As one of the increasingly stable locations for dislocated and unemployed workers to go into, the industry of welding has seen a definite rise in applications for students in vocational schools that have welding programs. The top priority for most of the people who are looking to attend welding school is the cost of welding school, and this is definitely a major concern with many people having to deal with the implications of a volatile economy and an unstable job market. There are two major distinctions of welding schools when it comes to costs. There are welding schools that are administered by vocational schools, and there are also welding schools that are administered by the more traditional university and college system. The cost of welding school is definitely lower if it is administered by vocational school and if it is administered by a university or college system. The reason for this is that the University and College administration of the welding school is most likely only a small part of the amount of programs affiliated with the university or college. A part of the tuition that a person would pay for attending the welding school would go towards all of the programs that aren't ministered by that university or college. However, with a vocational school that only deals specifically with a welding program, the entire tuition goes towards the cost of welding school and no other program. This is highly attractive for many workers who have been identified as unemployable or dislocated, or those who have recently returned from service in the armed forces and are looking for a way to incorporate themselves back into civilian life. These people are usually very motivated when it comes to paying the cost of welding school, but many banks will not give them loans for university programs, which continue to go up in cost year after year. Faced with this decision, many people choose to go to welding schools at vocational programs. This is advantageous for many reasons, including the increased flexibility of a vocational program, as well as the lower cost of the vocational program as compared to a university.