Are Electrician Courses Required to Become an Electrician?

Many people think that electrician's just pull wire and connect switches to lights and outlets. The job of an electrician actually requires thousands of hours of experience and hundreds of hours of specialized training and education before being able to work on their own or own their own electrical contracting business.

Each state is different when it comes to licensing/certifying electricians as journeyman electricians and/or master electricians. Some states require several thousand hours of specific work under direct supervision of a journeyman or master electrician as an electrical apprentice. Other states leave licensing up to local jurisdictions or municipalities. This means that you may need to be licensed in multiple cities or counties in order to work as an electrician in each.

Electrician courses and work experience requirements vary depending on state or local government. Often a licensing agency will require an electrician to have education and experience in residential wiring, commercial wiring, industrial wiring, electrical maintenance, blueprint reading, planning & lay-out of wiring and so on. These requirements are in place in order to keep the electrician and others safe.

Electricians are also typically required to take continuing education in order to keep and renew their journeyman or master electrician license. These courses help to ensure that electricians are familiar with current codes, both locally and with the National Electrical Code. Electrical codes are updated at least every few years and electrical courses have to keep up. With solar and wind energy gaining in popularity there are also courses for electricians to keep them on the cutting edge of technology and offer them more opportunities for work.

Electrician courses are often required as a part of how a state or local jurisdiction/municipality grants licenses to electricians. Given what is required of an electrician to do and understand on a job, and the potential hazards while working and for others after the job is complete it makes sense that electrician courses are required. Work experience is also extremely important and often makes up the bulk of the hours required for a license.

If you are considering a career as an electrician you should look up the requirements for your state, county or city. Apprenticeship is often the first step, followed by enrolling in a qualified electrical education program at either a community college or trade school. After meeting the work hours and education qualifications an exam or exams are often the final step before being able to attain your journeyman or master electrician license.

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