How to Choose the Best Electrician Technical School near Great Falls Virginia
The first step to becoming an electrical contractor or tradesman is enrolling in an electrician trade school near Great Falls VA. But with so many vocational schools to pick from, just how do you undertake making sure that you enroll in the right one? Particularly because there are so many points to evaluate. For example, some potential students will commence by searching for schools that are nearby their home. After they have located a few that are within commuting range, they will select the one with the lowest tuition. While cost and location are significant, they are not the sole factors that should be considered. Also critical are the reputations of the schools, their accreditation, in addition to their job placement and graduation rates. These and additional qualifiers should influence your ultimate decision when choosing an electrician school. We will talk about that checklist in more detail later in this post. But to begin with, let’s talk a little bit about becoming an electrician and the training choices that are available.
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Electrician Certificate, Diploma and Degree Programs
There are several ways to get electrician training in a trade or technical school near Great Falls VA. You may enroll in a diploma or certificate program, or obtain an Associate Degree. Bachelor’s Degrees are offered at some schools, but are not as common as the other three options. In many cases these programs are made available together with an apprenticeship, which are mandated by most states in order to be licensed or if you wish to become certified. Following are short descriptions of the 3 most prevalent programs offered.
- Diploma and Certificate Programs are typically offered by Virginia trade and technical schools and require about a year to finish. They provide a good foundation and are geared towards students who wish to enter an apprenticeship faster as a journeyman electrician.
- Associate Degrees take 2 years to complete and are provided by Virginia community colleges, commonly as an Associate Degree in Electrical Technology. They offer a more well-rounded education while supplying the foundation that readies students to enter into their apprenticeship program.
As earlier mentioned, Bachelor’s Degree programs are accessible at some Virginia institutions, but are less favored at 4 years than the other briefer programs. Many states mandate that an apprenticeship of no less than 2 years and more typically four years be completed prior to licensing. Because of that, many students are eager to commence their paid apprenticeship, particularly if it’s not part of their educational program.
Electrician Licensing and Certification Prerequisites
Electricians in Great Falls VA can carry out a vast array of services, 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 be licensed in the majority of municipalities and states. The length of apprenticeship varies by state, but commonly around four to five years of prior experience is needed before taking the licensing exam. The exams usually assess general knowledge and electrical theory, along with understanding of the National Electrical Code (NEC). Receiving certification is also a voluntary method for an electrician to differentiate her or himself as a skilled and experienced professional. The certifications offered differ by state and can be earned in numerous specialties, including cable splicing as an example. The certification procedure in most cases involves 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) as well as the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET). It’s important that the electrician trade school that you pick not only provides a solid academic foundation, but also helps prepare you for passing any certification and licensing examinations that you might need to pass in the future.
Attending Electrician Online Schools
An option that you may have looked at is enrolling in an online electrician school to earn a degree or a certificate. Even though online schools have become more popular as a means of attending class without needing to travel, in this case they are not totally internet based. Virtually all electrician training programs require partial attendance on-campus to obtain practical hands-on training. But since the rest of the classes may be accessed online, distance learning might be a more practical choice for individuals that have minimal time for education. And as a bonus numerous online training programs have a cheaper tuition cost compared to their traditional alternatives. Commuting costs from Great Falls VA are also reduced and some of the study materials can be accessed on line as well. Each of these benefits can make online electrician vocational schools more economical and convenient. And a number are fully accredited, which we will cover in our due diligence checklist.
Points to Ask Electrician Vocational Schools
Now that you have made a decision to earn a diploma, certificate or degree, you can start to focus your school options. Since there are numerous electrician trade and vocational schools in the Great Falls VA region, it’s important to have a checklist of qualifications that each school must meet. The first 2 that we discussed were location and the cost of tuition. If you are interested in earning an online degree, then that must be a feature that your chosen school offers. And even though all three qualifiers may be critical when making your determination, there are additional variables that must be taken into account as well. Following is a checklist of those added qualifications that you will need to analyze prior to enrolling in an electrical vocational school.
Accreditation. Many electrician vocational schools have attained either a regional or a national accreditation. They can receive Institutional Accreditation, which involves the school’s programs overall, or Programmatic Accreditation, which relates to a specific program, for example electrical technology. Verify that the Great Falls VA program is accredited by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting organization, for example the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Along with helping guarantee that you obtain an excellent education, it may help in securing financial assistance or student loans, which are in many cases unavailable for non-accredited schools. Additionally, many states require that the electrician training program be accredited in order to qualify for licensing.
High Completion and Placement Rates. Ask the electrician training programs 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 might indicate that students were unhappy with the course and quit. It might also mean that the instructors were not competent to train the students. It’s similarly imperative that the schools have higher job placement rates. Older and/or more reputable schools may have a broader directory of graduates, which may mean more contacts for the school to employ for their apprenticeship and job placement programs. A high job placement rate will not only affirm that the school has an excellent reputation within the trade, but also that it has the network of contacts to assist Great Falls VA students obtain apprenticeships or employment.
Apprenticeship Programs. A large number of 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 within their network of electrical contractors or labor unions. Ask if the schools you are comparing have working partnerships with Great Falls VA area electricians or electrical specialists. An apprenticeship not only offers a rewarding experience by furnishing practical training, but it also supplies employment opportunities and helps to form relationships in the regional electrician professional community.
Modern Facilities. Confirm that the campus facilities and the tools that you will be trained 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, talk to the electrical specialist you are working under concerning what you should be looking for. Otherwise, ask a local Great Falls VA electrical company if they can provide some tips. Also keep in mind that unless you can relocate, the school must be within driving distance of your Great Falls residence. Remember that if you decide to attend an out-of-state school, besides the added moving costs there can be increased tuition charges compared to in-state residents.
Smaller Classes. It’s important that you receive as much personalized 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 observe how big they are and experience the interaction between students and instructors. Speak to some of the students and get their feedback relating to class sizes and instruction. Last, speak with 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 schools you are assessing are flexible enough to meet your needs. If you are only able to attend classes in the evening or on weekends near Great Falls VA, confirm that the programs you are reviewing provide those options. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, make certain that the school you select offers part-time enrollment. Also, ask what the policy is to make-up classes should you miss any due to work, illness or family responsibilities.
Electrician Night School Great Falls Virginia
Selecting the ideal electrician training program will undoubtedly be the most important decision you will make to launch your new career. You originally came to this website due to an interest in Electrician Night School and wanting more information on the topic Train As An Electrician. But as we have addressed in this article, there are many things that you will need to examine and compare between the training programs you are looking at. It’s a must 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 every student must have their personal equipment to train with. Classroom education needs to provide a real-world perspective, and the curriculum 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 certificate or degree will best satisfy your needs. Each training program offers unique possibilities for certification also. Perhaps The ideal means to research your short list of schools is to visit each campus and talk with the faculty and students. Take the time to attend some classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make certain that you are confident that the program you select is the right one for you. With the right training, hard work and dedication, the end result will be a new trade as a professional electrician in Great Falls VA.
More Electric Locations in Virginia
Great Falls, Virginia
Great Falls is located at 38°59′53″N 077°17′18″W / 38.99806°N 77.28833°W / 38.99806; -77.28833 (38.9981653, −77.2883157) at an elevation of 344 feet (105 m).[3][8] Located on Virginia State Route 7 in Northern Virginia, Great Falls is 15 miles (24 km) west-northwest of downtown Washington, D.C. and 10.5 miles (16.9 km) north of Fairfax, the county seat.[9]
Great Falls lies in the Piedmont upland on the right bank of the Potomac River.[10][11] The river forms the northern and eastern border of the CDP, and several of its tributaries flow north and east through the CDP. From north to south, these include Nichols Run, Clarks Branch, and Difficult Run. Difficult Run forms the southeastern border of the CDP. Two of its tributaries, Captain Hickory Run and Piney Run, flow southeast through the southern part of the CDP.[9][11] The Great Falls of the Potomac River, the community's namesake, are on the east side of the CDP.[11]
As a suburb of Washington, D.C., Great Falls is a part of both the Washington Metropolitan Area and the larger Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. It is bordered on all sides by other Washington suburbs, including: Darnestown and Travilah, Maryland to the north, Potomac, Maryland to the east, McLean to the southeast, Wolf Trap to the south, Reston and Dranesville to the southwest, Sterling to the west, and Lowes Island to the northwest.[12]
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