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Most electricians focus on either new construction or on electrical maintenance, but many are capable of working in both fields. New construction electricians generally run wire to new homes, offices or industrial buildings, while maintenance electricians focus on system upgrades and repairs.
Although the national recession thinned the ranks of electricians throughout the U.S.--down 16.6 percent, or 115,750 jobs--there is still a great demand for workers who want to train to be an electrician.
Electrician Training Overview
The National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee, an apprenticeship and training organization for the electrical industry, breaks down electrician training programs into four different categories:
Although each field shares many common practices, skills and knowledge, the requirements to become a journeyman and master each field differ greatly.
Electricians Training: How to Become a Journeyman Electrician
Linemen report that the majority of their time is spent installing and maintaining transformers and other electrical equipment as well as stringing new power lines. Therefore, a great deal of your electrician training program should focus on those aspects, as well as power transmission.
Inside wiremen spend most of their time running new wiring and repairing old wiring as well as installing receptacles, lighting systems and fixtures. Apprentices learn the basics of power installation and requirements for lighting and control systems. However, this field encompasses many different electrical roles--one day you could be pulling wire in a high rise office tower, the next you could be running conduit in a ditch.
Installer technicians plan and create voice, video and data systems to power office buildings and business communication systems. Their jobs encompass most of the low-voltage wiring requirements that power and run these systems. Training as an installer technician can consist of learning one or more voice, data or video system.
Residential wiremen help make homes and apartments fully functional after they are built. From pulling wire to installing light fixtures, their job is to provide seamless power distribution throughout a home.
Apprenticeship programs typically last four years and include at least 144 hours of classroom instruction and 2,000 hours of on-the-job training. Classroom coursework includes:
Additional training in soldering, communications and the proper use of cranes and other lifting equipment is often provided.
Electrician Career Outlook
As commercial and residential construction picks up in the coming years, demand for well-trained electricians should grow as well. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment is expected to increase by 12 percent between 2008 and 2018.
The ever-growing population also should spur growth for new electricians. Despite the national slowdown in construction, new homes still must be built to meet the demands of an expanding population. Retail, commercial and educational services to support that new population will require electricians for wiring and systems maintenance. Jobs also are expected to be high for electricians with training in voice, video and data wiring as well as for electricians with training in renewable energy technologies, such as solar and geothermal power generation.
Electricians held 579,150 jobs in 2009 and had median annual earnings of $47,180. Apprentice electricians and those on the lower end of the pay scale earned median salaries of $28,690 per year. Journeymen electricians, who are at the top end of the wage structure, take home more than $80,000 annually.
Workers in Alaska, Illinois, New York, Hawaii and New Jersey earned far more than the national average, between $67,480 and $64,520 per year. However, electricians in the greater San Francisco Bay Area earned the highest annual mean salaries, at $80,040.
Resources for Electricians
These schools offer particularly quick info upon request, and we have written detailed profiles for each (click school names to see the profiles).
Request info from multiple schools, by clicking the Get Info links.
| School | Locations | Degrees | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashworth College | Online | Diploma | |
| Coyne College | IL | Associate, Diploma | |
| Everest College | CA, IL, VA | Diploma | |
| Everest Institute | GA, NJ, TX | Diploma | |
| Everest University | FL | Diploma | |
| Kaplan Career Institute | MA, OH, PA | Diploma | |
| Kaplan College KHE | IN, OH, TX | Diploma | |
| Lincoln Technical Institute | CT | Coursework | |
| Stratford Career Institute | Online | Diploma | |
| TESST College of Technology | MD | Certificate | |
| WyoTech | CA | Diploma |
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