A Comprehensive Guide on Becoming an Electrician
What you need to be an electricianYou must have reached 18 years of age and equipped with a high school diploma or a G.E.D in order to apply for electrician apprenticeship. You must have an aptitude for Mathematics and English to be able to calculate and follow the instruction manuals.
You must also pass an entrance exam and satisfy some other educational requirements before you are given admittance to an electrician program. Hence, if you have planned to become an electrician, it is important to pursue courses in math, science, electronics and mechanical drawing preferably while you are still in high school.
Why electrician apprenticeship programs are important
The most popular among trainee electricians is to learn the tricks of the job by undertaking an apprenticeship program. These programs hold immense importance because they combine on-the-job electrician training with detailed classroom instruction on your responsibilities as an electrician.
Some of these electrician apprenticeships are sponsored by joint training committees constituted by local electrician unions of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and local union chapters of the National Electrical Contractors Association. These practical training sessions are so comprehensive that by the time you complete one, you are as good as ready to be absorbed as a qualified professional electrician.
Learning the ABC of electrician apprenticeship
The majority of electrician apprenticeship programs extend up to four years during which you are required to undertake more than 144 hours of class training and around two thousand hours of hands-on training of the job. The classroom sessions will teach you the theoretical and well as the practical aspects of how you can install, as well as maintain the various electrical systems.
Apart from these, you will also be taught Math, how to read blueprints and so on. The various safety practices in the job and electrical code rules will also be a part of the curriculum. While you step into the practical training, you will be thoroughly educated in soldering, as well as dealing with alarm systems, communications, and heavy equipments. While you work as an apprentice under a supervising electrician, you will engage in activities like drilling holes, setting anchors and attaching conduit.
Other requisites for becoming an electrician
When you finally step into the professional world, employers would look for qualities like manual dexterity, good hand-eye coordination, physical fitness, knowledge of the National as well as local Electrical Codes and an excellent sense of balance in you. You must be quick in solving mathematical problems, have a sound color vision and have a good work history or military service at your disposal.
Before rising up in rank as an electrician, you might have to gather basic work experience by working as a helper to a senior electrician, assisting him to set up the job site, gather the materials for work, and doing other non electrical work. And lastly, you would require a valid electrician license to find work with the best companies.