Find Electrician Schools Near Me in Easton PA 18040

How to Become an Electrician in Easton Pennsylvania

Easton PA electrician inspecting circuit panel The initial step to learning to be an electrical contractor or tradesman is finding an electrician trade school near Easton PA. But with so many vocational schools to select from, just how do you go about making sure that you enroll in the best one? Especially because there are a number of points to evaluate. For example, many students will commence by searching for schools that are close to their residence. Once they have found a few that are within driving range, they will pick the one with the most affordable tuition. While cost and location are significant, they are not the only factors that need to be considered. Also critical are the reputations of the schools, their accreditation, along with their graduation and job placement rates. These and other qualifiers should influence your ultimate decision when picking an electrician school. We will discuss that checklist in greater detail later in this post. But first, let’s talk a little bit about becoming an electrician and the training choices that are offered.

Electrician Degree, Diploma and Certificate Options near Easton PA

Easton PA electrician re-wiring power outlet There are several ways to receive electrician instruction in a trade or technical school near Easton PA. You may select a diploma or certificate program, or obtain an Associate Degree. Bachelor’s Degrees are offered at some schools, but are not as common as the first three options. In many cases these programs are made available combined with an apprenticeship program, which are mandated by most states to become licensed or if you want to become certified. Following are brief explanations of the 3 most prevalent programs offered.

Diploma and Certificate Programs are generally provided by Pennsylvania trade and technical schools and require approximately a year to complete. They provide a solid foundation and are geared towards individuals who want to join an apprenticeship faster as a journeyman electrician.
Associate Degree Programs require two years to finish and are provided by Pennsylvania community colleges, commonly as an Associate Degree in Electrical Technology. They provide a more extensive education while providing the foundation that readies students to enter into their apprenticeship program.

As previously mentioned, Bachelor’s Degrees are offered at certain Pennsylvania institutions, but are less preferred at four years than the other shorter programs. Many states mandate that an apprenticeship of at least 2 years and in most cases 4 years be performed prior to licensing. Because of that, most students are eager to commence their paid apprenticeship, especially if it’s not part of their academic program.

Electrician Certification and Licensing Requirements

Easton PA electricians working on power lines Electricians in Easton PA can carry out a multitude of services, such as installing, replacing and testing electrical systems, and ensuring that the wiring in buildings and homes are up to code standards. After concluding an apprenticeship, journeyman electricians are required to be licensed in the majority of municipalities and states. The length of apprenticeship differs by state, but commonly around 4 to 5 years of experience is required before taking the licensing examination. The exams usually test electrical theory and general knowledge, in addition to knowledge of the National Electrical Code (NEC). Receiving certification is also a voluntary way for an electrician to identify him or herself as a skilled and experienced professional. The certifications available differ by state and can be obtained in many specializations, including cable splicing as an example. The certification process in most cases includes 3 levels of competency:

An experience requirement
Passing a written exam
Passing a practical exam

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

Attending Electrician Online Training Classes in Easton PA

attending electrician school online in Easton PA A possibility that you may have looked at is enrolling in an online electrician school to earn a certificate or degree. Even though online schools have become more popular as a means of attending class without needing to travel, in this case they are not completely internet based. Just about all electrician training programs require partial attendance on-campus to get practical hands-on training. But since the balance of the classes may be accessed online, internet learning might be a more accommodating option for students that have limited time for schooling. And as an added benefit numerous online training programs have a cheaper tuition cost compared to their on-campus competitors. Travelling expenses from Easton PA are also lessened and a portion of the study materials may be accessed online also. Each of these advantages can make online electrician trade schools more affordable and convenient. And a number are fully accredited, which we will cover in our questions to ask checklist.

What to Ask Electrician Tech Schools

Easton PA electrician re-wiring circuit panel When you have made a decision to earn a certificate, diploma or degree, you can start to narrow down your school options. Since there are numerous electrician tech and trade schools in the Easton PA region, it’s important to have a checklist of qualifications that each school must satisfy. The first two that we mentioned were location and tuition expense. If you have an interest in earning an degree online, then that needs to be a feature that your final school offers. And although all three qualifiers may be crucial when making your selection, there are other variables that need to be considered also. Following is a checklist of those additional qualifications that you will need to analyze prior to selecting an electrical vocational school.

Accreditation. A large number of electrician technical programs have earned either a regional or a national accreditation. They can acquire Institutional Accreditation, which involves the school’s programs as a whole, or Programmatic Accreditation, which pertains to a specific program, such as electrical technology. Make sure that the Easton PA program and school are accredited by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting organization, such as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Along with helping ensure that you get a quality education, it can help in obtaining financial aid or student loans, which are frequently unavailable for non-accredited schools. Also, a number of states mandate that the electrician training program be accredited in order to be approved for licensing.

High Completion and Placement Rates. Ask the electrician schools you are reviewing what their completion rates are. The completion rate is the percentage of students who enroll in and complete the course. A lower completion rate could indicate that students were disappointed with the program and quit. It could also indicate that the instructors were not qualified to instruct the students. It’s similarly imperative that the schools have high job placement rates. Older and/or more reputable schools may have a more extensive list of alumni, which may mean more contacts for the school to employ for their apprenticeship and job placement programs. A high job placement rate can not only confirm that the school has a good reputation within the field, but additionally that it has the network of contacts to help Easton PA students obtain apprenticeships or employment.

Apprenticeship Programs. Numerous electrician training programs are taught in conjunction 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 trade unions. Check if the schools you are considering have working partnerships with Easton PA area electricians or electrical specialists. An apprenticeship not only provides a valuable experience by supplying practical training, but it also provides employment opportunities and helps to form 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 in the field. If you are presently in an internship or an apprenticeship, consult with the electrical technician you are working with concerning what you should be expecting. Otherwise, ask a local Easton PA electrical company if they can provide some tips. Also bear in mind that unless you can relocate, the school must be within commuting distance of your Easton home. Take note that if you decide to attend an out-of-state school, in addition to relocation costs there can be increased tuition fees compared to in-state residents.

Smaller Classes. It’s important that you receive as much personalized instruction as possible, which can be difficult in bigger classes. Ask if you can monitor a couple of the classes so that you can observe how big they are and witness first hand the interaction between instructors and students. Speak with several of the students and get their comments relating to class sizes and instruction. Last, talk to a few of the teachers and learn what their level of expertise is and what degrees or certifications they hold.

Flexible Scheduling. Confirm that the class schedules for the schools you are assessing are flexible enough to meet your needs. If you can only go to classes at night or on weekends near Easton PA, confirm that the schools you are looking at offer those options. If you can only attend part-time, be sure that the school you select permits part-time enrollment. Additionally, ask what the policy is to make-up classes should you miss any due to work, illness or family emergencies.

Considering Attending an Electrician School near Easton PA?

Following is a little bit of background information about the Easton PA area.

Easton, Pennsylvania

Easton is a city in and the county seat of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States.[3] The city's population was 26,800 as of the 2010 census.[4] Easton is located at the confluence of the Delaware River and the Lehigh River, roughly 55 miles (89 km) north of Philadelphia and 70 miles (110 km) west of New York City.

Easton is the easternmost city in the Lehigh Valley, a region of 731 square miles (1,893 km2) that is home to more than 800,000 people. Together with Allentown and Bethlehem, the Valley embraces the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metropolitan area, including Lehigh, Northampton, and Carbon counties within Pennsylvania, and Warren County in the adjacent state of New Jersey. Easton is the smallest of the three Lehigh Valley cities, with approximately one-fourth of the population of the largest Lehigh Valley city, Allentown. In turn, this metropolitan area comprises Pennsylvania's third-largest metropolitan area and the state's largest and most populous contribution to the greater New York City metropolitan area.

The city is split up into four sections: Historic Downtown, which lies directly to the north of the Lehigh River, to the west of the Delaware River, continuing west to Sixth Street; The West Ward, which lies between Sixth and Fifteenth Streets; The South Side, which lies south of the Lehigh River; and College Hill, a neighborhood on the hills to the north of downtown, which is the home of Lafayette College, a liberal arts and engineering institution. The boroughs of Wilson, West Easton, and Glendon are also directly adjacent to the city; the first and largest of which, Wilson, partially aligns in the same North-South Grid as the city of Easton.

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Pick the Ideal Electrical Technical School near Easton PA

Choosing the right electrical trade school will undoubtedly be the most critical decision you will make to begin your new profession. As we have addressed in this article, there are several factors that you will need to evaluate and compare among the training programs you are looking at. It’s a necessity that any electrical training program that you are evaluating includes a considerable amount of hands-on training. Classes should be small in size and each student must have their personal equipment to train with. Classroom teaching needs to provide a real-world frame of reference, and the curriculum should be current and in-line with industry standards. Programs vary in duration and the type of credential offered, so you will have to decide what length of program and degree or certificate will best satisfy your needs. Every program offers different options for certification also. Probably the best way to research your short list of schools is to visit each campus and speak with the teachers and students. Take the time to monitor some classes. Tour the campus and facilities. Make certain that you are confident that the training program you choose is the ideal one for you. With the proper training, effort and commitment, the final result will be a new occupation as a professional electrician in Easton PA.