Find Electrician Schools Near Me in Penns Park PA 18943

How to Become an Electrician in Penns Park Pennsylvania

Penns Park PA electrician inspecting circuit panel The initial step to learning to be an electrical tradesman or contractor is finding an electrician trade school near Penns Park PA. But with numerous vocational schools to choose from, just how do you go about making certain that you enroll in the ideal one? Particularly because there are a number of points to evaluate. For instance, many potential students will start by looking for schools that are nearby their home. When they have found some that are within driving range, they will select the one with the cheapest tuition. Although location and cost are of importance, they are not the sole factors that need to be evaluated. Also critical are the accreditation and reputations of the schools, along with their graduation and job placement rates. These and additional qualifiers should help mold your final judgment when picking an electrician training school. We will discuss that checklist in more detail later in this article. But first, let’s talk a little bit about being an electrician and the educational choices that are available.

Electrician Degree, Diploma and Certificate Programs near Penns Park PA

Penns Park PA electrician re-wiring power outlet There are multiple options to get electrician training in a trade or technical school near Penns Park PA. You can choose a diploma or certificate program, or earn an Associate Degree. Bachelor’s Degrees are offered at certain schools, but are not as common as the first three options. Frequently these programs are made available together with an apprenticeship, which are required by the majority of states to become licensed or if you want to earn certification. Bellow are brief summaries of the three most prevalent programs offered.

Diploma and Certificate Programs are generally offered by Pennsylvania vocational and trade schools and require about a year to finish. They provide a solid foundation and are geared towards individuals who want to join an apprenticeship faster as a journeyman electrician.
Associate Degrees require 2 years to finish and are offered by Pennsylvania junior or community colleges, commonly as an Associate Degree in Electrical Technology. They offer a more extensive education while providing the foundation that readies students to join their apprenticeship program.

As earlier stated, Bachelor’s Degree programs are offered at certain Pennsylvania colleges, but are less popular at four years than the other briefer programs. Many states mandate that an apprenticeship of at least 2 years and more typically 4 years be carried out before licensing. Because of that, the majority of students are eager to begin their paid apprenticeship, especially if it’s not a component of their educational program.

Electrician License and Certification Criteria

Penns Park PA electricians working on power lines Electricians in Penns Park PA can undertake a vast array of duties, 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 the majority of municipalities and states. The period of apprenticeship differs by state, but normally around four to five years of prior experience is needed before taking the licensing exam. The exams typically test electrical theory and general knowledge, as well as understanding of the National Electrical Code (NEC). Receiving certification is also an optional way for an electrician to differentiate her or himself as a skilled and experienced professional. The certifications offered differ by state and can be acquired in many specializations, 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) as well as the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET). It’s imperative that the electrician tech school that you select not only provides a strong educational foundation, but also helps prepare you for passing any licensing and certification exams that you may need to take in the future.

Attending Electrician Training Classes Online in Penns Park PA

attending electrician school online in Penns Park PA An option that you might have considered is choosing an electrician online program to earn a certificate or degree. While online schools are becoming more prevalent as a means of attending class without needing to travel, in this situation they are not entirely internet based. Pretty much all electrician schools require partial attendance on-campus to receive practical hands-on training. But since the remainder of the classes may be attended online, distance learning might be a more convenient option for students that have minimal time for education. And as a bonus many online degree programs have a lower tuition cost compared to their traditional counterparts. Commuting expenses from Penns Park PA are also lessened and a portion of the study materials may be accessed online also. All of these advantages can make online electrician tech schools more affordable and accessible. And a number are fully accredited, which we will cover in our due diligence checklist.

What to Ask Electrician Technical Schools

Penns Park PA electrician re-wiring circuit panel Once you have decided to earn a diploma, certificate or degree, you can begin to focus your school options. Considering that there are so many electrician trade and vocational schools in the Penns Park PA area, it’s important to have a checklist of criteria that each program must meet. The initial 2 that we mentioned were location and tuition expense. If you are interested in earning an degree online, then that must be an option that your final school offers. And while all three qualifiers may be important when making your determination, there are other factors that must be considered also. Below is a checklist of those added qualifiers that you will need to research prior to choosing an electrical vocational school.

Accreditation. Many electrician trade programs have received either a regional or a national accreditation. They can acquire Institutional Accreditation, which focuses on the school’s programs as a whole, or Programmatic Accreditation, which relates to an individual program, such as electrical technology. Confirm that the Penns Park PA program and school are accredited by a U.S. Department of Education approved accrediting agency, such as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. In addition to helping make certain that you receive an excellent education, it can help in securing financial assistance or student loans, which are frequently not available for non-accredited schools. Also, 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 reviewing what their completion rates are. The completion rate is the percentage or portion of students who enroll in and finish the program. A lower completion rate might indicate that students were dissatisfied with the course and dropped out. It may also suggest that the instructors were not qualified to instruct the students. It’s also important that the schools have high job placement rates. Older and/or more reputable schools may have a broader directory of alumni, which may result in more contacts for the school to employ for their apprenticeship and job placement programs. A high job placement rate can not only affirm that the school has a good reputation within the field, but also that it has the network of contacts to assist Penns Park PA grads obtain apprenticeships or employment.

Apprenticeship Programs. Most electrician training programs are taught together with an internship or an apprenticeship program. Those participating vocational and technical programs will help place you in an apprenticeship program inside their network of electrical contractors or trade unions. Find out if the schools you are reviewing have referring relationships with Penns Park PA area electricians or electrical companies. An apprenticeship not only offers a valuable experience by supplying practical training, but it also provides job opportunities and helps to establish relationships in the area electrician professional community.

Modern Facilities. Confirm that the school 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 presently in an internship or an apprenticeship, check with the electrical tech you are working under concerning what you should be looking for. If not, ask a local Penns Park PA electrical contractor if they can give you some suggestions. Additionally bear in mind that unless you can move, the school must be within driving distance of your Penns Park 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 important that you receive as much one-on-one instruction as possible, which can be challenging in larger classes. Ask if you can sit in on a few of the classes so that you can observe how large they are and witness first hand the interaction between instructors and students. Talk to several of the students and get their opinions relating to class sizes and instruction. Finally, talk with some of the teachers and find out what their level of experience is and what certifications or degrees they have earned.

Flexible Scheduling. Confirm that the class schedules for the schools you are reviewing are flexible enough to meet your needs. If you are only able to go to classes at night or on weekends near Penns Park PA, verify that the schools you are comparing provide those options. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, make sure that the school you select offers part-time enrollment. Finally, check out what the protocol is to make-up classes should you miss any because of work, illness or family emergencies.

Considering Attending an Electrician School near Penns Park PA?

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

Penns Valley

Penns Valley is an eroded anticlinal valley of the Pennsylvania ridge and valley geologic region of the Appalachian Mountain range. The valley is located in southern Centre County, Pennsylvania. Along with the Nittany Valley to the north and east, it is part of the larger Nittany Anticlinorium.[1] It is bordered by Nittany Mountain to the north, the Seven Mountains range to the south, and connects to the larger Nittany Valley to the west. There are two smaller subordinate valleys typically associated with the greater valley; Georges Valley in the south, separated by Egg Hill, and Brush Valley in the north, separated by Brush Mountain.

The Appalachian Mountain chain was formed starting around 420 million years ago with the collision of the North American craton and the Iapetus Ocean and culminating with the collision of the modern-day eastern seaboard of the then Euramerican continent with Africa, then Gondwana, about 290 million years ago forming the supercontinent Pangea. Since the collision event the mountains have been eroding from the break-up of Pangea and through sedimentation formed the coastal plains to the east and limestone plateaus to the west. The footprints of the mountains formed the ridge and valley geological region in which Penns Valley was formed through glacial and other activity.[2]

More recently the area now known as Penns Valley was discovered by General James Potter in 1764 who trekked through the region and observed the prairies and woodlands of the area and settled at Old Fort, near Centre Hall, in 1774. Upon observing the valley from above he exclaimed, "... I have discovered an empire." Penns Valley also hosts the oldest town of Centre County, Aaronsburg, which was planned out in 1786. At the close of the 18th century Penns Valley was already set aside for farmland, however, the surrounding county rapidly boomed as iron ore was discovered and the first road built by Philadelphia land speculator Reuben Haines brought the rest of Pennsylvania into the heart of Penns Valley terminating at the location of Spring Mills.

The location could not be found.

Select the Ideal Electrical Tech School near Penns Park PA

Selecting the best electrician training program will undoubtedly be the most important decision you will make to start your new profession. As we have addressed in this article, there are many things that you will need to examine and compare between the schools you are looking at. It’s a necessity that any electrician training program that you are examining includes a good deal of hands-on training. Classes need to be smaller in size and every student should have their own equipment to train with. Classroom instruction needs to offer a real-world context, and the curriculum should be up-to-date and conform with industry standards. Courses vary in duration and the type of credential offered, so you will have to decide what length of program and credential will best fulfill your needs. Every training program provides unique possibilities for certification as well. Perhaps the best approach to research your short list of schools is to check out each campus and speak with the faculty and students. Take the time to monitor a few classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make certain that you are confident that the school you choose is the right one for you. With the proper training, effort and dedication, the end result will be a new occupation as a professional electrician in Penns Park PA.