Find Electrician Schools Near Me in Dresden ME 04342

How to Become an Electrician in Dresden Maine

Dresden ME electrician inspecting circuit panel The initial step to learning to be an electrical tradesman or contractor is finding an electrician trade school near Dresden ME. But with numerous technical schools to select from, just how do you approach making sure that you enroll in the best one? Particularly because there are so many factors to evaluate. For instance, many potential students will start by looking for schools that are nearby their residence. When they have located some that are within commuting distance, they will select the one with the lowest tuition. Even though cost and location are of importance, they are not the sole qualifications that should be examined. Also critical are the accreditation and reputations of the schools, along with their job placement and graduation rates. These and other qualifiers should contribute toward your final judgment when selecting an electrician trade school. We will discuss that checklist in more detail later in this article. But first, let’s review a little bit about being an electrician and the training options that are offered.

Electrician Degree, Diploma and Certificate Options near Dresden ME

Dresden ME electrician re-wiring power outlet There are several approaches to obtain electrician instruction in a technical or vocational school near Dresden ME. You can enroll in a certificate or diploma program, or receive an Associate Degree. Bachelor’s Degrees are obtainable at certain schools, but are not as prevalent as the other three alternatives. In many cases these programs are made available in conjunction with an apprenticeship program, which are required by the majority of states to be licensed or if you wish to earn certification. Following are brief summaries of the three most prevalent programs available.

Diploma and Certificate Programs are typically provided by Maine trade and technical schools and take about a year to finish. They furnish a good foundation and are aimed towards individuals who want to get into an apprenticeship more quickly as a journeyman electrician.
Associate Degrees involve 2 years to complete and are offered by Maine community colleges, commonly as an Associate Degree in Electrical Technology. They offer a more well-rounded education while providing the foundation that prepares students to join their apprenticeship program.

As previously mentioned, Bachelor’s Degrees are offered at some Maine colleges, but are less popular at 4 years than the other shorter programs. The majority of states require that an apprenticeship of no less than 2 years and in most cases four years be completed before licensing. Therefore, many students are anxious to begin their paid apprenticeship, especially if it’s not a component of their academic program.

Electrician License and Certification Guidelines

Dresden ME electricians working on power lines Electricians in Dresden ME can carry out a vast array of services, such as testing, installing and replacing electrical systems, and ensuring that the wiring in houses and buildings are up to code standards. After completing an apprenticeship, journeyman electricians are required to be licensed in most municipalities and states. The duration of apprenticeship differs by state, but usually about four to five years of experience is required in order to take the licensing examination. The exams commonly evaluate general knowledge and electrical theory, along with knowledge of the National Electrical Code (NEC). Receiving certification is also an optional method for an electrician to differentiate her or himself as a skilled and experienced professional. The certifications available vary by state and can be obtained in many specialties, including cable splicing as an example. The certification procedure usually includes 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 important that the electrician trade school that you select not only provides a solid academic foundation, but also helps prepare you for passing any licensing and certification exams that you might be required to take in the future.

Enrolling in Electrician Online Training Classes in Dresden ME

attending electrician school online in Dresden ME A possibility that you might have looked at is choosing an electrician online school to earn a certificate or degree. Although online schools have become more accepted as a way of attending class without needing to travel, in this case they are not totally internet based. Just about all electrician training programs require partial attendance on-campus to get practical hands-on training. But since the balance of the classes may be attended online, internet learning might be a more convenient option for individuals that have limited time for schooling. And as an added benefit many online schools have a lower tuition cost compared to their on-campus competitors. Driving expenses from Dresden ME are also lessened and a portion of the study materials can be available online as well. Each of these benefits can make electrician online vocational schools more economical and convenient. And many are fully accredited, which we will address in our due diligence checklist.

Things to Ask Electrician Technical Schools

Dresden ME electrician re-wiring circuit panel When you have decided to earn a diploma, certificate or degree, you can start to focus your training options. Considering that there are so many electrician tech and trade schools in the Dresden ME area, it’s essential to have a checklist of qualifications that each program must satisfy. The initial 2 that we discussed were location and tuition expense. If you have an interest in earning an degree online, then that must be a feature that your final school offers. And even though all three qualifiers may be crucial when making your determination, there are additional variables that need to be taken into account as well. Below is a checklist of those additional qualifiers that you will need to assess before enrolling in an electrical vocational school.

Accreditation. Many electrician trade schools have received either a regional or a national accreditation. They may receive Institutional Accreditation, which involves the school’s programs overall, or Programmatic Accreditation, which pertains to a specific program, for instance electrical technology. Make sure that the Dresden ME program and school are accredited by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting organization, for example the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Along with helping make certain that you receive a quality education, it can assist in acquiring financial aid or student loans, which are in many cases unavailable for non-accredited programs. Additionally, many states require that the electrician training program be accredited for it to qualify for licensing.

High Completion and Placement Rates. Ask the electrician schools you are looking at what their completion rates are. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students who enroll in and complete the program. A low completion rate could signify that students were disappointed with the program and quit. It might also indicate that the teachers 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 broader list of alumni, which can mean more contacts for the school to utilize 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 trade, but also that it has the network of contacts to assist Dresden ME graduates obtain apprenticeships or employment.

Apprenticeship Programs. A large number of electrician trade programs are taught together with an apprenticeship or an internship program. Those participating technical and vocational programs will help place you in an apprenticeship program within their network of electrician contractors or labor unions. Find out if the schools you are reviewing have working partnerships with Dresden ME area electricians or electrical specialists. An apprenticeship not only offers a valuable experience by furnishing hands-on training, but it also provides job opportunities and helps to establish relationships in the area electrician professional community.

Modern Facilities. Make certain that the campus facilities and the equipment that you will be trained on are state-of-the-art and what you will be using in the field. If you are currently in an internship or an apprenticeship, talk to the electrical technician you are working under concerning what you should be looking for. Otherwise, ask a local Dresden ME electrical contracting company if they can give you some tips. Additionally keep in mind that unless you are able to move, the school needs to be within driving distance of your Dresden home. Remember that if you decide to attend an out-of-state school, besides the added moving costs there may be higher tuition charges compared to in-state residents.

Smaller Classes. It’s important that you get as much personalized training as possible, which can be challenging in larger classes. Ask if you can monitor a couple of the classes so that you can see how big they are and witness first hand the interaction between students and teachers. Speak to some of the students and get their comments concerning class sizes and instruction. Finally, talk with some 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 handle your needs. If you can only attend classes at night or on weekends near Dresden ME, confirm that the schools you are considering offer those choices. If you can only attend part-time, be sure that the school you select permits part-time enrollment. Also, check out what the protocol is to make-up classes should you miss any due to work, illness or family issues.

Considering Attending an Electrician School near Dresden ME?

Following is a little bit of background information about the Dresden ME area.

Bombing of Dresden in World War II

The bombing of Dresden was a British/American aerial bombing attack on the city of Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony, during World War II in the European Theatre. In four raids between 13 and 15 February 1945, 722 heavy bombers of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and 527 of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) dropped more than 3,900 tons of high-explosive bombs and incendiary devices on the city.[1] The bombing and the resulting firestorm destroyed over 1,600 acres (6.5 km2) of the city centre.[2] An estimated 22,700[3] to 25,000[4] people were killed, although larger casualty figures have been claimed. Three more USAAF air raids followed, two occurring on 2 March aimed at the city's railway marshalling yard and one smaller raid on 17 April aimed at industrial areas.

Immediate German propaganda claims following the attacks and post-war discussions[5] on whether the attacks were justified have led to the bombing becoming one of the moral causes célèbres of the war.[6] A 1953 United States Air Force report defended the operation as the justified bombing of a strategic target, which they noted was a major rail transport and communication centre, housing 110 factories and 50,000 workers in support of the German war effort.[7] Several researchers claim not all of the communications infrastructure, such as the bridges, were targeted, nor were the extensive industrial areas outside the city centre.[8] Critics of the bombing have claimed that Dresden was a cultural landmark of little or no strategic significance, and that the attacks were indiscriminate area bombing and not proportionate to the military gains.[9][10][11] Some in the German far-right refer to the bombing as a mass murder calling it "Dresden's Holocaust of bombs".[12][13] According to other critics, given the high number of civilian casualties and the relatively few strategic targets, Dresden's destruction was unjustifiable and should be called a war crime. They claim the city could have been spared, like Rome, Paris, and Kyoto, though the British and the American militaries defended the bombing as necessary.[14]

Large variations in the claimed death toll have fuelled the controversy. In March 1945, the German government ordered its press to publish a falsified casualty figure of 200,000 for the Dresden raids, and death toll estimates as high as 500,000 have been given.[15][16][17] The city authorities at the time estimated up to 25,000 victims, a figure that subsequent investigations supported, including a 2010 study commissioned by the city council.[18]

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Select the Right Electrician Vocational School near Dresden ME

Choosing the best electrical trade school will probably be the most important decision you will make to launch your new trade. As we have covered in this article, there are many things that you will need to examine and compare among the training programs you are looking at. It’s a must that any electrical training program that you are evaluating 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 education needs to provide a real-world frame of reference, and the course of study should be current and in-line with industry standards. Training programs vary in length and the type of credential offered, so you will need to determine what length of program and certificate or degree will best serve your needs. Each program offers unique possibilities for certification also. Probably The ideal approach to research your short list of schools is to visit each campus and talk with the faculty and students. Invest some time to monitor some classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make sure that you are confident that the training program you pick is the ideal one for you. With the right training, effort and commitment, the final outcome will be a new trade as a professional electrician in Dresden ME.