Educational background of an electrician

• To become an electrician the person has to be at least 18 years and should have passed high school or have a G.E.D. certificate.
• Learn the basics of becoming a licensed electrician at a vocational or technical school.
• Study the National Electrical Codes.
• For more advanced study a college or university education would be required if wanting to become an electrical engineer.
• Under the tutelage of a master or licensed electrician, all electricians have to take an apprenticeship.
• This apprentice program generally lasts for four years if the person is a fresher or two years if they have attended a vocational or technical school.
• They have to complete 144 hours of coursework and 2000 hours of hands-on experience.
• These apprentice programs are sponsored by individual electrical contracting companies or by the local chapters of Associated Builders and Contractors or the Independent Electrical Contractors Association.

About Electrician

Electricity is the source of energy on which a nation moves. Without electricity there would be no light, power, air conditioning or refrigeration. Industries would come to a halt, cities and towns would be plunged in darkness, we would not be able to use the modern inventions and gadgets as they all run on electricity.  It is the job of the electrician to install, connect, test, operate, maintain and repair the electrical systems and cables through which the electricity flows.  They work at homes, in a wide range of businesses and in factories maintaining and installing the electrical machinery and equipment.

Electricians either work as installation or construction experts or do maintenance for the existing electrical systems and equipments. Electricians nowadays tend to take up both the jobs of installation as well as maintenance.

Electricians draw and read blueprints to show the locations of outlets, circuits, panel boards, load centres, and other equipment when they are installing the electrical systems in homes, office buildings, factories and any other construction site. After they have an idea of where all the wires, cables and other components will go they install and attach these wires to outlets, circuit breakers, transformers and to the other systems and components.

Electricians looking after the maintenance require repairing the electrical and electronic components and equipment under their care. They replace circuit breakers, switches, fuses, faulty wiring, and any other component of electrical or electronic equipment. They also check periodically all the equipment under their care and do preventive maintenance wherever necessary.

Irrespective of where they work electricians need to follow the local and state building codes and the National Electrical Code whenever they are working.

Licensure and certification for an electrician

• Almost all the states require that an electrician is licensed.
• Licensure requirement are different in different states but all require that electrician need to pass an electrician’s exam which tests them on their knowledge of theory.
• They must know the National Electrical Code, and must also be aware of the local and State electric and building codes.
• A special license is needed by electrical contractors who deal directly with the public as opposed to electrician who work for electrical contractors.
• Some states require that an electrical contractor should have a master electrician certificate.
• To become a master electrician it needs seven years of experience as an electrician or a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or related field.

Salary And earnings of an electrician

An electrician gets paid for the job that he does, but there are various factors that affects the kind of salary that he gets.

The factors for which the salary varies are the years of experience that he has, the industry that he works in, the employer type that he works for or the city or region that they work in amongst other factors.

The average annual salary that an electrician is paid between the 25^th and 75^th percentile range is $ 31,780 and $ 78,543 which is inclusive of overtime, bonus and profit sharing.

Years of Experience

• Electricians who are having a work experience of less than one year earn salary in the range of $ 30,521 and $ 68,784 and an hour wage rate range between $ 8.03 and 20.16.
• Electricians who are having a work experience of one to four years earn salary in the range of $ 20,260 and $ 84,932 and the hour wage rate range between $ 10.29 and $ 21.97.
• Electricians who are having a work experience of five to nine years earn salary in the range of $ 24,738 and $ 97,629 and an hour wage rate range between $ 12.95 and $ 26.95.
• Electricians who are having a work experience of ten to nineteen years earn salary in the range of $ 29,558 and $ 90,677 and an hour wage rate range between $ 14.32 and 34.04.
• Electricians who are having a work experience of more than twenty years earn salary in the range of $ 29,512 and $ 94,687 and an hour wage rate range between $ 15.14 and $ 49.32.

Industry

• An electrician working as an electrical contractor or electrician gets an annual salary range between $ 28,209 and $ 96,660 and an hourly wage range between $ 11.90 and $ 30.37.
• An electrician working in military or armed forces gets an annual salary range between $ 19,266 and $ 62,196.
• An electrician  working in construction gets an annual salary range between $ 24,240 and $ 64,916 and an hourly wage range between $ 12.69 and $ 34.14
• An electrician working in electrical or lighting or wiring products gets an annual salary range between $ 30,521 and $ 68,686 and an hourly wage range between $ 9.86 and $ 44.70.
• An electrician working in electrical and mechanical repair gets an annual salary range between $ 23,583 and $ 50,868 and an hourly wage range between $ 10.77 and $ 30.64.
• An electrician working as a general contractor gets an hourly wage rate range between $ 11.07 and $ 41.85.
• An electrician working in commercial construction gets an hourly wage rate range between $ 11.33 and $ 31.14.
• An electrician working in commercial and residential construction and development gets an hourly wage rate range between $ 12.82 and $ 25.34.

Employer Type

• An electrician working for a company gets an annual salary range between $ 27,889 and $ 98,635 and an hourly wage rate between $ 11.90 and $ 28.10.
• An electrician who is self employed gets an annual salary range between $ 23,647 and $ 88,204 and an hourly wage rate between $ 14.57 and $ 49.49.
• An electrician working for a government – federal gets an annual salary range between $ 19,691 and $ 66,910 and an hourly wage rate between $ 17.50and $ 27.00.
• An electrician working for a government – state and local gets an annual salary range between $ 28,395 and $ 96,000 and an hourly wage rate between $ 11.07 and $ 33.09.
• An electrician working for a contract gets an annual salary range between $ 32,000 and $ 57,528 and an hourly wage rate between $ 12.21 and $ 34.50.
• An electrician working for a private practice or firm gets an annual salary range between $ 34,382 and $ 100,000 and an hourly wage rate between $ 10.40 and $ 40.58.
• An electrician working for a school or school district gets an annual salary range between $ 29,688 and $ 48,834 and an hourly wage rate between $ 20.09 and $ 29.30.
• An electrician working for other organization gets an hourly wage rate between $ 11.74 and $ 30.20.
• An electrician working for a hospital gets an hourly wage rate between $ 17.00 and $ 23.50.
• An electrician working for a college or university gets an hourly wage rate between $ 8.83 and $ 18.82.
• An electrician working for a non profit organization gets an hourly wage rate between $ 17.50 and $ 22.13.
• An electrician working for a franchise gets an hourly wage rate between $ 10.50 and $ 16.50.

City

• An electrician working in New York, New York gets an annual salary range between $ 46,840 and $ 82,500 and an hourly wage rate range between $ 12.60 and $ 50.13.
• An electrician working in Houston, Texas gets an annual salary range between $ 20,000 and $ 57,528 and an hourly wage rate range between $ 10.00 and $ 23.40.
• An electrician working in Norfolk, Virginia gets an annual salary range between $ 30,184 and $ 60,408.
• An electrician working in Los Angeles, California gets an annual salary range between $ 35,000 and $ 47,325 and an hourly wage rate range between $ 15.89 and $ 50.34.
• An electrician working in Chicago, Illinois gets an hourly wage rate range between $ 13.70 and $ 61.28.
• An electrician working in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania gets an hourly wage rate range between $ 10.00 and $ 23.96.
• An electrician working in Dallas, Texas gets an hourly wage rate range between $ 13.18 and $ 45.00.
• An electrician working in Charlotte, North Carolina gets an hourly wage rate range between $ 11.33 and $ 25.15.

Special skills needed by an electrician

• The person desiring to be has to have good hand-eye coordination, physically fit, should have manual dexterity and have a good sense of balance.
• They also need good color vision as most of the wiring depends on cable coloration.
• They should have good communication skills.
• They should be adept at writing as well as speak clearly and intelligently.
• Must have a good knowledge of maths which includes arithmetic, geometry, algebra, calculus, trigonometry and their applications.

Duties and responsibilities of an electrician

The duties and responsibility of an electrician varies according to the industry that they are placed in.

Electricians working on home fitting would have slightly different duties or responsibilities than an electrician working for a factory.

Irrespective of the settings mostly all electricians have a set of duty which is the same across any part of the industry.

• Electricians have to assemble, install, test, operate and maintain all electrical equipment, wiring, appliances, fixtures, and apparatus by the use of hand tools and power tools.
• Whenever there is a malfunctioning system, equipment or apparatus, find out where the fault lies, by making use of the testing equipment and hand tools and rectify the problem as soon as possible.
• When installing wires and cables an electrician has to make sure to attach them to circuit breakers and transformers or any other component it has to be attached to.
• Do preventive maintenance by checking on the electrical equipment, systems and components to find out if there are any defects, and if it requires any repairs or adjustments.
• To ensure the compatibility and safety of the system a test must be conducted on the continuity of circuits in the wiring and the electrical systems, fixtures and equipments by making use of devices such as the ohmmeters, voltmeters, oscilloscopes etc.
• New workers must be trained and given direction to by the senior electrician in the installing, repairing and maintaining of equipment, electrical wiring and fixtures.
• Maintain proper records and files, prepare reports and order supplies whenever necessary.
• Follow the local and state building codes as well as the National Electrical code and must carry on them electrician’s license or identification card that adheres to the government’s regulations.