How to Pick the Best Electrician Trade School near Glen Ellyn Illinois
The first step to learning to be an electrical tradesman or contractor is locating an electrician trade school near Glen Ellyn IL. But with so many technical schools to pick from, just how do you undertake making sure that you enroll in the ideal one? Particularly since there are so many variables to examine. For example, many prospective students will commence by looking for schools that are close to their residence. After they have located several that are within driving distance, they will decide on the one with the cheapest tuition. Although location and cost are of importance, they are not the only factors that must be examined. Also important are the reputations of the schools, their accreditation, along with their job placement and graduation rates. These and additional qualifiers should influence your ultimate decision when selecting an electrician school. We will address that checklist in greater detail later in this article. But to begin with, let’s talk a little bit about becoming an electrician and the training choices that are available.
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Electrician Degree, Diploma and Certificate Programs
There are three general ways to receive electrician instruction in a technical or vocational school near Glen Ellyn IL. You can select a certificate or diploma program, or receive an Associate Degree. Bachelor’s Degrees are available at some schools, but are not as common as the first three options. Frequently these programs are made available combined with an apprenticeship, which are mandated by most states in order to become licensed or if you wish to become certified. Following are brief summaries of the three most common programs offered.
- Certificate and Diploma Programs are generally offered by Illinois vocational and trade schools and require about a year to finish. They furnish a good foundation and are geared towards individuals who want to join an apprenticeship more quickly as a journeyman electrician.
- Associate Degree Programs take two years to complete and are provided by Illinois community colleges, typically as an Associate Degree in Electrical Technology. They offer a more extensive education while supplying the foundation that readies students to begin their apprenticeship program.
As previously mentioned, Bachelor’s Degrees are available at some Illinois colleges, but are less preferred at four years than the other briefer programs. The majority of states mandate that an apprenticeship of no less than 2 years and in most cases four years be completed prior to licensing. For that reason, many students are anxious to commence their paid apprenticeship, especially if it’s not part of their academic program.
Electrician License and Certification Criteria
Electricians in Glen Ellyn IL can undertake a wide range of tasks, such as testing, installing and replacing electrical systems, and ensuring that the wiring in houses and buildings are up to code standards. After finishing an apprenticeship, journeyman electricians are mandated to become licensed in the majority of states or municipalities. The duration of apprenticeship varies by state, but typically about four to five years of practical experience is required before taking the licensing exam. The exams commonly test electrical theory and general knowledge, as well as understanding of the National Electrical Code (NEC). Receiving certification is also an optional way for an electrician to identify her or himself as a skilled and experienced professional. The certifications offered differ by state and may be obtained in several specialties, such as cable splicing as an example. The certification process usually entails 3 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 crucial that the electrician tech school that you select not only delivers a solid academic foundation, but also helps ready you for passing any licensing and certification examinations that you may be required to take in the future.
Attending Electrician Training Classes Online
An alternative that you may have looked at is choosing an online electrician school to earn a certificate or degree. Although online schools are becoming more accepted as a means of attending class without the need for travel, in this case they are not entirely internet based. Pretty much all electrician schools require some attendance on campus to obtain hands-on practical training. But since the remainder of the classes may be attended online, distance learning can be a more practical choice for individuals that have minimal time for education. And as an added benefit numerous online schools have a cheaper tuition cost compared to their traditional competitors. Driving costs from Glen Ellyn IL are also minimized and a portion of the study materials may be accessed online also. Each of these advantages can make electrician online trade schools more affordable and convenient. And a number are fully accredited, which we will address in our due diligence checklist.
What to Ask Electrician Tech Schools
Once you have decided to obtain a certificate, diploma or degree, you can begin to refine your training options. Since there are so many electrician tech and trade schools in the Glen Ellyn IL area, it’s essential to have a checklist of qualifications 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 degree online, then that needs to be a feature that your chosen school offers. And even though all three qualifiers may be crucial when making your determination, there are other variables that need to be considered also. Following is a checklist of those additional qualifications that you will need to analyze before enrolling in an electrical vocational school.
Accreditation. Numerous electrician technical programs have earned either a regional or a national accreditation. They can attain Institutional Accreditation, which focuses on the school’s programs overall, or Programmatic Accreditation, which pertains to an individual program, such as electrical technology. Make certain that the Glen Ellyn IL program and school are accredited by a U.S. Department of Education approved accrediting organization, for example the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Along with helping ensure that you acquire a quality education, it can help in obtaining financial assistance or student loans, which are in many cases not available for non-accredited programs. Also, some states mandate that the electrician training course be accredited for it to qualify for licensing.
High Completion and Placement Rates. Ask the electrician schools you are looking at what their completion rates are. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students who enroll in and complete the program. A low completion rate might suggest that students were dissatisfied with the program and dropped out. It might also mean 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 graduates, which can mean more contacts for the school to utilize 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 industry, but also that it has the network of contacts to help Glen Ellyn IL grads secure apprenticeships or jobs.
Apprenticeship Programs. Many electrician vocational programs are taught together with an internship or an apprenticeship program. Those participating trade and vocational schools will help place you in an apprenticeship program inside their network of electrical companies or trade unions. Find out if the schools you are comparing have referring partnerships with Glen Ellyn IL area electricians or electrical contractors. An apprenticeship not only offers a valuable experience by providing hands-on training, but it also provides job opportunities and helps to form relationships in the local electrician professional community.
Modern Facilities. Make sure that the school facilities and the tools that you will be trained on are up-to-date and what you will be using in the field. If you are presently in an internship or an apprenticeship, check with the electrical technician you are working under concerning what you should be looking for. If not, ask a local Glen Ellyn IL electrical contracting company if they can provide some pointers. Additionally keep in mind that unless you are able to move, the school must be within commuting distance of your Glen Ellyn residence. Take note that if you decide to attend an out-of-state school, in addition to relocation costs there can 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 bigger classes. Ask if you can monitor a couple of the classes so that you can see how big they are and experience the interaction between students and teachers. Talk with several of the students and get their feedback relating to class sizes and instruction. Finally, speak to a few of the instructors and find out what their level of experience is and what certifications or degrees they hold.
Flexible Scheduling. Make sure that the class schedules for the schools you are reviewing are flexible enough to meet your needs. If you are only able to attend classes at night or on weekends near Glen Ellyn IL, verify that the programs you are reviewing offer those choices. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, make sure that the school you select allows part-time enrollment. Finally, ask what the policy is to make-up classes should you miss any due to work, sickness or family emergencies.
Electrician Course Glen Ellyn Illinois
Selecting the best electrician training program will probably be the most critical decision you will make to start your new trade. You originally came to this website due to an interest in Electrician Course and wanting more information on the topic Electrician Education And Training. But as we have covered in this article, there are a number of factors that you will need to assess and compare among the training programs you are considering. It’s a must that any electrical tech school that you are evaluating includes a good deal of hands-on training. Classes should be small in size and every student should have their own equipment to train with. Classroom teaching should offer a real-world perspective, and the curriculum should be up-to-date and in-line with industry standards. Courses differ in length and the type of credential offered, so you will need to determine what length of program and certificate or degree will best fulfill your needs. Each program offers unique options for certification as well. Probably The ideal way to research your short list of schools is to go to each campus and speak with the faculty and students. Take the time to sit in on a few 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 right training, hard work and dedication, the end result will be a new career as a professional electrician in Glen Ellyn IL.
More Electric Locations in Illinois
Glen Ellyn, Illinois
The first landowner in Glen Ellyn was Deacon Winslow Churchill. He and his family moved to Glen Ellyn from New York in 1834. Other newcomers to the area built town necessities such as a tavern and school.[5]
Moses Stacy, a soldier in the War of 1812, arrived here in 1835. His inn, Stacy's Tavern, built in 1846 and his second home, was a halfway stop between Chicago and the Fox River Valley and a probable stop for Galena, Illinois stagecoaches on their way to Rockford, Illinois. Stacy's Tavern, now a historical monument, stands at what is now the intersection of Geneva Road and Main Street.[6]
In 1849, construction of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad through Glen Ellyn was finished. The area around the railroad became the center of the town. At first, trains running through the town on the railway did not stop there. A local man named Lewey Q. Newton made an offer to the railroad company: Newton would build a depot and water tank out of his own pocket if the railroad would require trains to stop there. The depot that Newton built became known as Newtown Station.[5]
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