If you are a homeowner who wants to know how to find a good electrician, you should probably begin by asking around. Otherwise, it might be wise to look around for the most experienced and trusted residential electricians in your area.
In addition to experience and reputation, hiring an electrician who is at the top of the field requires looking at their formal electrician qualifications. Since electrical contractors are charged — no pun intended — with doing jobs that are not only hazardous to them, but could be also be dangerous to their customers, they must meet state and federal certification requirements.
Thus, a good electrician will have taken all of the required electrician training course, passed all certification exams, and spend a few years working under a master electrician. The reason why state licensing is required should be understandable, since safety is critical when it comes to working on any kind of electrical or wiring system. After all, electrocution is one of the most common causes for workplace fatalities; and faulty wiring is one of the leading causes for house fires in the United States.
The bottom line is if you need to know how to find a good electrician, you have to make sure that the person you hire is a certified electrician. Although journeymen may hold state certification, they are legally forbidden from performing professional electrical work without a permit. Only master electricians are qualified to obtain permits.
Even though offering to do professional work without proper professional certification or a permit is against the law, there are still a lot of people out there who have no qualms about posing as certified electrician contractors.