Electrical Training

Hi, all. I am new to this forum. I hope it prooves educational and constructive. I have worked in maintenance and engineering in industrial plants for many years. However, I have never recieved formal training in the electrical field. What I know has been learned by working with machinery over the years. I have been forced to troubleshoot machinery out of necessity. I would like very much to get an electrical licence through independent study. I plan on building machines after I retire and I believe the licence would be helpful. Is there some good, affordable training out there or do I just need to wade through the books on my own. Thanks

Where I live you need to be sponsered by your employer as a registered apprentice and demonstrate many hours of relevant experience in addition to formal schooling. Industrial Electrician in Ontario, Canada requires 9,000 hours on the job, 8 months of classroom spread over 4 years or so. You can then write the test or Certificate of Qualification (CofQ) to get your licence.

Not sure how it works in other jurisdictions.

Brian.

This link can take you to the information for the state you seek a license.
http://www.electric-find.com/license.htm

Thanks, Brian. In Georgia I don't think it is quite that restrictive although I might be wrong. At any rate, knowing the code without the licence would also be very helpful. We have a plant with 156,000 sq ft and I have a lot of experience in our plant, but I would not know how to translate it into hours. I do electrical, mechanical, and machine work. Most of the electricians that have come into our plant do not have licences but are working under their employer's licence. I have been told that what makes it difficult here to get a licence is all of the non-electrical knowledge that is needed to pass the required tests. I don't really know for sure so that is why I am asking. It may be something that I just can't do at this late date. I'm 54. Thanks for your reply.

Following that link to the Georgia Licensing site I couldnt find any requirements of an electrical contractor license except taking the test. There are 2 classes of licensing with Class I restricted to single phase at 200 amps or less.

The Georgia Law code explains it here:
http://www.legis.state.ga.us/cgi-bin/gl_codes_detail.pl?code=43-14-6

The site for applications etc is here:
http://www.sos.state.ga.us/plb/construct/

The test does involve more than electrical but its along the lines of NEC codes, Fed regulations, permits etc.

In Alabama you have to show 8000 hours (4 years) to get a journeyman license then another 8000 hours to get a Masters.

License? What is that?

I don't have any form or fashion of a license, just 14 years experience with machine tools. The guys here run circles around me on PLCs and motor knowledge.

I'm 56.

BUT! I do machine tool repair @$75/hr and have a network of guys that cover mech work. - I just do CNC installs, repairs, wire-ups and button pushing. Occasionally I get a call for PLC work and scratch my head.

Don't get me wrong - I get greasy on machines. Once I've determined the problem, I just wave a couple of $20s at lunch time an let others strain their backs.

Here in DFW land I found that a masters electricians license can get you up to $16/hr at 6Flags. What a waste of knowledge.

Since you are 54 you must face the fact that you (like myself) are becoming too old. too overqualified and don't want to climb too high to hump a monster motor.

SO:
How good are your math skills?
Do you have an o'scope?.
Can you assert yourself in a machine repair problem (explain to the manager that THIS is the way to effect the repair).
Can you rebuild a hydraulic or pneumatic ram?
Can you troubleshoot the servo valve?
Can you read/use a Fluke DMM to test ALL circuits?
How many CNC machine controls can you operate and program?

Go for it!

Rod (the CNC dude)

hi guys from north georgia. i am as well in the north west georgia area. i do not have a georgia liscense but i do have a city of chattanooga liscence. in chattanooga for starters you must work as an aprentice under a liscensed contractor.(plant work dont get it) for three years then you can go for a journeyman. and then up from there. chattanooga is strictly electrical

when i was gonna go take my georgia and seen 70 percent was on accounting(they want to make shure you know how to pay your taxes) i said forget it. hope this helps

Actually, Rod, I don't have to worry too much about job security. I'm one of the owners of the plant I work in. My brother and I started our business with nothing and worked our ***'s off fourteen hours per day for many years. Now, we have a pretty good business with a good customer base. My brother supplied the business know how and I supplied the technical know how. Don't get me wrong, my brother is no desk jockey. He's a very good production man and still spends most of his time on the shop floor in spite of the size of our business. I'm a jack of all trades and MASTER OF NONE. What I know about the electrical is from experience and the necessity of working with it. I had to learn about machinery and controls out of necessity. We never could find anyone who was competent to fix it when it broke down so it was forced on me because that is where my talents lie. I don't claim to be a master of anything and am still learning. God willing I will be able to keep learning until I die. The electrical licence is something that I would like to have for the satisfaction of knowing the code well enough to pass the exam. I don't know the code well enough to pass right now, but if I make up my mind to learn something I usually succeed at doing it. Whenever I build a machine for our plant I take great pride in the control boxes that I build. I would still like to aquire a licence if possible. However, the knowledge is more important to me than the licence. Thanks for your post. Thanks for all of your posts.

Gotcha! I'm on the same page now.

In your shoes I would just crack the books and blow off the test. Iassume you have little or no desire to waste time on the financial/taxes/permit paper stuff, just the meat?

If you need a Master to sign off a project hire one you've used in the plant. If he knows your work is to code then rubber stamp.

I would look on the net for a 'testing exam' kinda thing. Surely that exists.

Good luck,
Rod (the CNC dude)

I would like very much to get an electrical licence through independent study. I plan on building machines after I retire and I believe the licence would be helpful.

Click to expand...

maybe for figuring out load requirements and such, but standard electrical is a far cry from setting up electrical controls. You should consider some standard ac/dc electrical courses as well as they'll be much more helpful when designing machinery.

Well now they have ALL had their say,
I need to say a few things, first of all in your job have you been under the supervision of some maintenance or electrical department, and if so they MUST have a licensed Electrician somewhere in the whole place! That is because you can do what you do. Not too many people know that licensed electricians share their license around in a company by saying they are supervising! If your not licensed yourself, your riding on a license of SOMEONE! Find out from your human resource department who is a "Licensed Electrician" in the employment of the company. Contact that licensed electrician and ask if he will sponser you, chances are he will be more than happy to as long as you have the experience and know how! Offer up to him the fact that you have done your job, for so long, perhaps he will give you credit towards an apprintiship! I did just that, I also got credit for classes taken while working for the company. Just remember, you still have to pass the test!

I would suggest visiting the NFPA website: http://www.nfpa.org/catalog/home/index.asp and picking up a copy of the version of the electrical code adopted by Georga. You might find this book interesting also. Browsing the Georga.gov website it seems either that they dont have an electrictions license, or they have an incomplete website. Rather a Electrical Contractors License, which to me is very different. You might have to call them to find out for sure.

P.S. when I'm 54 (10 years from now) I'm going to be throwing darts at a map of the world, and checking my 401K balance, to figure out where and when I'm going next, rather then be changing carears. Maybe I'll see ya in Aruba.

I'm from Central Georgia and last year I decided to get my electrical license. While I'm not quite your age, I decided to do so for more of personal accomplishment than any other. Georgia has a restricted(Class 1) and a Non-restricted(Class 2) contractor's license. A little different from other states that have a journeyman or master. Basically the difference between the two is this : restricted limits you to single phase electrical work under 200 amps. Everything else is covered under unresticted. There is a seperate license for low voltage electrical.
The requirements that you must meet are four years of experience for the work covered under the class you are applying for signed off by an electrical contractor. I had problems because like you I work in an industrial plant but as an industrial electronics technician(That's what my diploma is in). I was doing electronic and electrical work, but the rules are favored toward construction electricians. Do a search on the internet for Georgia Professional Licensing Boards Division. Look for electrical contractor and you should find all the info you need.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Hey, Thanks for all of the advice, guys. Hope you had a good labor day weekend. I'll probably work till I'm dead and gone. I enjoy what I do. We'll just have to see what the Good Lord has in store for me. Thanks, helluvawreck

Just curouis

Up here in Canada, we have elctrcal inspecters who check that the electrical work is up to par, and it requires a licences electricain to sign of on the work, and the inspections.

This post kinda scares me in thinking that there are no required standards in the States. Please tell that the not just any Tom, Dick or Harry can walk in from the street with no training and start working in the elecrical feild with out a "Journyman" for guidence.

Cuz if thats is the case it explanes the whole blackout thing last year.