How to Become a Senior Electrician
Working as a senior electrician requires multiple years of training and work-related experience. From classroom training to hours logged as an apprentice or journeyman, the road to working as a senior electrician is paved with many years of learning and service. With foresight and planning, you can progress to a senior electrician in five to 10 years; although it can take as much as 20 years depending on the state where the electrician resides and the hiring contractor.
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Instructions
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Earn a Bachelor of Science degree. Choose a technical discipline ranging from Electrical Engineering to Computer Science. If possible, begin participation in a 3- to 5-year apprenticeship. It is best to begin trade experience at the college level and then moving into a full-time apprenticeship at the completion of a bachelor's degree. Contact local unions or review apprenticeship programs offered by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Upon graduation you should expect to have completed 144 hours of classroom instruction and 2,000 hours of work-related experience.
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Obtain certification. Certification guidelines and requirements vary by state and employer (see resources). However, you must obtain at least one of the following industry accepted certifications: CCDP (Cisco Certified Design Professional), CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional) or JNCIP (Juniper Networks Certified Internetworking Professional).
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Gain five to 10 years of equipment-handling and supervising experience. Include other areas of experience like planning and installation. Demonstrate an ability with standard electrical systems and low-voltage systems. A senior electrician would be experienced with both systems.
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Demonstrate a working knowledge of electrical theory, the National Electrical Code, and local electric and building codes and all required technical procedures therein. If required by your state or employer, you must obtain licensing and demonstrate via a written exam that you are competent at the mechanical, technical and supervisory level.
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Tips & Warnings
Licensing, certification and other qualifications vary by state, contractor or employer.
Resources
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Comments
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windycitypeter
Aug 07, 2009
I hope this author did not number these in order. Getting a BA is not the path most "senior electricians" take. Some who really love the trade and are ambitious will go back to school after they have had many years in the trade and can financially afford it. But a college degree is by no means a requirement to be a great electrician. Most of the electrical systems that have been installed in the downtown sections of major cites were done by guys like my dad, who were very sharp but never went to college. They learned most of what they knew in trade school and apprenticeship, then built on that with years of experience and self-directed specialty advanced career development type study.
