First I would like to note that there are 13 different electrician license, excluding contractor, for this state.
The application process is a breeze if you have been through a formal apprentice program that you can submit the transcript for, and have 16,000 hours (8K apprentice and 8K) as journeyman of experience you can apply to take the journeyman exam. The web site says;
A. Complete an approved apprenticeship program or provide proof of equivalent experience, as outlined in ORS 479.630 (5) and OAR 918-282-0170. Submit four years' (8,000 hours) notarized work experience. Include a breakdown of hours, showing a minimum of 1,000 hours in each category of residential, commercial, and industrial.
B. Submit a copy of your high school diploma or transcript, a GED certificate, or a military record (DD214) showing proof of high school completion.
C. Submit proof of related classroom training as outlined in OAR 918-282-0170.
D. Pass a written examination.
What they don’t say is that this is for Oregon trained apprentices only and, because you are from another state, you must add another 8K of journeyman experience.
If you have no apprentice transcript showing at least 576 hrs of classroom time the hours of experience as an apprentice are also doubled. Submitting hours as a journeyman with out specifying the type of experience listed in OAR 918-282-0170 (shop time, industrial, commercial, etc.) will not work. They expect 8 years of “apprentice equivalent hours”
Add an additional 8K of journeyman experience for a total of 24K hours and you can apply for the general supervisor exam.
Documentation (such as an IBEW Dispatch Sheet with the seal or a letter from a State University HR without a seal) other than the notarized verification form may not be accepted.
The person evaluating the verification form uses the employment dates against the hours submitted. If the hours submitted exceed 160 hours per month for the number of months employed do not match those hours may be excluded.
If the person evaluating the verification forms does not particularly care for the name of the person providing the verification (even though it is notarized) it may be excluded.
I submitted a form from a man whose legal name is Mr. Ocean and he holds a CA license, it was excluded)
Here is a link to the web site to begin the process
http://licens einfo.oregon.gov/ind...84,1535,1686&class_name=Electricians As far as I can tell, there is no investigation of the facts beyond the prima facie evaluation of the documentation for flaws and omissions. None of the 6 people providing verification in my application was contacted. The letter of denial was based on the prima facie evaluation.
Make sure the people verifying your experience use the language of “0170” and that the math is easy for the evaluator to figure. If you were laid off and went to work elsewhere make sure the periods of employment don’t overlap. As an example if one form indicates that you were employed by a company from June 1998 to July 2001 and credits you with less than 4720 hours of experience. but does not include that you were laid off for 8 months in 1999, and another form shows you being employed for six of those months by a different company, even though the first company did not include the hours with them the hours with the second company may be excluded.
If you think my description here is long winded try figuring out the OAR’s and the ORS’s that apply.
In my humble opinion the requirement for 8 or 12 years of experience is fine, there is nothing wrong with setting a high standard. I’ve been told that the supervisor exam has a very high failure rate because it’s tough. If the state wants to set a standard that insures a specific level of expertise before issuing a license to practice a craft the state has that right.
My personal experience is that the application and evaluation processes for applicants from other states severely are skewed. There is no clear guide to what experience levels would be required and there is no evidence for the basis of evaluation for the experience submitted.
I was told that in past years the test was graded by the very same people who evaluated the application, and wrote the test. The test was not multiple choice and part 2 of the test, the load calc, was open to the interpretation. The tests now are a random set of multiple choice questions drawn from several sources.
The application process I began in September of 2004 was denied in June of 2005. I have submitted over 24K hours of experience but more half of the hours submitted were excluded for one reason or other, all the while none of the verifiers were ever contacted.
[This message has been edited by Ray97502 (edited 07-20-2005).]
[This message has been edited by Ray97502 (edited 07-20-2005).]
