Darrell Demoss Email & Phone Number

While in high school, I attended a technical school to learn a trade. I was enrolled in the electrical technician class at the United Technical Center (UTC) for 3 years. In that time I learned how to wire various systems and devices, as well as how to bend conduit. In the program, the first year was mostly filled with bookwork and little hands on work. The second year changed, and it involved more hands on work than book work. The program is designed to be two years, but if you start the class as a sophomore, like myself, you can go back for and extra year to hone your skills more. My first year in the class we did a couple of big service projects. My class went to Head Start preschool in Clarksburg twice for various projects. I helped install a ceiling fan and I replaced a couple of receptacles that were not working. That year we also traveled to Watters Smith State Park for 2 full school days to do electrical work. I ran wire from a new service through an old shed, and helped install a few new lights in the same shed. My second year lacked the hands on activity due to Covid 19, which influenced my decision to return for a 3rd year. I was happy with my decision because in my 3rd year I learned how to calculate residential electric loads, I did a lot of hands on work, and I got my journeyman electrician license. As our final project project we wired a model house in our shop. The class was split into groups and each group was assigned a room in the house to wire. My group was in charge of the living room. We wired multiple circuits, switches, and receptacles. We also installed a ceiling fan and a doorbell. At the end of the project the power was turned on and our wiring was inspected and tested. Every thing we wired in the living room worked properly. After the final project we hit the books again to prepare for our journeyman exam. We spent about a month learning how to navigate the National Electric Code and taking mock tests. In May of 2022, the WV state fire marshal came to our technical center to give us the journeyman electrician exam. A few weeks after the test our results came in, and I was excited to see that I passed the exam. Even though I enjoyed the electrical work I did, the thought of engineering intrigued me. That’s why I decided to continue my education and get a degree in engineering at Fairmont State University.