Short answer: After each new task, write down the date, what you did, who supervised you, how much help you needed, the feedback you got and what to practice next. Six short fields are enough. Registered apprenticeship programs periodically review your progress on the job and in class, and a record you keep yourself helps you answer questions in those reviews with dates and examples. It also helps your supervising Master describe your work when you ask for an Experience Verification Form, which asks for a description of the work.
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Check one entry
Skill entry checklist
Check what your latest entry includes. This checks your own notes; it is not an official record.
- The date
- The task, in plain words (for example, pulled wire for a 20 A circuit)
- The job site or type of work (residential, commercial, industrial)
- Who supervised me
- How much help I needed (watched, helped, did it with help, did it without help under supervision)
- The feedback I got
- One thing to practice next
- Any safety point I learned
A sample week
| Date | Task | Supervisor | Level | Feedback | Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Mounted boxes and ran conduit in a strip mall | Journeyman on site | Did it with help | Check level before tightening | Bend a 90 without help |
| Wed | Pulled and labeled wire for lighting circuits | Journeyman on site | Did it without help | Labels clear | Learn the panel schedule |
| Fri | Watched a panel termination | Journeyman on site | Watched | Ask questions next time | Ask to land neutrals with supervision |
Write the level honestly. A record that shows “watched” turning into “did it without help” over months shows your progress clearly, with dates. Doing a task without help still means doing it under the supervision your license and program require.
Your program’s own records and standards decide reviews and raises. For how programs connect progress to pay, see class progress and pay raises. For keeping your hours from day one, see records from day one.
Starting your first year as a Texas apprentice? The US$19 Texas First-Year Electrical Apprentice Kit gives you printable pages for the first months on the job: a tool-check card, a who-to-ask list with a short stop-and-ask script, emergency-contact and heat-and-rest cards, plus a Tool budget sheet and a Tool inventory sheet (CSV).
Log your Texas Journeyman hours free. A free Tsai Electro account keeps your supervised hours, your online practice scores and your exam date in one place. Start with a five-question check to see which topic to practice next.
The free hours ledger in your Tsai Electro account lets you record each employer, supervisor, work period and hours, shows how far you are from 7,000, 8,000 and 12,000 hours, and exports a CSV or a printable summary. It is your own record, not an official TDLR record, and it does not replace the Experience Verification Form your supervising Master signs.
Getting close to 7,000 hours? Your hours stay in the free ledger. When you start studying for the Journeyman exam, the Texas Journeyman Electrician Exam Practice Pack has 1,000 original practice questions in the PSI two-part format, 10 full timed two-part mocks and step-by-step solutions for every calculation question, built on the 2026 NEC. It is exam prep only; it does not track hours, verifications or renewals. One payment of US$39, no subscription, and you can try 70 questions free with no sign-up.
What should an apprentice electrician write in a skill log?
The date, the task, who supervised you, how much help you needed, the feedback and what to practice next.
Is my own skill record an official document?
No. It is your own notes. Your apprenticeship program keeps its own progress records, and for the Texas Journeyman license TDLR asks for Experience Verification Forms signed by each Master who supervised you.
How often should I update my skill record?
After each new task or new level of a task. A few lines at the end of the day is enough.
