Electrician Careers

Why consider electrician careers? As the construction industry continues to flourish, more electricians will be needed to install and maintain electrical devices.

Construction | Architecture/Drafting | Carpentry | Electrician | Engineering |Home Inspector |Welding | Plumbing |

Professionals are needed for wiring in homes, factories, offices, and other structures. An electrician is a professional who specializes in electrical wiring of residential and commercial buildings. Some electricians work in construction companies and electrician companies, while many others chose to be self-employed.

The work of an electrician is detail-oriented and many professionals choose to specialize in many specific types of electrical work such as, new house wiring, maintenance wiring, or landscape architecture wiring. They need to attach the wires to circuit breakers or transformers and connect the wires by using special connectors. They also examine their work for any flaws like improper connections, incompatibility with other systems, and safety issues using tools like ohmmeters, oscilloscopes, or voltmeters.

Education and Training

Electricians are required to complete a technical vocational program plus an apprenticeship program that lasts about four to five years. Most electricians learn their trade through apprenticeship programs and the programs combine on-the-job training with classroom instruction. To be an electrician you must usually be at least 18 years old and hold a high school diploma or GED. You may also be. You would generally be required to have four training and each year you would need at least 144 hours of classroom instruction and 2,000 hours of on-the-job training.

Salary Information

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median hourly earnings for electrician careers was $20.33 in May 2004. Apprentices usually start at between 40% and 50% of the rate paid to fully trained electricians, depending on experience. As apprentices become more skilled, they receive periodic pay increases throughout the course of their training. The salary range is $11.81 - $33.21/hr.

Projected Career Growth

With the construction industry on the rise, more commercial and residential space will need to be outfitted with electrical systems. More people are also buying personal homes and this means they will need someone to do new or repair jobs. Generally, with the rise of technology in the workforce, qualified electricians will be in constant rising demand. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment for electricians is expected to increase by 9% to 17% through 2014.

Home |