Introduction
A person interested in career stability, high pay, good benefits, and gaining hands-on experience, then an electrical job is the correct choice for you. The sector has tremendous prospects irrespective of the work you do. According to a statistic, between 2019 and 2029, the employment opportunities for electricians are set to grow nearly 8% in the decade, which is higher than the average of all occupations.
There is plenty of training required in the early stages of becoming an electrician. Moreover, with codes and regulations evolving, a major part of the electrician’s job is to stay updated with the changes in the field. Thus, in that perspective, electrical continuing education is a brilliant way to keep you in the hunt of getting a high-paying and respectable job.
A brief description about continuing electrical education
Irrespective of the state you live in, once you have been awarded an electrical license, you need to maintain it. Thus for continuously maintaining and renewing it, you need the help of continuing education courses. Although the process of continuing education and license renewal requirements will vary from one state to another, the knowledge required for renewing the license will stay the same.
Thus continuing education is mandatory for a professional who wants to keep their license intact. A person interested in continuing education can obtain it through online courses, in-person classes, webinars, and correspondence courses.
The need for continuing education is immense because the electrical field is continuously changing because of new practices. Thus, continuing education is essential for every person in the electrical field to stay in line with the latest changes in the sector.
How to get your Electrical License Renewed?
Without education, you won’t be able to perform any electrical work. Thus, to create a career in the electrical field, you need to have a high school diploma or GED equivalent. If you already have these documents, you need to enroll yourself in a pre-apprenticeship program at a vocational or technical school and join a four or five-year apprenticeship program.
The apprenticeship program is highly intensive and requires you to attend and submit several hours of coursework and hands-on experience in the field. However, the requirements may vary from one state to another. For instance, in South Dakota, electricians need to show 8,000 hours of job experience. Then they need to pass an examination to get a journeymen license. Moreover, to become an electrician, they need to work additional 4,000 hours under a contractor and then pass an examination to become an electrician.
Furthermore, to get a journeyman electrician or master electrician license, every state has its own criteria for continuing education credit hours that you require to complete for renewing your license.
Specifically, to renew your electrician license, you need to get a specific number of continuing education hours in code changes made by National Electrical Code (NEC). The NEC is responsible for formulating national standards for safe electrical design. These codes are adopted by every state in the country. These codes are updated every 3 years. Moreover, you will also be required to review best industry practices and electrical safety procedures.
It is highly important for you to make sure that you work as an electrician for a stipulated amount of time. Because every state allows a person to renew their license only when they have worked around a certain number of hours, such as in California, you need to get 2000 hours of work experience in the electrical field over 3 years before you are eligible for a license renewal.
Moreover, you also need to have a certain amount of continuing education hours before applying for the license renewal process in every state. Therefore, once you have completed continuing education hours, the education provider will give you a certificate with the continuing education credits in it. Once you have received the certificate, you can apply for your electrical license renewal.
How many times can I get my license renewed?
Since the electrical license requires plenty of effort in earning it, thus even if your license expires, you can still renew it. However, you will have to pay the penalty for applying late.
Generally, the renewal fee varies from one state to another. For instance, in Texas, the electricians need to pay $45 as a renewal fee if the journeyman’s license has expired less than 90 days. However, from the 91st day, the fee for the renewal is increased to $60. Moreover, along with the fee, you are also required to submit an additional form.
Moreover, in most states, if the license has expired within three years, then the license can be renewed, and in that case, you need to reapply for the license from the start. To know more about the license formalities, you must contact the state fees and requirements department.
Benefits of adopting to Continuing Education
Any field with engineering as a major component demands continuing education to maintain the license validity. But even if your field doesn’t require a professional license, in such a scenario continuing education can have several benefits as well. Moreover, voluntarily completing continuing education demonstrate your passion for the field. Additionally, it also enhances your expertise in the field.
Therefore continuing education is beneficial for every profession in their respective fields.
Enrolling yourself in continuing education program can prove beneficial for you in the following 8 ways mentioned below.
- Continuing education helps you stay updated with the new technology, laws and regulations.
- It helps you in maintaining the validity of your professional engineer license.
- Continuing education helps you in professional development.
- It can help you in growing your skillset.
- Continuing education helps you in proving your professional competency.
- It can also help you in creating your unique identity amongst the competition.
- Continuing education provides you with skills that can strengthen your resume.
- Since you gain several new skills with continuing education, you will be able to get better salaries from your employers.
Conclusion
In this article, we have explained the importance of continuing education for professionals irrespective of their fields. Moreover, the article also gives you information regarding the impact of continuing education on getting an electrician license.
