Topics to Ask Electrician Technical Schools<\/strong><\/h3>\nWhen you have decided to obtain a certificate, diploma or degree, you can begin to focus your training options. Because there are numerous electrician vocational and trade schools in the Sterling VA area, it’s imperative to have a checklist of qualifications that each school must meet. The first two that we discussed were location and tuition expense. If you are interested in earning an online degree, then that needs to be an option that your chosen school offers. And while all three qualifiers may be important when making your selection, there are other variables that need to be considered as well. Below is a checklist of those added qualifiers that you will need to analyze before selecting an electrical tech school.<\/p>\n
Accreditation. <\/strong>A large number of electrician trade programs have attained either a regional or a national accreditation. They may attain Institutional Accreditation, which focuses on the school’s programs overall, or Programmatic Accreditation, which relates to an individual program, for instance electrical technology. Confirm that the Sterling VA program is accredited by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting agency, for instance the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Along with helping guarantee that you obtain an excellent education, it can help in acquiring financial aid or student loans, which are frequently not available for non-accredited schools. Also, a number of states mandate that the electrician training program be accredited in order to be approved for licensing.<\/p>\nHigh Completion and Placement Rates. <\/strong>Ask the electrician schools you are reviewing what their completion rates are. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students who enroll in and finish the program. A lower completion rate might indicate that students were dissatisfied with the program and quit. It may also signify that the teachers were not qualified 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 more extensive directory of graduates, which may produce more contacts for the school to employ for their apprenticeship and job placement programs. A high job placement rate will not only validate that the school has a good reputation within the trade, but additionally that it has the network of contacts to help Sterling VA grads secure apprenticeships or jobs.<\/p>\nApprenticeship Programs. <\/strong>A large number of electrician vocational programs are taught together with an internship or an apprenticeship program. Those participating technical and vocational programs will help place you in an apprenticeship program within their network of electrical companies or labor unions. Find out if the schools you are comparing have referring relationships with Sterling VA area electricians or electrical specialists. An apprenticeship not only provides a valuable experience by furnishing practical training, but it also furnishes employment opportunities and helps to form relationships in the local electrician professional community.<\/p>\nModern Facilities. <\/strong>Make certain that the campus facilities and the tools that you will be instructed on are state-of-the-art and what you will be working with on the job. If you are already in an internship or an apprenticeship, talk to the electrical tech you are working with concerning what you should be looking for. If not, ask a local Sterling VA electrical company if they can provide some pointers. Also keep in mind that unless you are able to relocate, the school must be within driving distance of your Sterling home. Remember that if you decide to enroll in an out-of-state school, in addition to relocation costs there might be higher tuition charges compared to in-state residents.<\/p>\nSmaller Classes. <\/strong>It’s important that you get as much personalized training as possible, which can be difficult in larger classes. Ask if you can monitor some of the classes so that you can see how big they are and experience the interaction between students and teachers. Talk to several of the students and get their opinions concerning class sizes and instruction. Last, speak to some of the teachers and learn what their level of experience is and what certifications or degrees they have earned.<\/p>\nFlexible Scheduling. <\/strong>Make sure that the class schedules for the programs you are reviewing are flexible enough to fulfill your needs. If you can only go to classes at night or on weekends near Sterling VA, check that the schools you are considering provide those choices. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, 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 because of work, sickness or family responsibilities.<\/p>\nConsidering Attending an Electrician School near Sterling VA?<\/h3>\n
Following is a little bit of background information about the Sterling VA area.<\/p>\n
Sterling, Virginia<\/h3>
Sterling, Virginia is a census-designated place (CDP) in Loudoun County, Virginia. The population as of the 2010 United States Census was 27,822.[1] It is located northwest of Herndon, east of Ashburn, and west of Great Falls, and includes part of Washington Dulles International Airport and the former AOL corporate headquarters. Sterling is also home to the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office LWX (serving the Baltimore\u2013Washington Metropolitan Area), as well as the Sterling Field Support Center, the National Weather Service test, research, and evaluation center for weather instruments.<\/p>
In the beginning of 1962, large farms made up the 1,762 acres (713\u00a0ha) of what today is called Sterling Park. Route\u00a07, also known as Leesburg Pike, bordered what used to be Jesse Hughes's dairy farm. Hughes arrived in Loudoun County in the early 20th century and was a longtime head of the county's Democrats. Fred Franklin Tavenner, who was somewhat related to Benjamin Franklin, operated vast stretches of Sterling Farm at the southwest fringes of Sterling Park. Tavenner had purchased land from Albert Shaw, Jr., who had inherited it from his father Albert B. Shaw, editor and publisher of the American Review of Reviews. One of Shaw's spreads, totaling 1,640 acres (660\u00a0ha), was called \"The Experimental Farm\" because it was one of the first area farms to receive a U.S. grant for applying \"scientific methods\", as Tavenner called them. According to Tavenner, refugees from the Soviet Union ran the farm while Shaw remained in New York City.[2]<\/p>
Dulles International Airport and the extension of water and sewer lines to the airport began to change the landscape when construction started in 1959. Land prices rose from an average $125 per acre ($310\/ha) to $500 per acre ($1,200\/ha). During the same year, Marvin T. Broyhill, Jr., and his father made plans to develop land in the airport area under the company M.T. Broyhill & Sons Corporation. In late 1961, they decided to buy and incorporated Sterling Park Development Corporation with his son Marvin T. Broyhill, president, and a cousin, Thomas J. Broyhill, as vice president. Between April 28, and December 29, 1961 of that year, they purchased 1,762 acres (713\u00a0ha) in 14\u00a0parcels for $2,115,784. For the 226-acre (91\u00a0ha) Hughes farm along Route\u00a07, they paid $1,700 per acre ($4,200\/ha).[2]<\/p><\/div>\n