I would like to become and electrician and would love to get the opinions of people like you who are already electricians. I already tried Google and other searches but there seems to be no definitive path.
I'm a 27 year old male in Dallas Texas who has always been fascinated with electronics and electricity in general. Since I was old enough to walk I have been tearing apart old electronics and mechanical devices to see how they work, what they do and how to put them back together. I'm extremely mechanically inclined however for some reason, pursued a career in financial services. I'm currently in the mortgage business however I am really burned out after 8 years doing it. Would love to start to start a new trade and get out of Financial Services altogether. At this point, I'd rather enjoy my job rather than always trying to make more money. When you hate what you do for 9 hours a day, the money means nothing anyways.
I have no formal electrical education in this field however I am extremely intelligent and would easily and happily attend whatever type of courses necessary to become a professional in this trade. I tried searching for specialized trade schools in Dallas and found quite a few however not sure if they are even required. I know in my business for example people try to get in the door with financial degrees however with mortgage, the degree means very little and there is no licensing requirement (for operations at least) so experience in the field is all you really need to land a solid job. You just have to fight your way in the door somewhere and prove yourself. I know as an electrician you must be licensed however I have no idea what it takes to get there. Again I tried google however everything I found seemed way too vague and specific to the geography of the area. If I call the local schools they will just tell me whatever it takes to get me to enroll at their schools, whether I need it or not.
So basically, starting from zero, what would you recommend I do to get on track to get into this industry? I'm not in any rush so I would like to take evening or weekend classes somewhere and then perhaps do a part time internship. Do I acquire some type of degree (and if so, what type of degree) and then do some type of apprenticeship? Then is it just a matter of getting hired on by a reputable company or are most electricians owner/operators? I would appreciate any advice you can give me.
