How to Find the Right Electrician Vocational School near Sharpsburg Maryland
The first step to becoming an electrical contractor or tradesman is locating an electrician trade school near Sharpsburg MD. But with numerous technical schools to select from, just how do you tackle making sure that you enroll in the right one? Particularly because there are a number of points to evaluate. For instance, many potential students will start by searching for schools that are close to their residence. Once they have identified several that are within driving range, they will decide on the one with the lowest tuition. Even though cost and location are significant, they are not the sole things that must be evaluated. Also important are the accreditation and reputations of the schools, in addition to their job placement and graduation rates. These and additional qualifications should help mold your ultimate decision when choosing an electrician training school. We will discuss 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 educational choices that are offered.
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Electrician Certificate, Diploma and Degree Programs
There are several ways to get electrician training in a vocational or trade school near Sharpsburg MD. You can select a diploma or certificate program, or earn an Associate Degree. Bachelor’s Degrees are available at some schools, but are not as common as the first three options. Frequently these programs are offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program, which are mandated by most states to be licensed or if you intend to earn certification. Following are brief explanations of the 3 most common programs offered.
- Certificate and Diploma Programs are usually provided by Maryland trade and technical schools and require about a year to finish. They provide a good foundation and are geared towards students who want to get into an apprenticeship more quickly as a journeyman electrician.
- Associate Degree Programs take 2 years to complete and are provided by Maryland junior or community colleges, usually as an Associate Degree in Electrical Technology. They furnish a more well-rounded education while supplying the foundation that prepares students to begin their apprenticeship program.
As earlier stated, Bachelor’s Degree programs are accessible at certain Maryland colleges, but are less favored at four years than the other briefer programs. Most states require that an apprenticeship of no less than 2 years and more typically 4 years be carried out prior to licensing. Therefore, most students are anxious to start their paid apprenticeship, especially if it’s not part of their educational program.
Electrician Licensing and Certification Requirements
Electricians in Sharpsburg MD can undertake a wide range of services, such as installing, replacing and testing electrical systems, and making sure that the wiring in buildings and homes are up to code standards. After concluding an apprenticeship, journeyman electricians are mandated to be licensed in most states or municipalities. The duration of apprenticeship varies by state, but usually around 4 to 5 years of practical experience is needed in order to take the licensing examination. The exams commonly assess general knowledge and electrical theory, along with understanding of the National Electrical Code (NEC). Obtaining certification is also an optional way for an electrician to distinguish him or herself as a skilled and experienced professional. The certifications available vary by state and can be acquired in many specialties, such as cable splicing as an example. The certification procedure in most cases includes 3 levels of proficiency:
- 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 crucial that the electrician trade school that you choose not only provides a strong academic foundation, but also helps prepare you for passing any certification and licensing exams that you might need to take in the future.
Attending Electrician Online Schools
An option that you might have contemplated is choosing an online electrician school to earn a degree or a certificate. Although online schools have become more prevalent as a means of attending class without the need for travel, in this instance they are not completely internet based. Pretty much all electrician training programs require partial attendance on campus to obtain hands-on practical training. But since the remainder of the classes may be accessed online, distance learning might be a more accommodating option for students that have limited time for education. And as an added benefit numerous online training programs have a lower tuition cost compared to their on campus competitors. Commuting costs from Sharpsburg MD are also minimized and some of the study materials can be available online as well. Each of these advantages can make online electrician tech schools more affordable and accessible. And many are fully accredited, which we will deal with in our due diligence checklist.
Questions to Ask Electrician Tech Schools
Now that you have made a decision to obtain a certificate, diploma or degree, you can start to narrow down your training options. Because there are so many electrician tech and trade schools in the Sharpsburg MD area, it’s essential to have a checklist of criteria that each program must satisfy. The initial two that we discussed were location and tuition expense. If you have an interest in earning an degree online, then that must be an option that your chosen school offers. And although all three qualifiers may be important when making your selection, there are additional factors that must be considered as well. Following is a checklist of those additional qualifiers that you will need to analyze prior to selecting an electrical technical school.
Accreditation. A large number of electrician trade programs have earned either a regional or a national accreditation. They may earn Institutional Accreditation, which involves the school’s programs as a whole, or Programmatic Accreditation, which relates to a specific program, such as electrical technology. Make sure that the Sharpsburg MD school and program are accredited by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting agency, which includes the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. In addition to helping ensure that you get a quality education, it can assist in securing financial assistance or student loans, which are frequently unavailable for non-accredited schools. Furthermore, some states mandate that the electrician training program 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 portion or percentage of students who enroll in and finish the program. A low completion rate might indicate that students were unhappy with the course and dropped out. It may also indicate 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 graduates, which can produce 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 a good reputation within the trade, but also that it has the network of contacts to help Sharpsburg MD graduates acquire apprenticeships or employment.
Apprenticeship Programs. Most electrician training programs are taught in conjunction with an apprenticeship or an internship program. Those participating technical and vocational schools will help place you in an apprenticeship program inside their network of electrical companies or trade unions. Check if the schools you are considering have referring relationships with Sharpsburg MD area electricians or electrical contractors. An apprenticeship not only provides a valuable experience by supplying hands-on training, but it also supplies job 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 state-of-the-art and what you will be working with in the field. If you are presently in an internship or an apprenticeship, talk to the electrical specialist you are working with regarding what you should be expecting. If not, ask a local Sharpsburg MD electrical contracting company if they can give you some suggestions. Additionally bear in mind that unless you are willing to move, the school needs to be within driving distance of your Sharpsburg home. Take note that if you decide to attend an out-of-state school, besides the added relocation costs there might be higher tuition fees compared to in-state residents.
Smaller Classes. It’s important that you get as much individualized instruction as possible, which can be challenging in larger 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 students and instructors. Speak with several of the students and get their feedback concerning class sizes and instruction. Finally, speak to a few of the instructors and learn what their level of experience is and what degrees or certifications they hold.
Flexible Scheduling. Verify that the class schedules for the programs you are assessing are flexible enough to fulfill your needs. If you are only able to attend classes at night or on weekends near Sharpsburg MD, check that the programs you are looking at provide those options. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, make sure that the school you select offers part-time enrollment. Finally, check out what the protocol is to make-up classes should you miss any due to work, sickness or family issues.
Electrical Technician Schools Sharpsburg Maryland
Picking the best electrical trade school will undoubtedly be the most important decision you will make to begin your new trade. You originally came to this website due to an interest in Electrical Technician Schools and wanting more information on the topic Electrician Training Requirements. But as we have covered in this article, there are many things that you will need to evaluate and compare between the training programs you are looking at. It’s a must that any electrical training that you are assessing includes a considerable amount of hands-on training. Classes need to be small in size and each student should have their personal equipment to train with. Classroom teaching needs to provide a real-world perspective, and the curriculum should be up-to-date and conform with industry standards. Programs vary in duration and the kind of credential offered, so you will need to determine what length of program and certificate or degree will best serve your needs. Each training program offers different possibilities for certification as well. Perhaps the best way to research your short list of schools is to visit each campus and speak with the faculty and students. Take the time to attend a few classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make sure 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 end result will be a new occupation as a professional electrician in Sharpsburg MD.
More Electric Locations in Maryland
Sharpsburg, Maryland
The first Euromerican to own land in what would eventually become Sharpsburg was the one-time indian trader Edmund Cartledge. By the time Cartledge surveyed his "Hickory Tavern[5]" land tract in 1737, the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road was already well established over the path that would become Sharpsburg's main street. Hickory Tavern is noted in the patent as between the wagon road and Garrison Spring, today's "Big Spring." Thousands of immigrants used this route of the wagon road traveling from Pennsylvania as far south as the Carolinas.[6] On May 1, 1755 the road was used by Major general Edward Braddock, colonial governor Horatio Sharpe and several of Braddock's staff officers to reach Winchester, Virginia while his 48th regiment took a longer route via today's Williamsport, Maryland.[6] Among the officers accompanying Braddock that day was a young Virginia militia officer named George Washington.[7] At the end of the French and Indian War in 1763, Joseph Chapline founded a town, naming it in honor of his friend Horatio Sharpe, the Proprietary Governor of the Province of Maryland. Its original settlers were mostly of German or Swiss origin reaching the area from Pennsylvania via the great wagon road. They were a major force in leading to an increase in wheat production from the original agricultural dependence on tobacco.
Located east of the Potomac River, Sharpsburg attracted industry in the early 19th century, especially after the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal was extended to Sharpsburg in 1836. The town was incorporated in 1832.
Sharpsburg gained national recognition during the American Civil War, when Confederate General Robert E. Lee invaded Maryland with his Army of Northern Virginia in the summer of 1862 and was intercepted near the city by Union General George B. McClellan with the Army of the Potomac. The rival armies met on September 17, in the Battle of Antietam (also called the Battle of Sharpsburg). It would be the bloodiest single day in all American military annals, with a total of nearly 23,000 casualties to both sides. A few days earlier, the multi-sited Battle of South Mountain occurred at the three low-lying passes in South Mountain—Crampton's Gap, Turner's Gap, and Fox's Gap—where Lee's forces attempted to hold back the advancing Union regiments moving westward especially along the important National Road (now U.S. Route 40 Alternate) which is now a part of South Mountain State Battlefield Park.
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