How to Choose the Best Electrician Technical School near Stratford Virginia
The first step to becoming an electrical contractor or tradesman is enrolling in an electrician trade school near Stratford VA. But with so many technical schools to choose from, just how do you tackle making sure that you enroll in the best one? Especially since there are so many variables to examine. For example, many potential students will commence by searching for schools that are close to their residence. Once they have located some that are within commuting range, they will choose the one with the cheapest tuition. Even though location and cost are significant, they are not the only things that must be evaluated. Also critical are the reputations of the schools, their accreditation, as well as their job placement and graduation rates. These and additional qualifications should contribute toward your ultimate judgment when choosing an electrician school. We will talk about 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 instructional choices that are accessible.
Click Here to Get Free Information on Electrician Schools Near You!
Electrician Degree, Diploma and Certificate Options
There are multiple approaches to obtain electrician training in a technical or vocational school near Stratford VA. You can select a diploma or certificate program, or receive an Associate Degree. Bachelor’s Degrees are offered at certain schools, but are not as prevalent as the other three alternatives. In many cases these programs are offered together with an apprenticeship, which are mandated by most states in order to be licensed or if you want to become certified. Bellow are short descriptions of the three most prevalent programs available.
- Certificate and Diploma Programs are typically offered by Virginia vocational and trade schools and require about a year to complete. They furnish a good foundation and are aimed towards students who wish to enter an apprenticeship faster as a journeyman electrician.
- Associate Degree Programs take two years to complete and are offered by Virginia community colleges, typically as an Associate Degree in Electrical Technology. They furnish a more well-rounded education while providing the foundation that prepares students to join their apprenticeship program.
As earlier mentioned, Bachelor’s Degree programs are available at some Virginia institutions, but are less popular at four years than the other briefer programs. The majority of states require that an apprenticeship of at least 2 years and more typically four years be performed prior to licensing. Therefore, the majority of students are anxious to begin their paid apprenticeship, especially if it’s not a component of their academic program.
Electrician Certification and Licensing Prerequisites
Electricians in Stratford VA can undertake a wide range of tasks, including testing, installing and replacing electrical systems, and making sure that the wiring in houses and buildings are up to code standards. After completing an apprenticeship, journeyman electricians are mandated to become licensed in the majority of municipalities and states. The period of apprenticeship varies by state, but generally about 4 to 5 years of practical experience is called for before taking the licensing examination. The exams typically test general knowledge and electrical theory, along with knowledge of the National Electrical Code (NEC). Obtaining certification is also an optional way for an electrician to identify him or herself as a skilled and experienced professional. The certifications offered vary by state and can be acquired in numerous specialties, including cable splicing as an example. The certification procedure in most cases includes 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 important that the electrician trade school that you enroll in not only furnishes a strong educational foundation, but also helps prep you for passing any certification and licensing examinations that you might be required to take in the future.
Enrolling in Electrician Training Classes Online
An option that you might have considered is choosing an online electrician school to earn a certificate or degree. While online training programs have become more prevalent as a means of attending class without needing to travel, in this case they are not entirely internet based. Pretty much all electrician training programs require partial attendance on-campus to obtain hands-on practical training. But since the balance of the classes may be attended online, distance learning can be a more convenient alternative for individuals that have limited time for education. And as a bonus many online training programs have a lower tuition cost compared to their traditional counterparts. Commuting costs from Stratford VA are also reduced and a portion of the study materials may be available online as well. Each of these benefits can make online electrician tech schools more affordable and convenient. And a number are fully accredited, which we will deal with in our questions to ask checklist.
Things to Ask Electrician Tech Schools
Once you have decided to earn a certificate, diploma or degree, you can begin to narrow down your school options. Since there are so many electrician tech and trade schools in the Stratford VA area, it’s important to have a checklist of criteria that each program must satisfy. The initial 2 that we talked about were location and the cost of tuition. If you have an interest in earning an degree online, then that must be an option that your final school offers. And while all three qualifiers may be important when making your selection, there are other factors that need to be taken into account also. Below is a checklist of those additional qualifications that you will need to assess before selecting an electrical trade school.
Accreditation. Numerous electrician vocational programs have received either a regional or a national accreditation. They may acquire Institutional Accreditation, which focuses on the school’s programs as a whole, or Programmatic Accreditation, which pertains to an individual program, for instance electrical technology. Make sure that the Stratford VA school and program are accredited by a U.S. Department of Education approved accrediting agency, for instance the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Along with helping make certain that you receive an excellent education, it can assist in obtaining financial aid or student loans, which are in many cases not available for non-accredited programs. Furthermore, a number of states mandate that the electrician training course be accredited in order 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 percentage of students who enroll in and finish the program. A lower completion rate could signify that students were unhappy with the program and dropped out. It could also mean that the teachers were not qualified to train the students. It’s similarly imperative that the schools have high job placement rates. Older and/or more reputable schools may have a broader list of graduates, which may result in more contacts for the school to employ 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 field, but additionally that it has the network of contacts to assist Stratford VA graduates obtain apprenticeships or jobs.
Apprenticeship Programs. Most electrician vocational programs are taught in conjunction with an internship or an apprenticeship program. Those participating vocational and technical programs will help place you in an apprenticeship program inside their network of electrical businesses or labor unions. Ask if the schools you are considering have working relationships with Stratford VA area electricians or electrical professionals. An apprenticeship not only offers a rewarding experience by furnishing practical training, but it also furnishes job opportunities and helps to establish relationships in the regional electrician professional community.
Modern Facilities. Confirm that the school facilities and the equipment that you will be instructed on are state-of-the-art and what you will be working with in the field. If you are currently in an internship or an apprenticeship, consult with the electrical specialist you are working under concerning what you should be expecting. Otherwise, ask a local Stratford VA electrical company if they can provide some pointers. Also keep in mind that unless you can relocate, the school needs to be within driving distance of your Stratford home. Take note that if you decide to attend an out-of-state school, besides the added relocation costs there can be higher tuition fees compared to in-state residents.
Smaller Classes. It’s desirable that you receive as much individualized instruction as possible, which can be challenging in larger classes. Ask if you can sit in on some of the classes so that you can see how large they are and experience the interaction between students and teachers. Speak to some of the students and get their opinions concerning class sizes and instruction. Finally, talk with some of the teachers 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 evaluating are flexible enough to meet your needs. If you can only attend classes at night or on weekends near Stratford VA, verify that the programs you are looking at provide those choices. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, make certain that the school you select permits part-time enrollment. Additionally, find out what the policy is to make-up classes should you miss any because of work, illness or family emergencies.
College Courses For Electricians Stratford Virginia
Choosing the ideal electrical training program will probably be the most critical decision you will make to begin your new profession. You originally came to this website due to an interest in College Courses For Electricians and wanting more information on the topic Electrical Training Online. But as we have addressed in this article, there are several things that you will need to assess and compare among the training programs you are reviewing. It’s a necessity that any electrician training program that you are assessing includes a good deal of hands-on instruction. Classes need to be small in size and each student should have their personal equipment to train with. Classroom education needs to 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 provided, so you will have to decide what length of program and degree or certificate will best serve your needs. Each training program offers different options for certification as well. Probably The ideal approach to research your final list of schools is to check out each campus and speak with the faculty and students. Invest some time to sit in on some classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the program you decide on is the ideal one for you. With the right training, effort and dedication, the final result will be a new trade as a professional electrician in Stratford VA.
More Electric Locations in Virginia
Stratford Hall (plantation)
Stratford Hall is a historic house museum near Lerty in Westmoreland County, Virginia. It was the plantation house of four generations of the Lee family of Virginia (later with descendants expanding to Maryland and other states). It was the boyhood home of two signers of the Declaration of Independence, Richard Henry Lee (1732-1794), and Francis Lightfoot Lee (1734-1797), and it was the birthplace of Robert Edward Lee (1807–1870), who was a longtime military officer in the Corps of Engineers in the United States Army, and later General-in-Chief of the Confederate States Army and commanded its Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War (1861-1865), and then became the president of Washington College, which later became Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. The estate was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960, under the care of the National Park Service in the U.S. Department of the Interior.[3]
Colonel Thomas Lee (1690-1750) was a Virginian who served as acting Governor of the colony and was a strong advocate for westward expansion. Lee purchased the land for Stratford Hall in 1717, aware of its agricultural and commercial potential as a waterfront site. Construction of the Georgian Great House did not begin until the late 1730s. Designed by an unknown architect, the brick Great House is a two-story H-shaped structure, surrounded on four corners by attending outbuildings, all of which still stand today. Following construction of the Great House, Thomas Lee expanded the site into a bustling hive of activity, and soon the working plantation became "a towne in itself" as one visitor to Stratford marveled. A wharf on the Potomac River was the destination for a large number of merchant ships, a grist mill ground wheat and corn there, and slaves and indentured servants farmed tobacco and other crops on the thousands of acres of farmland. Blacksmiths, coopers, carpenters, tailors, gardeners, and weavers plied their trades at Thomas Lee's Stratford. Stratford Hall is set in the Historic Northern Neck of Virginia, a rural peninsula where historic Christ Church is located.
In the midst of this busy world, Thomas Lee and his wife Hannah Harrison Ludwell (1701–49) raised eight children, six sons and two daughters. They played important roles in shaping the early history of the nation. His eldest son, Philip Ludwell Lee, Sr., Esquire (1727–75) inherited Stratford Hall. Richard Henry Lee (1732–94) and Francis Lightfoot Lee (1734–97) were delegates from Virginia to the Second Continental Congress, and signers of the Declaration of Independence. Richard Henry was later instrumental in guiding the fledgling nation, serving as President of Congress in 1784-85. Thomas Ludwell Lee, active in local politics, served as a Virginian legislator and helped compose the Virginia Declaration of Rights. William Lee (1739–95) and Dr. Arthur Lee (1740–92) were diplomats to England during the turbulent struggle for American independence. Hannah Lee was an early proponent of women's rights, and Alice Lee married the prominent physician William Shippen, Jr. (1736-1808) of Philadelphia.
Business Results 1 - 10 of 38
1 Reviews 
3 Reviews 1 Reviews 1 Reviews 
1 Reviews 
2 Reviews 
2 Reviews 
9 Reviews 
8 Reviews 
23 Reviews 