Today, devices and appliances help make life easier in homes and businesses. These need electricity to work. Professional electricians have the skills to install and maintain electrical systems.
Becoming an electrician is a great idea when looking for a career that will pay off in a short time. However, you must invest money, time, and dedication to gain the prerequisite skills to handle electrical tasks.
Certification for Electricians
Professional electricians design, install, troubleshoot, repair, and maintain electrical systems. However, they must be certified. Before offering electrician services, you’ll need knowledge of appropriate local laws and regulations.
Professional electricians must have a valid license to work in their states. However, getting specialist certification is not mandatory but highly recommended. A certification program will give you skills to handle special electrical equipment and procedures.
This allows for pursuing a more specialized career. Here’s our guide on getting an electrical license.
Choose A Certification Course
Certification as a professional electrician requires completing a professional course from a recognized institute. When selecting a certification course ensure that it has the following features:
Compliance with the National Electrical Code standards
Offers physical training and theory
Has professional and experienced instructors
Awards certification on completion
Becoming A Certified Electrician
After selecting a certification course, the next step is understanding the qualities of becoming a certified electrician. You’ll go through various steps, including:
Choosing a field of work
Selecting a certification
Gaining industry experience
Get Certification For Electricians
Acquiring certification is proof of mastery in the field. Certification for electricians depends on industry experience or specialization.
Certification of Electricians By Experience
Electricians are classified according to their experience in three categories:
Apprentice
Journeyman
Master
Certification of Electricians By Industry
Auto electrician
Commercial electrician certification
Residential electrician certification
Maintenance electrician certification
Can I Get An Electrician Certificate Online?
Traditionally electricians had to get certified after attending physical training from brick and mortar institutes. Online certification for electricians is possible today. These online courses allow the acquisition of skills at a time and place of your convenience. Additionally, online certification courses give a deeper understanding of the core principles in the industry.
Here’s Why To Choose Online Certification
Prepares you for apprenticeship
Access to specialized training
Allows meeting standards to qualify for the relevant licensing
Great option when planning to switch from a current career
What’s Next After Online Certification?
Online-based electrician certification programs usually last a year. The certification programs usually focus on the field, making finding work quickly after training easier. GlassDoor revealed that certified electricians make an average of $51,485 annually.
Process Of Getting Your Electrical License
Requirements to get an electrical license are not the same in every state. You need a license to work as an electrician, but not in all states.
Where you don’t need a license to work as an electrician
You don’t need a license to work as an electrician in Pennsylvania and Illinois. The other four states where the license is not necessary include:
Indiana
New York
Kansas
Missouri
There’s a chance that locations in those states have electrical license requirements.
States where electricians must have a license
Electrical contractors must obtain a license to operate in Ohio, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The remaining 41 states also require electricians to obtain relevant licenses.
Prerequisites to qualify for a license for electricians
Qualifying for a license as an electrician requires proving your proficiency in the standards for safe handling of electrical wiring. An exam is mandatory if your state doesn’t require a license. This exam shows you understand safety practices, building codes, electrical concepts, and local laws.
Another requirement is completing the mandatory classroom hours and apprenticeship supervised by an electrician at journeyman or master level with a license.
Options for electrician licenses
After knowing what it takes to become a certified electrician, it’s time to choose the license that will work for your business. Here are the options when selecting an electrical contractors license:
Wireman for homes
To qualify and begin wiring homes requires 4,000 hours as an apprentice supervised by a wireman or electrician at the master level with a license. You must also pass a wireman test to get the necessary license.
Journeyman Electrician
Getting a license as a journeyman electrician requires completing 4,000 hours of practice and a journeyman test. When you pass the exam, you’re ready to become a journeyman and to start gaining experience that will get you closer to the master electrician level.
Master Electrician
You need 4,000 hours as a journeyman electrician to become an electrician at the master level. You must also pass a relevant exam. Master electricians have extensive knowledge in designing, installing, troubleshooting, repairing, and maintaining electrical systems.
How long to get an electrician license
You must contact the appropriate state authority to understand how to get an electrician license. And you will also discover whether the license is necessary or not.
Some states require a license to get employed by electrical contractors. In other states, a license is mandatory for owners of electrical businesses.
Bottom line
After obtaining a license, you can begin offering electrician services to clients. We highly recommend contractor software to streamline your business. The software simplifies scheduling, dispatching, invoicing, and quoting.
Schedule a free demo TODAY to see how Field Complete can help you grow your career as a certified electrician.
