How to Find the Best Electrician Technical School near Austin Texas
The initial step to learning to be an electrical tradesman or contractor is enrolling in an electrician trade school near Austin TX. But with so many vocational schools to select from, just how do you go about making sure that you enroll in the ideal one? Especially since there are a number of factors to evaluate. For instance, many prospective students will start by looking for schools that are close to their home. Once they have found a few that are within driving distance, they will choose the one with the least expensive tuition. Although cost and location are of importance, they are not the only things that must be considered. Also critical are the reputations of the schools, their accreditation, along with their job placement and graduation rates. These and additional qualifiers should help mold your ultimate judgment when selecting an electrician school. We will talk about that checklist in more detail later in this post. But to begin with, let’s review a little bit about being an electrician and the instructional options that are accessible.
Click Here to Get Free Information on Electrician Schools Near You!
Electrician Degree, Certificate and Diploma Programs
There are multiple approaches to receive electrician training in a trade or technical school near Austin TX. You can enroll in a diploma or certificate program, or earn an Associate Degree. Bachelor’s Degrees are available at some schools, but are not as prevalent as the first three alternatives. Frequently these programs are offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship, which are required by the majority of states to become licensed or if you want to earn certification. Following are brief summaries of the 3 most typical programs offered.
- Certificate and Diploma Programs are generally offered by Texas vocational and trade schools and take about a year to finish. They furnish a good foundation and are aimed towards individuals who would like to join an apprenticeship more quickly as a journeyman electrician.
- Associate Degree Programs require two years to finish and are provided by Texas junior or community colleges, usually as an Associate Degree in Electrical Technology. They provide a more extensive education while supplying the foundation that prepares students to enter into their apprenticeship program.
As earlier mentioned, Bachelor’s Degrees are available at certain Texas colleges, but are less popular at 4 years than the other shorter programs. Many states mandate that an apprenticeship of at least 2 years and in most cases 4 years be performed prior to licensing. For that reason, most students are anxious to begin their paid apprenticeship, especially if it’s not part of their educational program.
Electrician Certification and Licensing Criteria
Electricians in Austin TX can carry out a vast array of functions, such as installing, replacing and testing electrical systems, and ensuring that the wiring in buildings and homes comply with code standards. After concluding an apprenticeship, journeyman electricians are mandated to become licensed in the majority of states or municipalities. The duration of apprenticeship differs by state, but normally about 4 to 5 years of experience is needed in order to take the licensing exam. The exams typically evaluate electrical theory and general knowledge, along with understanding of the National Electrical Code (NEC). Receiving certification is also an optional means for an electrician to differentiate him or herself as a experienced and skilled professional. The certifications available differ by state and may be earned in many specialties, such as cable splicing as an example. The certification procedure in most cases entails 3 levels of competency:
- An experience requirement
- Passing a written exam
- Passing a practical exam
Examples of certifying agencies 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 tech school that you enroll in not only provides a strong academic foundation, but also helps ready you for passing any certification and licensing exams that you may need to pass in the future.
Attending Electrician Schools Online
An option that you may have considered is enrolling in an electrician online program to earn a degree or a certificate. While online training programs are becoming more popular as a means of attending class without the need for travel, in this case they are not totally internet based. Just about all electrician schools require some attendance on campus to get practical hands-on training. But since the rest of the classes may be attended online, distance learning may be a more practical choice for individuals that have minimal time for education. And as a bonus many online degree programs have a reduced tuition cost compared to their on-campus competitors. Travelling expenses from Austin TX are also minimized and some of the study materials can be accessed online also. All of these advantages can make electrician online trade schools more affordable and accessible. And a number are fully accredited, which we will deal with in our due diligence checklist.
Questions to Ask Electrician Vocational Schools
Now that you have decided to earn a certificate, diploma or degree, you can begin to focus your training options. Because there are so many electrician trade and vocational schools in the Austin TX area, it’s imperative to have a checklist of criteria that each program must satisfy. The first two that we talked about were location and the cost of tuition. If you have an interest in earning an online degree, then that must be an option that your final school offers. And although all three qualifiers may be important when making your determination, there are additional factors that must be considered as well. Following is a checklist of those additional qualifiers that you will need to research prior to enrolling in an electrical technical school.
Accreditation. A large number of electrician trade schools have attained either a regional or a national accreditation. They can attain Institutional Accreditation, which involves the school’s programs as a whole, or Programmatic Accreditation, which pertains to a specific program, for instance electrical technology. Verify that the Austin TX school is accredited by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting organization, for instance the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Along with helping ensure that you get a superior education, it can assist in acquiring financial aid or student loans, which are frequently not available for non-accredited programs. Additionally, many states require that the electrician training course be accredited for it to be approved for licensing.
High Completion and Placement Rates. Ask the electrician schools you are reviewing what their completion rates are. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students who enroll in and complete the course. A lower completion rate could indicate that students were disappointed with the course and dropped out. It could also mean that the teachers were not competent to instruct the students. It’s also essential that the schools have higher job placement rates. Older and/or more reputable schools may have a more extensive directory of graduates, which can result in more contacts for the school to employ for their apprenticeship and job placement programs. A high job placement rate will not only confirm that the school has an excellent reputation within the industry, but additionally that it has the network of contacts to assist Austin TX students secure apprenticeships or employment.
Apprenticeship Programs. Most electrician trade programs are taught in conjunction 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 Austin TX area electricians or electrical professionals. An apprenticeship not only provides a rewarding experience by supplying practical training, but it also provides employment opportunities and helps to build relationships in the area electrician professional community.
Modern Facilities. Confirm that the campus facilities and the equipment that you will be instructed on are up-to-date and what you will be using in the field. If you are already in an internship or an apprenticeship, check with the electrical tech you are working under regarding what you should be looking for. Otherwise, ask a local Austin TX electrical company if they can give you some tips. Additionally keep in mind that unless you can relocate, the school must be within driving distance of your Austin home. Remember that if you decide to enroll in an out-of-state school, besides the added relocation costs there may be higher tuition charges compared to in-state residents.
Smaller Classes. It’s important that you receive as much individualized training as possible, which can be challenging in bigger classes. Ask if you can monitor a couple of the classes so that you can observe how large they are and experience the interaction between instructors and students. Speak to a few of the students and get their opinions regarding class sizes and instruction. Last, speak to a few of the teachers and find out what their level of experience is and what degrees or certifications they have earned.
Flexible Scheduling. Verify that the class schedules for the programs you are assessing are flexible enough to meet your needs. If you are only able to go to classes at night or on weekends near Austin TX, verify that the programs you are reviewing offer those choices. If you can only attend part-time, be sure that the school you select allows part-time enrollment. Also, check out what the protocol is to make-up classes should you miss any because of work, illness or family emergencies.
Electrician Classes Austin Texas
Selecting the best electrical trade school will probably be the most important decision you will make to start your new profession. You originally came to this website due to an interest in Electrician Classes and wanting more information on the topic Online Classes For Electrician. But as we have addressed in this article, there are several factors that you will need to examine and compare between the training programs you are considering. It’s a must that any electrician training program that you are evaluating includes a lot of hands-on training. Classes need to be smaller in size and every student should have their personal equipment to train with. Classroom teaching should offer a real-world context, and the course of study should be current and conform with industry standards. Training programs vary in duration and the type of credential provided, so you will have to decide what length of program and credential will best satisfy your needs. Each program provides different options for certification as well. Perhaps the best way to research your final list of schools is to go to each campus and talk with the students and faculty. Invest some time to attend a few classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the program you decide on is the right one for you. With the proper training, hard work and commitment, the end result will be a new trade as a professional electrician in Austin TX.
More Electric Locations in Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. It is the 11th-most populous city in the United States and the 4th-most populous city in Texas. It is also the fastest growing large city in the United States,[5][6] the second most populous state capital after Phoenix, Arizona,[7] and the southernmost state capital in the contiguous United States. As of the U.S. Census Bureau's July 1, 2017 estimate, Austin had a population of 950,715[8] up from 790,491 at the 2010 census.[3] The city is the cultural and economic center of the Austin–Round Rock metropolitan statistical area, which had an estimated population of 2,115,827 as of July 1, 2017[update]. Located in Central Texas within the greater Texas Hill Country, it is home to numerous lakes, rivers, and waterways, including Lady Bird Lake and Lake Travis on the Colorado River, Barton Springs, McKinney Falls, and Lake Walter E. Long.
In the 1830s, pioneers began to settle the area in central Austin along the Colorado River. In 1839, the site was chosen to replace Houston as the capital of the Republic of Texas and was incorporated under the name "Waterloo". Shortly afterward, the name was changed to Austin in honor of Stephen F. Austin, the "Father of Texas" and the republic's first secretary of state. The city grew throughout the 19th century and became a center for government and education with the construction of the Texas State Capitol and the University of Texas at Austin.[9] After a severe lull in economic growth from the Great Depression, Austin resumed its steady development, and by the 1990s it emerged as a center for technology and business.[10] A number of Fortune 500 companies have headquarters or regional offices in Austin including, 3M, Amazon.com, Apple Inc., Cisco, eBay, General Motors, Google, IBM, Intel, Oracle Corporation, PayPal, Texas Instruments, and Whole Foods Market.[11]Dell's worldwide headquarters is located in nearby Round Rock, a suburb of Austin.
Residents of Austin are known as Austinites.[12] They include a diverse mix of government employees, college students, musicians, high-tech workers, blue-collar workers, and a vibrant LGBT community.[13] The city's official slogan promotes Austin as "The Live Music Capital of the World", a reference to the city's many musicians and live music venues, as well as the long-running PBS TV concert series Austin City Limits.[14][15] The city also adopted "Silicon Hills" as a nickname in the 1990s due to a rapid influx of technology and development companies. In recent years, some Austinites have adopted the unofficial slogan "Keep Austin Weird",[16] which refers to the desire to protect small, unique, and local businesses from being overrun by large corporations.[17] In the late 19th century, Austin was known as the "City of the Violet Crown", because of the colorful glow of light across the hills just after sunset.[18] Even today, many Austin businesses use the term "Violet Crown" in their name. Austin is known as a "clean-air city" for its stringent no-smoking ordinances that apply to all public places and buildings, including restaurants and bars.[19]
Business Results 1 - 10 of 272
275 Reviews 
99 Reviews 
86 Reviews 
45 Reviews 
62 Reviews 
6 Reviews 
46 Reviews 
10 Reviews 
106 Reviews 
17 Reviews 