Electrician Classes in Nevada (Top Schools)

Job Outlook

The job demand for electricians in Nevada is said to increase by 47.1% between 2014 and 2024.

As an electrician in this state, expect to be paid $49,389 per year, though the salary can reach $56,279 annually.

By contrast, these salaries are a bit higher than at the national level, with the median one being $47,951 per year, and the highest being $54,640 per year.

Becoming an Electrician

Let’s have a look at the requirements for becoming an electrician in Nevada:

• Gain experience as an apprentice
• Earn your license as a journeyman
• Earn your Electrical Contractors License 

In Nevada, like in several other states, each city and county is responsible for issuing electrician certificates, and the Nevada State Contracting Board issues electrical contracting licenses.

Gain Experience as an Apprentice

Since the journeyman certification happens at a local level, let’s have a look at the process that you have to follow in the larger areas.

Reno

Residential Journeyman (good for all residential wiring work) – 6,000 hours (3 years) of documented job experience in the electrical trade.

General Journeyman (appropriate for all residential, commercial, industrial and construction wiring work) – 8,000 hours (4 years) of documented job experience in the electrical trade.

Clark County (Las Vegas)

Here the only requirement is for companies to ensure their employees are qualified for the job, with an appropriate license obtained through examination.

It is assumed the professionals completed their apprenticeships as this is the general requirement to be hired by a licensed contractor.

Trade Schools

Each school has slightly different requirements to enroll, though the common ones are:

• Reside in Nevada
• Be at least 18 years old
• Have a valid driver’s license
• High school diploma or GED

Usually, students are helped to find apprenticeships once they enroll, and this employment must be performed under an electrical contractor licensed by the State of Nevada.

These apprenticeships are performed under the supervision of a qualified electrician, either journeyman or master.

While at school, you’ll study:

• Getting Started as a Residential Electrician
• Working Safely with Electricity
• Electricians’ Tools
• Additional Unit Materials
• Electrical Estimating
• The Nature of Electricity
• Wiring Electrical Components
• Electrical Equipment
• Working with Conduit
• Math for the Trades
• Circuit Analysis and Ohm’s Law
• Electric Heating and Air Conditioning
• Troubleshooting Electrical Systems

Trade schools will also issue you an apprenticeship certificate that will most likely have to be renewed every year.

To renew this certificate you’ll have to submit:

• Transcripts of completed classes
• Records of the work performed

If you want to find an apprenticeship on your own, all you have to pay attention to is that the electrician is certified.

Apprenticeship Programs

To enter an apprenticeship in Nevada you can choose between one sponsored by a union, or an open-shop one.

The unionized apprenticeships are available through the Joint Apprenticeship & Training Committees (JATCs), and they provide both field training and classroom education.

Entry requirements:

• Minimum age of 18
• Have graduated high school or obtained a GED
• At least one year of high school algebra or the ability to pass an algebra test
• A qualifying score on an aptitude test
• Ability to pass a drug test
• Have a valid driver’s license

In the open-shop apprenticeship programs, you’ll spend about 8,000 hours training and working under the supervision of a licensed master or journeyman electrician.

The National Electrical Code is modified for Nevada, for its northern and southern areas, and both aspects are covered in class.

You’re supposed to have and maintain an Apprentice Electrical Certificate during the whole period of your apprenticeship.

Earn Your License as a Journeyman

When your apprenticeship period is over, you can and should apply for a Journeyman Electrical Certificate that you obtain after an exam.

The most current edition of the National Electrical Code is the base for the exam.

The exams for the residential journeyman and the journeyman electrician exams have the following topics:

• Grounding and bonding
• Overcurrent protection
• Wiring methods and installation
• Boxes and fittings
• Services and equipment
• Motors
• Special occupancies
• Load calculations
• Hazardous location
• Trade knowledge
• Electrical theory
• Lighting
• Appliances
• Box and raceway fill

Your certificate must be renewed every 3 years, only after submitting proof of 15 hours continued education at every 18 months, and after paying the renewal fee of $30.

15 hours of continued education equals 3 Continuing Education Units (CEUs).

All the continuing education hours must cover topics related to the electrical trade, including the changes to the Code.

This is the list of approved CEUs in Nevada.

Reno

In Reno, you’ll be qualified either for the residential journeyman exam or for the journeyman electrical exam, based on your experience, as follows:

• residential journeyman exam: 6,000 hours documented experience in the electrical trade
• journeyman electrical exam: 8,000 hours of experience documented in the electrical field.

When applying for the exam, provide:

• Letters showing employment during the required dates, written on company letterhead
• Registration fee – $10
• Resume with detailed work experience – describe the type of work you completed.

You send your documents to the City of Reno, Community Development Department.

Clark County (Las Vegas)

In this county, the Journeyman and Master Electrician Examination Program is administered through the International Code Council’s Professional Certification Contractor Examination Service, for ICC by Pearson VUE and is computer-based.

If you pass the exam, you have to send the result and get a journeyman ID card that you’ll have to renew after every 3 years, and you’ll be sent an expiration notice and instructions.

To get your Master Electrician Certificate in Clack County you have to pass an exam and the process is the same as for journeyman presented earlier.

Earn your Electrical Contractors License

You need a license from the Nevada State Contractors Board if you want to run an electrical company in this state.

To get this license, you need 4 years of experience as a journeyman.

You also need to submit these documents:

• Print and fill out this application and mail to either address, depending on your location:
  • Southern Nevada: 2310 Corporate Circle, Suite 200, Henderson, NV 89074
  • Northern Nevada: 9670 Gateway Drive, Suite 100 Reno, NV 89521
• Submit at least 4 notarized reference certificates (these can be completed by someone who observed your electrical work)
• Submit a detailed resume of your work experience, including employers’ contact information, dates employed, and the type of projects you have completed.
• Provide a personal, current financial statement detailing your financial situation.
• Pay the application fee, which varies by city and county. For details on your city of residence, call the Nevada State Contracting Board.

Those applying for the first time for this license will have to pass the exam organized by the PSI Licensure.

The exam actually has 2 parts, with one of them covering Business and Law and the other covering the Electrical Code.

For the Business and Law exam, you’ll have to study The Construction Business and Law Manual for Nevada, while the exam itself will have multiple-choice questions.

The exam covering the Electrical Code also has questions with more possible answers.

Candidates can only sit through the examination 3 times in total, if they fail the first time, and can only attempt again after 30 days.

The electrical contractor license has to be renewed every 2 years.

Electrician Schools by City

• Las Vegas
• Reno