Find Electrician Schools Near Me in Downingtown PA 19335

How to Become an Electrician in Downingtown Pennsylvania

Downingtown PA electrician inspecting circuit panel The first step to becoming an electrical tradesman or contractor is enrolling in an electrician trade school near Downingtown PA. But with so many technical schools to choose from, just how do you tackle making certain that you enroll in the best one? Especially since there are so many points to examine. For instance, some prospective students will start by looking for schools that are close to their residence. After they have identified some that are within driving distance, they will decide on the one with the lowest tuition. Even though location and cost are significant, they are not the sole factors that need to be examined. Also important are the reputations of the schools, their accreditation, as well as their graduation and job placement rates. These and additional qualifiers should help mold your ultimate decision when picking an electrician school. We will address that checklist in greater detail later in this post. But first, let’s review a little bit about becoming an electrician and the instructional choices that are accessible.

Electrician Degree, Diploma and Certificate Options near Downingtown PA

Downingtown PA electrician re-wiring power outlet There are several approaches to receive electrician instruction in a technical or vocational school near Downingtown PA. You can select a diploma or certificate program, or earn an Associate Degree. Bachelor’s Degrees are available at certain schools, but are not as common as the first three alternatives. Often these programs are offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program, which are required by most states to be licensed or if you would like to become certified. Bellow are brief explanations of the 3 most prevalent programs available.

Certificate and Diploma Programs are generally offered by Pennsylvania vocational and trade schools and require about a year to finish. They furnish a good foundation and are geared towards those who wish to enter an apprenticeship more quickly as a journeyman electrician.
Associate Degree Programs involve two years to finish and are provided by Pennsylvania junior or community colleges, usually as an Associate Degree in Electrical Technology. They offer a more extensive education while providing the foundation that readies students to begin their apprenticeship program.

As earlier mentioned, Bachelor’s Degree programs are available at certain Pennsylvania institutions, but are less popular at 4 years than the other briefer programs. Many states require that an apprenticeship of at least 2 years and more typically 4 years be completed prior to licensing. Because of that, the majority of students are eager to start their paid apprenticeship, particularly if it’s not part of their educational program.

Electrician Certification and Licensing Requirements

Downingtown PA electricians working on power lines Electricians in Downingtown PA can perform a multitude of services, including installing, replacing and testing electrical systems, and ensuring that the wiring in houses and buildings comply with code standards. After completing an apprenticeship, journeyman electricians are mandated to be licensed in most municipalities and states. The length of apprenticeship differs by state, but usually about four to five years of prior experience is called for in order to take the licensing examination. The exams commonly test electrical theory and general knowledge, as well as knowledge of the National Electrical Code (NEC). Obtaining certification is also an optional means for an electrician to distinguish him or herself as a experienced and skilled professional. The certifications available differ by state and may be acquired in various specialties, including cable splicing as an example. The certification procedure usually entails three 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) as well as the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET). It’s important that the electrician trade school that you enroll in not only delivers a strong academic foundation, but also helps ready you for passing any certification and licensing exams that you might need to pass in the future.

Attending Electrician Online Schools in Downingtown PA

attending electrician school online in Downingtown PA A possibility that you may have contemplated is selecting an online electrician program to earn a degree or a certificate. Even though online schools are becoming more popular as a means of attending class without the need for travel, in this instance they are not completely internet based. Virtually all electrician schools require partial attendance on-campus to obtain practical hands-on training. But since the balance of the classes may be accessed online, distance learning can be a more practical option for individuals that have minimal time for education. And as an added benefit numerous online degree programs have a cheaper tuition cost compared to their on campus alternatives. Driving expenses from Downingtown PA are also minimized and some of the study materials can be accessed on line as well. Each of these advantages can make electrician online trade schools more affordable and accessible. And many are fully accredited, which we will address in our questions to ask checklist.

What to Ask Electrician Technical Schools

Downingtown PA electrician re-wiring circuit panel Once you have decided to obtain a certificate, diploma or degree, you can start to focus your training options. Considering that there are so many electrician trade and vocational schools in the Downingtown PA area, it’s imperative to have a checklist of qualifications that each school must satisfy. The first 2 that we talked about were location and tuition expense. If you have an interest in earning an online degree, then that needs to be an option that your final school offers. And even though all three qualifiers may be important when making your determination, there are other factors that need to be taken into account also. Below is a checklist of those additional qualifiers that you will need to assess before selecting an electrical trade school.

Accreditation. Numerous electrician technical schools have attained either a regional or a national accreditation. They may attain Institutional Accreditation, which focuses on the school’s programs as a whole, or Programmatic Accreditation, which relates to an individual program, for example electrical technology. Make sure that the Downingtown PA school and program are accredited by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting organization, which includes the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. In addition to helping make certain that you receive a quality education, it may assist in acquiring financial assistance or student loans, which are in many cases unavailable for non-accredited schools. Furthermore, a number of states require that the electrician training course 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 percentage of students who enroll in and complete the course. A low completion rate may signify that students were disappointed with the course and dropped out. It may also signify that the teachers were not qualified to instruct the students. It’s similarly essential that the schools have higher 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 utilize 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 field, but also that it has the network of contacts to assist Downingtown PA graduates acquire apprenticeships or employment.

Apprenticeship Programs. Most electrician technical programs are taught in conjunction with an internship or an apprenticeship program. Those participating trade and technical schools will help place you in an apprenticeship program within their network of electrical businesses or labor unions. Find out if the schools you are comparing have working relationships with Downingtown PA area electricians or electrical companies. An apprenticeship not only offers a valuable experience by supplying hands-on training, but it also provides job opportunities and helps to establish relationships in the regional electrician professional community.

Modern Facilities. Confirm that the campus facilities and the tools that you will be trained on are up-to-date 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 expecting. If not, ask a local Downingtown PA electrical contracting company if they can give you some tips. Also keep in mind that unless you are willing to move, the school must be within driving distance of your Downingtown residence. Take note that if you decide to enroll in an out-of-state school, in addition to moving costs there may be higher tuition fees compared to in-state residents.

Smaller Classes. It’s important that you receive as much one-on-one instruction as possible, which can be difficult in bigger classes. Ask if you can monitor a few of the classes so that you can observe how big they are and witness first hand the interaction between students and instructors. Talk with a few of the students and get their opinions relating to class sizes and instruction. Finally, talk to a few of the instructors and find out what their level of experience is and what certifications or degrees they have earned.

Flexible Scheduling. Verify that the class schedules for the programs you are assessing are flexible enough to meet your needs. If you can only attend classes at night or on weekends near Downingtown PA, verify that the schools you are reviewing offer those options. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, make sure that the school you select offers part-time enrollment. Additionally, ask what the policy is to make-up classes should you miss any because of work, sickness or family responsibilities.

Considering Attending an Electrician School near Downingtown PA?

Following is a little bit of background information about the Downingtown PA area.

Downingtown, Pennsylvania

Downingtown is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, 33 miles (53 km) west of Philadelphia. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 7,891. Downingtown was settled by English and European colonists in the early 18th century and has a number of historic buildings and structures.

The town was originally named Milltown due to its number of mills along the East Branch Brandywine Creek, the first of which was founded by Daniel Butter. The Butter family also had paper mills in the area, and Frederick Bicking from Winterburg, Germany, was the patriarch of the Bicking paper families. Around the time of the American Revolution, Milltown became more commonly known as Downingtown after the prominent businessman Thomas Downing,[3] a Quaker immigrant in 1717 from Bradninch, Devon, England, who owned a number of those mills. The town was officially named Downingtown in 1812.

The town is located along the Lincoln Highway (now part of U.S. Route 30) which runs from the East Coast to the West Coast. It was an early westward road in the wagon days as the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike. The Lincoln Highway was the first paved road to cross the nation from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Construction of the Pennsylvania Turnpike started in the early 1940s and was completed in the early 1950s; it runs north of US 30, bypassing Downingtown.

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Select the Ideal Electrician Trade School near Downingtown PA

Picking the right electrical training program will probably be the most critical decision you will make to start your new career. As we have covered in this article, there are many factors that you will need to evaluate and compare between the training programs you are considering. It’s a prerequisite that any electrical training that you are evaluating includes a lot of hands-on training. Classes should be smaller in size and every student should have their own equipment to train with. Classroom education needs to provide a real-world perspective, and the course of study should be up-to-date and in-line with industry standards. Programs differ in duration and the kind of credential offered, so you will need to determine what length of program and credential will best fulfill your needs. Every program provides different options for certification also. Perhaps the best way 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 certain that you are confident that the program you select is the right one for you. With the proper training, hard work and dedication, the final outcome will be a new career as a professional electrician in Downingtown PA.