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If you’re looking for a career path that allows for hands-on learning, job stability, good pay, and opportunities to advance, you’ll want to consider skilled trades. As an experienced electrician, your services will always be in demand.

The state of Utah requires that workers in skilled trades obtain licenses from the Utah Department of Commerce Division of Professional Licensing. What licenses are available to electricians, and what are the requirements to complete the licensure process?

Residential Journeyman Electrician

As a journeyman electrician, you are permitted to perform tasks like wiring, installing, and repairing electrical materials and equipment. To obtain a residential journeyman electrician license, you must meet several criteria, starting with training and/or experience.

You could complete a two-year electrical apprenticeship program (288 classroom hours) along with 4,000 hours of hands-on work experience as a licensed apprentice electrician with supervision from a licensed journeyman or master electrician. Or you could complete 8,000 hours of supervised work experience.

Either way, you’ll also have to pass state exams, including a residential journeyman electrician code exam, theory exam, and practical exam. All exams are open book.

The residential electrician code exam for journeymen includes 80 questions covering topics like:

• Definitions and general requirements
• Raceways and enclosures
• Services, feeders, and branch circuits
• Overcurrent protection
• Conductors and cables
• Grounding and bonding
• Lighting and general use equipment
• Communications systems
• Pools, photovoltaic, and wind
• State laws and rules

You will have 180 minutes to complete this test, and you must answer a minimum of 60 questions correctly to pass. 

The theory exam features 50 questions about subjects like:

• Voltage
• Current
• Resistance
• Power
• Voltage drop

You will have 115 minutes to complete this exam, and you must answer at least 38 questions correctly to pass. 

Finally, the practical exam requires you to complete four tasks in the following areas:

• Torque setting
• Evaporative cooler motor wiring (use of schematic diagram)
• Four-way and three-way light switch wiring
• Schematic reading and wiring

You will have 70 minutes to complete this exam, and it is scored on a pass/fail system that includes all tasks.

Residential Master Electrician

In addition to performing the tasks of a residential journeyman electrician, a residential master electrician is permitted to engage in the planning, layout, and supervision of electrical wiring, installation, and repair. Before you can obtain this license, you must complete 4,000 hours of work experience as a licensed residential journeyman electrician.

Alternatively, you can complete a bachelor’s or master’s degree in electrical engineering from an accredited EAC/ABET program, along with 2,000 hours of hands-on work experience as a licensed apprentice electrician. In both cases, you’ll also have to pass the residential master electrician code, theory, and practical exams.

These tests cover the same topics and tasks as the journeyman residential electrical exams, with the same number of questions, the same amount of time to complete tests, and the same requirements for correct answers to pass. The only difference is that the theory exam is timed at 100 minutes instead of 115.

Exam Prep You Can Rely On

Are you ready to take the next step in your career by obtaining a residential journeyman or master electrician license in Utah? Contact RocketCert now to sign up for effective exam prep designed for working professionals.