Electrician Cert. Program - Middle TN?

[broylz]

i currently live in clarksville and have been doing the handyman thing for awhile now. i was wanting to get certified as an electrician and had a couple questions.

what does it take to get certified?

and

where can i go to get certified in middle TN?

[nightrunner]

you get certified in Nashville somewhere, not sure exactly.

All you have to do is get a current NEC(National Electrical Code) code book and study until you know where EVERYTHING is at without it takig too ling to look it up. probably best to memorize the table of contents and know where everything is. The test is open book but the book is VERY long and if you dont know where to find it at you will waste your time looking for one thing. You have a certain amount of time to finish the test.

Do NOT get the handbook and expect to use it on the test, NOT ALLOWED. However, I would suggest nothing but the Handbook for when you start to use it in the field.

I have looked into this but just havent gotten down to nashville and scheduled a test yet, talked to the electrical inspectors and other guys that have taken it to know what to expect.

I believe its the 2008 code that we are working off from right now. I know TN skipped the 2005 set of codes altogether. They went from 2003 to the 2008 codes. There were so many changes the the local power companies offered a 1-day class taught by the electrical inspectors to explain all the changes to the licensed electricians. I attended as a guest of another electrician.

I looked and I dont have my information anymore. go and ask your local power co. for some paperwork to get a LLE(limited licensed electrician), means that you can do jobs up $25,000 of labor. Talk to an electrical inspector if possible. They usually get to the power company at 8am and usually leave at about 830am to start inspecting on the days they inspect.

Edited September 19, 2009 by nightrunner

[Guest MERRILL]

Nashville Tech. used to offer a course geared to the electrician exam. There is a home study course that you can purchase but it isn't cheap;however, it is very good. Nashville Tech built their course around it. There were 12 videos and a few books in it. I took the course and was able to pass the academic portion of the Master's exam.Try http://www.code-electrical.com or call 1-800-642-2633 for free catalog. This is from one of his books and is a few years old.

[broylz]

do either of you have your LLE?

[nightrunner]

I dont, I was about ready to go take it when work stopped and that blew that. My father/former boss has one.

[broylz]

i asked because i was curious about the testing and how hard it is? i have worked some residential rough in and finish electrical on new construction as a helper but got to doing pretty much everything myself quickly. i did take an electronics program in votech while i was in high school so im familiar with the basics and math part of it. i have also done alot of DIY stuff so im basically wondering if someone with my limited professional experience should be able to easily pass the test? im going to try to get certified so i can start working and gain more experience while im going through school for my degree and work my way up.

[nightrunner]

I talked to the inspector about it. He told me a flippin idiot that hasnt done the first bit of electrical work EVER could pass it IF and a big IF he knows how to look up information in a reference book. Basically all you need to know to pass the test is where different things are located in the codebook and what sections they are in etc. Virtually no one could memorize the entire codebook and be able to quote code and the title (311.2.1.3 for example). And the codebook is so large and contains so much information that you dont have time during the test to just skim through it looking for an answer, you have to know what section that type of information is in.

I think its only about $40 to retake it anyways.

[broylz]

i think ill just get the book and skim through it a bit until i can schedule a test. is it ok to tab the book?

[nightrunner]

ive been told it is.