technical College

Cleveland, WI

Lakeshore Technical College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Precision Metal Working Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the rural area of Cleveland, LTC is a public school with a small student population.

About 10% of the students majoring in precision metal working at the school are women while 90% are male.

Full Precision Metal Working at Lakeshore Technical College Report

#13

Spoon River College

Canton, IL

With a ranking of #13, Spoon River College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for precision metal working students working on their basic certificate. Located in the rural area of Canton, SRC is a public college with a small student population.

Read More…

Lincoln College of Technology - Indianapolis came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Precision Metal Working Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the city of Indianapolis, Lincoln Tech - Indianapolis is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

Women make up 12% of the precision metal working majors at the school.

Full Precision Metal Working at Lincoln College of Technology - Indianapolis Report

Chippewa Valley Technical College ranked #13 on this year’s Most Popular Precision Metal Working Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Eau Claire, CVTC is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Women make up 12% of the precision metal working majors at the school.

Full Precision Metal Working at Chippewa Valley Technical College Report

City Colleges of Chicago - Richard J Daley College ranked #13 on this year’s Most Popular Precision Metal Working Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Richard J Daley College is a small public school located in the large city of Chicago.

Women make up 12% of the precision metal working majors at the school.

Read More…

#17

Owens Community College

Perrysburg, OH

Owens Community College came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Precision Metal Working Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the suburb of Perrysburg, Owens State Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Women make up 13% of the precision metal working majors at the school.

Read More…

Moraine Valley Community College ranked #18 on this year’s Most Popular Precision Metal Working Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. MVCC is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Palos Hills.

About 14% of the students majoring in precision metal working at the school are women while 86% are male.

Read full report on Precision Metal Working at Moraine Valley Community College

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Precision Metal Working Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
19 Polaris Career Center Middleburg Heights, OH
20 Lincoln Land Community College Springfield, IL
21 Joliet Junior College Joliet, IL
22 Hobart Institute of Welding Technology Troy, OH
22 Waukesha County Technical College Pewaukee, WI
24 Rend Lake College Ina, IL
24 City Colleges of Chicago - Wilbur Wright College Chicago, IL
24 Moraine Park Technical College Fond du Lac, WI

Best Precision Metal Working Colleges by State

Explore the best precision metal working schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 689
Indiana 1,142
Wisconsin 1,822
Ohio 1,572
Illinois 2,199

Precision Metal Working is one of 5 different types of trade school programs to choose from.

Precision Metal Working Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Welding Technology/Welder 46,029
Machine Tool Technology/Machinist 3,181
Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) Machinist Technology/CNC Machinist 2,275
Machine Shop Technology/Assistant 1,588
Tool & Die Technology/Technician 541
Metal Fabricator 413
Sheet Metal Technology/Sheetworking 319
Ironworking/Ironworker 226
Other Precision Metal Working 218

Related Major Annual Graduates
Woodworking 435
Other Precision Production 67
Leatherworking & Upholstery 46
Precision Production Trades 44
Boilermaking 29

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 26 schools only.

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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