Becoming an Electrician

The head of engineering is wrong.

I have done a year of an l3 engineering course and whilst they teach you the basics there is no way you could become an electrician doing this course :)

If you want to be an electrician get an apprenticeship do the city and guilds installations course, AM2 and the city and guilds 2391 inspection and test.

Don't take my word for it ring a few electrical firms and ask them what electrical qualifications the expect of their sparks.
 
Freelanc3r said:
Spoke to the Head of Engineering at college today. He basically said that I can still becoming an electrician if I complete the L3 Engineering btec...

He said that engineer students know enough to become an electrician, but electrician's don't know enough to become engineers :p

Maths shouldn't be a problem. Starts from the very basics, and I have the relevant entry requirements so as long as I keep on top of assignments etc, should be good.

Hopefully this will be a step in the right direction for me! I've never been good at exams
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Electrical Installation Level 3.

If you're confident and have atleast a C in maths then I see no problem, it can get quite difficult in some parts when you actually get to level 3 but in all honesty if you put some effort in, as with anything, it's not too hard.

Also the teachers make a massive difference, at the start of level 3 we had one lad who came across from another college, had his level 2 and we were doing some basic recap on the board and he didn't know what Ohms law was.

But it's all changing now, so I'd go and talk to someone in college.

edit - 90% of companies will ask that you have the relevant quals and atleast 4 years as a serving apprentice. After this I have to find an apprenteship, which I've been applying for since near the end of my level 2. it's a hard industry to get into at the moment, or so I'm told.
 
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MeEsH BaKkA said:
The head of engineering is wrong.

I have done a year of an l3 engineering course and whilst they teach you the basics there is no way you could become an electrician doing this course :)

If you want to be an electrician get an apprenticeship do the city and guilds installations course, AM2 and the city and guilds 2391 inspection and test.

Don't take my word for it ring a few electrical firms and ask them what electrical qualifications the expect of their sparks.
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This is the correct advice, I still need to do my 2391, :o
 
MeEsH BaKkA said:
The head of engineering is wrong.

I have done a year of an l3 engineering course and whilst they teach you the basics there is no way you could become an electrician doing this course :)

If you want to be an electrician get an apprenticeship do the city and guilds installations course, AM2 and the city and guilds 2391 inspection and test.

Don't take my word for it ring a few electrical firms and ask them what electrical qualifications the expect of their sparks.
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I think my post was slightly misleading.

He did go onto say that after the completion of L3 engineering. An evening class of C&G Installation would need to be completed.

I'm still unsure of whether to go for the l3 engineering btec. Or go for the installation course. Which starts at Level 2, then progressing onto level 3 (you can't go straight onto level 3, as students normally have no prior knowledge of installation)
 
I did a BTEC Electronic & Electrical Engineering many years ago. You NEED strong Maths for it, the entire class ended up doing an A Level in Maths as an evening course on top of the 40 hour week doing the core subject (which had a day a week of Maths).

It was a really hard course.

Edit: I think the guy who said an Electrical Engineer can do Electrician work and not vice versa had it right.
 
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sldsmkd said:
I did a BTEC Electronic & Electrical Engineering many years ago. You NEED strong Maths for it, the entire class ended up doing an A Level in Maths as an evening course on top of the 40 hour week doing the core subject (which had a day a week of Maths).

It was a really hard course.

Edit: I think the guy who said an Electrical Engineer can do Electrician work and not vice versa had it right.
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That's ridiculous. Are you sure it wasn't a foundation degree or something? If you mean the level 3 diploma, there is no need for strong maths at all, they teach the basics so it's not hard to do.
 
mufc802 said:
That's ridiculous. Are you sure it wasn't a foundation degree or something? If you mean the level 3 diploma, there is no need for strong maths at all, they teach the basics so it's not hard to do.
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I would suspect it has changed (been dumbed down) an awful lot in the last 20 years. The course was equivalent to 3 A Levels for University purposes when I did it. Okay, it was a level 3 diploma looking at the wiki.
 
I think it's time to clear some things up.

I am a fully qualified electrician, therefore I have a good understanding of what is required to become a sparks.

Doing an engineering course will NOT make you an engineer. You need to go to uni and get an engineering degree in your chosen field to to become an engineer.

To the person who said "don't do it" did you mean become a sparks? If so why?
I don't sit at a desk all day, I take lunch/breaks when ever I feel like, no 2 days are ever the same really (unless you are spending ages drilling cable runs) and I earn fairly good money which is easily increased by doing private work through my own company.

OP, I think you should have a long think about what you want to do in the future. Once you decide take your time to figure out exactly what courses you need to take.
 
Sinny said:
Care to explain?

It's a very good career to get into.
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was a joke, its an excellent trade to get into, OP be aware though you still need to be ok/good at maths for electrical installation, there's 3 classes at college, practical (which youl love) theory (which is the maths part and youl hate) and health and safety which is boring.
 
swaying towards electrical installation over engineering...
becoming an electrician is sounding great. I definitely don't want a job sitting at a desk doing the same repetitive task each day
 
I read this entire thread, and I still don't know how you become an Electrician :P I checked my local college (Stoke) for the Electricians course, but the 2330 course needs a Level 1 course as well as GCSEs? So what course do you do before the 2330?

Is there a flow-chart somewhere that tells people what you actually have to do to become an electrician?

I was also speaking to someone today who said Apprenticeships have changed, so it might be easier to find one even though I am 24 years old? There is so much conflicting information around, or not properly explained info... or maybe I am just being thick.

If you can help, please do :D

I have 10 GCSEs, and Science A Levels. Thanks.
 
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