Choosing a profession as an electrician someday is a process that requires and an active effort to learn its craft. Like many other professions, it is a step-by-step process which starts you off as a clueless—or if not, partially hinted—individual who have lots to learn, but is often superseded by the enthusiasm of the prospect.
Not many may feel it that way. But if you do, you know for sure that you are heading at the right path in your life.
It is worth reiterating that to aspire of becoming a certified electrician someday is to take into account the fact that it takes years of hands-on learning. Like any other endeavor worthy of taking, for one to be fully equipped with the knowledge and skill required to call oneself a bona fide proponent of the electrical trade someday is indeed to go through that challenge.
How Long is Electrician School
Considering that our time is precious as it is something we cannot take back; you would do yourself great service in doing a deeper self-assessment as to whether or not the electrician trade is for you. Before proceeding to jump into the electricians’ bandwagon, understand what makes you pursue the role and weigh down the trade-offs you would be willing to make.
So, after some deep pondering and you still find yourself committed in pursuing a future career as an electrician; then great, it is now time for you to learn what is in store and what are the challenges that it entails as you go through its tutelage.
The Path to Apprenticeship
While it is true that many will suggest an aspiring individual to go through apprenticeship as a means towards his goal, it is worth noting that entry into any apprenticeship is not a walk in the park.
(In one of our previous articles, we explained why getting accepted as an apprentice is not as simple as many will presume.)
If you take the notion of an apprenticeship program as a “paid on-the-job” training, it is not that hard to see what good opportunities which becoming an apprentice offers, particularly after going through it all. Hence, why also the approval for admission is rather stringent to certain requirements every applicant is expected to meet.
For instance, if you are a high school graduate without any particular experience or idea at what an electrical job entails , let alone the basic science behind it, you are significantly of inferior status to a similar high school graduate who has significant knowledge of either the trade or the science behind the trade.
Yet, that is only speaking in the context of high school grads alone, there are also graduates of technical schools, who are relatively with more insight and experience, who aspire for the same privilege.
But do not mistake the idea as a competition among your fellow applicants. This is more of a battle towards meeting certain criteria which, if met, will approve your admission as an apprentice. If you consider it a different way, the initial screening process to apprenticeship is a proving ground.
Speaking of applicants who are graduates from a tertiary school relevant to the electrical trade, this leads us to a topic of having a preliminary experience towards apprenticeship—having a short venture in college related to the field.
Tertiary Education as a Key to Apprenticeship
If you have read one of our articles which delves on the topic of apprenticeship, you are probably aware of this point as to how “experience” and “actual insight” about the electrical job are essential in augmenting your chances of getting approved for apprenticeship.
There are plenty of ways to go about it, but one of the most effective way of earning the merit is through a short vocational course at your chosen technical school or community college.
But like any preliminary endeavors, a short learning experience in a technical school or community college is not complete; yet they will be sufficient enough to equip you with the base knowledge and skill to develop from as another starting point in your learning.
As a student of this short-term endeavor, you should expect to allot 2 years of your time being in school, learning your way about the sciences and the workaround about electricity.
Apprenticeship, a Hands-on Learning Experience
So, you managed to earn your diploma from your chosen technical school or community college and had subsequently boosted your chance to earn an apprenticeship. Congratulations!
But, what next?
You may already be a step away to becoming a full-fledged electrician who is ready to take on the world and make it better through electricity. But an apprenticeship program is a longer endeavor than your preliminary experience back in college.
As per requirement of the state, an apprenticeship must allot 1000 hours of his time learning the concepts of the trade in classroom and another 8000 hours doing an actual, hands-on job in the training. Roughly, this translates to around 4 or 5 years of learning; some even going as far as 6 years.
Luckily, unlike your previous experience at a technical school or community college where you are asked to pay for your education out of your own pocket—or someone else’s pocket like your parents—going through your apprenticeship is a rewarding experience. If anything, this means that you get paid as you do work and learn on the job.
Depending on how you look at it, getting paid while you learn is actually a perk over any other profession which drains you of money, sometimes even to a point of burying you in debt for you to pay after college.
However, back to the question—
How long does it take to go through electrician school programs and trainings?
Not counting apprenticeship time, you should expect yourself to invest at least a year or two years in college if you are so keen in boosting your chances for an admission into any apprenticeship program.
A year in a technical school or community college nets you a career diploma or certificate but which you can extend for another year in order to attain an “Associate’s Degree” for the same trade.
Tallying the overall time it will take you to become a journeyman electrician —or a certified electrician—is simply to add the time you will take to go through an apprenticeship.