I went through Northeast State Community College's Electrical Technology program, its a 2 year AAS degree. It was very good and teaches you basically to be an electrician. There were plenty of courses for theory as well as plenty of practical work related courses. I did things a little differently because of the way I entered in the program but the course outline is.
Fall yr 1
D.C. Fundamentals
National Electrical Code
Comp I
Social Science
Spring yr 1
A.C. Fundamentals
Motors, Alternators and Generators
Trigonometry
Public Speaking
Fall yr 2
Transformers and Power Factor Correction
Magnetic Motor Controls
Industrial Electronics
Physical Science
Spring yr 2
Residental and Commercial Wiring
Industrial PLC's
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning I
2 electives
All of these were great courses. We had 2 instructors, one had a Masters License and the other was a Journeyman, both had many years of practical expierience.
My favorites were:
NEC, this was an awesome class. It was kinda rough at times and you had to study but I really loved it.
Motors, Alternators and Generators. This was really fun too because you first get to learn all the theory and math dealing with motors then you have a lab where you actually get to connect the motors. We had just about every motor type you could think of. The final lab exam was to take a 9 lead 3 phase motor with no lead markings and use what you learned about transformers and their polarity to correctly mark the leads.. then go run the motor. Your tools were a screwdriver, a variable AC source, a multimeter and a pack of number tape.
Trig.. I had a really fun time here. Its very important when dealing with AC. I didnt know it but I think I really enjoyed it because later I discovered that Im a math geek.
Transformers and PF correction:
This was fun for me too. Just like the motors class you first had a good dose of theory then you got to work on actual 5KVA transformers. We had enough per person to where each could make up thier own wye, delta and other weird connections. In our booths we each also had light bulbs for loads. Heres where I learned a whole lot about loose neutrals.
Magnetic Motor controls:
This deals a lot with control systems using magnetics. In each of our booths we had contactors, relays with lots of push button start stop stations. They would go over in class fundamentals of control then in the lab youd actually do it. Some highlights were interconnecting all of the booths (20 total) and having the lights in each timed to come on in stages then back off in stages. The final lab exam is wiring a 4 floor elevator with indicator lights and every operation that a real elevator has.
Industrial Electronics:
It was basically just an electronics course. Like the others you learned theory then practical stuff. We made dimmers, speed controls and such. Although not required to pass we did wire that elevator using a bunch of AND OR and NOR gates. We also had a bunch of motors and variable frequency drives to play with.
Residental Commercial wiring:
Very fun! The classroom activity is lots of wiring practices as well as NEC work. Here I learned a lot about system grounding and equipment grounding, the differences between the two and the proper way to install it according to the NEC. The lab activity had 10 booths each having a 60 amp electrical service. You would wire up 3 way switches, receptacls, lights.. you name it. We also did lots of multiwire branch circuits. As always with this neatness counts!!! We also had "The House". The house is an actual home built in the lab but not finished out. Here you will completley wire the home from kitchen to bedroom as well as install an overhead service with meterbase, plus HVAC equipment. We also did plenty of conduit bending and installation from every size between 1/2" to 4" using every bender imagninable from hand to hydraulic.
Industrial PLC's:
Here we programmed Allen Bradley and Siemens PLC's. This included a little theory and a lot of practical work. For the lab you would work in one of the 20 booths, having an Allen Bradley system. Here we interconnected all the lights and made some really cool programs. Nothings quite like hearing over 60 relays opening and closing rapidly to make a light show!! We also did traffic lights and the final exam was to run the elevator using PLC controls. We also ran some of the VFD's and motors using PLC controls.
Coming out of all that I felt really prepared and did work with an electrical contractor for a while. It was fun but rough. It was during this time where I really found out that I was a math geek. So I did the best I could and mixed math and electrical and am now working toward a BSEE. The math is really wild. Im in Calc III right now and all the 3D stuff is very cool.
