Find Electrician Schools Near Me in Flint MI 48501

How to Become an Electrician in Flint Michigan

Flint MI electrician inspecting circuit panel The initial step to learning to be an electrical contractor or tradesman is enrolling in an electrician trade school near Flint MI. But with numerous vocational schools to choose from, just how do you tackle making certain that you enroll in the right one? Especially because there are a number of variables to consider. For example, many prospective students will begin by looking for schools that are close to their home. When they have located some that are within driving distance, they will decide on the one with the lowest tuition. Although cost and location are of importance, they are not the sole things that need to be evaluated. Also important are the accreditation and reputations of the schools, along with their job placement and graduation rates. These and additional qualifications should influence your final judgment when choosing an electrician training school. We will cover that checklist in more detail later in this article. But to begin with, let’s review a little bit about becoming an electrician and the training options that are available.

Electrician Degree, Certificate and Diploma Options near Flint MI

Flint MI electrician re-wiring power outlet There are three general options to get electrician instruction in a vocational or trade school near Flint MI. You can enroll in a certificate or diploma program, or obtain an Associate Degree. Bachelor’s Degrees are offered at some schools, but are not as common as the other three alternatives. In many cases these programs are offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program, which are required by most states in order to be licensed or if you want to earn certification. Following are short explanations of the 3 most prevalent programs available.

Certificate and Diploma Programs are typically provided by Michigan vocational and trade schools and require approximately a year to complete. They furnish a solid foundation and are geared towards those who wish to join an apprenticeship more quickly as a journeyman electrician.
Associate Degree Programs require two years to finish and are provided by Michigan community colleges, usually as an Associate Degree in Electrical Technology. They provide a more well-rounded education while providing the foundation that prepares students to begin their apprenticeship program.

As earlier stated, Bachelor’s Degree programs are offered at certain Michigan institutions, but are less preferred at four years than the other shorter programs. The majority of states require that an apprenticeship of no less than 2 years and more typically four years be completed before licensing. For that reason, the majority of students are eager to commence their paid apprenticeship, particularly if it’s not part of their academic program.

Electrician License and Certification Criteria

Flint MI electricians working on power lines Electricians in Flint MI can perform a wide range of tasks, such as testing, installing and replacing electrical systems, and ensuring that the wiring in buildings and homes comply with code standards. After finishing an apprenticeship, journeyman electricians are mandated to be licensed in most municipalities and states. The period of apprenticeship differs by state, but usually about 4 to 5 years of prior experience is called for before taking the licensing examination. The exams usually test general knowledge and electrical theory, in addition to understanding of the National Electrical Code (NEC). Obtaining certification is also a voluntary method for an electrician to identify him or herself as a skilled and experienced professional. The certifications offered differ by state and may be acquired in many specializations, including cable splicing as an example. The certification process in most cases includes three levels of competency:

An experience requirement
Passing a written exam
Passing a practical exam

Examples of certifying organizations include the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (NJATC) and also the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET). It’s important that the electrician tech school that you pick not only provides a solid educational foundation, but also helps prep you for passing any certification and licensing examinations that you might be required to take in the future.

Enrolling in Electrician Schools Online in Flint MI

attending electrician school online in Flint MI An alternative that you might have contemplated is selecting an electrician online program to earn a certificate or degree. While online schools have become more popular as a means of attending class without the need for travel, in this case they are not entirely internet based. Pretty much all electrician schools require partial attendance on campus to obtain hands-on practical training. But since the remainder of the classes can be accessed online, internet learning might be a more practical alternative for individuals that have limited time for schooling. And as a bonus numerous online degree programs have a lower tuition cost compared to their on-campus competitors. Commuting expenses from Flint MI are also lessened and some of the study materials may be available online as well. All of these benefits can make electrician online trade schools more economical and convenient. And many are fully accredited, which we will deal with in our due diligence checklist.

Things to Ask Electrician Trade Schools

Flint MI electrician re-wiring circuit panel When you have decided to earn a diploma, certificate or degree, you can start to focus your school options. Because there are so many electrician vocational and trade schools in the Flint MI region, it’s imperative to have a checklist of criteria that each school must satisfy. The first 2 that we discussed were location and the cost of tuition. If you are interested in earning an degree online, then that needs to be a feature that your chosen school offers. And even though all three qualifiers may be important when making your decision, there are other variables that need to be considered also. Following is a checklist of those additional qualifiers that you will need to research before enrolling in an electrical tech school.

Accreditation. A large number of electrician trade programs have earned either a regional or a national accreditation. They may earn Institutional Accreditation, which involves the school’s programs as a whole, or Programmatic Accreditation, which relates to a specific program, such as electrical technology. Confirm that the Flint MI program is accredited by a U.S. Department of Education approved accrediting agency, for example the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Along with helping guarantee that you acquire a quality education, it may assist in obtaining financial aid or student loans, which are in many cases unavailable for non-accredited schools. Additionally, many states mandate that the electrician training program be accredited for it to be approved for licensing.

High Completion and Placement Rates. Ask the electrician training programs you are reviewing 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 signify that students were unhappy with the course and dropped out. It could also signify that the teachers were not qualified to instruct the students. It’s similarly important that the schools have high job placement rates. Older and/or more reputable schools may have a more extensive list of graduates, which can produce 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 trade, but additionally that it has the network of contacts to assist Flint MI grads obtain apprenticeships or jobs.

Apprenticeship Programs. A large number of electrician vocational programs are taught together with an internship or an apprenticeship program. Those participating vocational and trade programs will help place you in an apprenticeship program within their network of electrician contractors or labor unions. Ask if the schools you are considering have working relationships with Flint MI area electricians or electrical specialists. An apprenticeship not only provides a valuable experience by furnishing practical training, but it also furnishes employment opportunities and helps to establish relationships in the local electrician professional community.

Modern Facilities. Make sure that the campus facilities and the equipment that you will be instructed 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, consult with the electrical specialist you are working under regarding what you should be looking for. Otherwise, ask a local Flint MI electrical contracting company if they can provide some suggestions. Additionally keep in mind that unless you can move, the school must be within driving distance of your Flint home. Take note that if you decide to enroll in an out-of-state school, in addition to moving costs there can be higher tuition charges compared to in-state residents.

Smaller Classes. It’s desirable that you get as much individualized training as possible, which can be challenging in larger classes. Ask if you can sit in on a couple of the classes so that you can see how big they are and experience the interaction between students and instructors. Speak to a few of the students and get their opinions regarding class sizes and instruction. Last, speak to a few of the teachers and learn what their level of expertise is and what degrees or certifications they have earned.

Flexible Scheduling. Confirm that the class schedules for the schools you are reviewing are flexible enough to handle your needs. If you are only able to attend classes in the evening or on weekends near Flint MI, check that the programs you are looking at offer those options. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, be sure that the school you select allows part-time enrollment. Also, ask what the policy is to make-up classes should you miss any because of work, sickness or family emergencies.

Considering Attending an Electrician School near Flint MI?

Following is a little bit of background information about the Flint MI area.

Flint, Michigan

Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, 66 miles (106 km) northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan.[8][9] According to the 2010 census, Flint has a population of 102,434, making it the seventh largest city in Michigan. The Flint metropolitan area is located entirely within Genesee County. It is the fourth largest metropolitan area in Michigan with a population of 425,790 in 2010.[10] The city was incorporated in 1855.

Flint was founded as a village by fur trader Jacob Smith in 1819 and became a major lumbering area on the historic Saginaw Trail during the 19th century. From the late 19th century to the mid 20th century, the city was a leading manufacturer of carriages and later automobiles, earning it the nickname "Vehicle City". General Motors (GM) was founded in Flint in 1908, and the city grew into an automobile manufacturing powerhouse for GM's Buick and Chevrolet divisions after World War II up until the early 1980s recession. Flint was also the home of the Flint Sit-Down Strike of 1936–37 that played a vital role in the formation of the United Auto Workers.

Since the late 1960s, Flint has faced several crises. The city sank into a deep economic depression after GM significantly downsized its workforce in the area from a 1978 high of 80,000 to under 8,000 by 2010. From 1960 to 2010, the population of the city nearly halved from 196,940 to 102,434. In the mid-2000s, Flint became known for its high crime rates and has repeatedly been ranked among the most dangerous cities in the United States.[11] The city was under a state of financial emergency from 2002–2004 and again from 2011–2015.[12][13] Since 2014, the city has faced a major public health emergency due to lead contamination in the local water supply that has affected thousands of residents, as well as an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease due to tainted water.[14][15]

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Select the Ideal Electrician Tech School near Flint MI

Picking the right electrician trade school will probably be the most important decision you will make to begin your new trade. As we have covered in this article, there are several factors that you will need to evaluate and compare between the training programs you are considering. It’s a prerequisite that any electrical tech school that you are evaluating includes a lot of hands-on instruction. Classes need to be small in size and each student must have their own equipment to train with. Classroom instruction should offer a real-world frame of reference, and the curriculum should be up-to-date and in-line with industry standards. Courses vary in length and the type of credential provided, so you will have to determine what length of program and certificate or degree will best serve your needs. Every training program offers different possibilities for certification as well. Probably The ideal approach to research your short list of schools is to visit each campus and talk with the teachers and students. Invest some time to monitor a few classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make certain that you are confident that the school you pick is the ideal one for you. With the right training, hard work and dedication, the end outcome will be a new career as a professional electrician in Flint MI.