How do you fit in with the Los Angeles DWP? (job, college)

[wclac]

I'm taking some electrical courses at trade tech, and need to know how DWP meet their requirements.

What were your requirements to work for DWP and how much do you make a year?

[robin2226]

Originally Posted by LAFan

I'm taking some electrical courses at trade tech, and need to know how DWP meet their requirements.

What were your requirements to work for DWP and how much do you make a year?

I dont know how much LA DWP pay for technician. But when I graduated college, everybody said that LA DWP pay their engineer pretty well, the requirement for their new hire quite high, DWP asks for 3.5 GPA and Professional Engineerring (PE) cefiticate.

The bad thing is: The LA WPD hires the bright engineer and then let them do nothing. The DWP just do planning and requirment, all the REAL ENGINEER WORKS are contracted out to Southern Edition Co.

If you want to kick-back then DWP is the place to work for, if you want to do real engineer design work then find some place else.

The bad thing is , if you work for DWP then you have to stick with them until you retire because a real engineering company do not hire "the planning and requirement" engineer but they want to hire "design" engineer.

"I dont go to engineering school to do paper work, period"

[VLWH]

Try this site:

http://lang.dailynews.com/socal/ladwpsalaries/

[wclac]

Originally Posted by robin2226

I dont know how much LA DWP pay for technician. But when I graduated college, everybody said that LA DWP pay their engineer pretty well, the requirement for their new hire quite high, DWP asks for 3.5 GPA and Professional Engineerring (PE) cefiticate.

The bad thing is: The LA WPD hires the bright engineer and then let them do nothing. The DWP just do planning and requirment, all the REAL ENGINEER WORKS are contracted out to Southern Edition Co.

If you want to kick-back then DWP is the place to work for, if you want to do real engineer design work then find some place else.

The bad thing is , if you work for DWP then you have to stick with them until you retire because a real engineering company do not hire "the planning and requirement" engineer but they want to hire "design" engineer.

"I dont go to engineering school to do paper work, period"

Well my friend, I not interested in engineering work, it's mostly electrician, lineman, all that. Do they require a GPA for that?

[Rats]

work for SoCal Edison, not DWP

[wclac]

Originally Posted by Rats

work for SoCal Edison, not DWP

Is that in LA?

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by LAFan

Well my friend, I not interested in engineering work, it's mostly electrician, lineman, all that. Do they require a GPA for that?

Usually, journey level employment with the City requires four years experience in the trade performing journey level work, or completion of a recognized apprenticeship in that trade. Since the classes you are taking are optional, I don't believe there would be any GPA requirement unless the classes were part of an apprenticeship program. Since DWP has their own apprenticeship programs, your grades in the classes you're taking should not really matter when applying.

The positions you should consider for employment with DWP would be Electrical Mechanic or Electric Distribution Mechanic. These positions have certain requirements, even for the "trainee" or "apprentice" positions.

The City of L.A. Personnel Department is your first stop for employment with the City. Here is the website:
http://www.lacity.org/per
Click on the employment tab to learn about current job opportunities that are available within the City. Some positions are only open for filing an application for a short period of time once every two years.

If you know the title of the positions you wish to apply for, you can fill out a "notification card" and submit it, and it will be mailed to you when the application period is opened.

The entry level position to get you started into these trades is "Electrical Craft Helper." This is the first position you should apply for if you are seeking employment in one of those trades, unless you have completed a recognized apprenticeship program (IBEW Local 11 Inside Wireman, for example) outside of the DWP's programs.

You might also want to consider a position as an "Electrician" with some of the other City Departments, such as Airports, Harbor, or Sanitation. This is often a good way to get your foot in the door, and you can hire on with DWP as an Electrical Mechanic afterwards.

One other option you may want to look into is hiring in with DWP as an "exempt" employee. These positions do not have Civil Service designations, as they are limited or temporary assignments, but they are a way to get to know the system. All of the exempt employees in the electrical trades are hired through IBEW Local 18 in Los Angeles. I believe you can sign the books there as an Electrical Craft Helper without needing to meet the same requirements as you would need to hire in as a Civil Servant.
Here's a link to Local 18's contact info where you can get more info:
http://www.ibewlocal18.org/contact.html

[wclac]

Originally Posted by jdavid93225

Usually, journey level employment with the City requires four years experience in the trade performing journey level work, or completion of a recognized apprenticeship in that trade. Since the classes you are taking are optional, I don't believe there would be any GPA requirement unless the classes were part of an apprenticeship program. Since DWP has their own apprenticeship programs, your grades in the classes you're taking should not really matter when applying.

The positions you should consider for employment with DWP would be Electrical Mechanic or Electric Distribution Mechanic. These positions have certain requirements, even for the "trainee" or "apprentice" positions.

The City of L.A. Personnel Department is your first stop for employment with the City. Here is the website:
http://www.lacity.org/per
Click on the employment tab to learn about current job opportunities that are available within the City. Some positions are only open for filing an application for a short period of time once every two years.

If you know the title of the positions you wish to apply for, you can fill out a "notification card" and submit it, and it will be mailed to you when the application period is opened.

The entry level position to get you started into these trades is "Electrical Craft Helper." This is the first position you should apply for if you are seeking employment in one of those trades, unless you have completed a recognized apprenticeship program (IBEW Local 11 Inside Wireman, for example) outside of the DWP's programs.

You might also want to consider a position as an "Electrician" with some of the other City Departments, such as Airports, Harbor, or Sanitation. This is often a good way to get your foot in the door, and you can hire on with DWP as an Electrical Mechanic afterwards.

One other option you may want to look into is hiring in with DWP as an "exempt" employee. These positions do not have Civil Service designations, as they are limited or temporary assignments, but they are a way to get to know the system. All of the exempt employees in the electrical trades are hired through IBEW Local 18 in Los Angeles. I believe you can sign the books there as an Electrical Craft Helper without needing to meet the same requirements as you would need to hire in as a Civil Servant.
Here's a link to Local 18's contact info where you can get more info:
http://www.ibewlocal18.org/contact.html

Yea, I'm looking into that. So let me get this. You don't have to complete your course at tradde tech to get in with DWP, with no electrical license? Sorry if I'm asking too much and don't understand fully.

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by LAFan

Yea, I'm looking into that. So let me get this. You don't have to complete your course at tradde tech to get in with DWP, with no electrical license? Sorry if I'm asking too much and don't understand fully.

It depends on what position you're looking to hire into. I don't know if there is actually any position you can hire into these days with a completion certificate from Trade Tech. It would not hurt to have it, though. There used to be a course given at the Pacoima Skills Center for Electrical Distribution Mechanic. It was a prerequisite for taking the Electrical Distribution Mechanic Trainee exam if you didn't have the proper "on the job" experience, which, as I recall, was four years working as a helper on a line crew with DWP.

Most, if not all, of the journey level positions require several years of "on the job" experience. If you have this experience outside of the City, you may be qualified to apply for one of the DWP "Trainee" programs, like Electrical Mechanic or Electric Distribution Mechanic Trainee. Most of the accepted training programs are apprenticeship programs through the IBEW union or through the DWP.

The Electrical Craft Helper position is basically an entry level position that you can hire into with little to no "on the job" experience. There is a course (Pre-Electrical Craft Helper) sponsored by both DWP and Trade Tech that is given at a couple of DWP facilities that is required before being able to apply for the Electrical Craft Helper position. I believe it's a one night a week class that lasts for 20 weeks, though I'm not positive about that. It might actually be a bit shorter, like 10 or 12 weeks.

The L.A. City Personnel Department should be able to give all the necessary information regarding current requirements and class information to you. The requirements have been known to change from one application period to the next, so any information I give may very well be outdated. I posted a link to their site in my previous post.

[wclac]

Originally Posted by jdavid93225

It depends on what position you're looking to hire into. I don't know if there is actually any position you can hire into these days with a completion certificate from Trade Tech. It would not hurt to have it, though. There used to be a course given at the Pacoima Skills Center for Electrical Distribution Mechanic. It was a prerequisite for taking the Electrical Distribution Mechanic Trainee exam if you didn't have the proper "on the job" experience, which, as I recall, was four years working as a helper on a line crew with DWP.

Most, if not all, of the journey level positions require several years of "on the job" experience. If you have this experience outside of the City, you may be qualified to apply for one of the DWP "Trainee" programs, like Electrical Mechanic or Electric Distribution Mechanic Trainee. Most of the accepted training programs are apprenticeship programs through the IBEW union or through the DWP.

The Electrical Craft Helper position is basically an entry level position that you can hire into with little to no "on the job" experience. There is a course (Pre-Electrical Craft Helper) sponsored by both DWP and Trade Tech that is given at a couple of DWP facilities that is required before being able to apply for the Electrical Craft Helper position. I believe it's a one night a week class that lasts for 20 weeks, though I'm not positive about that. It might actually be a bit shorter, like 10 or 12 weeks.

The L.A. City Personnel Department should be able to give all the necessary information regarding current requirements and class information to you. The requirements have been known to change from one application period to the next, so any information I give may very well be outdated. I posted a link to their site in my previous post.

I was thinking of going to the training program after I finished my course. I'd like to make enough to move to the Westside.