3 Factors To Consider When Looking At Job Placement Opportunities Offered By Electrician Trade Schools
Once you receive your electrician certification, the first thing on your mind may be how you are going to land a decent job to take advantage of the training that you've received. Luckily, many electrician trade schools offer job placement programs and dedicated coordinators that are there to help you excel and land your dream job. Whether the electrician trade school that you are interested in has a job placement program or not should be a huge factor in your decision. Make sure to analyze the quality of the job placement programs available using these 3 factors.
Ease of Application
Getting through electrician trade school and graduating was hard enough. The last thing you want to do is to have to go through a rigorous and tedious application process to apply for a position in the job placement programs offered. Consider the ease of application and the type of requirements that are needed. This will generally include a certain grade point average. Determine which students will be eligible for the program, as some trade schools have strict requirements.
You might also want to consider whether there is a lot of paperwork involved with the application or if the application process can be submitted online. Most electrician trade schools should have all of the information that you'll need on the job placement programs listed online on their website. If not, a career advisor or counselor should provide you with all of the information you'll need.
Starting Salary and Room for Growth
Although job placements are generally for starting positions, you want to make sure you are getting paid fairly for your time and that there is room for growth in the company should you continue to work there in the future. As of May 2012, the medium annual wage for electricians was $49,840. This doesn't include the many benefit packages, such as health insurance and RRSP matches, that the companies do offer.
Before accepting any job placement opportunities, spend some time researching what the average salary for an electrician working in your state and city is. An established job placement program at an electrician trade school will have this information readily available for you to make an informed decision. You should never feel pressured at any given time to work for less than minimum wage.
In addition, the advisors involved in good job placement programs may help you negotiate the terms and conditions involved with your contract–regardless of how long the placement may be. This includes whether or not you can expect yearly raises.
Success Rate of Job Placements and Companies Involved in the Hiring Process
All that glitters isn't gold. Just because an electrician trade school offers job placement opportunities, it does not necessarily mean that you will be set if you decide to enroll. Consider the success rate that the trade school has in placing their students in jobs after they graduate. A high success rate generally indicates that the program coordinators are involved and will do their best to help you find employment.
On top of the success rate of job placements, consider the length of time that it takes for the trade school to place their students with a company. A good job placement program will already be heavily involved with many local and national companies, and finding job placement opportunities should be a piece of cake–especially since electricians are by far the largest of all skilled trades in the U.S. with more than 600,000 jobs available.
Conclusion
If you're ready to begin a new, lucrative and fulfilling career, take a look at the many trade schools that are available in your local area. Electrician trade schools, such as the HVAC Technical Institute, are particularly popular because electricians are in high demand, enjoy relatively lucrative benefit packages along with a decent income and have a lot of room to grow in their career.