What to Ask Electrician Technical Schools<\/strong><\/h3>\nOnce you have made a decision to earn a diploma, certificate or degree, you can begin to narrow down your training options. Considering that there are numerous electrician vocational and trade schools in the Huddleston VA region, it’s imperative to have a checklist of criteria that each program must meet. The first 2 that we talked about were location and tuition expense. If you have an interest in earning an degree online, then that needs to be an option that your chosen school offers. And while all three qualifiers may be critical when making your determination, there are additional factors that need to be taken into account also. Below is a checklist of those additional qualifiers that you will need to research before selecting an electrical tech school.<\/p>\n
Accreditation. <\/strong>Many electrician trade programs have earned either a regional or a national accreditation. They can earn 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 Huddleston VA school is 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 may assist in acquiring financial aid or student loans, which are in many cases unavailable for non-accredited programs. Also, many states mandate that the electrician training course be accredited in order to qualify for licensing.<\/p>\nHigh Completion and Placement Rates. <\/strong>Ask the electrician training programs 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 could signify that students were disappointed with the course and quit. It could also signify that the teachers were not competent to train the students. It’s similarly imperative that the schools have high job placement rates. Older and\/or more reputable schools may have a broader list of graduates, which may mean more contacts for the school to use for their apprenticeship and job placement programs. A high job placement rate will not only affirm that the school has a good reputation within the field, but also that it has the network of contacts to assist Huddleston VA students secure apprenticeships or employment.<\/p>\nApprenticeship Programs. <\/strong>Numerous electrician technical programs are taught along with an apprenticeship or an internship program. Those participating vocational and trade programs will help place you in an apprenticeship program inside their network of electrical companies or labor unions. Find out if the schools you are reviewing have working relationships with Huddleston VA area electricians or electrical professionals. An apprenticeship not only provides a rewarding experience by furnishing hands-on training, but it also supplies employment opportunities and helps to build relationships in the local electrician professional community.<\/p>\nModern Facilities. <\/strong>Make certain that the school facilities and the equipment that you will be trained on are up-to-date and what you will be using on the job. If you are already in an internship or an apprenticeship, talk to the electrical specialist you are working under concerning what you should be expecting. If not, ask a local Huddleston VA electrical contracting company if they can provide some pointers. Also keep in mind that unless you are willing to move, the school must be within driving distance of your Huddleston residence. Take note that if you decide to enroll in an out-of-state school, in addition to moving costs there can be higher tuition charges compared to in-state residents.<\/p>\nSmaller Classes. <\/strong>It’s desirable that you get as much individualized 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 experience the interaction between students and instructors. Talk with several of the students and get their opinions concerning class sizes and instruction. Finally, talk to a few of the teachers and learn what their level of expertise is and what degrees or certifications they have earned.<\/p>\nFlexible Scheduling. <\/strong>Verify that the class schedules for the schools you are assessing are flexible enough to handle your needs. If you can only attend classes at night or on weekends near Huddleston VA, verify that the schools you are looking at provide those choices. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, make certain that the school you select permits part-time enrollment. Also, ask what the protocol is to make-up classes should you miss any due to work, illness or family issues.<\/p>\nConsidering Attending an Electrician School near Huddleston VA?<\/h3>\n
Following is a little bit of background information about the Huddleston VA area.<\/p>\n
Smith Mountain Lake<\/h3>
Smith Mountain Lake is a large reservoir in the Roanoke Region of Virginia,[3] located southeast of the City of Roanoke and southwest of Lynchburg. The lake was created in 1963 by the Smith Mountain Dam impounding the Roanoke River. The majority of the south shore of the lake lies in Franklin County while a small portion, including access to the dam, lies in Pittsylvania County. Bedford County makes up the northern half of the lake with the Roanoke River as the dividing line. The lake has become a popular recreation spot and has also experienced significant development in the last decade. It is the largest lake contained entirely within the Commonwealth of Virginia.\n<\/p>
Initial proposals were made in the late 1920s to dam the Roanoke River and the Blackwater River at the Smith Mountain gorge to generate electricity. Construction on the Smith Mountain Dam began in 1960 and was completed in 1963. The lake reached its normal water level in March 1966. The lake covers 20,600 acres (83\u00a0km2) and has over 500 miles (800\u00a0km) of shoreline. The north shore of the lake lies entirely in Bedford County.\n<\/p>
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the area around Smith Mountain Lake remained rural and remote with tobacco farms and other agriculture. Marinas provided the bulk of public access in the early years of the lake. The limited early residential developments around the lake consisted largely of small trailer parks and modest houses. However, residential growth has been steady since the mid-1980s and increasingly upscale with large lakefront houses, condominiums, and communities centered on golf courses. The lake has attracted many who commute to Roanoke and Lynchburg and many retirees, many of whom have relocated from the Northeast. By the late 1990s, the number and affluence of the new residents resulted in the construction of new retail and commercial developments near the lake. Recent shoreline development has been limited to residential construction. With the enactment of Federal oversight of shoreline development in 1998 coupled with soaring real estate values, there is an escalating loss of public access to the lake as the lake's marinas are sold for residential development.\n<\/p><\/div>\n