Texas Founding Class
Join the first 100 Texas career changers on the road to Journeyman
You are changing careers into the electrical trade in Texas. The road to a Journeyman license is 8,000 hours, about four years of full-time work. The Founding Class walks it together: a small class of people like you, an hours record your Master can sign, real milestones, a weekly Class update for your group, and Journeyman Night each quarter for members who passed their Journeyman exam.
Planning your switch or already an apprentice: you can apply. 100 founding numbers. Each number is given once and never reissued.
Who it is for
- You are changing careers into the electrical trade in Texas.
- You are planning your switch, or you already hold a Texas apprentice electrician license from TDLR.
- You want to reach your TDLR Journeyman Electrician license, with people beside you on the way.
What members get
- A founding number for life. Numbers 001 to 100, given in the order members are accepted. A number is never reissued.
- A small class. Groups of 25 to 40 people by city, with a group for career changers 30 and older.
- A weekly Class update. An automatic summary for your group: new members, milestones, reminders and new threads.
- Journeyman Night each quarter. Journeyman Night each quarter for members who passed their Journeyman exam.
- An hours ledger you keep. Log hours by employer and supervising electrician, and print drafts of the TDLR experience form. It moves with you when you change employers.
- The Texas route map. IEC, ABC, IBEW and finding your own employer, side by side with real costs, plus a first-year money and grants checklist.
- Exam readiness. See how ready you are for the Journeyman exam, topic by topic, with member prices on practice packs.
Who runs this
At 25, I walked away from an office career I had trained for.
I had a degree in public administration and a desk-job future. Then I watched AI start doing the work that degree was built for, and I made a bet: the people who can build, wire and fix the real world will be the ones nobody can replace.
Nine months later I held Taiwan's national Class B Indoor Wiring Technician certificate. In my first month out, I walked into an electroplating factory gutted by fire and helped bring its power back as the electrician on the job. Soon after, I was an MEP engineer on a smart logistics center at Taipei Port, and I have also served as site engineer on a public project that won a national construction quality award.
I started teaching on YouTube right after I finished training. Now I am building the group I wish I had: career changers who chose this trade on purpose, climbing it together.
If you are starting over, you are not behind. You are early.
The standard
Everything here is earned. Money does not buy a title, and a milestone you earn is never taken back.
- To join: apply and be accepted into a class. Your Texas apprentice electrician license, once checked against the State of Texas public license data, is your first milestone.
- Hours milestones at 2,000, 4,000 and 7,000 hours, backed by your signed records.
- Journeyman and above: shown only when the TDLR license record confirms it.
How to apply
- Create a free account or sign in.
- If you have a TDLR apprentice license, enter the number and we check it against the state's public license data. If not yet, leave it blank and add it later.
- Tell us a little about you: your city, your past work and your Journeyman goal.
- Every application is reviewed, and you get a reply by email within 7 days.
Apply
Planning your switch or already an apprentice: you can apply. Create a free account or sign in. It takes about two minutes.
Questions
Does it cost anything to apply?
No. No payment is needed to apply or to join the Founding Class. Some tools, like exam practice packs, are sold separately at member prices.
I do not have my apprentice license yet. Can I join?
Yes. Planning your switch or already an apprentice: you can apply. Your license is your first milestone. TDLR's apprentice license costs $20, needs no experience and no exam, and you apply online. You must hold it before you do any electrical work. Add your number to your account when you have it.
I have not switched yet. What do I get before my first job?
A class of people making the same move, the Texas route map with real costs for IEC, ABC, IBEW and finding your own employer, and the first-year money and grants checklist. Your first milestone is your TDLR apprentice license, and the class is there when you get it.
How do you check my license?
We look up your number in TDLR public license data on the Texas Open Data Portal. We check that it is an apprentice electrician license, that it has not expired, and that the name matches. New licenses can take a few weeks to show up there. If we cannot confirm it right away, we check by hand within 24 hours.
Why 100?
A first class has to be small enough for people to know each other. The 100 founding numbers are real: each is given once, in the order members are accepted. After that, new members join the next class.
Is there an age limit?
Many apprenticeship programs, such as IEC chapters and JATCs, ask applicants to be 18 or older. Our class groups include one for career changers 30 and older, because many people start the trade after another career.
Is this a school or an apprenticeship program?
No. If you work in the trade, you keep working for your employer under your supervising electrician, and TDLR issues every license. The Founding Class is the group that walks the road with you, from planning your switch to your Journeyman exam, and the record-keeping that makes your hours easy to prove.
I am already in an IEC, ABC or JATC program. Should I join?
Yes, if you want a class of career changers beside you. Your program keeps its own records. Your ET ledger is yours, and it moves with you if you change employers.
What is the weekly Class update?
Each week your group gets an automatic summary: who joined, who reached a milestone, reminders such as renewal dates, and new discussion threads in your group. You read it when it suits you, on any shift.
Can I apply if I am under 18?
Yes, with a parent or guardian OK. Members under 18 keep a private profile and do not post in class discussions.
What happens to my information?
We keep only what we need to run your membership. Nothing is public unless you choose it. Uploaded forms are never public. We never sell or share member information. You can ask us to delete your application at any time.
Not affiliated with TDLR or PSI.