How to Find the Best Electrician Vocational School near Moundsville West Virginia
The initial step to learning to be an electrical contractor or tradesman is locating an electrician trade school near Moundsville WV. But with so many vocational schools to select from, just how do you tackle making sure that you enroll in the best one? Particularly because there are so many variables to consider. For instance, some students will begin by looking for schools that are nearby their residence. Once they have located a few that are within driving distance, they will choose the one with the lowest tuition. Although location and cost are important, they are not the sole factors that should be examined. Also critical are the accreditation and reputations of the schools, along with their job placement and graduation rates. These and other qualifiers should influence your ultimate decision when picking an electrician school. We will cover that checklist in greater detail later in this post. But to begin with, let’s review a little bit about being an electrician and the educational choices that are accessible.
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Electrician Degree, Certificate and Diploma Programs
There are multiple options to receive electrician instruction in a technical or vocational school near Moundsville WV. You can enroll in a diploma or certificate program, or obtain an Associate Degree. Bachelor’s Degrees are offered at a few schools, but are not as common as the first three alternatives. Often these programs are made available in conjunction with an apprenticeship, which are required by the majority of states in order to become licensed or if you intend to become certified. Following are brief descriptions of the three most typical programs offered.
- Diploma and Certificate Programs are usually offered by West Virginia trade and technical schools and take about a year to complete. They provide a solid foundation and are geared towards those who want to enter an apprenticeship more quickly as a journeyman electrician.
- Associate Degree Programs take two years to complete and are offered by West Virginia community colleges, usually as an Associate Degree in Electrical Technology. They provide a more comprehensive education while supplying the foundation that readies students to join their apprenticeship program.
As earlier mentioned, Bachelor’s Degree programs are offered at certain West Virginia colleges, but are less popular at four years than the other shorter programs. The majority of 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 commence their paid apprenticeship, especially if it’s not a component of their educational program.
Electrician License and Certification Criteria
Electricians in Moundsville WV can carry out a wide range of tasks, including installing, replacing and testing electrical systems, and ensuring that the wiring in houses and buildings comply with code standards. After finishing an apprenticeship, journeyman electricians are required to become licensed in the majority of states or municipalities. The duration of apprenticeship differs by state, but commonly around 4 to 5 years of experience is called for before taking the licensing exam. The exams typically test electrical theory and general knowledge, as well as knowledge of the National Electrical Code (NEC). Receiving certification is also a voluntary means for an electrician to distinguish him or herself as a experienced and skilled professional. The certifications offered differ by state and may be obtained in many specialties, including cable splicing as an example. The certification procedure usually entails three 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 vocational school that you enroll in not only delivers a strong educational foundation, but also helps prepare you for passing any licensing and certification exams that you might need to pass in the future.
Enrolling in Electrician Schools Online
An alternative that you might have looked at is selecting an electrician online program to earn a certificate or degree. Although online training programs are becoming more accepted as a means of attending class without the need for travel, in this case they are not entirely internet based. Just about all electrician training programs require some attendance on-campus to receive hands-on practical training. But since the rest of the classes can be attended online, internet learning may be a more accommodating choice for students that have minimal time for education. And as an added benefit many online degree programs have a lower tuition cost compared to their on-campus competitors. Driving expenses from Moundsville WV are also lessened and a portion of the study materials can be available online as well. All of these benefits can make electrician online tech schools more affordable and convenient. And many are fully accredited, which we will cover in our questions to ask checklist.
Topics to Ask Electrician Vocational Schools
Now that you have decided to obtain a certificate, diploma or degree, you can begin to narrow down your training options. Considering that there are so many electrician trade and vocational schools in the Moundsville WV area, it’s important to have a checklist of qualifications that each program must meet. The initial 2 that we mentioned were location and tuition expense. If you have an interest in earning an online degree, then that must be an option that your final school offers. And while all three qualifiers may be crucial when making your selection, there are other factors that must be considered also. Below is a checklist of those added qualifications that you will need to analyze before selecting an electrical vocational school.
Accreditation. Many electrician vocational programs have received 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 relates to an individual program, for instance electrical technology. Verify that the Moundsville WV program and school are accredited by a U.S. Department of Education approved accrediting agency, for instance the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Along with helping guarantee that you receive an excellent education, it can help in obtaining financial assistance or student loans, which are in many cases not available for non-accredited schools. Additionally, 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 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 dissatisfied with the program and quit. It might also signify that the instructors were not qualified 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 broader list of alumni, which may mean more contacts for the school to employ for their apprenticeship and job placement programs. A high job placement rate can not only affirm that the school has an excellent reputation within the trade, but also that it has the network of contacts to assist Moundsville WV students acquire apprenticeships or jobs.
Apprenticeship Programs. A large number of electrician trade programs are taught in conjunction with an apprenticeship or an internship program. Those participating vocational and technical schools will help place you in an apprenticeship program inside their network of electrical companies or labor unions. Check if the schools you are considering have working partnerships with Moundsville WV area electricians or electrical companies. An apprenticeship not only offers a valuable experience by supplying practical training, but it also supplies employment opportunities and helps to build relationships in the regional electrician professional community.
Modern Facilities. Make sure that the school facilities and the equipment that you will be trained on are state-of-the-art and what you will be using on the job. If you are currently in an internship or an apprenticeship, consult with the electrical tech you are working under concerning what you should be expecting. Otherwise, ask a local Moundsville WV electrical company if they can give you some suggestions. Also keep in mind that unless you are able to relocate, the school needs to be within commuting distance of your Moundsville home. Remember that if you decide to attend an out-of-state school, in addition to moving costs there can be higher tuition fees compared to in-state residents.
Smaller Classes. It’s desirable that you get as much one-on-one instruction as possible, which can be difficult in larger classes. Ask if you can sit in on a few of the classes so that you can observe how large they are and experience the interaction between students and instructors. Talk with several of the students and get their opinions relating to class sizes and instruction. Last, talk to a few of the instructors and find out what their level of experience is and what degrees or certifications they have earned.
Flexible Scheduling. Confirm that the class schedules for the programs you are reviewing are flexible enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only attend classes at night or on weekends near Moundsville WV, check that the schools you are looking at provide those choices. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, be sure that the school you select allows part-time enrollment. Finally, check out what the protocol is to make-up classes should you miss any because of work, sickness or family emergencies.
Home Electrical Courses Moundsville West Virginia
Choosing the ideal electrical trade school will undoubtedly be the most critical decision you will make to begin your new profession. You originally came to this website due to an interest in Home Electrical Courses and wanting more information on the topic Electrician Training Certificate. But as we have discussed in this article, there are many things that you will need to examine and compare between the schools you are considering. It’s a must that any electrician training program that you are evaluating includes a good deal of hands-on training. Classes should be smaller in size and each student should have their own equipment to train with. Classroom teaching should offer a real-world context, and the training program should be up-to-date and in-line with industry standards. Training programs differ in length and the type of credential offered, so you will have to decide what length of program and credential will best satisfy your needs. Every program offers different possibilities for certification as well. Perhaps the best approach to research your short list of schools is to visit each campus and speak with the faculty and students. Take the time to monitor a few classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make certain that you are confident that the training program you choose is the ideal one for you. With the right training, effort and commitment, the final outcome will be a new occupation as a professional electrician in Moundsville WV.
More Electric Locations in West Virginia
Moundsville, West Virginia
Moundsville is a city in Marshall County, West Virginia, along the Ohio River. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia metropolitan area. The population was 9,318 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Marshall County.[5] The city was named for the nearby ancient Grave Creek Mound, constructed 250 to 100 BC by indigenous people of the Adena culture.[6]
In 1771 by English colonists Samuel and James Tomlinson built a cabin at what later became Moundsville, although they did not overwinter, and in fact left for several years after attacks by Native Americans. (Elizabethtown, as Tomlinson's community was called, was incorporated in 1830 and would become the county seat upon the creation of Marshall County in 1835. Nearby, the town of Mound City was incorporated in 1832. The two towns combined in 1865.) [7] Fostoria Glass Company (specializing in hand-blown glassworks) was headquartered in Moundsville from 1891 to 1986. The retired West Virginia State Penitentiary operated in Moundsville from 1867 to 1995.[8] On August 4, 1927, Charles Lindbergh landed The Spirit of St. Louis at Langin Field in Moundsville. [9]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.36 square miles (8.70 km2), of which, 2.91 square miles (7.54 km2) is land and 0.45 square miles (1.17 km2) is water.[11]
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