NEW JERSEY LICENSE QUESTIONS

[puckman]

IN New Jersey are journeymen considered licensed electricians ? Do they need code review to maintain their license every 3 years ? And do they hold the same qualification as a master or licensed contractor?

 

[HackElectric]

While there technically is a "journeyman" license (or should I say "registration" or "qualification" since it's not a license), it simply isn't used. The only time it may help is when "electrician" (I use that term loosely because there is no real qualification for an electrician in NJ) are working in a maintenance capacity. I believe they want 1 out of every 10 of those guys to have the Journeyman qualification. Not sure, because the state doesn't seem to care. \

It's not like other states in which you need to have a journeyman license and you need so many journeymen for each apprentice on a jobsite and all that stuff.

For your second question, no, the journeyman license is in no way similar or equal to the contractor (master) license in NJ. The contractor license is the only license that actually matters. The owner of the company needs one of those, that's all.

Is there a particular situation you are in? If so, tell us and we can be more specific.

 

[puckman]

Just having debate with other guys who seem to think being a licensed journeymen is just the same as a licensed electrical contractor, just one is in business and the other is not. One more question please where does the term MASTERS come in ?
Thanks for the quick reply.

 

[HackElectric]

A journeyman license is not equal to a contractor license.

However, as far as I know, if you work in a facility that has the yearly permit you can do electrical work without needing a contractor license. That's where having someone with a journeyman license comes into play. But that is only employees of the facility.

So in that respect, I guess, if someone wants to pat themselves on the back, they can say that electrical work can be done under their journeyman license. But it's all just word games.

A "Master" license is what some states call their license. Usually it's equal to New Jersey's "Contractor" license.

 

[fmtjfw]

Just having debate with other guys who seem to think being a licensed journeymen is just the same as a licensed electrical contractor, just one is in business and the other is not. One more question please where does the term MASTERS come in ?
Thanks for the quick reply.

There are three levels of electrician's licenses (contractor and inspector are separate licenses) in WV. They are derived from the guild system in Europe.

A full member of the guild was a Master who had created a "masterwork" which was accepted by the guild as a demonstration of competency.

A Master was one who could train Apprentices who generally did scut work (ditching, carrying things, and sweeping up) while being trained in the trade. Once the Apprentice had completed his/her term of indenture (a contract between the apprentice and the master) they would begin a year (or so) on the road visiting other Masters to broaden their training and would be called Journeymen.

In WV:

A Master can do design work below "engineering". A Master can supervise an unlimited number of Journeymen and directly supervise up to 3 Apprentices. A Master can work independently. To be a Master one needs 5 years of varied experience as a Journeyman and pass a hard test on the complete NEC. (I was offered the test without the 5 years, but I decided to get the experience.)

A Journeyman can work without direct supervision and directly supervise up to 3 Apprentices. To be a Journeyman one needs 4 years experience as an Apprentice and pass a difficult test on CH1-4 of the NEC. Instead of 4 years experience passing an approved (by WV Fire Marshal) vocational course with 1080 contact hours is accepted. (Trade school, Union Apprentice program, Joint Apprentice programs, ...) (I took the trade school route.)

An Apprentice can do nothing electrical without being directly (on-site) supervised by a Master or Journeyman. To be an Apprentice one need to pass a simple test on CH 1-4 NEC, or be enrolled in an approved program (as described above).

An Electrical Inspector's Licence requires a Master Electrician's Licence and passing one or more of three Inspector's tests: Residential, Commercial / Industrial, and Plans Review.

An Electrical Contractor can enter into contracts and perform electrical work. The contractor has to pass an exam on legal aspects of business and should possess a Master's license.

 

[HackElectric]

puckman, disregard everything the previous poster said, none of it applies to your question since you are speaking about NJ specifically.

 

[fmtjfw]

puckman, disregard everything the previous poster said, none of it applies to your question since you are speaking about NJ specifically.

I was trying to answer "One more question please where does the term MASTERS come in ? "

 

[HackElectric]

I was trying to answer "One more question please where does the term MASTERS come in ? "

His questions were prefaced by "IN New Jersey" quoted from the first post and "NEW JERSEY LICENSE QUESTIONS" in the title of the thread.

 

[infinity]

NJ has no Master electrician's license. We have a Licensed Electrical Contractor which simply means that you've passed the test but still cannot do work under that license. In order to do work you need to have both a EC license and a business permit. With the business permit you will get a seal to emboss electrical permits and need to provide proof of insurance. The journeyman's license seemed like a good idea at the time but currently it's application and use is almost nonexistent.