# Moving From Colorado to California



## NazarSVIT (Aug 14, 2017)

Hello everyone. I am a 3rd yea apprentice with mostly commercial experience. I also went to IEC for 2 years (288 hours). I'm moving from Colorado to California in the next few months and im wondering if everything will just transfer over? Ive asked a few of the guys i work with and i keep getting mixed answers. any help would be appreciated. Thanks


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## Chris1971 (Dec 27, 2010)

Welcome to the forum. You should check with California to see if you apprentice hours might transfer over.


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## backstay (Feb 3, 2011)

California, someone forcing you to go? I can't think of any reason to go there!


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## NazarSVIT (Aug 14, 2017)

backstay said:


> California, someone forcing you to go? I can't think of any reason to go there!


My fiancee is going to school there and apparently out of state tuition is insanely high:cursing: and any financial aid only covers normal tuition. But i Have a bunch of family and friends there so im not against moving.


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## zac (May 11, 2009)

backstay said:


> California, someone forcing you to go? I can't think of any reason to go there!


Surf, mountains, desert and close to Mexico. Can't see why I'd leave! 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Welcome aboard @NazarSVIT!

You should contact the state directly and cut out the middle men.

Best of luck with that move.


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## NazarSVIT (Aug 14, 2017)

MechanicalDVR said:


> Welcome aboard @*NazarSVIT*!
> 
> You should contact the state directly and cut out the middle men.
> 
> Best of luck with that move.


Just emailed the board. Really hoping it all transfers over. But thank you!


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

NazarSVIT said:


> Just emailed the board. Really hoping it all transfers over. But thank you!


You're welcome!

Some of it should but not sure about all of it.

Things do have to fit certain criteria set in stone often enough.


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

It is easier to buy pot in Colorado......


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## NazarSVIT (Aug 14, 2017)

macmikeman said:


> It is easier to buy pot in Colorado......


You are correct haha


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

macmikeman said:


> It is easier to buy pot in Colorado......


Is this a significant factor in where you live?


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

MechanicalDVR said:


> Is this a significant factor in where you live?


I don't smoke pot. I think that's significant. In factor, I don't mess with the illusion of life at all.....


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

macmikeman said:


> I don't smoke pot. I think that's significant. In factor, I don't mess with the illusion of life at all.....


I've never smoked cigarettes or otherwise and just see too many people that let their lives revolve around such indulgences while letting the rest of their lives come in of secondary importance.


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## NazarSVIT (Aug 14, 2017)

So i got a reply from the board in CA and all they said was you need 8000 hours of experiance. Guess im good to go!


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

NazarSVIT said:


> So i got a reply from the board in CA and all they said was you need 8000 hours of experiance. Guess im good to go!


As long as it's well documented!


Paperwork is king!


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## active1 (Dec 29, 2009)

Think the meaning of the reply is you need 8,000 hrs to qualify to take the exam.
You fill out the form to prove your hours. Send it in. Then you get approved to take the CA journeymans exam. After all that and paying for everything your a Cali J-man.

3 years at 2,000 hrs / year is only 6,000 hours.
Think they credit you something for education but I don't remember.
You just got to fill out the application and see what you come up with.


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## dronai (Apr 11, 2011)

I remember they make you prove your hours through the social security office. They will print your work history. Where in Cali are you going to be living ?


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

dronai said:


> I remember they make you prove your hours through the social security office. They will print your work history. Where in Cali are you going to be living ?


How would that prove your hours?

You could be the secretary at an EC's office and get your SSI paid in.


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## dronai (Apr 11, 2011)

MechanicalDVR said:


> How would that prove your hours?
> 
> You could be the secretary at an EC's office and get your SSI paid in.


"Social Security Administration Employment History Report
The Social Security non-certified earnings report form SSA-7050 is available. Please go to http://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-7050.pdf to obtain the form. Request for the non-certified earnings report with your $115.00 fee."


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

dronai said:


> "Social Security Administration Employment History Report
> The Social Security non-certified earnings report form SSA-7050 is available. Please go to http://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-7050.pdf to obtain the form. Request for the non-certified earnings report with your $115.00 fee."


You missed my point, how does that prove what you were doing on the job?

How would this be any different than a W-2?

I've always heard you needed letters from those licensed employers you've had detailing your work experience.


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## dronai (Apr 11, 2011)

I needed a journeymans card for a certain job. They didn't care that I have been a licensed C-10 since the eighties. I used mine to prove that I have worked for the same employer (myself) all those years.

I'm guessing for someone like this guy, it would show earning records for a few years from Electrical companies only. That along with maybe something from some of the employers, I don't know. I think the test weeds them out, and the rest an employer could tell how experienced a guy is in a few hours.

https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/ecu/electricaltrade.html


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## NazarSVIT (Aug 14, 2017)

active1 said:


> Think the meaning of the reply is you need 8,000 hrs to qualify to take the exam.
> You fill out the form to prove your hours. Send it in. Then you get approved to take the CA journeymans exam. After all that and paying for everything your a Cali J-man.
> 
> 3 years at 2,000 hrs / year is only 6,000 hours.
> ...


Well what i wanted to find out was 1, if my hours here in colorado counted towards my qualification to take my exam and also if i needed any schooling to be able to qualify to take my exam in California. But yes it is 8000 hours to qualify for the exam only. And they said they dont credit anything for any schooling


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## NazarSVIT (Aug 14, 2017)

dronai said:


> I remember they make you prove your hours through the social security office. They will print your work history. Where in Cali are you going to be living ?


Sacramento, somewhere around the Lincoln or Roseville area. But yes i would need to prove my hours with a social security history report. (SSA-7050 Form)


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## Switched (Dec 23, 2012)

You can get most of, if not all, of the schooling completed online I think....

You just have to make sure to pick up an electrical trainee license, you will not be considered an apprentice. This BTW can complicate things for you when and if you move to another state, that may not recognize Cali's trainee program.


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## active1 (Dec 29, 2009)

I looked at my application.
If your not licensed in another state it asks you to fill out how many hours you have in a number of categories. It also has minimum requirements for number of hours worked in certain areas of electrical work. Then sign a swan statement at the end. With some legal warning like this is true otherwise you may be prosecuted for purgery.


I imagine it's a bit of an honer system filling out how many hours you did what type of work. But like I said that only qualifies you for the test. It wasn't that many years ago Cali didn't have a state license. They grandfathered in a lot of electricians at the time. It's a step in the right direction. Think their goal is to try to get everyone licensed working electrical. If they make it to extreme the license program would have flopped.

Their journeyman test is not too hard. Yet some people just are not good with that kind of thing and can't pass even after trade school and years of experience. 

As far as proving experience to take a test, I seen a number of different ways.

1. SS printout
2. W2s
3. Paycheck stubs
4. List past employers & employers license numbers
5. Other issued licenses
6. Letter from past employer
7. Form filled out by past employer
8. Statement from past supervisors
9. Statement or letter from the union hall
10. Apprenticeship / trade school / college transcripts
11. Statement from past customers
12. Statement from electrical engineer
13. Statement from architect
14. Statement from electrical inspector
15. Statement from co-workers of journeyman level

Some of the above is could be verified, needs to be notarized, can't be more than a few months old, has to be on the official form, or a combination of the above. The statement requirement can require multiple people to fill out.

At the end of the day most of the above could be cheated on if that's what someone is trying to do.


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## Going_Commando (Oct 1, 2011)

I moved from NH to Cali in 2012. They make it sound like a super easy process to transfer a journeymans license to a Cali general electrician certification, but its a pain in the ass. You have to request a form from the social security administration that shows where you worked and for whom, and this took 2 months to get. Then I packaged it all up with a copy of my journeymans license from NH, shipped it to the California DIR or whatever. After 5 months I got a confirmation letter with a registration number to take the test. The test was open book with no math (this might have changed. It was super easy when I did it and was out of there in 20 minutes). When I passed the test they gave me a print out with a license number on it that was my Cali drivers license number. I didn't receive my actual physical license until 6 months after I moved back to NH. My old roommate called me and said "You'll never believe what just showed up in the mail!" It was a very souring experience, but I suppose it is to be expected for the beaurocratic nightmare that is California.


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## NazarSVIT (Aug 14, 2017)

Jeez that sounds like a PIA. Well i hope just transferimg hours as an apprentice is alot easier.


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## active1 (Dec 29, 2009)

If you have a local SS office you can get a print out the same day.
Key word is day, as in pack a lunch. 
Think it cost about $140.

I don't know about the apprentice situation there. Just get your journeyman if you qualify. They do hand out a card that lets you work. Think it was an electrical helper card. If you like money,l get your license.


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## Going_Commando (Oct 1, 2011)

NazarSVIT said:


> Jeez that sounds like a PIA. Well i hope just transferimg hours as an apprentice is alot easier.


I think for that you just need signed hours and sign up for an apprenticeship program in Cali. Not 100% on that, though since I don't have experience with it. I just remember reading that when I thought about just getting an apprentice card so I could get on with a contractor.


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