In order to work as an electrician in most states, including California, you are required to receive some sort of formal training, work as an apprentice under a licensed electrical contractor, and pass a state-administered test to become a certified electrician¹.
To become a licensed technician, think of your career path in four steps:
● Step 1: Get an education
● Step 2: Complete an apprenticeship² (if your education program doesn’t include the equivalent of 8,000 hours of work experience)
● Step 3: Take the test for your certificate
● Step 4: Become a certified electrician
Apprentice Vs. Journeyman Vs. Electrician
An apprentice is someone who works under the supervision of a licensed electrical contractor³. As an apprentice, you’ll earn a living, but you won’t be able to work independently as an electrician until you have completed your education and training and passed your certification.
A journeyman is typically someone who has completed 8,000 hours of apprenticeship training and passed a test to become certified to work independently, although not completely autonomously4. They work for licensed electrical contractors, also known as master electricians.
A master electrician has worked at least two years as a journeyman and has passed a state test to become a licensed electrical contractor5.
The rest of this post breaks down the steps to become a journeyman, so you can understand what each of the phases in your journey entails, and approximately how long each can take.
Step 1: Complete an Electrical Technology Education Program
Your journey to become an electrician begins with the basics — learning about your trade.
A degree or certificate program typically consists of general and technical education courses. General education includes studies in math, reading and writing, and sciences. Technical courses address wiring, circuits, controllers, and safety. The length of time to complete formal education depends on your schedule.
SJVC’s Electrical Technology program6, for example, is designed to fit a student’s busy schedule. Students can earn a Certificate of Completion in as little as 10 months, or they can earn an Associate’s Degree in approximately 14 months.
The men and women who complete this program have the equivalent of four years working as an electrician, and they should be prepared to take the journeyman’s test. View SJVC’s most recent course catalog to see the electrical technology program description and curriculum7.
SJVC’s Electrical Technology program on the Modesto, Ontario and Temecula campuses is approved by the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR)8. The Electrical Technology program on the Bakersfield and Fresno – Trades Education Center campuses is new and pending laboratory site approval from the Electrician Certification Curriculum Committee with the State of California, DIR.
Once you’ve completed the Electrical Technology program, you are eligible to sit for California’s General Electrician’s Certification Exam. Graduates from this program will need to work additional hours in the field before receiving an electrician certification, per the DIR.
Step 2: Complete an Electrician Apprenticeship
Without the electrical technology education or an associate’s degree, you’ll be required to complete an apprenticeship or on-the-job experience.
For general electrician, that includes 8,000 hours of work for a C-10 electrical contractor (approximately four years), according to California DIR9.
Those 8,000 hours must consist of work in two or more areas below:
- Stock room and material handling
- Residential wiring
- Industrial wiring
- Voice data and video installation
- Underground conduit installation
- Troubleshooting and maintenance
- Finish work and fixtures
- Fire/life safety, nurse call
Residential, voice data video technicians, and fire/life safety technicians need complete 4,000 hours of work for a C-10 electrical contractor.
Step 3: Take and Pass the California State Certificate Exam
Anyone who works for licensed electrical contractors and whose work entails “connection of electrical devices” is required to be certified in California. In other words, if you perform work as an electrician, which the state defines as making connections of greater than 100 volt amps, and you work for C-10 contractors, you must be certified10.
First complete an application to take the Electrician Examination and Certification test11 and mail it to the California DIR. Once you’ve been notified that you’re eligible to take the test, you have one year to sit for it. It takes four to six weeks to receive eligibility notification.
If you don’t pass the state exam, you’ll have to wait 60 days before you can take it again. According to the California DIR, the pass rate is about 55%12.
Step 4: Work as a Certified Electrician
With the SJVC Electrical Technology program, it’s possible to graduate in under two years. Download the program brochure to learn more about SJVC’s programs.
Certification expires after three years in California, and to renew, the state requires 32 hours of continuing education and work 2,000 hours in the electric industry13.
¹ https://www.electriciancareersguide.com/requirements-to-become-an-electrician/
² https://www.electricianschooledu.org/state-by-state-licensing-guide/
³ https://electricianapprenticehq.com/what-is-an-electrician-apprentice/
4 https://www.electricianschooledu.org/journeyman/
5 https://www.electricianschooledu.org/master/
6 https://sjvcncprod.wpenginepowered.com/programs/technical-and-industrial/electrical-technology
9 https://www.dir.ca.gov/t8/291_1.html
10 https://www.dir.ca.gov/DLSE/ECU/ECU_FAQ.htm
11 https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/ecu/ElectricalCertificationForm.pdf
