USA Transfer of Q's

[mamba]

My wife who is in the medical field has been offered a position in South Carolina, and we are exploring the options of moving out there to work and live. Does anyone have experience or working knowledge of the USA installations, systems and their testing process. I have goggled it on the net and it appears that I may have to possibly sit their version of our 17th before registering. Any advise appreciated

 

[timbobelfast]

Worked with a US guy from South Carolina and personally I would not trust him to wire a plug top.

If you are a half decent spark in the UK you will be head and shoulders above most sparks in that area.

To get licensed there I think you turn up and take an exam and pay the fee of course!

Most electricians from that region use the 'bang' test. Just wire it up and flip the breaker on and if the lighting fitting works your good LOL.

 

[Sintra]

Learn to connect cables with those horrible wire nut things. The yanks love them

 

[oldtimer]

Worked with a guy who jus came back from the US after 20 years they have Master Electricians ie Approved in this country then Electricians and it works a bit like our country ie Master/Approved can and do run jobs as for Regulations the US has the Electrical Code that they work to plus it appears they don't do a lot of testing as the guy told me it was connect it up and see if the MCB holds plus they have a lot of labourers that run conduit/trunking/cables ect

Also only a Master electrician can sign off a job

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Get yourself a copy of the NEC and read it through - the principles are the same but a lot of things are different in detail, cable sizes, connector types, fittings, supply voltage / phase arrangements, installation methods etc. I've not done it but I don't think you need to be a rocket scientist to pass the exam!

 

[LeckyBill]

woz thinking about going stateside myself like. Is the pay good wht quals do you kned

 

[Fin170]

Ah yes, AWG....terrible unit. As is the socket design and their 240v supply

 

[Engineer54]

Don't let some here fool you into thinking that Yank electricians aren't adequately trained, because generally talking they are!! Put it this way, there is no such thing as a 17 Day or electrical trainee electrician or such a person as a Domestic Installer!! lol!! You'll need to sit a trade test, which i understand will include a working knowledge of the latest NFPA 70 (National Electrical Codes)!! Which covers much more than it's equivalent BS7671 i might add!!

It's true they don't put anywhere near as much emphasis on proof testing of new installations, they generally test to fault find!! Generally speaking you will rarely if ever see a MFT or any form of ELI testers. Mostly it will be IR and basic GFCI testers, over and above the Yanks standard test equipment which will be a decent multimeter (DMM) and a decent amp clamp. Quite a few will also have a 3 point earth test kit too!!

 

[mamba]

thanks very useful

 

[Spoon]

woz thinking about going stateside myself like. Is the pay good wht quals do you kned

You will do great in the states... they can spell as well...

 

[GLENNSPARK]

You will do great in the states... they can spell as well...

one of the worst nations on earth to attempt the english language

 

[Spoon]

one of the worst nations on earth to attempt the english language

Thats because they have to allow for the average IQ of the yanks, so they try and make things simpler...

 

[gnuuser]

Don't let some here fool you into thinking that Yank electricians aren't adequately trained, because generally talking they are!! Put it this way, there is no such thing as a 17 Day or electrical trainee electrician or such a person as a Domestic Installer!! lol!! You'll need to sit a trade test, which i understand will include a working knowledge of the latest NFPA 70 (National Electrical Codes)!! Which covers much more than it's equivalent BS7671 i might add!!

It's true they don't put anywhere near as much emphasis on proof testing of new installations, they generally test to fault find!! Generally speaking you will rarely if ever see a MFT or any form of ELI testers. Mostly it will be IR and basic GFCI testers, over and above the Yanks standard test equipment which will be a decent multimeter (DMM) and a decent amp clamp. Quite a few will also have a 3 point earth test kit too!!

and if you work in the industrial field you generally will have magnetic field probes, dual trace o-scopes, flir cameras (optional), meggers, and non contact thermometers.

surprisingly though you may see hardware you are familiar with as more and more industries are switching to European style hardware.
it will probably be a lot longer before residential changes though.
yeah shocking i know and just adds more fuel for slamming us US. sparks

anyway heres a link to the siemans step courses
just a bit of free info on us power systems which may help
http://www.industry.usa.siemens.com/topics/us/en/archivedsites/quickstep/Pages/downloads.aspx

 

[mamba]

Thanks for that will get onto link now appreciated

 

[Essexboy7]

I have looked into it myself.You will need to get your licence to practice then your state licence.And then you will need to apply for your union card otherwise forget about any site or industrial work.Oh and the small matter of the green card.Being married to someone who is legally working there doesnt automatically entitle you to one

 

[Engineer54]

and if you work in the industrial field you generally will have magnetic field probes, dual trace o-scopes, flir cameras (optional), meggers, and non contact thermometers.

surprisingly though you may see hardware you are familiar with as more and more industries are switching to European style hardware.
it will probably be a lot longer before residential changes though.
yeah shocking i know and just adds more fuel for slamming us US. sparks

anyway heres a link to the siemans step courses
just a bit of free info on us power systems which may help
http://www.industry.usa.siemens.com/topics/us/en/archivedsites/quickstep/Pages/downloads.aspx

True, but the type of test equipement you are describing, will be company supplied, rather than owned by the electrician. What i did forget to mention, is that a good many will have add-ons to turn DMM multi meters into various types of thermometers...

Until they change installation testing requirements in NFPA 70, i doubt very much if you'll see any marked difference!!

 

[mamba]

Ta any info I gather good or bad will post if you are still thinking of going.

 

[mamba]

Thanks Gnuuser & Engineer54. This is the sort of constructive info and feedback I am looking for regarding my enquiries and what I thought was a straight forward query, rather than some of the dribble and childish input that can and so regularly appears on this and other threads.

 

[overskilled]

Canadian electrics are *broadly* similar to the NEC.....(I used to live in Canada for a while...why I returned here..I dunno)
Some of the DIY work there will make you wish you were back here....
2 pin sockets have been banned in new build for years....though seen plenty of places that have them that shouldn't (As its still legal to sell them for "historic buildings" ) and 3 pin plugs minus the grounding pin as "everywhere accepts 2 pin plugs"
Also single insulated extension leads, non switched sockets (seen some impressive arcs when removing plugs), extension leads made of piddly thin cable that gets hot even under minor loads..
Also have a read up on furnace servicing, most places stateside run forced air heating, and being able to fix your own will save you a fortune...most aren't overly complex (well the oil fired one in the place I used to live wasn't) just grotty to work on...

 

[wireman357]

The best thing for you to do is go to the local union hall (IBEW) for the area you will be living in. Talk with the business manager there and he should let you know what it will take to join. The union rates are not to good in South Carolina - IBEW Local 379. If you go the non-union route (dog eat dog, don't talk to your fellow workers about what you get paid, no holiday pay, no health insurance + supply your own drills, benders etc)
You can see i am a bit biased towards the union.
There will be a local council office which will have the requirements to become a registered/licenced electrician. I would say that in order to become an electrician in South Carolina, the best bet would be to contact all of the electrical contractors in the area, try and get an interview, explain your qualifications and experience and hopefully they will offer you a job. Never, ever, talk about the UK system being better than theirs. Remember, the guys you will be working with, believe that the USA are the best in the world at everything. Just try and blend in and learn as much as you can about the US system, study for an exam based on the current NEC (their equivalent of our IEE Regs) South Carolina Electrical Contractor License/Exam | South Carolina After doing all of this you will have a greater respect for the US system and actually find a lot of their ways are better eg. the conduit bender.
The first stop should be at the local Union Hall and bring a fully paid up UK electricians union card with you and explain to them that you are a good union brother (the "International" part of the "I" BEW). They might have you work for a non - union contractor and get you to SALT for them. You can read up about that somewhere else.
Finding any work in that area right now is tough. Try and stay away from domestic installations though because it will be difficult for you to get any commercial work after that.
You are a highly skilled Union brother from the UK, who has a great respect for the American system and willingness to learn and develop your skills further.

 

[Pete999]

Worked in the USA and Canada for awhile both the same almost, the US sparks are generally well trained, some are cowboys same as anywhere I suppose, don't forget a socket is a receptacle, a RCD is a GFCI, god knows what they call the cable it's carp anyway and the Knob and Tube well!!!!!!!

 

[overskilled]

socket = outlet

 

[Engineer54]

Worked in the USA and Canada for awhile both the same almost, the US sparks are generally well trained, some are cowboys same as anywhere I suppose, don't forget a socket is a receptacle, a RCD is a GFCI, god knows what they call the cable it's carp anyway and the Knob and Tube well!!!!!!!

Knob and tube all needs to be replaced when found now!! What is crap, is the use of those bloody wire nuts, hundreds of them can be found in a typical domestic installation!!
At least the Canadians now use Metric cable these days, something the Yank's will try to avoid doing for a good few years yet i fear!! lol!!

Overskilled,

Pete had it right, sockets are receptacles in our cousins land across the big pond...