How to Pick the Best Electrician Technical School near Bangor Maine
The first step to learning to be an electrical contractor or tradesman is finding an electrician trade school near Bangor ME. But with so many vocational schools to choose from, just how do you approach making sure that you enroll in the best one? Especially because there are a number of points to evaluate. For example, some potential students will commence by searching for schools that are nearby their home. When they have found a few that are within driving range, they will choose the one with the most affordable tuition. Even though location and cost are of importance, they are not the sole factors that must be evaluated. Also critical are the reputations of the schools, their accreditation, along with their graduation and job placement rates. These and additional qualifications should help mold your final decision when selecting an electrician school. We will discuss that checklist in more detail later in this article. But to begin with, let’s review a little bit about being an electrician and the training options that are available.
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Electrician Certificate, Diploma and Degree Options
There are three general options to get electrician training in a trade or technical school near Bangor ME. 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 mandated by the majority of states to become licensed or if you wish to earn certification. Following are short summaries of the three most prevalent programs offered.
- Certificate and Diploma Programs are typically provided by Maine vocational and trade schools and take approximately a year to complete. They furnish a solid foundation and are aimed towards those who would like to join an apprenticeship more quickly as a journeyman electrician.
- Associate Degrees take two years to finish and are provided by Maine junior or community colleges, typically as an Associate Degree in Electrical Technology. They provide a more well-rounded education while supplying the foundation that readies students to begin their apprenticeship program.
As earlier mentioned, Bachelor’s Degrees are offered at some Maine colleges, but are less preferred at four years than the other briefer programs. Many states mandate that an apprenticeship of no less than 2 years and in most cases four years be completed before licensing. For that reason, the majority of students are anxious to begin their paid apprenticeship, especially if it’s not part of their academic program.
Electrician License and Certification Criteria
Electricians in Bangor ME can perform a multitude of tasks, including testing, installing and replacing electrical systems, and making sure that the wiring in buildings and homes are up to code standards. After concluding an apprenticeship, journeyman electricians are required to be licensed in most states or municipalities. The duration of apprenticeship differs by state, but normally about four to five years of experience is needed before taking the licensing exam. The exams commonly assess general knowledge and electrical theory, along with understanding of the National Electrical Code (NEC). Receiving certification is also an optional way for an electrician to identify her or himself as a experienced and skilled professional. The certifications available differ by state and may be obtained in several specialties, including cable splicing as an example. The certification process in most cases 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) along with the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET). It’s crucial that the electrician tech school that you pick not only furnishes a strong educational foundation, but also helps ready you for passing any certification and licensing exams that you may be required to take in the future.
Enrolling in Electrician Programs Online
A possibility that you may have contemplated is selecting an electrician online program to earn a certificate or degree. Although online training programs are becoming more prevalent as a means of attending class without needing to travel, in this situation they are not totally internet based. Virtually all electrician training programs require some attendance on-campus to receive hands-on practical training. But since the remainder of the classes can be attended online, internet learning can be a more practical option for students that have limited time for schooling. And as a bonus numerous online training programs have a lower tuition cost compared to their traditional alternatives. Travelling costs from Bangor ME are also lessened and a portion of the study materials can be available on line also. All of these benefits can make electrician online trade schools more economical and convenient. And a number are fully accredited, which we will address in our questions to ask checklist.
Questions to Ask Electrician Trade Schools
Now that you have made a decision to earn a diploma, certificate or degree, you can begin to narrow down your school options. Because there are numerous electrician trade and vocational schools in the Bangor ME area, it’s important to have a checklist of qualifications that each school must satisfy. The first two that we mentioned were location and tuition expense. If you have an interest in earning an online degree, then that needs to be an option that your final school offers. And even though all three qualifiers may be crucial when making your determination, there are other factors that need to be considered also. Following is a checklist of those added qualifiers that you will need to assess prior to choosing an electrical trade school.
Accreditation. Many electrician trade schools have earned either a regional or a national accreditation. They can acquire Institutional Accreditation, which involves the school’s programs overall, or Programmatic Accreditation, which relates to a specific program, for example electrical technology. Make certain that the Bangor ME school is accredited by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting organization, such as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Along with helping guarantee that you obtain an excellent education, it may assist in acquiring financial assistance or student loans, which are in many cases not available for non-accredited schools. Furthermore, some states require that the electrician training program be accredited for it to qualify 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 complete the program. A lower completion rate might suggest that students were disappointed with the program and dropped out. It could also suggest that the teachers were not competent to train the students. It’s similarly essential that the schools have high job placement rates. Older and/or more reputable schools may have a broader directory 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 a good reputation within the field, but additionally that it has the network of contacts to help Bangor ME graduates secure apprenticeships or jobs.
Apprenticeship Programs. Most electrician trade programs are taught along with an apprenticeship or an internship program. Those participating technical and vocational programs will help place you in an apprenticeship program inside their network of electrician contractors or trade unions. Find out if the schools you are comparing have referring relationships with Bangor ME area electricians or electrical companies. An apprenticeship not only provides a rewarding experience by supplying practical training, but it also furnishes job opportunities and helps to build relationships in the local electrician professional community.
Modern Facilities. Make sure that the campus facilities and the tools that you will be instructed on are state-of-the-art and what you will be working with in the field. If you are already in an internship or an apprenticeship, check with the electrical specialist you are working under concerning what you should be expecting. Otherwise, ask a local Bangor ME electrical company if they can provide some tips. Also bear in mind that unless you are able to move, the school must be within driving distance of your Bangor home. Take note that if you decide to attend an out-of-state school, in addition to relocation costs there may be higher tuition charges compared to in-state residents.
Smaller Classes. It’s desirable that you receive as much personalized training as possible, which can be challenging in bigger classes. Ask if you can monitor some of the classes so that you can see how big they are and witness first hand the interaction between teachers and students. Speak to several of the students and get their feedback relating to class sizes and instruction. Finally, talk to some of the teachers and find out what their level of experience is and what certifications or degrees they have earned.
Flexible Scheduling. Verify 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 Bangor ME, check that the programs you are comparing offer those options. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, be sure that the school you select offers 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.
Become Certified Electrician Bangor Maine
Selecting the ideal electrical training program will probably be the most important decision you will make to start 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 addressed in this article, there are several factors that you will need to assess and compare between the training programs you are reviewing. It’s a must that any electrician tech school that you are examining includes a lot of hands-on instruction. Classes should be small in size and each student must have their own equipment to train with. Classroom instruction should offer a real-world frame of reference, and the training program should be current and conform with industry standards. Training programs differ in duration and the type of credential offered, so you will have to ascertain what length of program and credential will best fulfill your needs. Every training program offers different options for certification as well. Probably The ideal approach to research your short list of schools is to visit each campus and speak with the faculty and students. Invest some time to sit in on a few classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the training program you decide on is the right one for you. With the proper training, effort and commitment, the end outcome will be a new trade as a professional electrician in Bangor ME.
More Electric Locations in Maine
Bangor, Maine
Bangor (/ˈbæŋɡɔːr/ BANG-gor) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine, and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 33,039 and is commonly referred to as the "Vegas" of the Northeast, while the Bangor metropolitan area has a population of 153,746.
Modern Bangor was established in the mid-1800s with the lumber and shipbuilding industries, led by an expedition from an esteemed adventurer, Nicholas Aubin. Lying on the Penobscot River, logs could be floated downstream from the Maine North Woods and processed at the city's water-powered sawmills, then shipped from Bangor's port to the Atlantic Ocean 30 miles downstream, and from there to any port in the world. Evidence of this is still visible in the lumber barons' elaborate Greek Revival and Victorian mansions and the 31 foot high statue of Paul Bunyan. Today, Bangor's economy is based on services and retail, healthcare, and education.
Bangor has a port of entry at Bangor International Airport, also home to the Bangor Air National Guard Base. Historically Bangor was an important stopover on the great circle route air route between the U.S. East Coast and Europe.
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