Frequently Asked Questions About Our Trade School in Tampa
Interested in training for a new career? There are many trade schools in Tampa to choose from—we’re glad you’re considering Altierus Career College! This page ...
Interested in training for a new career? There are many trade schools in Tampa to choose from—we’re glad you’re considering Altierus Career College! This page ...
Posted Wednesday, Oct 13, 2021 by Altierus
Interested in an electrical career path? There’s more than one way to work in the industry. Altierus Career College provides training for two types of electrical technicians: electrical construction technicians and industrial electrical technicians. The knowledge and skills required for these two occupations overlap in many areas, but they have different purposes.
On this FAQ page, we focus on industrial electrical technicians. You can find out what they are, what duties and responsibilities they have, salary and job growth data, and what you can learn in our training programs. We hope you find this page informative as you explore your career path options!
Let’s clear up the difference between an electrician and an electrical technician before we begin.
Electricians are licensed professionals who install, maintain, and repair electrical system components. They often work on a call-out basis (when someone has an electrical problem that needs fixing) or on construction sites or renovation jobs. Electricians train for their roles by completing an apprenticeship after high school. Once they’ve built up a certain number of hours of supervised work experience, they can obtain licensure from their state. The hours required vary, but typically, apprentices need about two years’ worth of full-time work before they can apply for a license.
Electrical technicians build, install and maintain electrical systems under the direction of a master electrician or electrical engineer. Electrical technicians usually complete a post-secondary certificate, which frequently takes a year or less to finish.
Industrial electrical technicians help keep production machinery and electrical systems operating in factories, utility companies, commercial buildings, and other similar sites. They may also travel from industrial site to industrial site completing jobs on a call-out basis. To complete their work, they use various hand tools, power tools, and testing equipment.
The duties of an industrial electrical technician may include:
Applicants to our industrial electrical technician training program need to be high school graduates (or hold a GED) and be at least 18 years of age by the time they graduate. Applied math and science play a major role in the day-to-day work of any electrical technician, so it helps if you enjoy those subjects.
There are also some physical requirements for the job. You will need good hand motor skills (that is, you need to be able to control your hands well) and be capable of climbing, crawling, and moving or lifting heavy objects, such as tool kits or motor components.
Usually no more than one year. For example, you can complete our Industrial Electrical Technician diploma program, in as few as nine months.
In our program, you learn a blend of math and science concepts, professional knowledge (including the National Electrical Codes), and hands-on skills for testing, repairing, and installing electrical components.
Course topics for this program include:
To help students balance life and school while they prepare for their new career, our program combines online coursework and in-person, hands-on lab classes.
No. Because industrial electrical technicians perform their jobs while supervised by licensed electricians or electrical engineers, they don’t to hold a license to work.
Training to become an industrial electrical technician could be the right choice for you if you like machinery, working with your hands, and solving problems.
Plus, job prospects in this field are projected to be strong over the 2020–2030 period. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects jobs will grow by up to 9% nationwide.[1]
At this time, the BLS doesn’t track electrical technician salaries. The median annual salary for electricians, however, was $56,900 nationwide in May 2020. The bottom 10% of earned less than $33,810 while the top 10% of earners made more than $98,720.[2]
It’s important to note that wages will vary by job market. Actual salaries will vary depending on the city where you work, the employer you work for, and other factors.
Ready to get started on a new career path? Find out more about the Industrial Electrical Technician diploma program at Altierus Career College!
[1] https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/electricians.htm#tab-6
[2] https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/electricians.htm#tab-5
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Our Houston campus hosted Roadtrip Nation on their screening tour of their documentary film, One Step Closer.
One Step Closer follows roadtrippers Melanie, Armand, and Becca across America as they listen to personal stories about how community college shaped the careers of working professionals. Roadtrippers engage in honest dialogue with all kinds of professionals and asked honest questions about their struggles as well as their successes.
We’re excited to continue the conversation about postsecondary education and how Altierus Career College is providing options in career technical education.
Altierus Career College nursing students completed their first round of clinical rotations at Genesis Healthcare. Before graduating with an Associate of Science degree in nursing, students must complete 600 hours of clinical rotations in addition to their program coursework.
During their clinical rotations, students practice what they’ve learned in the classroom in a real healthcare setting, taking vital signs, transferring patients from the bed to the wheelchair, re-positioning patients who can’t get out of bed, assisting in providing oxygenation, as well as administrating medications, inserting and maintaining IVs.
This year, we started some great conversations with key industry partners about closing the HVAC skills gap at all three of our local campus locations. Altierus Career College hosted local HVAC businesses to talk about how to create awareness for career technical education (CTE) and train the next generation of HVAC workers and possible apprenticeship programs so students can earn while they learn.
In addition to local HVAC servicers, we also met with Tim Elliott, CTE program specialist with Georgia’s Department of Education. Tim was excited to talk about to how partner with high schools to create awareness of CTE.
This past March, 12 medical assisting students from the Norcross Altierus campus in Atlanta competed against 4,000 other students from 84 different schools in the region. Betty Wilkins, a Medical Assisting instructor for Altierus, applied for and received a Campaign for Innovation grant from the ECMC Foundation. The grant paid for HOSA membership fees, student uniforms, travel, and other expenses.
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