Is florida trying to kill me?

[RampyElectric]

Having an out of state journeyman doesnt mean anything in Florida does it? SO am I going to have to start all the way back as a green man and work my way up in the state of florida all over again....that makes me want to stick an ungrounded conductor in my ear

 

[mdshunk]

Re: Is florida trying to kill me?

Your comments cause me to ask a related question. Is there any "one stop" informational resource available that shows a guy what he needs to do to transfer his license (so to speak) from one state to another?

 

[jeff43222]

Re: Is florida trying to kill me?

Unlike other licensed professions (nursing, medicine, engineering, accounting, etc.), there's no national standard for electrical licensing, so you're at the mercy of the state or local rules of wherever you want to get licensed.

As an example, I hold a state master license and EC license, but there are plenty of other states and localities that would tell me I'm not even qualified to sit for their license exam. At the same time, there are states where I'm eligible for a reciprocal license.

Just for fun, I talked to the chief inspector in my mom's small town in the next state over, and when I showed him my out-of-state credentials, he said, "That's good enough for me," and issued me a city master license (license #16), which allows me to work as an EC in that town.

It would be nice if there were a national standard like other professions have, but I suspect it will be a long time before that happens, if it ever does.

 

[jimwalker]

Re: Is florida trying to kill me?

Even your out of state license means something.When being hired it shows your ability.As far as the license itself it is not required in Florida.

 

[bphgravity]

Re: Is florida trying to kill me?

The license itself cannot be reciprocated however your experience can. This means you can qualify to sit for the exam. Upon passing the exam, you will be issued a county certificate of competance as a j-man electrician.

I can see how it would be frustrating to come here already passing the exams and holding an out-of-state license to be told it doens't mean anything.

 

[ryan_618]

Re: Is florida trying to kill me?

When I was in Florida during the summer, I was stunned to hear all of the rules, particularly how each county (city?) is different.

 

[RampyElectric]

Re: Is florida trying to kill me?

What is the procedure after I sit for the j-man exam and then wish to pursue a contractors license...EC specifically

 

[jeff43222]

Re: Is florida trying to kill me?

Originally posted by ryan_618:
When I was in Florida during the summer, I was stunned to hear all of the rules, particularly how each county (city?) is different.

Makes me glad I'm in the frozen north. My master license and EC license are good everywhere in the state, and cities/counties are prohibited by statute from imposing any additional licensing requirements on electricians or ECs. Sure beats having to get a license from every city/county I might work in.

[ January 17, 2006, 10:30 AM: Message edited by: jeff43222 ]

 

[bphgravity]

Re: Is florida trying to kill me?

The journeyman exam is the same for all counties in Florida. Once you have the license in one county, you can reciprocate it to any other. The county simply "sponsers" you to take the exam. The reason why they will not let just anyone take the exam is that at one point in the past they did and those whom passed the exam would then request a license though they did not meet minimum requirments. However, it was determined that a license denial after the person passes the exam would probably not hold up in court therefore you now have to "pre-qualify" for the license before you can even sit for the exam.

It's really just a big money maker for the individual counties. They make you pay for the "exam application", then you must pay for the exam, then you have to pay for the license itself, and then renew it every two years.

Until J-man licesening becomes a required certificate, I don't see the policies or procedures changing.

 

[RampyElectric]

Re: Is florida trying to kill me?

Bryan thanks, you always seem to answer everyone here promptly and professionally.

So if it takes 2 years to sit for the j man, does that mean that one only needs 4 years after that before applying to be an EC? I guess my real question is am I going to have to work for someone for the next 4-6 years in order to be able to wire houses or do service work in Florida

 

[Rich R]

Re: Is florida trying to kill me?

Just to clarify this topic, Florida recognizes your experience from other states for journeyman, it does not reciprocate the actual journeyman level licenses from other states.( I don't think any states reciprocate journeyman lic., do they ? )

So to make a long story short, if you can prove your work experience (W-2's etc..) for the required time then you can take the exam. If you pass it then you will get a j-man card which can be reciprocated for other county's in Florida.

J-man licensing is at county level, Masters is at county level and will qualify you to be an EC in that county and county's that will reciprocate.

Then you have a State Master/EC lic. which qualifies you to be an EC throughout the state no reciprocation to worry about.

As far as I know Florida State EC lic. reciprocates with Georgia and N.C.

County level licensing is tricky here since different county's have they're own rules, biggest problem is difference in time required in trade to qualify for a lic. some county's require 4 years for journeyman and 6 for masters, some require 6 years for journeyman and 8 for masters. It is a real problem for those that have work experience close to these cutoffs.

What I mean is if say you have a Broward county lic. and they reciprocate with Palm Beach County for journeyman then your ok as long as you meet the time requirement for the county your reciprocating with.

Example : For Journeyman Lic.

Broward requires 4 years and Palm beach 6 years (last time I looked) so you would have to either show 6 years W-2's and sit for the Palm beach exam or show a Broward J-man card and 2 additional years of W-2's and just reciprocate

[ January 23, 2006, 02:40 AM: Message edited by: Rich R ]