How to Choose the Best Electrician Technical School near Marion Mississippi
The first step to becoming an electrical contractor or tradesman is finding an electrician trade school near Marion MS. But with numerous vocational schools to choose from, just how do you approach making sure that you enroll in the right one? Especially since there are so many points to examine. For example, some potential students will start by searching for schools that are nearby their home. Once they have identified a few that are within driving distance, they will choose the one with the cheapest tuition. While cost and location are of importance, they are not the only factors that need to be considered. Also critical are the reputations of the schools, their accreditation, along with their job placement and graduation rates. These and other qualifiers should influence your ultimate judgment when picking an electrician trade school. We will address that checklist in more detail later in this post. But to begin with, let’s review a little bit about becoming an electrician and the training options that are accessible.
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Electrician Diploma, Certificate and Degree Programs
There are several options to get electrician training in a vocational or trade school near Marion MS. You can choose a diploma or certificate program, or earn an Associate Degree. Bachelor’s Degrees are available at a few schools, but are not as common as the other three options. In many cases 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 wish to become certified. Following are brief summaries of the 3 most common programs available.
- Certificate and Diploma Programs are typically offered by Mississippi technical and trade schools and take about a year to complete. They provide a solid foundation and are aimed towards students who would like to enter an apprenticeship faster as a journeyman electrician.
- Associate Degrees take two years to finish and are offered by Mississippi junior or community colleges, typically as an Associate Degree in Electrical Technology. They furnish a more comprehensive education while providing the foundation that prepares students to enter into their apprenticeship program.
As previously mentioned, Bachelor’s Degrees are available at certain Mississippi colleges, but are less popular at 4 years than the other shorter programs. Most states mandate that an apprenticeship of no less than 2 years and in most cases 4 years be carried out prior to licensing. Therefore, many students are eager to start their paid apprenticeship, especially if it’s not part of their educational program.
Electrician License and Certification Guidelines
Electricians in Marion MS can carry out a wide range of duties, 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 become licensed in most states or municipalities. The length of apprenticeship differs by state, but usually about four to five years of experience is called for before taking the licensing examination. The exams usually evaluate electrical theory and general knowledge, along with knowledge of the National Electrical Code (NEC). Receiving certification is also a voluntary way for an electrician to identify her or himself as a experienced and skilled professional. The certifications available vary by state and can be obtained in numerous specialties, including cable splicing as an example. The certification procedure in most cases includes three levels of proficiency:
- An experience requirement
- Passing a written exam
- Passing a practical exam
Examples of certifying agencies include the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (NJATC) along with the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET). It’s important that the electrician tech school that you pick not only delivers a strong academic foundation, but also helps prepare you for passing any certification and licensing examinations that you might be required to take in the future.
Attending Electrician Online Programs
An alternative that you might have contemplated is enrolling in an online electrician school to earn a certificate or degree. Although online training programs have become more accepted as a means of attending class without the need for travel, in this instance they are not entirely internet based. Just about all electrician training programs require partial attendance on campus to get 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 minimal time for schooling. And as a bonus many online training programs have a lower tuition cost compared to their on-campus counterparts. Commuting expenses from Marion MS are also minimized and a portion of the study materials may be accessed online also. Each of these advantages can make online electrician trade schools more economical and accessible. And a number are fully accredited, which we will discuss in our due diligence checklist.
What to Ask Electrician Training Schools
Now that you have made a decision to obtain a diploma, certificate or degree, you can start to narrow down your school options. Because there are numerous electrician trade and vocational schools in the Marion MS region, it’s imperative to have a checklist of criteria that each school must satisfy. The first two that we talked about were location and the cost of tuition. If you are interested in earning an degree online, then that must be a feature that your final school offers. And while all three qualifiers may be critical when making your determination, there are other factors that need to be considered also. Below is a checklist of those additional qualifiers that you will need to assess before choosing an electrical tech school.
Accreditation. A large number of electrician vocational programs have received either a regional or a national accreditation. They can earn Institutional Accreditation, which involves the school’s programs as a whole, or Programmatic Accreditation, which relates to an individual program, for example electrical technology. Make certain that the Marion MS program is accredited by a U.S. Department of Education approved accrediting agency, such as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Along with helping ensure that you receive an excellent education, it may help in obtaining financial assistance or student loans, which are frequently unavailable for non-accredited schools. Furthermore, a number of states require 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 considering what their completion rates are. The completion rate is the percentage of students who enroll in and finish the program. A low completion rate could indicate that students were unhappy with the course and quit. It might also indicate that the teachers were not qualified to train the students. It’s similarly essential that the schools have higher job placement rates. Older and/or more reputable schools may have a broader list 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 validate that the school has a good reputation within the field, but additionally that it has the network of contacts to assist Marion MS students obtain apprenticeships or jobs.
Apprenticeship Programs. A large number of electrician training programs are taught in conjunction with an internship or an apprenticeship program. Those participating vocational and trade programs will help place you in an apprenticeship program inside their network of electrical businesses or trade unions. Ask if the schools you are considering have referring relationships with Marion MS area electricians or electrical contractors. An apprenticeship not only offers a valuable experience by supplying practical training, but it also supplies employment opportunities and helps to establish relationships in the regional electrician professional community.
Modern Facilities. Make sure that the campus facilities and the tools that you will be instructed on are up-to-date and what you will be using in the field. If you are currently in an internship or an apprenticeship, check with the electrical technician you are working with regarding what you should be expecting. Otherwise, ask a local Marion MS electrical company if they can give you some tips. Also keep in mind that unless you can move, the school must be within commuting distance of your Marion home. Remember that if you decide to attend an out-of-state school, besides the added moving costs there can be higher tuition fees compared to in-state residents.
Smaller Classes. It’s desirable that you receive as much personalized instruction as possible, which can be challenging in larger classes. Ask if you can sit in on a couple of the classes so that you can observe how big they are and experience the interaction between students and teachers. Talk to some of the students and get their opinions relating to class sizes and instruction. Last, speak with a few of the instructors and learn what their level of expertise is and what degrees or certifications they hold.
Flexible Scheduling. Confirm that the class schedules for the programs you are reviewing are flexible enough to fulfill your needs. If you are only able to attend classes in the evening or on weekends near Marion MS, verify that the schools you are looking at offer those choices. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, make certain that the school you select allows part-time enrollment. Finally, find out what the policy is to make-up classes should you miss any because of work, illness or family emergencies.
Vocational Electrician Schools Marion Mississippi
Picking the best electrician training program will undoubtedly be the most important decision you will make to launch your new profession. You originally came to this website due to an interest in Vocational Electrician Schools and wanting more information on the topic Electrician Course. But as we have covered in this article, there are several factors that you will need to assess and compare among the training programs you are looking at. It’s a must that any electrical training that you are assessing includes a good deal of hands-on instruction. Classes need to be smaller in size and every student should have their own equipment to train with. Classroom education needs to offer a real-world perspective, and the curriculum should be current and in-line with industry standards. Programs vary in length and the kind of credential provided, so you will have to ascertain what length of program and degree or certificate will best fulfill your needs. Every program provides unique possibilities for certification also. Probably The ideal means to research your short list of schools is to visit each campus and speak with the students and faculty. Invest some time to attend some classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the training program you select is the ideal one for you. With the right training, hard work and dedication, the final outcome will be a new career as a professional electrician in Marion MS.
More Electric Locations in Mississippi
Marion, Mississippi
The town was named for Francis Marion, a military leader known as the "Swamp Fox".[3] Marion was Lauderdale County's seat from its founding to Reconstruction. Prior to the war, Marion was a prosperous town inhabited numerous planters and enslaved African Americans. In 1840, it had a drugstore, two blacksmith shops, six dry goods stores, and two academies (one for girls and another for boys). It also had at least one newspaper, the Lauderdale Republican.[4]
In 1850, Congress donated land to Alabama and Mississippi in order to build the Mobile & Ohio Railroad, which bypassed Marion and constructed a station two miles to the southwest in a village called McLemore's Old Field (now Meridian, Mississippi).[4] During the 1850s, land values in Lauderdale County increased by 176 percent, which allowed many non-slaveholding whites to purchase slaves to grow cotton, build roads, and clear the surrounding forests for cultivation. By 1860, Lauderdale County's enslaved population had more than doubled—a fact that fed support for secessionism after the election of Abraham Lincoln.[4] On February 16, 1864, U.S. Army forces commanded by General William T. Sherman raided Marion and destroyed the railroad connecting it to Meridian.[4] In 1870, voters opted to move the county seat from Marion to Meridian, which had expanded rapidly since the end of the Civil War.[4]
As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 1,305 people, 468 households, and 324 families residing in the town. The population density was 448.7 people per square mile (173.1/km²). There were 555 housing units at an average density of 190.8 per square mile (73.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 52.87% White, 45.82% African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.15% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.69% of the population.
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