3 Things to Know Before Taking the State Telecommunications Administrator Exam
In today’s article, I will talk about how to prepare for the state exam in telecommunications. There are a few important reasons why you should have your contractor’s license if you are going to work in the telecommunications field.
1. When you get the license, you get more reputation as a technician.
2. You get access to the location that only big telecommunications companies have access to.
3. Being licensed, bonded, and insured gives you additional protection against lawsuits.
I live in WA state and they require each contractor to have a licensed telecom manager assigned to each of them when doing network installations. So that you don’t have to find your own administrator, you can become an administrator yourself. It took me about two weeks of study before I felt ready to take the test.
The exam is open book. You may bring any publication materials to take the test. Below I will show you the manuals I used to study for the exam. The test will consist of three areas.
1. Wiring and Telecommunications Standards
2. State Licenses and Rules and Regulations
3. Basic Electronic Theory
I’m going to do a brief breakdown of each area above.
Wiring and Telecommunications Standards
The NEC manual covers electrical wiring installation for all levels of electrical wiring. I guess it can be considered the bible of electrical installation. This is a must have manual because the tests will cover certain parts of this manual.
State licenses and rules and regulations
Your state’s website will have all the information you need on state rules and regulations. Go to your state’s website and search L&I (Labor and Industries) for information on how to take the exam and the Telecommunications Administrator exam outline. The outline is important to save time. If you know what you have to study you will not waste time studying material that you will not use in the exam.
Basic Electronic Theory
There are some questions in the area of basic electronic theory. I buy a basic electronics book as a refresher. He had already completed an Associate’s in Electronics at the local technical school.
Lastly, I want to say that once you become a licensed contractor, it will open a door in the telecom contracting business that you never would have thought of. You started to have access to places like malls, hotels, restaurants, government buildings. It also gives you the ability to obtain building permits on commercial sites. On many occasions I have had the ability to help someone with a last minute job. They needed someone to get a building permit to do a little wiring work. Having a license and a bond will be a general asset for you to become a successful telecommunications contractor. Good luck in growing your business.