[fatrobin]

Hey y'all. Im new to this site. I'm about to turn 42 and I'm having to face a major life change. I've been in a family business for practically my whole life. My parents owned a meat processing plant & small butcher shop since 1952 along with some rental houses. My Dad died and we lost everything to bankruptcy. I hope I don't offend anyone but being a very small business in a very small town, and being on the brink of breaking even for soooo many years, Dad simply could not afford to pay anyone to do much of anything, so after a long hard day at the shop we always did everything like electrical plumbing and hvac. To keep the business afloat we always had to do our own work. My Dad was and taught me to be a perfectionist when it came to our work. We did it all... low voltage alarms, intercoms, telephone systems, data lines, 110-125v outlets, lighting, switches, 220-250v equipment, 3phase, giant industrial refrigeration equipment, etc... I hate to sound naive but I didnt even know we weren't supposed to do this work ourselves....

Now I need to start doing this work for others (electrical, but also hvac and plumbing) and I obviously need to get a license. So I think I need references but the only reference I had was my Dad who was not licensed and has now passed away. My mom could be a reference but I dont even know if that will work.

So my question is, what are the requirments for a reference? What can I do? I have a family to feed (my mom included). Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much

 

[Hippie]

look for a factory maintenance job i would say. they usually dont require a license like a construction job would and it would be the best fit for your skillset i would assume. in va you must work for a liscenced contractor to get experience that they will accept, not sure about your state but probably similar

 

[jbfan]

You can not contract for electrical work without a license in GA.
You need 5 years of work experience to even qualify to take the test.

Look for someone to work with, or a factory maintenance job somewhere.

 

[Michigan Master]

I’m sorry but it doesn’t sound like you meet the minimum qualifications to become licensed as an electrical contractor. I dug up some links from the Georgia Board of Electrical Contractors, on qualifications and a link to the application for you to check out.

What I did not see on the state's website was any information about journeyman level electricians... This might be licensed at the local (county level)? So I'm not sure what (if anything) you need to work for an electrical contractor in Georgia.

Ran across some contact info here on apprenticeships. While this pretty much means starting at the beginning and taking some classes, 42 is not too old to start. Apprentices typically get scheduled progressive wage increases; so while starting pay may not look so great, you don't have to wait until you're done to make a decent wage.

The advice about plant maintenance is good. HVAC technician might also be something worth looking into also.

 

[HARRY304E]

I’m sorry but it doesn’t sound like you meet the minimum qualifications to become licensed as an electrical contractor. I dug up some links from the Georgia Board of Electrical Contractors, on qualifications and a link to the application for you to check out.

What I did not see on the state's website was any information about journeyman level electricians... This might be licensed at the local (county level)? So I'm not sure what (if anything) you need to work for an electrical contractor in Georgia.

Ran across some contact info here on apprenticeships. While this pretty much means starting at the beginning and taking some classes, 42 is not too old to start. Apprentices typically get scheduled progressive wage increases; so while starting pay may not look so great, you don't have to wait until you're done to make a decent wage.

The advice about plant maintenance is good. HVAC technician might also be something worth looking into also.

What he said.

Welcome to the forum.:thumbsup:

 

[jbfan]

I’m sorry but it doesn’t sound like you meet the minimum qualifications to become licensed as an electrical contractor. I dug up some links from the Georgia Board of Electrical Contractors, on qualifications and a link to the application for you to check out.

What I did not see on the state's website was any information about journeyman level electricians... This might be licensed at the local (county level)? So I'm not sure what (if anything) you need to work for an electrical contractor in Georgia.

Ran across some contact info here on apprenticeships. While this pretty much means starting at the beginning and taking some classes, 42 is not too old to start. Apprentices typically get scheduled progressive wage increases; so while starting pay may not look so great, you don't have to wait until you're done to make a decent wage.

The advice about plant maintenance is good. HVAC technician might also be something worth looking into also.

Ga has no license requirement to be an electrician.
The license is only required if you try to contract electrical work to others.

Ga has 2 types of license, class 1 limited to 200 amps or less single phase, and class 2, unlimited.

He can work as an electrician if he can find someone to hire him and send him on jobs.

 

[fatrobin]

Thanks for all the replies.

Ok, so if I am understanding correctly;

I do NOT need a license to work as an electrician in a factory or business,

I do NOT need a license to work as an electrician on a construction site in Georgia as long as I am working for someone else who is a licensed contractor,

I DO need a license if I am going to try to BE a contractor myself and I have to have 5 years experience working in a factory, business or for a licensed contractor in order to take the test to become licensed.

Does anyone know if this is basically the same for plumbing and HVAC?

 

[dthurmond]

Hvac is basically the same . If you go to the ga licensing web site it gives you the requirements of these licenses .

 

[readydave8]

Been told by an inspector and again at continuing ed class that plumbers are required to be licensed in Georgia even if working under licensed plumber? May be more to the story.

 

[ablyss]

Thanks for all the replies.

Ok, so if I am understanding correctly;

I do NOT need a license to work as an electrician in a factory or business,

I do NOT need a license to work as an electrician on a construction site in Georgia as long as I am working for someone else who is a licensed contractor,

I DO need a license if I am going to try to BE a contractor myself and I have to have 5 years experience working in a factory, business or for a licensed contractor in order to take the test to become licensed.

Does anyone know if this is basically the same for plumbing and HVAC?

GA requires you have 5 years in the field plus notarized references from 3 out of 4 license tradesmen: a professional engineer, an electrical inspector, a licensed electrician, a professional architect

If you plan to get the unrestricted license one of the references has to be from a unrestricted licensed electrician and also you have to provide documentation where you worked on hazardous class II jobs, e.g. hospitals, gas stations, airports.

If you are just planning on going for the restricted license you still have to have 3 of the 4 references for licensed trades. Again those, can can be any of these: a professional engineer, an electrical inspector, a licensed electrician, a professional architect. 3 references from 3 licensed electricians would qualify.

Once you have these, then and only then will you be eligible to take the state exam. The exam itself has requirements ie, only certain books allowed, pencial and paper and simple calculator.

 

[Southeast Power]

Hey y'all. Im new to this site. I'm about to turn 42 and I'm having to face a major life change. I've been in a family business for practically my whole life. My parents owned a meat processing plant & small butcher shop since 1952 along with some rental houses.

So my question is, what are the requirments for a reference? What can I do? I have a family to feed (my mom included). Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much

I've seen electrical work preformed by butchers. You might not be ready for prime time yet.
If you have been working outside of the supervision of a contractor, it's very possible that you may have picked up some bad habits. Especially if you had to do your own work for economic reasons.

I would suggest the following if you are interested in our trade as a career path.
Find a contractor to employ you for the required time to get your Georgia license.
Take as many electrical related code classes as you can stand on line.
Go for it.
Oh yeah,
Please stay out of Florida. :thumbsup: