Electrician Classes in New Jersey (Top Schools)

Licensed electrician jobs are becoming more popular in New Jersey.

This industry is on the rise, with a 15% projected growth between 2020 and 2030.

Because of this, many young individuals strive to pursue an electrical career.

So here’s how you can become a licensed electrician in New Jersey.

Potential Salary

As of May 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the following salary information for New Jersey electricians:

Mean Wage

• Annually – $79,940
• Hourly – $38.43

How to Become a Licensed Electrician in New Jersey

The NJ Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors regulates and issues the licenses for the following individuals:

• Qualified journeyman electrician
• Electrical contractors

Becoming a Qualified Journeyman Electrician

Qualifications

To qualify, you must meet the following:

• At least 8,000 hours of practical experience, of which 4,000 hours should’ve been obtained within 5 years of the date of application
• Completed 576 hours of classroom instruction

License Application

To apply, you need to submit the following:

• Completed and notarized Application for a Certificate of Registration to Practice as a Qualified Journeyman Electrician form
• Recent passport photo taken within the past 6 months
• Detailed summary of experience
• Notarized work experience certification from each employer you’ve worked with

Upon the Board’s approval, you’ll remit the registration fee to obtain your certification.

Your license will be valid for three years, and how much you’ll pay depends on when you’ll pay it.

So if you pay on the…, the registration fee will be….

• First year of a triennial – $90
• Second year of a triennial – $60
• Third year of a triennial – $30

Exam Details

No exam is required.

License Renewal

To renew your certification, you must submit the following:

• Completed renewal application form
• Renewal fee – $90
• Proof of completing 10 hours of approved continuing education about the NEC updates

Becoming an Independent Electrical Contractor

Qualifications

To qualify, you must meet these requirements:

• Must be over 21 years old
• Holds a high school diploma or GED equivalent
• Has at least 5 years of trade experience prior to the date of application
  • Completed an approved 4-year electrical apprenticeship program
  • At least 1 year of experience as a journeyman electrician
• Successfully pass the required exam

License Application

To apply, you must submit the following:

• Completed Application for Examination form
• Application fee – $100
• Recent passport photo taken within the past 6 months
• Detailed summary of experience
• Notarized work experience certification from each employer you’ve worked with
• Certificate of completing an apprenticeship program

Later, upon passing the exam, you’ll remit to the Board the license fee to obtain your license.

If you pay on the …, the license fee will be….

• First year of a triennial – $225
• Second year of a triennial – $150
• Third year of a triennial – $75

Exam Details

The Board has contracted with PSI to help administer the exam.

• You’ll take three exam portions:
  • Electrical contracting
    • Exam fee – $84
    • No. of questions – 100 items
    • Duration – 255 minutes
  • Business and law
    • Exam fee – $47
    • No. of questions – 50 items
    • Duration – 130 minutes
  • Alarm systems
    • Exam fee – $49
    • No. of questions – 50 items
    • Duration – 165 minutes
• Exam type – open book, with only the approved references allowed to bring to the testing center
• Passing rate – 70%

Note that once you’ve been approved by the Board to sit for the exam, you have three attempts to pass all three exam portions.

Also, you must…

• Make an initial attempt to take all three exam portions within 2 years from the eligibility date
  • If you fail, you only need to retake the failed exam portion(s)
• Pass all three exam portions within 5 years from the eligibility date, otherwise, you’ll have to reapply with the Board

License Renewal

Your license will expire after three years.

To renew, you must submit the following:

• Completed renewal application form
• Renewal fee – $225
• For initial renewal – no CE credits required
• For subsequent renewal – proof of completing 34 hours of approved CE courses
  • 9 hours should be on the recent NEC
  • 1 hour should be about NJ laws, rules, and regulations
  • Remaining hours can be any about any CE courses approved by the Board

Electrical Training Programs and Schools in New Jersey

Acquiring proper electrical education and training is the first step to becoming a licensed electrician.

You can obtain this either through…

• Approved electrical program offered by accredited technical-vocational schools
• Approved apprenticeship programs by a union or non-union sponsor

Technical-Vocational Schools

Vocational schools allow you to receive structured training that will help you get licensed.

Here, you’ll learn key areas such as:

• Trade electricity
• Commercial wiring
• Techniques of the trade
• Conduit bending
• Motor and motor control
• DC electronics
• AC electronics
• Basic applied electronics math
• Fundamentals of electric motor control
• Building inspection/electrical

During the program, you’ll perform electrical tasks like maintenance and repair while being supervised by a master electrician.

The schools’ programs will generally place you with an employer where you can get hired for an entry-level job.

Apprenticeship Programs

You can also get trained by joining a union program managed by the Electrical Training Alliance, also called JATCs.

If you prefer a non-union program, reach out to the New Jersey Independent Electrical Contractors.

The table below lists some of the schools and JATCs offering approved electrical programs.

Electrician Schools by City

• Jersey City