does any one know how long you need to be in the trade for a journeymans license in palm beach county fl?

If the same people are counting that ran the voting fiasco you're in like Flint. (couldn't help myself )


The link below may help, overall FL as far as state licensing is concerned, is not very hard compared to some states.
http://www.mikeholt.com/statelicense.php

Roger

ive been there it just says at local levels but the counties site don't say the time you need in. It only says mail for more info. I just wanted to know if any one on here knew.


Another question on mikeholts site it says

State electrical contractors license
Minimum of 3 yrs. proven experience with W-2 forms

how it that possible is it a typo

Kdrifter,
this is what I was talking about, it does seem mighty lax doesn't it. This is probably a big part of the reason that if you look in the yellow pages for EC's in South Florida you will find hundreds.

Journeyman cards are not widely required in FL.

Roger

I think its 3 yrs. proven experience as a foreman on top of a masters license. Any one know ???

You might not need anything but a rusty set of Kliens and a screwdriver. A lot of counties in Florida don't have a certification standard for tradesmen, only the licensed <trade> contractor.

YOU MAKE MORE MONEY HERE WITH A LICENSE

The Florida State license Info on the Mike Holt page is missing half of what you need to qualify. Here is what you need just to sit for the exam, you will also need to show a net worth of $25,000 with at least $10,000 of that in cash :

To qualify for the exam the Board requires for a certificate, you need to fulfill one of the following requirements:

at least three years of management experience in the trade within the last six years (half can be an approved education)
at least four years of experience as a foreman , supervisor, or contractor in the trade within the past eight years
at least six years of comprehensive training, technical education, or broad experience with electrical or alarm system installation or service within the past twelve years
three years as a licensed engineer

The exam is open book on three subjects -- general business, technical knowledge, and safety. Here's the information on each type of certificate and the percentage of the exam that's devoted to each subject:

Certificate Type
Unlimited Electrical Contractor # of Questions
General theory and principles 19 - 21
Plan and specification reading and interpretation 7 - 9
Wiring and protection 12 - 14
Wiring methods and materials 11 - 13
Special occupancies and situations 12 - 14
OSHA, safety, testing procedure, tool and equipment use 9 - 11
Americans with Disabilities Act, life safety 4 - 6
Electrical signs, outline lighting and structural considerations 3 - 5
Alarms and limited energy 14 - 16
Maintaining cash flow 6 - 8
Estimating and bidding 5 - 7
Interpretation of contracts and agreements 4 - 6
Purchasing control 0 - 2
Contract scheduling 2 - 4
Obtaining insurance and bonding 4 - 6
Complying with contracting laws and rules 5 - 7
Personnel management 1 - 3
Complying with payroll and sales tax laws 6 - 8
Interpretation of financial statements and reports 4 - 6
Management accounting 1 - 4


It is an open book exam with 14 books all of which are at least 300 pages and some closer to 1000. Technical questions include Fire Alarm systems and troubleshooting, Neon sign manufacture, Burglar alarms, Life safety code, OSHA
regualtions,Telecommunications systems and troubleshooting,Fire alarm code, concrete mixture control. It is 100 questions with a time limit of 5 hours = 3 minutes per question.

The business portion is 50 questions @ 3 minutes per question. They range from Payroll taxes, Financial statements and accounting, Lien Law,Workmans comp law etc.

Last I heard about a County level Journeymans license from Palm beach it was 4 years and you had to show your W-2's as proof as well as a notarized statement from each employer you worked for to document your time

Rich, Welcome to the forum and thanks for the update to the FL licensing requirements, it makes me feel better.

Another member, Bryan Holland, had told me pretty much the same thing awhile back.

Roger

Thanks for that great info. I thought it was 6 years for journeymans in Palm Beach or 4 year it you take the classes 2 night a week.

I was going off of memory for the Palm beach requirements, but I did find a link to the application, It looks like 6 years is what you need unless you went through apprenticeship. Here is a link
http://www.pbcgov.com/pzb/contractors/competency.pdf

[This message has been edited by Rich R (edited 05-10-2005).]

Do they actually want to see a journeyman on the job?
Over on this coast (Lee) I wonder if the lead man was a roofer last week and the helper may still have roof tar in his hair.

A few years back...maybe 5 or 6 years, In Broward county (south of Palm beach county) you were required to have 1 Journeyman electrician for every 3 helpers on the job site. I'm sure other countys were or maybe still are like that.

In recent years they dropped that requirement and now the only license required is that of the qualifier of the company ( who is almost never on the job)

Don't get me wrong, a Journeymans card still means something, especially for service type company's and is used mostly as a base measurement to see if a potential employee knows what he is doing or not. Journeyman do make more per hour than an unlicensed electrician/helper does in most cases.

I agree, this is bad news for the trade and affects the pay scale in a big way. You have contractors hiring 15 unlicensed guys who barely speak english to wire up new houses, they are the lowest bidder for the contract since now the labor cost is cut in half and they get every job. Now the contractor who actually pays his employees a decent wage and has benefits has to look at a $300 profit or less on a week long job just to compete.

What is the contractors choices ? to reduce labor cost ( pay employees less) or try to find a different market where he can make more profit for the same amount of effort.

Bottom line is, Licensing although it is a pain to jump through all the hoops is what keeps our (employees and contractors)pay/profits up.

Just curious, is Florida reciprocal with any other state. i.e. If you are a Master Electrician in MA, can you get a Master in FL without taking a test?

Most contractors here are hiring mexican labor right off the boat. A guy I work with has it masters and his last employer fired him to hire 5 mexicans in his place...

K that is what I see.
nesecito hablamous poquito espanol if you want to talk to a trade around here.
I think some of the GCs are starting to see the difference tho and hopefully they will drive for a little more qualified trades, even if it costs a few more bucks on the bid. How much does it cost to do it AGAIN? If your whole job is jammed up because someone missed a note on the plan two phases ago that low bid doesn't look so good.

seems like everywhere is different, here in colorado anyone can be a electrical contractor BUT will have to show proof that has a Master employed for them, and to get a master's lic. requires at least 5 years (rumored) as a journyman (and journeyman requiring at least 4 years), and also having letter from project eng's. saying ran jobs...I had 10 years in when I got my masters. and as for laborers even they have to be residental wireman's which requires documentation from employers. I would say the all electricians in colorado are skilled workers not put name on truck and go at it. from what I have seen for going to other states, my cousin moved to nebraska and they required him to retake there test there.