To retrain as an electrician you will need to complete educational requirements and on the job training requirements. The on the job requirements are often referred to as being a journeyman. Most employers who can help you with the journeyman requirements will work in the commercial or residential or industrial fields of electrical work.



Many companies that perform electrical work will offer journeyman level positions. Watching the help wanted ads or visiting the local job placement center will likely turn up an opportunity or two. If that does not work you can contact electrical companies directly and see if they have any openings for a journeyman level position. If they do not you might want to ask them if they have a recommendation about where to look or how to get started on the path to becoming an electrician. Most electricians are more than happy to help out an aspiring electrician with advice and some guidance.

You can get your educational requirements taken care of by attending a trade school or community college. A trade school is likely to be faster but a community college might be less expensive and probably will be easier to schedule around as the community college tries to offer classes at a time that is convenient for working people.

Once you have met the educational requirements you will still need to seek the guidance of a certified electrician to start on the on the job training requirements. Most city and states require that you have several years of journeyman experience before you can become a licensed electrician and work alone in the field. This requirement is for your safety as well as those that would use your services. Electricity can be a very dangerous thing as it is very powerful and very unforgiving. While the requirements might seem to be excessive they are not and will help to ensure you enjoy the field of being an electrician for a long time.

Some trade schools offer a curriculum that is tailored to people who with to retrain as an electrician. Depending on the trade school and the experience you have from other fields you may find that your educational requirements may be partly met already. It is well worth the effort to shop around and see what each trade school can offer you so you can become an electrician as quickly as possible. Once you decide you wish to retrain as an electrician you want to get to work as quickly as possible. If you can meet some of your educational requirements with previous work experience that just makes good sense. The sooner you get started on the path of retraining the sooner you can be practicing your chosen field as an electrician.