Preparing for Electrical Exams in multiple states?

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guywithguitar

Member
Location
NJ
Hey folks,

Been approached by a friend's company on becoming licensed in a handful of other states aside from where I'm at in NJ (PA, MD, DL, NC, CO, AZ, CA & HA). Because of NJ's stringent standards I'm up a creek on trying to get reciprocity from any other states. That said, I was wondering if anyone has attempted to get multiple licenses and if there was any direction you might give.

Thanks ahead of time![FONT=Helvetica, Arial, FreeSans, sans-serif][/FONT]
 
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TimK

Member
Location
Tacoma, WA
guywithguitar said:
Hey folks,

Been approached by a friend's company on becoming licensed in a handful of other states aside from where I'm at in NJ (PA, MD, DL, NC, CO, AZ, CA & HA). Because of NJ's stringent standards I'm up a creek on trying to get reciprocity from any other states. That said, I was wondering if anyone has attempted to get multiple licenses and if there was any direction you might give.

Thanks ahead of time!
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As with most on here, I have held multiple state's lisc. The best thing to do is some research. There are alot of states with reciprocity, but there are a few that only go one way. If i carry an OR lisc., I can get an ID lisc., but if I hold and ID lisc., I need to test for the OR lisc. So do research so you take the least amount of test possible.
 
infinity

infinity

Moderator
Staff member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
Any particular reason why you want to do this? I see guys flying in from Florida to take taking CEU classes five or six times a code cycle to maintain a license they'll never use. Not to mention the various licensing costs.
 
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TimK

Member
Location
Tacoma, WA
infinity said:
Any particular reason why you want to do this? I see guys flying in from Florida to take taking CEU classes five or six times a code cycle to maintain a license they'll never use. Not to mention the various licensing costs.
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Do they not allow online classes? Do you have to show up in state to qualify?
 
roger

roger

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Fl
Occupation
Retired Electrician
TimK said:
Do they not allow online classes? Do you have to show up in state to qualify?
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Half of NC's CEU's must be class room time, the other half can be online.


Roger
 
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guywithguitar

Member
Location
NJ
I only begin this search because some good friends have begun a venture that could potentially do very well and allow for work in multiple states. That said, I was approached to both work and also go after my licenses for those states. Its a lot of time and to be honest, just thinking about all the prep I'd need & time it would take to keep these licenses up is mind boggling. I checked out another thread from a gentleman who was attempting to find a fair market value for his licenses while with a company. The main issue I foresee is I personally don't have a use for all these states, it would be best utilized with a larger company. If something didn't work out down the road with the company I'm at, how much competition am I in with fine folks as yourselves to land a job like that? What are additional qualifications or experience that will fill out my resume? Finally how do I put together a cost analysis of time, money & testing to find out how much I'm really making or losing?

I'm 29 y/o, no degree Electrical & Commercial Solar background just feeling out my options in this hellish market. Thanks for all the replys and thoughts thus far folks.
 
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jmgreer

Member
Location
northeast arkansas
i have several license, some by receprocity, most by testing. i have ran into all kinds of situations and all i can say is be prepared to test at any given time. i have three license that were all given by the same testing agency, prometric. some states i am licensed in i have never been too because i took the exams at my local prometric testing site.
in regard to ceus, one time i had to submit for approval a online course for my ceus because i did not want to go to the state i was licensed in due to the cost and the time that would be involved. the course was approved by their board and that was it.
good luck and learn how to navigate the code and you wil be fine
 
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PEDRO ESCOVILLA

Senior Member
Location
south texas
i currently hold a Master electrician license in three states. 2 in new england, and Texas. up north, I tested in VT, got NH via reciprocity, i also weworked there (both states) and probably will again. I had to submit all of my experience, including my apprenticeship records to Texas before I could sit for the test. It was a Masters test. Having not done a ton of calculations in the past 5 years it was a good one, but I passed. That being said, contact states where your guys want you get licensed, See what the requirements are, and find out whats the best way to approach it. I'd c do somwething like this, check for states that had neighboring reciprocity , get one, go next door, pay the fee and move on.....test where absolutly necessary. .. If i wanted to, I could go to NM, with a NH or Texas licdense, via reciprocity, unless the rules have changed. theres no need, so i wont

What is the purpose of holding all these licenses? How will you meet yearly or every third year continuing education requirements?( as in VT and NH, for me) wouldn't it make sense to hire guys in those states if you get lots of work there? Lots of states are ahead or behind in the adoption process so you may be studying multiple editions of the code book to meet your goal. This may not be a huge challenge, there are a lot of variables.

If this is for solar, get your NABCEP cert's , then hire a license in the state you're working in to help on that end. just a thought. good luck
 
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stevenje

Senior Member
Location
Yachats Oregon
jmgreer said:
i have several license, some by receprocity, most by testing. i have ran into all kinds of situations and all i can say is be prepared to test at any given time. i have three license that were all given by the same testing agency, prometric. some states i am licensed in i have never been too because i took the exams at my local prometric testing site.
in regard to ceus, one time i had to submit for approval a online course for my ceus because i did not want to go to the state i was licensed in due to the cost and the time that would be involved. the course was approved by their board and that was it.
good luck and learn how to navigate the code and you wil be fine
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Many years ago I worked under a job foreman that had worked in multiple states, when the government was installing underground missile bunkers. He had a stack of state licenses that looked like a deck of cards. He was one of the smartest people I ever had the privilege to work with.
 
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