How to Pick the Right Electrician Training School near Highland Springs Virginia
The initial step to learning to be an electrical contractor or tradesman is finding an electrician trade school near Highland Springs VA. But with so many technical schools to choose from, just how do you approach making sure that you enroll in the ideal one? Especially since there are a number of factors to consider. For instance, many students will begin by searching for schools that are nearby their residence. When they have located a few that are within commuting range, they will decide on the one with the cheapest tuition. Even though cost and location are significant, they are not the sole qualifications that should be examined. Also important are the reputations of the schools, their accreditation, along with their job placement and graduation rates. These and other qualifiers should help mold your final judgment when picking an electrician trade school. We will cover that checklist in more detail later in this post. But first, let’s talk a little bit about being an electrician and the educational options that are available.
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Electrician Certificate, Diploma and Degree Options
There are three general ways to get electrician training in a vocational or trade school near Highland Springs VA. You may select a certificate or diploma program, or receive an Associate Degree. Bachelor’s Degrees are available at certain schools, but are not as prevalent as the other three options. Often these programs are made available together with an apprenticeship program, which are required by the majority of states to be licensed or if you intend to become certified. Following are brief explanations of the three most common programs available.
- Diploma and Certificate Programs are generally offered by Virginia trade and technical schools and take approximately a year to finish. They provide a good foundation and are aimed towards individuals who want to get into an apprenticeship more quickly as a journeyman electrician.
- Associate Degree Programs take two years to complete and are offered by Virginia junior or community colleges, usually as an Associate Degree in Electrical Technology. They provide a more comprehensive education while providing the foundation that readies students to join their apprenticeship program.
As earlier mentioned, Bachelor’s Degrees are available at some Virginia institutions, but are less popular at four years than the other shorter programs. Many states mandate that an apprenticeship of no less than 2 years and more typically four years be carried out prior to licensing. Therefore, many students are anxious to start their paid apprenticeship, especially if it’s not part of their educational program.
Electrician Licensing and Certification Guidelines
Electricians in Highland Springs VA can perform a vast array of duties, such as testing, installing and replacing electrical systems, and ensuring that the wiring in buildings and homes are up to code standards. After finishing an apprenticeship, journeyman electricians are mandated to be licensed in most states or municipalities. The duration of apprenticeship varies by state, but normally about 4 to 5 years of prior experience is needed in order to take the licensing exam. The exams commonly test general knowledge and electrical theory, in addition to knowledge of the National Electrical Code (NEC). Obtaining certification is also a voluntary method for an electrician to differentiate her or himself as a skilled and experienced professional. The certifications offered vary by state and may be earned in many specialties, including 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 important that the electrician trade school that you choose not only furnishes a solid academic foundation, but also helps prepare you for passing any licensing and certification exams that you might be required to take in the future.
Attending Electrician Online Schools
A possibility that you may have contemplated is enrolling in an electrician online program to earn a degree or a certificate. Even though online schools have become more prevalent as a means of attending class without needing to travel, in this case they are not totally internet based. Pretty much all electrician training programs require some attendance on campus to obtain practical hands-on training. But since the remainder of the classes can be attended online, distance learning may be a more practical choice for students that have limited time for schooling. And as an added benefit numerous online degree programs have a cheaper tuition cost compared to their on campus alternatives. Driving expenses from Highland Springs VA are also lessened and some of the study materials may be accessed online also. Each of these advantages can make online electrician trade schools more affordable and convenient. And a number are fully accredited, which we will cover in our questions to ask checklist.
Points to Ask Electrician Tech Schools
Once you have decided to obtain a diploma, certificate or degree, you can start to narrow down your training options. Because there are so many electrician trade and vocational schools in the Highland Springs VA region, it’s essential to have a checklist of criteria that each school must meet. The initial 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 final school offers. And while all three qualifiers may be critical when making your selection, there are other variables that need to be considered as well. Below is a checklist of those added qualifications that you will need to analyze before enrolling in an electrical vocational school.
Accreditation. Many electrician technical programs have received either a regional or a national accreditation. They can receive Institutional Accreditation, which involves the school’s programs overall, or Programmatic Accreditation, which pertains to an individual program, for instance electrical technology. Verify that the Highland Springs VA school is accredited by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting agency, for example the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. In addition to helping ensure that you get a quality education, it may help in obtaining financial aid or student loans, which are in many cases not available for non-accredited programs. Also, some states require that the electrician training course be accredited for it to be approved for licensing.
High Completion and Placement Rates. Ask the electrician training programs you are looking at 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 signify that students were disappointed with the course and dropped out. It might also mean that the instructors were not competent to instruct the students. It’s also imperative that the schools have high job placement rates. Older and/or more reputable schools may have a more extensive list 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 affirm that the school has a good reputation within the field, but additionally that it has the network of contacts to assist Highland Springs VA students acquire apprenticeships or jobs.
Apprenticeship Programs. Numerous electrician vocational programs are taught in conjunction with an apprenticeship or an internship program. Those participating trade and technical schools will help place you in an apprenticeship program inside their network of electrician businesses or labor unions. Find out if the schools you are reviewing have referring partnerships with Highland Springs VA area electricians or electrical companies. An apprenticeship not only offers a valuable experience by furnishing practical training, but it also supplies job opportunities and helps to build relationships in the local electrician professional community.
Modern Facilities. Make certain that the campus facilities and the tools that you will be trained on are state-of-the-art and what you will be using in the field. If you are currently in an internship or an apprenticeship, check with the electrical tech you are working under regarding what you should be expecting. If not, ask a local Highland Springs VA electrical contractor if they can give you some suggestions. Additionally keep in mind that unless you can relocate, the school must be within commuting distance of your Highland Springs residence. Take note that if you decide to enroll in an out-of-state school, in addition to moving costs there may be higher tuition fees compared to in-state residents.
Smaller Classes. It’s important that you receive as much individualized instruction as possible, which can be difficult in larger classes. Ask if you can sit in on some of the classes so that you can observe how large they are and witness first hand the interaction between students and instructors. Speak with some of the students and get their opinions relating to class sizes and instruction. Finally, talk with some of the teachers and find out what their level of expertise is and what certifications or degrees they hold.
Flexible Scheduling. Confirm that the class schedules for the programs you are reviewing are flexible enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only go to classes in the evening or on weekends near Highland Springs VA, check that the programs you are looking at provide those choices. If you can only attend part-time, make sure that the school you select allows part-time enrollment. Additionally, check out what the policy is to make-up classes should you miss any because of work, illness or family emergencies.
Become Certified Electrician Highland Springs Virginia
Choosing the right electrician training program will probably be the most critical decision you will make to begin your new trade. You originally came to this website due to an interest in Become Certified Electrician and wanting more information on the topic Electrical Technician Courses Online. 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 reviewing. It’s a prerequisite that any electrician tech school that you are reviewing includes a good deal of hands-on instruction. Classes should be smaller in size and every student should have their personal equipment to train with. Classroom teaching should offer a real-world frame of reference, and the curriculum should be up-to-date and in-line with industry standards. Programs vary in length and the kind of credential offered, so you will need to decide what length of program and certificate or degree will best fulfill your needs. Each training program offers unique possibilities for certification as well. Probably the best way to research your short list of schools is to check out each campus and talk with the students and instructors. Invest some time to sit in on some classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make certain that you are confident that the school you decide on is the best one for you. With the right training, hard work and dedication, the final outcome will be a new trade as a professional electrician in Highland Springs VA.
More Electric Locations in Virginia
Highland Springs, Virginia
Edmund Sewell Read founded the community of Highland Springs in the 1890s as a streetcar suburb of Richmond on the Seven Pines Railway Company's electric street railway line between the city and the National Cemetery at Seven Pines. There, many Union dead were interred, primarily as a result of battles nearby during the Civil War (1861–1865), most notably during the Peninsula Campaign of 1862. The potential traffic of visiting families to the Richmond area from out-of-town needing transportation to and from the cemetery was a motivating factor for inception of the new street railway.
Read came to the area from Boston in hopes of finding a suitable climate for his ailing wife. The natural springs in the area made it a suitable choice for the Read family, and apparently an inspiration for the new name.
Approximately mid-way along the new streetcar route from Richmond through eastern Henrico County, Read bought a 1,000-acre (400 ha) tract of land and divided it into lots. He laid out along the main street which was the pre-existing Nine Mile Road, new cross streets named in alphabetical order after plants, beginning from the west: Ash, Beech, Cedar, Daisy, Elm, Fern, Grove, Holly, Ivy, Juniper, Kalmia, Linden, Maple, Oak, Pine, Quince, Rose, and Spruce. One block south of and parallel to the Nine Mile Road, Read Street was named for its founder, Edmund Sewell Read.
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