Questions to Ask Electrician Trade Schools<\/strong><\/h3>\nNow that you have made a decision to earn a certificate, diploma or degree, you can start to narrow down your school options. Since there are so many electrician trade and vocational schools in the Barboursville WV region, it’s important to have a checklist of criteria that each school must meet. The first 2 that we talked about were location and the cost of tuition. If you are interested in earning an online degree, then that needs to be an option that your chosen school offers. And even though 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 analyze prior to selecting an electrical technical school.<\/p>\n
Accreditation. <\/strong>Many electrician technical schools have attained either a regional or a national accreditation. They can earn 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 Barboursville WV program and school are accredited by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting organization, which includes the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Along with helping guarantee that you obtain a superior education, it can help in obtaining financial aid or student loans, which are in many cases unavailable for non-accredited programs. Furthermore, some states require that the electrician training course be accredited for it 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 percentage of students who enroll in and finish the course. A low completion rate may suggest that students were disappointed with the course and quit. It may also suggest that the teachers were not competent 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 can result in more contacts for the school to use 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 industry, but also that it has the network of contacts to help Barboursville WV graduates obtain apprenticeships or employment.<\/p>\nApprenticeship Programs. <\/strong>Numerous electrician trade 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 within their network of electrical contractors or trade unions. Check if the schools you are reviewing have referring partnerships with Barboursville WV area electricians or electrical contractors. An apprenticeship not only provides a rewarding experience by providing practical training, but it also furnishes employment opportunities and helps to build relationships in the regional electrician professional community.<\/p>\nModern Facilities. <\/strong>Confirm that the school facilities and the equipment that you will be trained on are up-to-date and what you will be working with on the job. If you are presently in an internship or an apprenticeship, talk to the electrical specialist you are working under regarding what you should be expecting. Otherwise, ask a local Barboursville WV electrical contractor if they can give you some tips. Additionally bear in mind that unless you can move, the school must be within driving distance of your Barboursville home. Remember that if you decide to enroll in an out-of-state school, besides the added relocation costs there can be higher tuition fees compared to in-state residents.<\/p>\nSmaller Classes. <\/strong>It’s desirable that you receive as much one-on-one training as possible, which can be difficult in bigger classes. Ask if you can sit in on a couple of the classes so that you can see how large they are and experience the interaction between students and teachers. Speak to several of the students and get their comments concerning class sizes and instruction. Finally, speak to some of the teachers and find out 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 programs you are evaluating are flexible enough to meet your needs. If you can only attend classes at night or on weekends near Barboursville WV, confirm that the programs you are comparing provide those choices. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, be sure that the school you select offers part-time enrollment. Finally, ask what the policy is to make-up classes should you miss any due to work, sickness or family responsibilities.<\/p>\nConsidering Attending an Electrician School near Barboursville WV?<\/h3>\n
Following is a little bit of background information about the Barboursville WV area.<\/p>\n
Barboursville, West Virginia<\/h3>
Barboursville is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2010 census, the MSA had a population of 287,702. New definitions from February 28, 2013 placed the population at 363,000.[6]<\/p>
The Barboursville Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. The Thornburg House was separately listed in 1991.[8] Barboursville also contains the historic Miller House, a building constructed in 1835 by local pioneer William Clendenin Miller, grandson of Major George Clendenin (Served under Lt. Colonel Daniel Boone in the 1774 Battle of Point Pleasant, and along with Boone was the first representative of Kanawha County, and incidentally what would become Cabell County. Also was a co-founder of Charleston, West Virginia.)[9]<\/p>
Barboursville is located at 38\u00b024\u203240\u2033N 82\u00b017\u203252\u2033W\ufeff \/ \ufeff38.41111\u00b0N 82.29778\u00b0W\ufeff \/ 38.41111; -82.29778 (38.411002, -82.297758).[10] \nAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 4.19 square miles (10.85\u00a0km2), of which, 4.09 square miles (10.59\u00a0km2) is land and 0.10 square miles (0.26\u00a0km2) is water.[1]\nThe confluence of the Mud River and the Guyandotte River is just north of the village.\n<\/p><\/div>\n