Electrician Training in Jacksonville, FL: How Can It Help You on the Electrician Career Path?

Just out of high school and wondering, “What’s next?” Because you don’t want to spend more time in class or pay for 4 years of college?

You’re not alone. 2020 was a tough year, and many of your fellow high school graduates are opting not to go straight to university.¹

So, what can you do instead? Trade school is an option.

If you live in Jacksonville, Florida, you can complete an electrician training program in as little as 7 months. See more about how electrician training can help you get started on the electrician career path in this article, as well as the licensing requirements for electricians where you live.

Do You Need a License to Be an Electrician in Florida?

The short answer? Yes, you need a license to be an electrician in Florida.² State law requires electrical contracting to be done by licensed electrical contractors.² The official agency that oversees and issues electrician licenses in Florida state is The Electrical Contractors’ Licensing Board.³

Types of Electrician Licenses in Florida

There are two main types of electrician licenses in Florida:⁴

• Certified Electrical Contractor (EC)—This license allows the electrician to work anywhere in the state of Florida.⁴
• Registered Electrical Contractor (ER)—This license limits the electrician to working only in the counties or municipalities in which they hold the license.⁴

There are also two types of specialty licenses for electricians in Florida:⁴

• Certified Specialty Electrical Contractor (ES)³
• Registered Specialty Electrical Contractor (ET)³

Specialty electrician licenses may describe a contractor whose scope of work is limited to a specific area of electrical contracting, such as utility line electrical specialist or low voltage system specialist.³ Because of these specialty designations, it’s important to know what type of electrical work different licenses will legally allow a contractor to do.³

You can review the licensing board’s Scope of Work chart to get an idea of the licensing breakdown.⁵ Always be sure to check the specific guidelines in your state, county and city to make sure you meet all the legal requirements to work as an electrician.

Tulsa Welding School career representatives in Jacksonville are available to talk to interested students and graduates about electrical training and licenses in the region. Call 1-855-806-4921 for assistance.

How Do I Get a Journeyman Electrician License in Florida?

Florida doesn’t offer separate journeyman and master electrician licenses. The main electrician licenses available are the Certified or Registered Electrical Contractor licenses.⁴

How to Get the Registered Electrical Contractor (ER) License

The Registered Electrical Contractor (ER) license may vary by city or county.⁴ In order to become a Registered Electrical Contractor (ER), you must pass a local state or county exam and submit that to the Board.⁴ In Jacksonville, the Construction Trades Qualifying Board administers the local electrician exam.⁶

How to Get the Certified Electrical Contractor (ER) License

The Certified Electrical Contractor (EC) license covers all types of electrical work.⁴ In order to qualify as a Certified Electrical Contractor (EC), you must be able to prove that you have the relevant experience.⁴

This could be six years of “comprehensive training, technical education or broad experience associated with an electrical contracting business.”⁴ Some of the other eligibility criteria include electrical work in the Armed Forces or management experience.⁴ Be sure to check all updated guidelines for specific eligibility criteria across all the different licenses.

Once you are eligible to take a licensing exam, you would need to pay the fees and then schedule a date to take the state licensing examination.⁴

Each state licensing exam consists of two parts:

1) Technical/safety

2) Business⁷

The technical/safety portion of the exam can vary for each different type of license, but generally they are about 5 hours long with 100 questions.⁸ The business section is 2 ½ hours long with 50 questions.⁸ Both sections are open book.⁸ The questions are designed to test your electrical knowledge and ability to use the National Electric Code (NEC).⁸

Once an electrician is licensed, the state of Florida requires a certain number of continuing education hours to maintain the license and a yearly renewal.³

How Do I Start My Career as an Electrician?

You might be wondering about how to gain the years of experience and electrical knowledge needed to qualify for an electrician license in Florida.

Before you could be eligible to become a licensed electrician in Jacksonville, Florida, typically you would spend a few years in training. Electricians often complete a 4- or 5-year paid apprenticeship under the supervision of master electricians.⁹

Before that, some people enroll in electrician training at a vocational school to gain fundamental knowledge and basic skills as preparation for an entry-level position. The only other educational requirement is a high school diploma or equivalent.

Electrician Training in Jacksonville, FL

So, if you have not completed high school or earned a GED, that is the first step.⁹ Next, decide on a technical training program. For example, Tulsa Welding School in Jacksonville, Florida, offers a 7-month Electrical Applications program with flexible class schedules and scholarship opportunities.

During electrician classes and labs at TWS, you can get instruction in the fundamentals of electrical and mechanical principles and practices:

Fundamentals of Electricity

Learn about schematic wiring, electrician safety and how to use test meters. Get practice working on the dual voltage systems common to HVAC equipment.

Fundamentals of Solar

Combining hands-on labs with lecture, the Fundamentals of Solar course can allow you to see how photovoltaic systems are designed and installed. Plus, you could learn about the electrical wiring issues these systems tend to encounter.

Residential Electrical Wiring

Get to know the most up-to-date version of the National Electrical Code. Put on electrician safety gear and wire a scaled-down three-bedroom home! How’s that for hands-on training?

Basic and Advanced Commercial Wiring

Continue learning the National Electrical Code. See how to calculate loads, read blueprints and estimate cost. Put your new knowledge to work wiring a commercial building to code.

Next, take your commercial electrician skills to the next level with advanced wiring: see how to select the right pull and junction boxes, select and install conductors and calculate load requirements for branch and feeder circuits.

Best Practices for Motors and Lighting

Incandescent, high-intensity discharge, LED and fluorescent lighting—you’ll learn about them all in the Motors and Lighting Practices electrician course, as well as the ins and outs of DC and AC motors.

Electrical Distribution Systems

Test your knowledge of the National Electrical Code! Calculate transformer sizes. Select the proper sized fuses and circuit breakers for various applications. Discover how switchgears are constructed and maintained.

TWS’ electrician training program can help prepare you for entry-level positions as a residential electrician, commercial electrician, industrial electrician, solar panel installer and maintenance electrician.¹⁰

Train for an Electrician Career with TWS in Jacksonville, FL

Want to know more about what electrician training in Jacksonville, FL, could hold in store for you? Chat with a TWS rep today. Call 855-237-7711.

¹https://nscresearchcenter.org/high-school-benchmarks/
²http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0400-0499/0489/Sections/0489.503.html
³http://www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/electrical-contractors/
⁴http://www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/electrical-contractors/faqs/#1488479371253-872f97e5-2e03
⁵http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/pro/elboard/documents/know_your_scope.pdf
⁶https://www.coj.net/departments/regulatory-boards-and-commissions/construction-trades-qualifying-board
⁷http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/examination-information/electrical-examinations/#1508178731062-162fea5f-d475
⁸http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/servop/testing/documents/eleccib.pdf