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School or apprenticeship?Electrician in Washington
For all electrical work, Washington requires an apprenticeship, and you’re paid while you learn. School costs money, but it can count toward a narrower certificate or shorten an apprenticeship.
School
You pay
$13,623 – $59,205
for an approved program, in total
- 15 to 27 months
- Counts for up to half your hours
Apprenticeship
You’re paid
$14.60 – $24.75 an hour
on day one
- 8,000 hours of paid work
- Every hour counts toward your certificate
Costs: Career Bridge, the state’s training directory · Pay: L&I’s apprenticeship registry
What else is different
| School | Apprenticeship | |
|---|---|---|
| When you finish | $25 – $29 an hourthe median pay the state publishes for graduates of approved programs | $31.48 – $76.95 an hourthe journey rate each program lists |
| Where it leads | A narrower certificatesuch as homes and apartments (02) or low voltage (06), after the work hours too | All electrical work (01)Washington’s general certificate needs a finished apprenticeship |
| Getting in | You enroll and paySome programs interview or test you first. | You applywhen a program takes applications, and the program picks who it hires |
School pay: Career Bridge, the state’s training directory · Journey rates: L&I’s apprenticeship registry
Start from the work you want
Washington has one general certificate and several narrower ones. Each one has its own route.
All electrical work
General journey level
An 8,000-hour registered apprenticeship. A two-year school program can stand in for up to 2 years of its work, if the apprenticeship agrees.
34 registered apprenticeships2 school programs count toward it, 1 more to check
See the 34 apprenticeshipsA narrower certificate
No apprenticeship needed
4,000 hours of supervised work as a trainee. An approved school program counts for up to half of them.
Or do both
Start at a school that prepares you
4 programs say in their descriptions that they prepare you for an apprenticeship.
See the schoolsApply to an apprenticeship
Each program takes applications in its own way and on its own schedule.
Get an email when one opensAsk it to count your school
Each apprenticeship decides how much of a two-year school program counts, up to 2 years of its work.
While you’re enrolled in an approved school program, you need an L&I training certificate. Apply at L&I
Before you pay a school, ask it 10 questions
Ask for the answers in writing: your total cost, whether your hours count toward a certificate, and how many people who started finished.
Sources
- Career Bridge, the Washington Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board’s training directory: each program’s cost, length, award, place, results and description, and how the results are measured
- L&I, approved electrical construction trade training schools: which programs are approved, for which certificate, and the credit of up to half the work hours
- RCW 19.28.191: the 8,000-hour apprenticeship for the general journey level exam, and up to 2 years of a two-year school program in place of its work
- L&I, electrical apprenticeship: general journey level work needs a registered apprenticeship, and each apprenticeship decides school credit
- L&I, electrician certificates: the 4,000-hour specialties and the classroom hours before an exam
- L&I’s apprenticeship registry, programs and occupations and wage scales: each program’s pay on day one and its journey rate
Get an email when it matters
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Alerts for: Electrician in Washington