Licensing Requirements

[J.D.D.]

Hello everyone! I am currently employed as an electrical engineer here in NJ and going for my P.E. I am also interested in possibley obtaining hands on experience in learning the "means and methods" of how electrical systems are actually installed. I feel that having the foresight of knowing the proper installations and possible hiccups in a job due to existing conditions, etc. and implementing that knowledge into my design drawings will translate into a smoother construction and lower costs. To that end I became interested in the requirements in becoming a licensed electrician. For NJ, an applicant must have 5yrs of hands on experience to be able to take the test. However, one of the exceptions is that if an individual has an engineering degree, they would only required 2yrs of experience.

My question to you is when detaling the hands on experience in the application, would you feel if the time required neccesarily needs to be 2yrs of full time experience? (ie: 40hrs/week) As I am working full time I would be interested in working part time/on weekends. The more I think about it, the more I think that this may be an unrealistic expectation. My plan is to stay in the field of engineering, however, my thought is that if i would able to work with an electrician somehow I would try to become licensed at somepoint.


Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I would have asked the State but in my experience it is hard to get in touch with anyone, or receive a response.

Thank You

 

[PEDRO ESCOVILLA]

full time absolutly, unless you are willing to work a few years at nite to log about 4000 hours of time. lots of commercial is beneficial, how are you going to do that "part time" . houses are fairly simple, you do 3, you can do a hundred. it's the bigger stuff that throws people,,commercial and industrial applications. actually "building out the jobs" sizing pipe, conductors, motors applications, fusing, starters, services, transformers, sizing transformer protection, grounding, theres a ton to learn,,and unless one stays on tools, you forget it quickly (speaking from my own experience)

 

[J.D.D.]

yeah that's what I kind of figured. Since there is the exception for persons with EE degrees I was curious as to see how one would do that. I suppose the answer is to either work in one field or the other.

 

[celtic]

My question to you is when detaling the hands on experience in the application, would you feel if the time required neccesarily needs to be 2yrs of full time experience? (ie: 40hrs/week) As I am working full time I would be interested in working part time/on weekends. The more I think about it, the more I think that this may be an unrealistic expectation. My plan is to stay in the field of engineering, however, my thought is that if i would able to work with an electrician somehow I would try to become licensed at somepoint.

2 years on the job experience/training [OJT] is roughly 4000 hours.
As far as I am aware, the requirement does not imply full time employment but rather a commitment of time....now, how long that "time" may be collected in any given "term" will be decided upon by the Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors[the board].

Consider this...
There is massive unemployment in the construction industry.
Many electricians are out of work. Some for many months.
One of these electricians decides it is time to become an Electrical Contractor [EC] and make his own fortune.
He has been in the trades for 7 years and in that time has accumulated 10,000 hours that can easily be documented and verified.
In those 7 years he has been laid off sporadically for an amount of time equaling 4000 hrs.
Is this man not eligible to take the EC exam?

However...
To gain 4000 hours doing nights and weekends will take more time then is required to obtain a Ph D.
I am of the opinion the Board will not entertain an application that has accumulated 4000 hours gathered across several years.
I could be wrong.

The only proper answer will come from the Board.