How to Select the Best Electrician Training School near Saint Petersburg Florida
The first step to becoming an electrical contractor or tradesman is finding an electrician trade school near Saint Petersburg FL. But with so many vocational schools to pick from, just how do you go about making sure that you enroll in the ideal one? Particularly because there are a number of points to examine. For instance, many potential students will start by searching for schools that are close to their home. Once they have located several that are within commuting range, they will decide on the one with the cheapest tuition. Even though cost and location are important, they are not the sole things that need to be evaluated. Also important are the reputations of the schools, their accreditation, along with their job placement and graduation rates. These and additional qualifiers should contribute toward your ultimate decision when choosing an electrician school. We will talk about that checklist in greater detail later in this post. But first, let’s review a little bit about being an electrician and the educational options that are accessible.
Click Here to Get Free Information on Electrician Schools Near You!
Electrician Degree, Diploma and Certificate Programs
There are several approaches to get electrician instruction in a technical or vocational school near Saint Petersburg FL. You can enroll in a certificate or diploma program, or earn an Associate Degree. Bachelor’s Degrees are offered at certain schools, but are not as common as the first three options. In many cases these programs are made available together with an apprenticeship, which are mandated by the majority of states to become licensed or if you wish to become certified. Following are brief descriptions of the 3 most typical programs available.
- Diploma and Certificate Programs are usually provided by Florida technical and trade schools and require approximately a year to complete. They provide a good foundation and are geared towards students who wish to join an apprenticeship more quickly as a journeyman electrician.
- Associate Degrees require two years to finish and are provided by Florida community colleges, commonly as an Associate Degree in Electrical Technology. They offer a more extensive education while supplying the foundation that prepares students to begin their apprenticeship program.
As previously stated, Bachelor’s Degrees are available at certain Florida institutions, but are less popular at 4 years than the other briefer programs. The majority of states require that an apprenticeship of at least 2 years and in most cases 4 years be completed prior to licensing. Therefore, the majority of students are anxious to begin their paid apprenticeship, especially if it’s not a component of their educational program.
Electrician Certification and Licensing Guidelines
Electricians in Saint Petersburg FL can undertake a vast array of duties, including testing, installing and replacing electrical systems, and making sure that the wiring in buildings and homes are up to code standards. After concluding an apprenticeship, journeyman electricians are required to be licensed in the majority of municipalities and states. The length of apprenticeship differs by state, but commonly around 4 to 5 years of prior experience is required in order to take the licensing examination. The exams commonly test electrical theory and general knowledge, in addition to understanding of the National Electrical Code (NEC). Receiving certification is also an optional method for an electrician to distinguish her or himself as a skilled and experienced professional. The certifications available differ by state and can be obtained in many specialties, including cable splicing as an example. The certification process usually involves three levels of competency:
- An experience requirement
- Passing a written exam
- Passing a practical exam
Examples of certifying organizations include the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (NJATC) as well as the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET). It’s imperative that the electrician vocational school that you enroll in not only provides a strong educational foundation, but also helps ready you for passing any licensing and certification examinations that you might need to take in the future.
Attending Electrician Schools Online
An alternative that you might have contemplated is choosing an electrician online school to earn a degree or a certificate. Although online schools have become more accepted as a way of attending class without the need for travel, in this instance they are not completely internet based. Just about all electrician training programs require some attendance on campus to receive hands-on practical training. But since the remainder of the classes may be attended online, distance learning can be a more practical option for individuals that have limited time for education. And as an added benefit numerous online degree programs have a reduced tuition cost compared to their on campus counterparts. Driving costs from Saint Petersburg FL are also lessened and some of the study materials may be accessed online also. Each of these advantages can make electrician online tech schools more affordable and accessible. And many are fully accredited, which we will address in our questions to ask checklist.
Questions to Ask Electrician Vocational Schools
Now that you have made a decision to earn a diploma, certificate or degree, you can start to focus your training options. Because there are so many electrician trade and vocational schools in the Saint Petersburg FL area, it’s imperative to have a checklist of criteria that each program must satisfy. The first 2 that we talked about were location and tuition expense. If you have an interest in earning an online degree, then that needs to be a feature that your chosen school offers. And although all three qualifiers may be important when making your decision, there are additional variables that must be considered as well. Following is a checklist of those added qualifications that you will need to analyze before choosing an electrical tech school.
Accreditation. A large number of electrician trade programs have attained either a regional or a national accreditation. They may acquire Institutional Accreditation, which involves the school’s programs as a whole, or Programmatic Accreditation, which pertains to a specific program, such as electrical technology. Confirm that the Saint Petersburg FL program is accredited by a U.S. Department of Education approved accrediting organization, for instance the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. In addition to helping make certain that you acquire an excellent education, it can help in obtaining financial aid or student loans, which are frequently unavailable for non-accredited programs. Furthermore, a number of states require that the electrician training program be accredited for it to be approved for licensing.
High Completion and Placement Rates. Ask the electrician training programs you are considering what their completion rates are. The completion rate is the percentage of students who enroll in and complete the course. A low completion rate might indicate that students were disappointed with the course and dropped out. It may also indicate that the instructors were not competent to train the students. It’s also important that the schools have higher job placement rates. Older and/or more reputable schools may have a more extensive directory of alumni, which can result in more contacts for the school to use for their apprenticeship and job placement programs. A high job placement rate can not only confirm that the school has a good reputation within the field, but also that it has the network of contacts to assist Saint Petersburg FL graduates secure apprenticeships or jobs.
Apprenticeship Programs. Many electrician trade programs are taught together with an internship or an apprenticeship program. Those participating trade and vocational programs will help place you in an apprenticeship program within their network of electrical contractors or labor unions. Check if the schools you are considering have referring partnerships with Saint Petersburg FL area electricians or electrical contractors. An apprenticeship not only provides a rewarding experience by providing practical training, but it also furnishes job opportunities and helps to form relationships in the area electrician professional community.
Modern Facilities. Make sure that the campus facilities and the tools that you will be instructed on are up-to-date and what you will be working with on the job. If you are currently in an internship or an apprenticeship, talk to the electrical specialist you are working with concerning what you should be looking for. If not, ask a local Saint Petersburg FL electrical company if they can give you some pointers. Also keep in mind that unless you are willing to move, the school must be within driving distance of your Saint Petersburg residence. Take note that if you decide to enroll in an out-of-state school, besides the added moving costs there may be increased tuition charges compared to in-state residents.
Smaller Classes. It’s important that you get as much individualized instruction as possible, which can be difficult in larger classes. Ask if you can monitor a couple of the classes so that you can see how large they are and witness first hand the interaction between instructors and students. Talk to a few of the students and get their feedback relating to class sizes and instruction. Last, talk to a few of the instructors and find out what their level of experience is and what degrees or certifications they hold.
Flexible Scheduling. Make sure that the class schedules for the schools you are reviewing are flexible enough to fulfill your needs. If you are only able to attend classes in the evening or on weekends near Saint Petersburg FL, check that the schools you are looking at provide those options. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, be sure that the school you select allows part-time enrollment. Additionally, check out what the protocol is to make-up classes should you miss any due to work, sickness or family emergencies.
Electrician Training Programs Saint Petersburg Florida
Selecting the right electrical trade school will probably be the most critical decision you will make to launch your new profession. You originally came to this website due to an interest in Electrician Training Programs and wanting more information on the topic Electric College. But as we have covered in this article, there are many things that you will need to examine and compare between the training programs you are considering. It’s a must that any electrical tech school that you are considering includes a lot of hands-on training. Classes should be small in size and every student should have their personal equipment to train with. Classroom teaching should provide a real-world frame of reference, and the training program should be up-to-date and in-line with industry standards. Training programs differ in duration and the kind of credential offered, so you will need to decide what length of program and credential will best fulfill your needs. Each training program provides unique options for certification also. Probably The ideal way to research your short list of schools is to check out each campus and speak with the students and instructors. Invest some time to attend some classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the training program you decide on is the best one for you. With the proper training, effort and dedication, the end outcome will be a new trade as a professional electrician in Saint Petersburg FL.
More Electric Locations in Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2015 census estimate, the population was 257,083,[3] making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the largest in the state that is not a county seat (the city of Clearwater is the seat of Pinellas County).[8]
St. Petersburg is the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. Together with Clearwater, these cities comprise the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area, the second-largest in Florida with a population of around 2.8 million.[9] St. Petersburg is located on the Pinellas peninsula between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, and is connected to mainland Florida to the north.[10]
St. Petersburg was founded in 1888 by John C. Williams, who purchased the land, and by Peter Demens, who brought the railroad industry into the area.[11][12] As a part of a coin toss bet, the winner, Peter Demens, named the land after Saint Petersburg, Russia, while Williams opted to name the first hotel built which was named the Detroit Hotel, both named after their home towns respectively.[13] St. Petersburg was incorporated as a town on February 29, 1892 and re-incorporated as a city on June 6, 1903.[11][14]
Business Results 1 - 10 of 185
18 Reviews 
9 Reviews 
15 Reviews 
16 Reviews 
26 Reviews 
1 Reviews 
16 Reviews 3 Reviews 
2 Reviews 
13 Reviews 