How to Choose the Right Electrician Trade School near Thibodaux Louisiana
The initial step to becoming an electrical tradesman or contractor is locating an electrician trade school near Thibodaux LA. But with so many technical schools to pick from, just how do you tackle making certain that you enroll in the best one? Especially since there are a number of points to evaluate. For example, some prospective students will begin by searching for schools that are close to their residence. After they have located several that are within driving range, they will choose the one with the most affordable tuition. While location and cost are of importance, they are not the only qualifications that need to be examined. Also important are the accreditation and reputations of the schools, as well as their graduation and job placement rates. These and additional qualifiers should influence your final judgment when picking an electrician training school. We will address that checklist in greater detail later in this article. But first, let’s review a little bit about being an electrician and the training options that are available.
Click Here to Get Free Information on Electrician Schools Near You!
Electrician Degree, Certificate and Diploma Options
There are multiple approaches to receive electrician training in a trade or technical school near Thibodaux LA. You may enroll in a certificate or diploma program, or receive an Associate Degree. Bachelor’s Degrees are obtainable at certain schools, but are not as common as the first three options. Often these programs are offered combined with an apprenticeship program, which are required by most states to be licensed or if you wish to become certified. Following are short summaries of the 3 most common programs available.
- Diploma and Certificate Programs are typically offered by Louisiana technical and trade schools and take about a year to complete. They provide a solid foundation and are aimed towards individuals who want to enter an apprenticeship faster as a journeyman electrician.
- Associate Degree Programs require 2 years to complete and are provided by Louisiana community colleges, commonly as an Associate Degree in Electrical Technology. They furnish a more comprehensive education while supplying the foundation that prepares students to begin their apprenticeship program.
As earlier mentioned, Bachelor’s Degrees are available at certain Louisiana colleges, but are less popular at 4 years than the other shorter programs. The majority of states require that an apprenticeship of at least 2 years and in most cases 4 years be performed before licensing. Because of that, the majority of students are eager to begin their paid apprenticeship, especially if it’s not part of their educational program.
Electrician Licensing and Certification Requirements
Electricians in Thibodaux LA 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 concluding an apprenticeship, journeyman electricians are required to become licensed in the majority of municipalities and states. The length of apprenticeship differs by state, but normally about four to five years of practical experience is required in order to take the licensing exam. The exams typically test electrical theory and general knowledge, in addition to knowledge of the National Electrical Code (NEC). Receiving certification is also a voluntary method for an electrician to identify her or himself as a experienced and skilled professional. The certifications available vary by state and may be earned in various specialties, such as cable splicing as an example. The certification procedure in most cases entails 3 levels of proficiency:
- An experience requirement
- Passing a written exam
- Passing a practical exam
Examples of certifying organizations include the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (NJATC) and also the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET). It’s crucial that the electrician vocational school that you choose not only furnishes a solid academic foundation, but also helps prep you for passing any licensing and certification exams that you may need to pass in the future.
Attending Electrician Programs Online
An alternative that you might have considered is enrolling in an electrician online school to earn a certificate or degree. Even though online schools have become more popular as a way of attending class without the need for travel, in this case they are not completely internet based. Virtually all electrician schools require some attendance on-campus to obtain practical hands-on training. But since the remainder of the classes can be attended online, distance learning might be a more convenient option for individuals that have limited time for education. And as an added benefit numerous online training programs have a reduced tuition cost compared to their on campus counterparts. Driving expenses from Thibodaux LA are also reduced and some of the study materials may be accessed online also. Each of these benefits can make electrician online tech schools more economical and convenient. And a number are fully accredited, which we will deal with in our due diligence checklist.
Topics to Ask Electrician Training Schools
Once you have decided to obtain a certificate, diploma or degree, you can start to refine your school options. Because there are so many electrician tech and trade schools in the Thibodaux LA region, it’s important to have a checklist of criteria that each program must satisfy. The initial 2 that we talked about were location and tuition expense. If you have an interest in earning an online degree, then that must be a feature that your final school offers. And although all three qualifiers may be critical when making your decision, there are additional factors that must be considered also. Below is a checklist of those added qualifiers that you will need to analyze prior to enrolling in an electrical trade school.
Accreditation. Numerous electrician vocational programs have attained either a regional or a national accreditation. They can earn Institutional Accreditation, which involves the school’s programs as a whole, or Programmatic Accreditation, which relates to an individual program, for example electrical technology. Verify that the Thibodaux LA 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 obtain a superior education, it can assist in acquiring financial aid or student loans, which are in many cases not available for non-accredited schools. Furthermore, some states mandate that the electrician training course be accredited in order to qualify for licensing.
High Completion and Placement Rates. Ask the electrician schools you are reviewing what their completion rates are. The completion rate is the percentage of students who enroll in and finish the course. A lower completion rate may indicate that students were unhappy with the course and dropped out. It may also indicate that the teachers were not competent to train the students. It’s similarly important that the schools have high job placement rates. Older and/or more reputable schools may have a more extensive directory of alumni, which can mean 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 an excellent reputation within the trade, but additionally that it has the network of contacts to assist Thibodaux LA graduates secure apprenticeships or jobs.
Apprenticeship Programs. Numerous electrician trade programs are taught in conjunction with an internship or an apprenticeship program. Those participating trade and vocational programs will help place you in an apprenticeship program inside their network of electrician businesses or trade unions. Ask if the schools you are reviewing have working relationships with Thibodaux LA area electricians or electrical contractors. An apprenticeship not only provides a valuable experience by supplying practical training, but it also supplies employment opportunities and helps to form relationships in the regional electrician professional community.
Modern Facilities. Make sure that the campus facilities and the equipment that you will be instructed on are up-to-date and what you will be working with in the field. If you are currently in an internship or an apprenticeship, talk to the electrical technician you are working with concerning what you should be looking for. If not, ask a local Thibodaux LA electrical company if they can give you some tips. Additionally bear in mind that unless you can relocate, the school needs to be within driving distance of your Thibodaux home. Remember that if you decide to attend an out-of-state school, besides the added moving costs there might be increased tuition charges compared to in-state residents.
Smaller Classes. It’s desirable that you get as much personalized instruction as possible, which can be challenging in bigger classes. Ask if you can sit in on a few of the classes so that you can see how large they are and witness first hand the interaction between instructors and students. Talk with a few of the students and get their opinions relating to class sizes and instruction. Last, talk with a few of the instructors and find out what their level of expertise is and what degrees or certifications they hold.
Flexible Scheduling. Make sure that the class schedules for the programs you are evaluating are flexible enough to handle your needs. If you are only able to go to classes at night or on weekends near Thibodaux LA, verify that the schools you are comparing provide those options. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, make sure that the school you select permits part-time enrollment. Finally, check out what the protocol is to make-up classes should you miss any due to work, sickness or family emergencies.
Good Electrician Schools Thibodaux Louisiana
Picking the best electrician training program 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 Good Electrician Schools and wanting more information on the topic Become A Licensed Electrician. But as we have covered in this article, there are many factors that you will need to evaluate and compare between the training programs you are considering. It’s a prerequisite that any electrician tech school that you are considering includes a lot of hands-on training. Classes need to be smaller in size and each student should have their personal equipment to train with. Classroom instruction should provide a real-world perspective, and the training program should be current and in-line with industry standards. Courses differ in duration and the kind of credential offered, so you will need to decide what length of program and certificate or degree will best serve your needs. Each training program provides different possibilities for certification also. Perhaps the best way to research your short list of schools is to go to each campus and talk with the students and faculty. Invest some time to sit in on some classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the school you pick is the ideal one for you. With the right training, hard work and commitment, the final result will be a new occupation as a professional electrician in Thibodaux LA.
More Electric Locations in Louisiana
Thibodaux, Louisiana
Thibodaux (/ˈtɪbədoʊ/ TIB-ə-doh) is a city in and the parish seat of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States,[4] along the banks of Bayou Lafourche in the northwestern part of the parish. The population was 14,567 at the 2010 census. Thibodaux is a principal city of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The first European colonists were French, who settled here in the 18th century when the area was claimed as part of La Louisiane. They imported African slaves as workers and developed sugar cane plantations.
This was incorporated as a town in 1830 under the name Thibodauxville, in honor of local planter Henry Schuyler Thibodaux. He provided land for the village center and served as acting governor of Louisiana in 1824.[5] The area was developed in the antebellum period for sugar cane plantations, and Thibodaux was the trading center of the agricultural area. The name was changed to Thibodeaux in 1838. The current spelling Thibodaux was officially adopted in 1918.
Business Results 1 - 10 of 8
3 Reviews 
2 Reviews 
1 Reviews 1 Reviews 1 Reviews 
33 Reviews 
1 Reviews 
24 Reviews 