Topics to Ask Electrician Training Schools<\/strong><\/h3>\nNow that you have made a decision to obtain a diploma, certificate or degree, you can start to refine your school options. Because there are so many electrician trade and vocational schools in the Bowie MD region, it’s important to have a checklist of qualifications that each school must meet. The first two that we talked about were location and the cost of tuition. If you are interested in earning an degree online, then that must be a feature that your final school offers. And while all three qualifiers may be crucial when making your decision, there are other factors that must be considered as well. Below is a checklist of those added qualifiers that you will need to assess before choosing an electrical tech school.<\/p>\n
Accreditation. <\/strong>Many electrician trade programs have earned 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, for instance electrical technology. Make sure that the Bowie MD school is accredited by a U.S. Department of Education approved accrediting organization, for example the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Along with helping ensure that you get a quality education, it may assist in acquiring financial aid or student loans, which are often unavailable for non-accredited programs. Additionally, a number of states require 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 considering what their completion rates are. The completion rate is the percentage of students who enroll in and finish the course. A lower completion rate may suggest that students were dissatisfied with the course and dropped out. It could also mean that the teachers were not qualified to instruct the students. It’s similarly important that the schools have higher job placement rates. Older and\/or more reputable schools may have a broader list of graduates, which can produce more contacts for the school to utilize 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 help Bowie MD graduates acquire apprenticeships or employment.<\/p>\nApprenticeship Programs. <\/strong>Most electrician technical programs are taught together with an apprenticeship or an internship program. Those participating trade and technical schools will help place you in an apprenticeship program within their network of electrician companies or labor unions. Find out if the schools you are considering have referring partnerships with Bowie MD area electricians or electrical specialists. An apprenticeship not only provides a rewarding experience by supplying practical training, but it also furnishes 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 working with in the field. If you are presently in an internship or an apprenticeship, consult with the electrical specialist you are working with concerning what you should be expecting. Otherwise, ask a local Bowie MD electrical contractor if they can provide some tips. Additionally bear in mind that unless you are able to move, the school must be within commuting distance of your Bowie residence. Remember that if you decide to enroll in an out-of-state school, besides the added moving costs there can be higher tuition fees compared to in-state residents.<\/p>\nSmaller Classes. <\/strong>It’s important that you receive as much individualized instruction as possible, which can be difficult in bigger classes. Ask if you can sit in on a few of the classes so that you can observe how big they are and witness first hand the interaction between teachers and students. Speak to a few of the students and get their comments regarding class sizes and instruction. Last, talk to a few of the instructors and find out what their level of expertise is and what certifications or degrees they have earned.<\/p>\nFlexible Scheduling. <\/strong>Confirm that the class schedules for the programs you are evaluating are flexible enough to handle your needs. If you are only able to attend classes in the evening or on weekends near Bowie MD, confirm that the programs you are comparing provide those options. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, make sure that the school you select allows part-time enrollment. Finally, ask what the protocol is to make-up classes should you miss any because of work, illness or family emergencies.<\/p>\nConsidering Attending an Electrician School near Bowie MD?<\/h3>\n
Following is a little bit of background information about the Bowie MD area.<\/p>\n
Bowie, Maryland<\/h3>
Bowie \/\u02c8bu\u02d0i\/ is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland.[5] The population was 54,727 at the 2010 U.S. Census. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County, and the fifth most populous city[6] and third largest city by area in the U.S. state of Maryland. In 2014 CNN Money ranked Bowie 28th in its Best Places to Live in America list.[7]<\/p>
The city of Bowie owes its existence to the railway. In 1853, Colonel William Duckett Bowie obtained a charter from the Maryland legislature to construct a rail line into Southern Maryland. In 1869, the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad Company began the construction of a railroad from Baltimore to Southern Maryland, terminating in Pope's Creek. The area had already been dotted with small farms and large tobacco plantations in an economy based on agriculture and slavery. In 1870, Ben Plumb, a land speculator and developer, sold building lots around the railroad junction and named the settlement Huntington City. By 1872, the line was completed, together with a \"spur\" to Washington, D.C. and the entire line through Southern Maryland was completed in 1873.<\/p>
In 1880, Huntington City was rechartered as Bowie, named for Colonel Bowie's son and business partner Oden Bowie,[8][9][10][11] the former Governor of Maryland[12] and then-president of the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad.[13] In the early days the land was subdivided by developers into more than 500 residential building lots, to create a large town site at a junction of the Baltimore and Potomac's main line to southern Maryland, and the branch line to Washington, D.C.<\/p><\/div>\n