Learn Practical Skills At Home

Your comprehensive lessons are clear and well-organized; easy to follow, yet challenging and stimulating at the same time. Each lesson begins with an introductory note from your instructor, plus a preview outlining the subject matter and study objectives.

Next comes the reading assignment from your beautifully illustrated textbook, lesson book or supplemental references. Then, turn in your open-book exam (available online) for the lesson, whenever YOU are ready.

As a student in The Professional Electrician Training Program, you’ll receive a nine piece starter tool set for electrical installation, testing and repairs. Use these important tools for hands-on training as you complete the program. The set includes an electrical tester, circuit analyzer, continuity tester, adjustable wire stripper, slotted-head screwdriver, Phillips-head screwdriver, cutting pliers and long-nose pliers.

After graduating, students also receive a quality self-powered multi-meter. All are yours to keep!

Enroll online or call 1-800-535-1613 to speak with an Admission Advisor!

Meet Your Instructor

Chief instructor Brad Burdick became an electrician in 1983. He has earned his Master Electrician's license and has worked as an electrical contractor, project manager, purchasing agent and chief estimator. Brad opened his own electrical contracting business in 1989. During his career, he has designed and installed the wiring for apartment complexes, office buildings, and even a zoo and a maximum-security prison. Students should find him to be a skilled and attentive instructor.

Course author David T. Ronan has written a thorough, quality training course for prospective electricians. For more than 20 years, David has designed, built and repaired electronics equipment in some of America's largest electronics companies. He also has taught several popular “user-friendly” courses about repair and service of VCRs and personal computers.

What You’ll Learn Lesson By Lesson in this Course

Lesson 1, Electrical Energy Theory

Types and sources of electric current; circuits; loads; electromagnetic induction; generators; alternators; power transmission; motors; measuring electricity and energy; electrical codes; safety standards; resistance; converting fractions to decimals and percentages; formulas; basic trigonometry: circles, rectangles, squares, and calculating circumference and perimeter.

Lesson 2, Circuits, Safety & Tools

Wire sizes; conductor markings; insulation; protective devices; controllers; striking, cutting, sawing, fastening, drilling, soldering and measuring; cutting tools; temporary wiring; shock prevention; grounding; ground fault circuit interrupters; bonding; troubleshooting tools; diagnosing problems; overloaded neutrals and unbalanced currents; fuses; breakers; understanding other problems.

Lesson 3, Wiring Systems, Boxes & Conductors

Raceways; conduit fill; box construction and location; knockouts; pryouts; box gangs; box mounting, covers and accessories; non-metallic boxes and cable; fittings; fill allotment; roughing-in; installing conduit runs; boring; notching; cutting and bending conduit; installing flexible metal conduit; making conduit connections.

Supplement: Time Management Guide

Techniques to help study more efficiently and to increase productivity in an electrician career.

Lesson 4, Device Wiring & Branch Circuits

Equipment acceptability; wiring methods and materials; attaching conductors to device terminals; splicing; wiring and mounting fixtures; branch circuit design; determining proper electrical loads; lighting fixture installation rules; balancing circuit loads.

Lesson 5, Reading Blueprints: Service Entrance

Standard symbols; writing circuits; outdoor wiring procedures; fluorescent lighting; pole transformer; service entrance components and location; power company wires; sizing service entrance conductors; service drop mast and insulator; grounding; clearances; supplies and fittings; overcurrent protection; multi-phase systems.

Lesson 6, Appliance, Light Commercial & Mobile Home Wiring

Heater circuits; air conditioning units; garbage disposals; dishwashers; refrigerators; freezers; cook-tops; ovens; electric motors; small multi-family dwellings; building categories and service schemes; mobile home devices and outlets; hooking up the distribution panel.

Lesson 7, Low-Voltage Circuits: Remodeling Procedures

Installing remote-control systems; types of low-voltage circuits, cables and devices; wiring advantages and considerations; low-voltage code rules; safety considerations; special tools and materials for remodeling jobs; box installation; installing surface wiring.

Lesson 8, Advanced Blueprints, Wiring Methods, Boxes & Conduits

Types of electrical drawings; symbols; building codes; the National Electrical Code; certification labs; commercial installations; calculating wireway sizes to meet code requirements; hardware; box types; grounding, mounting and supporting boxes to meet code; box fill; computing box sizes for straight and angular pulls.

Lesson 9, Advanced Conductors & Overcurrent Protection

The types and functions of conductors; conductor ampacity rating; voltage drop; sizing conductors; adjusting conductor ampacity based on ambient temperature and number of conductors; sizing electrical conduits based on permissible percentage fill of conduit; electrical protective devices and fuses; recognizing overloads and short circuits; circuit breakers.

Lesson 10, Advanced Branch Circuits, Feeders, Service & Distribution

Functions, types and terminology of feeders and branch circuits; figuring loads for lighting and receptacles; sizing branch circuits and feeders; branch circuit overcurrent protection; the two basic types of electrical service; service drop clearance; the arrangement of service drops and service laterals; supply voltages and their common applications.

Lesson 11, Transformers, Special Systems & PLCs

Purposes and uses of transformers; transformer construction and components; how transformers work; transformer types; sizing overcurrent protective devices for transformer primaries and secondaries; special calculations for transformers; solving practical problems.

Lesson 12, Motors & Motor Controls

Motor components and types; calculating motor starting currents; code requirements for design of motor branch circuits, motor controls and motor control circuits; computing true power, apparent power and power factor; manual and magnetic starts; pilot device types; reading control circuit diagrams; reversing motor direction by switching connections; basic motor control center setup.

Lesson 13, Emergency Power, Hazardous Locations, Pools & Fountains

Emergency power and standby power; automatic transfer switches; optional vs. legally required standby systems; identifying hazards; ignition and combustion principles; placing fixtures and receptacles around pools; types of underwater lighting fixtures; limitations and clearances for conductors passing over pools; codes for bonding and grounding equipment near a pool; spa and hot tub installation.

Lesson 14, Maintenance, Troubleshooting, The National Electrical Code & Careers

Troubleshooting tools and tests; overloaded neutrals; unbalanced currents; fuses; breakers; troubleshooting a power circuit, power supply, control circuit and control transformer; motor breakdown; preventive maintenance; owning a business; qualifications; advancement.

Supplement: Career Search Guide

A helpful manual to guide your search as you begin your career; preparing your résumé; the interview.