Begin with Basic and Build up to Advanced Classes
Electrician courses build upon each other as one continues in an electrician training program. The courses start out where the previous course left off, add to a person’s knowledge and prepare them for the next course. This is a very effective way for students to learn.
Starting with very basic courses and moving on through more advanced courses, students learn a multitude of things from the basic concepts of how electricity works to identifying specific electrical tools and materials. As students get exposed to the National Electric Code, they also learn to calculate what type of materials are needed for a specific project and how to check to be sure they are following the specific guidelines in the code book for each project they are faced with.
Hands On Comes after Basic Classes that Cover Safety
Students in an electrician training program normally don’t start getting hands on experience until they have taken a few basic electrician courses that introduce them to various concepts of electricity such as the meaning of things like alternating current and direct current, safety practices, etc. Once they are ready, they will begin working in electrical labs.
At first, in electrical labs student may only be identifying different types of electrical components such as different sizes and types of wire, conduit, switches, etc. They will also be introduced to various hand Electrician Schools In Pittsburgh tools used daily by electricians. As they progress, they begin practicing to use those tools, pair the right materials for a project together and make some practice assemblies of various electrical parts.
Invest in the Basic Tools in the Beginning
If you’re starting electrician courses, you might want to invest in some of the basic hand tools electricians use if you don’t have them already. In fact, some institutions that offer electrician training insist you supply your own Instrument Used In Water Treatment Plant tools whereas others have tools in their labs for students to use. If possible however, it’s best if you can learn using your own tools as these will be the ones you use in the field and so you can familiarize yourself with them.
Some of the basic hand tools you might want to consider getting are available in sets that are fairly inexpensive to buy. For instance, you can get a basic set of screw drivers that includes both flat head and Philips head screw drivers in various sizes; more elaborate sets will include stubby screw drivers, offset screw drivers and other specialty screw drivers. A basic pliers set generally includes regular pliers, diagonal pliers, needle nose pliers, lineman’s pliers and a wire stripper.
When to Add Advanced Tools
As you progress through various electrician courses you may want to start adding some items to your tool kit. One item in particular, a MultiMeter, is used frequently by electricians for various jobs in the field. A typical MultiMeter performs several jobs. For instance, set up one way it can determine the resistance in a circuit while set up another way, it can determine if there is continuity in a circuit. Additionally these meters will measure other things like capacitance and frequency, so you see why they have the name, “MultiMeter”.
You can buy a decent MultiMeter from $20 and up. Obviously the more expensive models will have more bells and whistles with the key difference being the range of parameters the meter can measure with each setting. There are MultiMeters with standard analog displays while others have digital displays.