How to take journeymen electrician exam in florida.

[cole1321]

I have tried to look on different county websites about how to take the exam for EJ. I am separated from the navy after 12 years as an electrician. I am licensed in the state of hawaii as a journeymen electrician. My license just expired 6/30/2008 from hawaii, and I am not able to get back there to take the CEU's and renew my license anytime soon.

I would like to take the exam in florida, and need to know if my EJ license in hawaii would be enough to prove my past experience. I can't seem to get a straight answer from anyone in palm beach county, or volusia. I see all the applications have space to show evidence from past supervisors. However being in the Navy it is impossible to find past supervisors, and many are retired now. Any information would be helpful.

Thank you
Mark

 

[westernexplorer]

Hey Mark,
The south is not like the Western United States. Out west many states will honor your Hawaii License for qualifications and just make you sit for an exam. Florida is by far the worst when it comes to licensing. I once held a county Master Electrician license in Florida and just going to another county inside the state is a pain. If you were an Electrician in the Navy take in your DD-214 that shows your classification, show your Journeyman's License from Hawaii and don't take NO for an awnser. Insist on your application being heard by the board, WITH YOU PRESENT. But most of all don't let some minimum wage clerk/sec, who knows NOTHING about real qualifications of electrical tradesman, talk you into waiting, or not sumbitting your application because your square life doesn't fit neatly into the round hole of licensing in Florida. Sometimes the people looking and screening the applications for counties have no idea what they are looking at when it comes to qualifications.

 

[bphgravity]

There are several types of documents that MAY be accepted for documenting experience. W-2's, pay stubs, an affidavit from a past employer, engineer, architect, contractor, ect are to name just a few.

The best thing to do is to go to the licensing office in person and get an application checklist and find out the EXACT documentation and experience verification you will need. It may be possible that a journeyman license from another state would be acceptable for proof of qualification, but it is usually up to the chair/committee of the licensing board for the particular county. If the state your license was issued has similar or more stringent requirements for qualification, it will help your case significantlly.