How to Find the Best Electrician Technical School near Drennen West Virginia
The first step to becoming an electrical contractor or tradesman is locating an electrician trade school near Drennen WV. But with so many technical schools to select from, just how do you tackle making certain that you enroll in the best one? Particularly since there are so many variables to examine. For instance, many prospective students will begin by looking for schools that are close to their home. When they have found a few that are within driving range, they will select the one with the cheapest tuition. Even though cost and location are significant, they are not the only factors that need to be evaluated. Also important are the reputations of the schools, their accreditation, as well as their graduation and job placement rates. These and additional qualifications should influence your final decision when choosing an electrician school. We will cover 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 instructional options that are available.
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Electrician Degree, Certificate and Diploma Options
There are several ways to receive electrician training in a trade or technical school near Drennen WV. You can choose a diploma or certificate program, or earn 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 combined with an apprenticeship program, which are mandated by most states to be licensed or if you wish to earn certification. Following are short descriptions of the three most common programs offered.
- Diploma and Certificate Programs are generally offered by West Virginia technical and trade schools and require about a year to complete. They furnish a solid foundation and are geared towards students who want to enter an apprenticeship more quickly as a journeyman electrician.
- Associate Degree Programs require two years to finish and are provided by West Virginia community colleges, typically as an Associate Degree in Electrical Technology. They furnish a more comprehensive education while supplying the foundation that readies students to join their apprenticeship program.
As earlier stated, Bachelor’s Degree programs are available at certain West Virginia institutions, but are less preferred at 4 years than the other shorter programs. Many states require that an apprenticeship of no less than 2 years and more typically four years be performed prior to licensing. For that reason, the majority of students are anxious to begin their paid apprenticeship, particularly if it’s not a component of their educational program.
Electrician Licensing and Certification Requirements
Electricians in Drennen WV can carry out a multitude of services, such as installing, replacing and testing electrical systems, and ensuring that the wiring in houses and buildings comply with code standards. After concluding an apprenticeship, journeyman electricians are mandated to become licensed in most states or municipalities. The period of apprenticeship differs by state, but typically around four to five years of practical experience is called for in order to take the licensing exam. The exams usually evaluate electrical theory and general knowledge, along with understanding of the National Electrical Code (NEC). Obtaining certification is also a voluntary means for an electrician to identify her or himself as a experienced and skilled professional. The certifications available differ by state and may be acquired in many specialties, such as cable splicing as an example. The certification procedure usually entails three 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) along with 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 prep you for passing any certification and licensing examinations that you may need to take in the future.
Enrolling in Electrician Online Training Classes
A possibility that you may have considered is choosing an online electrician school to earn a degree or a certificate. Although online training programs are becoming more popular as a means of attending class without the need for travel, in this case they are not entirely internet based. Pretty much all electrician training programs require some attendance on campus to receive practical hands-on training. But since the remainder of the classes can be accessed online, distance learning may be a more accommodating choice for students that have minimal time for education. And as an added benefit numerous online training programs have a lower tuition cost compared to their on-campus competitors. Driving costs from Drennen WV are also lessened and some of the study materials can be available on line as well. Each of these benefits can make electrician online vocational schools more economical and convenient. And many are fully accredited, which we will cover in our questions to ask checklist.
What to Ask Electrician Trade Schools
Now that you have decided to obtain a certificate, diploma or degree, you can start to narrow down your school options. Considering that there are so many electrician tech and trade schools in the Drennen WV area, it’s imperative to have a checklist of qualifications that each program must satisfy. The first two that we discussed were location and tuition expense. If you have an interest in earning an online degree, then that must be a feature that your chosen school offers. And although all three qualifiers may be critical when making your decision, there are other factors that need to be considered as well. Below is a checklist of those added qualifications that you will need to research before enrolling in an electrical technical school.
Accreditation. Numerous electrician trade programs have acquired either a regional or a national accreditation. They may acquire Institutional Accreditation, which involves the school’s programs overall, or Programmatic Accreditation, which relates to a specific program, such as electrical technology. Verify that the Drennen WV program is accredited by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting agency, such as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. In addition to helping guarantee that you get an excellent education, it may assist in securing financial aid or student loans, which are often unavailable for non-accredited programs. Additionally, a number of states mandate that the electrician training course 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 complete the course. A lower completion rate might indicate that students were unhappy with the program and dropped out. It might also mean that the instructors were not qualified to instruct the students. It’s similarly important that the schools have high job placement rates. Older and/or more reputable schools may have a more extensive 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 confirm that the school has an excellent reputation within the field, but also that it has the network of contacts to assist Drennen WV grads 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 trade and vocational schools will help place you in an apprenticeship program inside their network of electrician contractors or labor unions. Find out if the schools you are reviewing have referring partnerships with Drennen WV area electricians or electrical specialists. An apprenticeship not only offers a valuable experience by providing practical training, but it also supplies job opportunities and helps to establish relationships in the regional electrician professional community.
Modern Facilities. Make certain that the campus facilities and the tools that you will be trained on are state-of-the-art and what you will be using on the job. If you are already in an internship or an apprenticeship, consult with the electrical tech you are working with concerning what you should be expecting. Otherwise, ask a local Drennen WV electrical contracting company if they can give you some pointers. Additionally bear in mind that unless you are willing to relocate, the school must be within commuting distance of your Drennen home. Take note that if you decide to enroll in an out-of-state school, besides the added moving costs there may be higher tuition fees compared to in-state residents.
Smaller Classes. It’s important that you receive as much individualized instruction as possible, which can be difficult in bigger classes. Ask if you can sit in on a couple of the classes so that you can see how large they are and witness first hand the interaction between students and instructors. Talk to some of the students and get their comments relating to class sizes and instruction. Finally, talk to some of the teachers and learn what their level of experience is and what certifications or degrees they hold.
Flexible Scheduling. Make sure that the class schedules for the programs you are reviewing are flexible enough to fulfill your needs. If you are only able to go to classes in the evening or on weekends near Drennen WV, check that the schools you are considering provide those choices. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, make sure that the school you select offers part-time enrollment. Also, find out what the protocol is to make-up classes should you miss any due to work, illness or family issues.
Vocational Electrician Schools Drennen West Virginia
Choosing the best electrician trade school will undoubtedly be the most critical decision you will make to launch your new trade. 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 discussed in this article, there are many things that you will need to examine and compare among the schools you are reviewing. It’s a necessity that any electrical tech school that you are reviewing includes a lot of hands-on training. Classes should be small in size and each student should have their personal equipment to train with. Classroom education should provide a real-world frame of reference, and the course of study should be up-to-date and in-line with industry standards. Courses vary in length and the kind of credential offered, so you will have to ascertain what length of program and certificate or degree will best fulfill your needs. Each training program offers different options for certification also. Probably The ideal approach to research your short list of schools is to go to each campus and talk with the students and faculty. Invest some time to sit in on a few classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the school you choose is the right one for you. With the proper training, effort and commitment, the end result will be a new trade as a professional electrician in Drennen WV.
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Craig Drennen
Craig Drennen (born 1966) is an American artist based in Atlanta, Georgia. He is best known for his ongoing long-term Timon of Athens project, for which he has produced paintings, drawings, prints, videos, performances, sculptures. His work shows technical agility across a wide range of influences that spans abstraction, representation, and conceptual practices. In a catalog essay, the curator Diana Nawi writes that Drennen's "…multifaceted, dense, and ambitious practice suggests a world of meaning defined by symbols that emerge in different media and coalesce across projects."[1]
Craig Drennen was born in Elyria, Ohio, and raised in central West Virginia. He accumulated academic accolades in West Virginia, but little of his early life is documented. He graduated from Glenville State College (WV) and Ohio University (OH) with an MFA in Painting & Art History. He was a 2006 participant at the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture.
Craig Drennen lived in New York City for much of the 1990s where he worked as an art handler at the Guggenheim Museum, National Academy Museum, and International Center for Photography among places. He shared a studio on west 27th Street and produced artwork that he showed with Sarah Meltzer Gallery, Christinerose Gallery, and Momenta Art. He taught courses at the School of Visual Arts, Long Island University, and Kingsborough Community College. He worked at different times for the artists Keith Sonnier and Sandy Skoglund. He assisted Clarissa Dalrymple and managed her booth in the first Gramercy Art Fair at the Gramercy Hotel in 1994. He began writing art criticism for New York Arts and Cover magazines. He was a teaching artist at the Dia Center for the Arts in Chelsea then accepted a position as the Dia education coordinator in 1998.
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