Electrician Career Guide and Counseling

Question: What does liability insurance cover for an electrician or other contractor? If an electrician (or plumber or any other professional) comes to my home and injures himself (in the case of an electrician, he electricutes himself) do I have any liability? Does it matter if he's a licensed professional or not? What if he damages my home - like a ladder falls and breaks a window? When an electrician says he's "insured" does it mean he's covered for damage to my home or damage to himself? Or both? Thanks to all who can provide some answers!

Answer: liability insurance generally covers damage to your home or property by the contractor. if he is covered by workers compensation then he is also covered for injuries. the general rules for workers comp are if you are the proprietor and the sole employee then you dont have to be covered by workers comp, but if you have even one employee, including family members , then you MUST have workers comp. if the contractor is covered he will have registration numbers

Question: can an electrician from ohio do work in atlanta georgia? i became a state certified electrician in ohio, but i quit doing electric over a year ago. my cousin who lives in atlanta wants me to rough in his unfininshed basement. Would i be allowed to do the work there by atlanta city code?

Answer: Looks like you're supposed to hold a license from the state of Georgia. I went to the city of Atlanta's website and was directed here: http://www.municode.com/resources/gateway.asp?pid=10376&sid=10 I searched "Atlanta electrical" and found their code. Here it is: 103.4. MANDATORY LICENSE REQUIREMENTS. (a) Only partnerships or corporations engaged in the business of electrical contracting, installation or repairing shall be entitled to a permit under this Code for such business activities where there is regularly connected with such partnership or corporation a person or persons, actually engaged in the business of electrical contracting, installation or repairing, who holds a valid Electrical or Low-Voltage Contractor's License issued by the State of Georgia Construction Industry Licensing Board. (b) Only a person engaged in the business of electrical contracting, installation or repairing shall be entitled to receive a permit under this Code for such business activities where such person holds a valid Electrical or Low-Voltage Contractor's License issued by the State of Georgia Construction Industry Licensing Board. (c) All work requiring a permit under this Code shall be performed by an individual, firm, or corporation holding a valid business license in the City of Atlanta. (d) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation who is not an Electrical contractor duly licensed by the State of Georgia to display a sign stating or implying that he or they are carrying on the business of this Code or fails to comply therewith or with any of the requirements thereof, shall be deemed guilty of an offense and upon conviction thereof, in the City of Atlanta Municipal Court, shall be assessed a fine of not less than $50.00 nor more than $1,000.00 and/or sentenced to no more than 60 days in the City Stockade. Where any offense continues from day to day, each day's continuance thereof shall be deemed a separate offense.

Question: How much should an electrician charge to change a circuit breaker? Our stove stopped working. Appliance man came out and said the circuit breaker needed to be changed (wrong size, loose fitting). About how much should I expect to pay electrician?

Answer: slippery slope. First Appliance repair means they don't know enough to get a real job. Leading a trade will sometimes get you paying more, ie you phone a plumber and tell him your hot water tank is gone, he will show up with a hot water tank, and sometimes even if it isnt gone, to save the time of returning it he will install it and charge you. I suggest you check the stove, is your start stop bake timer engaged, is your stove old, is the breaker in the panel old or new. If your breaker is newer, and if it is the first time it has gone off, chances are its the stove. If the breaker is the wrong size, which is probably bs, your breaker going off should be a somewhat regular occurence. 20 min on google should sort that out most stove breakers are the same size amperage wise. Loose fitting? I doubt you could fit an innapropriate( not made for it) breaker in the wrong panel. The amperage rating on the breaker is usually right on the individual breaker. If you do phone an electrician dont lead him or her just tell them the stove breaker popped and leave them alone, if they know what they are doing itll be quicker, and possibly less expensive than if they have to listen to the customer for twenty minutes

Question: Where do YOU find an electrician? When your looking in the yellow pages what add do you call? the big one, the little one? Does text matter? Ever get a door hanger from an electrician that was working in your neighborhood? if you did how would you respond to it? Ever looked for any type of contractor on-line? What do you think of newspaper advertising? and most importantly what type of text is apealing to you in any form of text advertising? In this case opinions are better then facts. Would you call off a radio or tv add? Besides price what is the most important factor when choosing one electrician over another?

Answer: The best way I've found is to ask friends who they have used. Word of mouth is usually pretty reliable. If a contractor does a good job for me, I get a few business cards from them when I give them the check. If they do a substandard job, I let people know about that as well. Hope this helps.

Question: How long does is take to become an electrician if you do to trade school? My boyfriend wants to go to trade school to become an electrician, but I have a couple questions. In California, how long does it take? & will my boyfriend still be able to work and go to school, or is it extremely time consuming like beauty school? Also, do you need a high school diploma? & how does the process of becoming an electrician actually work? Also, is there any kind of financial aid for trade school?

Answer: I dunno if this will help... But I'm a 2nd year apprentice electrician in Australia. The government here gives us $1000 each year just to be an apprentice. It takes 4 years until you are fully qualified. We also have the option to go to a technical college. In are final 2 years of high school, Year 11 and Year 12, over here, we could do part time work/school. So 1 day trade school, 2 days high school, 2 days work. So instead of 4 years, the apprenticeship takes 5 because the 1st year is part time for 2 years. Here you only need Year 10 pass but it depends on the employer.

Question: Typically how much would an electrician charge to install a 220V outlet for an electric dryer? My husband and I want to install a 220V outlet in our utility room to run our dryer. I would like to know, how much it would typically cost to have an electrician install one?

Answer: How high is up ?? Should be less than $100 depending on how far from your electrical panel and how difficult to run the wire from the panel to the outlet. Also, cost will vary drastically depending on your geographical area. Check in the yellow pages and most residential contractors will give you a free estimate. If they won't then call someone else. Never just tell someone to do the job without settleing on a price first. To do otherwise is like giving them a blank check. Be sure the electrician is licensed and bonded. This is for your protection as well as his.

Question: How can I become a successful electrician from no experience at all? I am currently in the military, and I have been thinking about switching to the Army to become an Interior Electrician (21R). I would like to retire with 20 years at the age of 41, then start my own company once i get out. Although that sounds like a realistic plan, it may not be that easy. If someone with electrical experience can give me some beneficial advice, I would highly appreciate it.

Answer: Ask the reenlistment NCO what the career prospects are for this MOS. You will have to pass the state electrician contractor test to have your own company.

Question: How do you become a professional electrician? Ok so I am trying to find information for a friend on special trainings to become an electrician. He has been out of school for a while and he is kind of in a stump because he does not want to go back to school long term and he would prefer to do some type of training. He is very hands-on so I figure an electrician would suit him well. What does a person have to do to become an electrician? Any special programs? Any recommendations? How long does it take to become certified? Any help would be greatly appreciated...

Answer: K well being an electrician is a very good trade my brother is one and i worked for him when i got out of high school for a bit. What i would suggest is for him to a get a good book to read like American Electricians' Handbook (you can get this at amazon). The best way to learn is to look up an electrical contractor in the yellow pages and call them up and see if they need any help he might get lucky and learn from a pro like i did. Well i hope that helps.

Question: What questions do you ask an electrician who is helping install outlets? What kind of insurance and credentialing should an electrician have to install bathroom outlets and move some of the wires in the wall from one bathroom counter over head light to two over headlights over the two sinks? What kind of insurance, bonding, contracts etc should we be looking for? Thanks

Answer: if he is lic by the state , or works for a company he has to have insurance, and be bonded if not don,t let him do the work

Question: How do you find a good electrician? Did anybody hire a residential electrician recently? If yes, how did you decide which electrician to trust to? I live in Seattle area and even simple local Google search return 250+ electrical contractors in the radius of 25 miles. This market is oversaturated here. How do I choose? What are the things I should consider before hiring an electrician? Thanks.

Answer: "Word of mouth" can be a good option. I have a good friend who is an electrician in the Seattle area. He may be too busy. If not I think you would be fortunate to be able to hire him. You can email me with/for more information. In hiring any contractor you can rely on reputation and how you relate to that particular contractor.

Question: Does one need an electrician for switching out a light fixture? Ok, several questions, but all related: 1) I have some light fixtures (brass), I want replaced with nickel light fixtures. I was told I need to have a licensed technician for this work. Can't I do it myself? 2) I also want to bring down some fans and light fixtures to paint in a wrought iron finish, and put them back up. Do I need an electrician for this as well? 3) What do electricians cost for switching out lights, and for replacing some light fixtures with recessed lights?

Answer: So many questions. No, you don't need an electrician if you are somewhat handy. And by handy, I don't mean, "Yah, I've hammered a nail before." An electrician might be a good idea if you have never dealt with electrical work. Now, If you are one of those gals that can turn a screwdriver and you pay attention to finer details, you may get away with this one. For starters, to change out a fixture, you will need to find the circuit that your light is powered with and shut down that circuit at your breaker or fuse panel. Once you are certain that there is no power present, remove the fixture, paying close attention to the color of wire on the old fixture and what color wire it is connected to in the ceiling. Usually, the hot wire is black, the neutral is white and (if a ground wire is present) it will be green. This is the point in the project I do differently than anyone else. I put a wire nut over each bare wire coming out of the ceiling and push the wires up into the ceiling box. Then I take my new fixture and install it to the box FIRST before making any electrical connections. I want to see how the light is going to mount before I worry about making electrical wire connections. You want to know what you are getting into prior to connection the wires. Anyway, you could use this tip or dive-in. Just remember, if you are alone, it is very tough to hold the fixture, while making wire connnection and mounting the fixture to the ceiling. You really need help with this if you haven't done it before. You need some to hold the light for you while you do the wiring and mounting. The new fixtures should have a black and white wire coming out of it. With a pair of pliers, twist new fixture wires with the wires coming out of the ceiling, once again, using the wire color as your guide. Make sure that this wire twist is very good, making a good connection and capping each pair of twisted wires with a wire nut. Your fixtures should have come with wire nuts. Mount the fixture, insert bulbs, turn the circuit back on at the panel and flip the switch. DON'T DO FANS YOURSELF. EVEN TOUGHER TO HOLD ONTO THAN REGULAR FIXTURES. Once again, wiring is the issue here. There a couple more connections than on a regular light fixtures. IF, and that's a big if, you want to do this, handle it like the fixture above, but (this is if you are putting the same back up on the ceiling) take some masking tape and make tags for your wires. Before disconnection any fan wires, tag the wire on the fan with coordinating wire in ceiling and label them both with an "A." Repeat for the next pair with a "B" and so-on. Bring the fan down, do your painting and put it back up. You may want to remove the fan blades before doing anything and once again, make sure you have help lowering and lifting the fan motor. Two ladders with two people. An electrician may not be necessary. If you can't do this alone, find a reputable home handyman that will work for $20.00 per hour or he may quote at $20.00 per fixture and $40.00 per ladder.

Question: What do I have to do to become a Certified Electrician in Pennsylvania? I would like to become a Certified electrician. What should I do? Also: how do I become an insured electrician?

Answer: I am an electrician, and general co tractor. Each state's Registrar of Contractors sets the guidelines for licensing of contractors. The I.B.E.W., (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) is the Union to contact for training to become an electrical contractor, which is what you're asking . Of all the construction trades, the electrician's training is by far the most demanding and intensive, both in terms of time and required experience. Aptitude in math, ability to perform physical labor in confined spaces, working at high elevations, in below ground level trenches, and good hand / eye coordination are all important in working as an electrician. Depending on the type of work you choose as a working electrician, it isn't unusual to in a single day to utilize a backhoe, trencher, hydraulic pipe 'smart bender', hydraulic or power lifts, and every power hand tool you can come up with. Your local I.B.E.W. office can be found in your phone book, and will be happy to supply you with information on how to apply for an apprenticeship program. The trades are a fulfilling and well paying way to make a living for those who like independence, are self motivated, and enjoy hands on work in an ever changing environment, I wish you the best in your endeavors.

Question: Under what circumstances is an electrician's license required? I have purchased recessed lighting for a remodel. I would like to install the lighting myself and use the wiring from the old light fixture. Can I do this as a home owner, or do I need to hire a licensed electrician? Can a home appraiser demand a letter from a licensed electrician before he completes his appraisal? This is only a modification to the existing lighting.

Answer: In most states and cities, you can still do electrical work yourself. Call your local government and ask them if you want. You may or may not need a permit and inspection. No appraiser will ask for a letter like that. If you are comfortable doing the work, I would just go ahead and do it. Read the instructions for the lights about wire type and clearances. Some recessed lights need 90 degree C wire. And some need clearances to any insulation or combustibles.

Question: How many electrician apprenticeship hours are needed to become licenced in California? How many electrician apprenticeship hours are needed to become licenced in California?

Answer: Information is below.

Question: How do you become a electrician? I"m wanting some info on what its like to be a electrician and how do you get started? Is there alot of basic math required or is it harder math? I"m looking to make a career change and trying to think of different ways to go. How much do electricians usually make? Any information would be great.

Answer: Being an electrician takes 99 percent common sense and 1 percent skill, I do electrical everyday and I really do enjoy it. The best place to start would be an apartment complex as a handyman, you will start off at about 15 dollars an hour and then see if you want to go higher, like commercial, there you will make just about 35 dollars an hour. The reason i say start as a handyman is so you can get a little bit of other trades too, like how to open a wall and then patch it closed, how general plumbing works and so forth, anyways my company is always looking for good people, we start them out at 18 an hour, good choice and good luck

Question: Does an electrician need his or her own license? What if the person is working for someone else's co? What if the electrician is working for someone else's company? Who's license needs to be checked?

Answer: Depends on the state. In some states as long as the contractor has a license then anybody can work for him, in some states for every so many men working you need to have one with a license. Start by checking the contractor, call the building inspectors office and ask them.