The pace of online training programs is advancing every day. More online schools open all the time, with opportunities in almost every field. However, there will always be those courses that can't be completed online due to their hands-on, physical nature. Welder, automotive technician, and phlebotomist are just three career choices that are difficult or impossible to achieve with online training.
Welder
Welding is just as much an artform as a science or skill. Being a good welder takes more than just knowledge about different metals, shielding gasses, and techniques. An apprentice learns, under the watchful eyes of an experienced teacher, how to make a pass and weld a straight, steady bead. The skills associated with proper welding techniques take time and practice and cannot be learned alone. Furthermore, welding isn't cheap.
While a home welding setup can be acquired fairly inexpensively, having access to the three main types of welding machine (stick, MIG, and TIG) and the raw materials necessary to practice with them (rods, wire, and plates) runs into real money. Welding academies typically include materials in the cost of enrollment or else charge a materials fee in addition to tuition. These schools can provide materials much more cheaply than a student could acquire them by buying in bulk. Welding also carries with it certain risks, dealing with high heat and electricity, as well as sharp pieces of metal.
Students are usually required to purchase their own personal safety gear (welding mask, gloves, fireproof smock or shirt), but the knowledge of how to use that gear to maximum effectiveness and what procedures to follow to avoid injury is something that only a qualified instructor can give. Finally, the American Welding Society, the certifying body for welders of all types in America, requires on-site testing which must be administered by a qualified representative, then X-ray tested to measure the welder's competence.
Automotive Technician
Though not as technique-based as welding, automotive technician is another field for which complete almost online training is almost impossible to get. Some online schools may offer online training for certain elements of the automotive technician program, such as terminology, electrical theory, or basic systems information (brakes, engines, etc.), but the in-depth, hands-on part of the training cannot be undertaken alone.
First of all, in order to reliably service an automobile, a technician must be intimately familiar with all its different parts in a direct capacity. How can a technician be expected to do an oil change or tire rotation on a customer's car if he or she has only seen the process explained on a computer screen? In-person career training schools have complete working garages full of modern equipment and vehicles specifically set aside for students to take apart and put back together during the learning process.
Additionally ASE, or (the National Institute for) Automotive Service Excellence, which is the certifying body for automotive technicians in the United States, has strict guidelines for training programs, all of which require instructor supervision. In order to qualify for higher-level certification exams, students must have a minimum of two years of work experience. That's something that you can't get online.
