What to Ask Electrician Tech Schools<\/strong><\/h3>\nOnce you have made a decision to obtain a diploma, certificate or degree, you can begin to focus your training options. Because there are so many electrician tech and trade schools in the Palo Alto CA region, it’s essential to have a checklist of criteria that each school must satisfy. The initial 2 that we talked about were location and tuition expense. If you have an interest in earning an degree online, then that needs to be an option that your final school offers. And while all three qualifiers may be critical when making your selection, there are other variables that must be considered also. Following is a checklist of those additional qualifications that you will need to research prior to selecting an electrical technical school.<\/p>\n
Accreditation. <\/strong>Many electrician technical schools have received 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 an individual program, for instance electrical technology. Make sure that the Palo Alto CA program and school are accredited by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting organization, which includes the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. In addition to helping guarantee that you obtain a quality education, it can help in obtaining financial aid or student loans, which are frequently not available for non-accredited programs. Also, a number of states require that the electrician training course be accredited for it to be approved for licensing.<\/p>\nHigh Completion and Placement Rates. <\/strong>Ask the electrician training programs you are looking at what their completion rates are. The completion rate is the percentage or portion of students who enroll in and finish the program. A lower completion rate might indicate that students were unhappy with the program and quit. It may also suggest that the instructors were not competent to instruct the students. It’s similarly important that the schools have higher job placement rates. Older and\/or more reputable schools may have a more extensive directory of alumni, which may mean more contacts for the school to utilize 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 also that it has the network of contacts to help Palo Alto CA graduates secure apprenticeships or employment.<\/p>\nApprenticeship Programs. <\/strong>A large number of electrician technical programs are taught along with an apprenticeship or an internship program. Those participating trade and vocational programs will help place you in an apprenticeship program inside their network of electrician contractors or trade unions. Ask if the schools you are comparing have referring partnerships with Palo Alto CA area electricians or electrical companies. An apprenticeship not only provides a valuable experience by providing practical training, but it also provides employment opportunities and helps to build relationships in the regional electrician professional community.<\/p>\nModern Facilities. <\/strong>Confirm that the campus facilities and the tools that you will be trained on are state-of-the-art and what you will be using on the job. If you are currently in an internship or an apprenticeship, consult with the electrical specialist you are working with regarding what you should be expecting. Otherwise, ask a local Palo Alto CA electrical contracting company if they can provide some suggestions. Additionally bear in mind that unless you are able to move, the school needs to be within driving distance of your Palo Alto home. Remember that if you decide to enroll in an out-of-state school, in addition to relocation costs there might be increased tuition fees compared to in-state residents.<\/p>\nSmaller Classes. <\/strong>It’s desirable that you get as much one-on-one training as possible, which can be challenging in bigger classes. Ask if you can sit in on some of the classes so that you can observe how big they are and witness first hand the interaction between students and instructors. Speak to several of the students and get their comments regarding class sizes and instruction. Finally, talk to some of the teachers and learn what their level of experience is and what degrees or certifications they have earned.<\/p>\nFlexible Scheduling. <\/strong>Verify that the class schedules for the programs you are assessing are flexible enough to fulfill your needs. If you are only able to go to classes at night or on weekends near Palo Alto CA, verify that the schools you are comparing offer those choices. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, make sure that the school you select allows part-time enrollment. Also, check out what the policy is to make-up classes should you miss any because of work, sickness or family issues.<\/p>\nConsidering Attending an Electrician School near Palo Alto CA?<\/h3>\n
Following is a little bit of background information about the Palo Alto CA area.<\/p>\n
Palo Alto, California<\/h3>
Palo Alto (\/\u02ccp\u00e6lo\u028a \u02c8\u00e6lto\u028a\/) is a charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Palo Alto means tall tree in Spanish; the city is named after a coastal redwood tree called El Palo Alto.\n<\/p>
Palo Alto was established by Leland Stanford Sr. when he founded Stanford University, following the death of his son, Leland Stanford Jr. The city includes portions of Stanford University and is headquarters to a number of high-technology companies, including Hewlett-Packard (HP), Space Systems\/Loral, VMware, Tesla, Ford Research and Innovation Center, PARC, IDEO, Skype, Palantir Technologies, Houzz, and Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center.[7] Palo Alto has also served as an incubator and as headquarters to several other prominent high-technology companies such as Apple,[8]Google,[9]Facebook, Logitech,[10]Intuit, Pinterest, and PayPal.\n<\/p>
Palo Alto shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. As of the 2010 census, the city's total resident population is 64,403.[5] Palo Alto is one of the five most expensive cities in the United States to live in[11][12] and its residents are among the highest educated in the country.[13]<\/p><\/div>\n