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Electricians hold valuable knowledge needed by everyone in the country. It is their responsibility to ensure that electrical power is safely transmitted through the power grids to homes, apartment complexes, and businesses. They install the wiring, electrical components, and the fixtures that all help to move the power to its final destinations. They may also be responsible for troubleshooting transmission lines during an unexpected power outage.
Electricians need to have communication skills and the customer service skills needed to interact with their own or the electric company’s customers, and their supervisors. When they meet with customers, they have to be able to explain, in layman’s language, what has to be done to either route power to a new home or business. They need technical training and they must meet electrician licensing requirements.
Specializations within the electrician profession mean that qualified electricians can undergo additional technical training, gain work experience, and find themselves a niche where they can shine, even in places that are saturated with electrical workers.
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Steps to Become an Electrician
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Step 1: Education Requirements
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Step 2: Internship or Apprenticeship
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Step 3: Licensing & Certifications
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Step 4: Continuing Education and License Maintenance
Step 1: Education Requirements
Every state has its own educational requirements for students planning to become electricians. Usually, students are required to have either a high school diploma or GED to enter an electrician training program. After you’ve finished high school or a GED program, you can find a trade school or electrician school where you will begin your vocational training. You may also be able to find an electrical trade program in a vocational-technical school; these schools teach students occupations in the trades.
You’ll begin learning electrical theory, with courses covering the following.
- Low Voltage
- Motors and Controls
- Commercial Installation
- Residential Installation
- Wiring, Cable, and Connections
Depending on the student’s state requirements, they should earn about 60 credits. During their time in school, they’ll also receive hands-on training, which gives them the real-world experience they need to begin working as electricians.
During this phase of their education, they should learn about the following.
- Electrical Wiring
- Instrumentation and Programmable Logic Controller
- Motors
- Circuits
Before they graduate, students also learn about electrical technology, electrical concepts, and government policy.
Step 2: Internship or Apprentice
Depending on the state where the student lives, an electrical apprenticeship may take place at the same time they are in school and working on their technical instruction in the classroom. While they are in school and working through their apprenticeships, students may also be earning pay. As they are learning the nuts and bolts of the electrician’s profession, they should also be developing their critical thinking skills.
The on-the-job training that apprentices receive includes learning safety guidelines and requirements required for electricians. They also learn how to troubleshoot and repair electrical systems in a variety of settings such as homes, restaurants, shopping centers, factories, sports facilities, and more. This includes learning how to read technical diagrams.
Their classroom instruction introduces them to basic theory and the fundamentals of electricity, AC/DC circuitry, motors, electrical wiring, transformers, electrical current, and generators. They also learn grounding and bonding, power quality, solar photovoltaic systems (in some programs), and the scientific concepts behind them. Part of their classroom work also includes calculations, raceway, and box and conductor sizing. Building codes should be a major part of their education. Students may also expand their learning when they work on electronic systems repair.
When students complete their apprenticeship, they test for and earn a journeyman/journeyperson certificate. By now, they’ll know the components of the work they do. This certificate makes them more marketable as electricians and they are likely to see their salaries increasing. They may continue learning so that they can become master electricians.
Step 3: Licensing and Certifications
After students have completed their apprenticeship and training, they are ready to get their license to work without supervision in the field. The apprenticeship process may have taken up to four years to complete, which means the electrician should have roughly 2,000 hours of experience and training. Once they have received a license, they are able to begin working as a journeyman electrician. By now, the electrician should be ready to work on bigger projects without being supervised. They should begin learning about and working on other electrical systems so they can advance.
After they complete their training program, it’s time to take a licensing exam that covers their geographical area. This is because codes are different in different parts of the country. Once they pass the exam, they receive their license. For those electricians seeking a master electrician license, they have to complete several additional steps to satisfy the licensing requirements. These include learning about different types of electrical systems. This will be covered on the licensing exam. Once they are ready, they should complete the Master Electrician Certification program, then take the exam. Once they pass the exam, they will receive their master electrician license. All of this certification and licensing requires a variety of testing materials.
Step 4: Continuing Education and License Maintenance
A journeyman should be aware that some states require electricians to hold a master electrician license. This means more working experience in a journeyman’s role. While they are still at the journeyman level, they may work on a variety of electrical systems, helping to repair and maintain them. Areas where they may work include lighting, electricity distribution, and security.
Electricians at the journeyman level have to have the highest technical skills so they can identify issues with the electrical supply and quickly make repairs. Electricians need strong communication skills so they can interpret the results of what they are testing and explain their findings to co-workers and supervisors. They may be responsible for residential electrical installations, so they need to be skilled at reading diagrams and schematics. They renew their licenses on a regular basis. However, journeyman electricians are generally not allowed to work on their own in commercial settings. To do this work, you’ll need a master electrician license.
Electrical engineers may be former journeyman electricians who decided they wanted to get involved in designing and implementing the different components for devices that rely on electricity to operate. Electrical engineers work on the generation of power. They may also be involved in researching, creating, and improving electrical products.
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Electrician Career & Salary
The average electrician earns an annual base salary of $59,000. Their early-career earnings are about $35,000 and their late-career earnings are closer to $96,000. Between 2019 and 2029, the employment of electricians has been projected to increase by 8%. This is faster than the average rate of growth for all occupations. The increase in construction spending, as well as the demand for alternative energy sources is pushing the demand for electricians higher than ever.
These alternative methods of power generation include wind and solar power. This field has begun to emerge in the past several years. Both wind and solar energy require electricians to install the associated systems. Electricians are also needed to link these alternative sources of energy to power grids, homes, and businesses over the next ten years. However, government policy impacts the growth of employment.
Over the next decade, approximately 82,000 new job openings for electricians are predicted. A good percentage of these openings come from the need to replace workers who transfer out of this field and into other occupations. Some of these workers may leave the labor force, retiring after spending their working years installing electrical systems or troubleshooting them. Those electricians who are skilled at several tasks will have the best job opportunities. They are expected to work on solar photovoltaic installation, repair electronic systems, industrial component wiring, and more.
To be a part of this expansion, electricians need to have the job experience, skills, and equipment so they can quickly respond to job opportunities.