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How To Get A Job As An Electrician

Electricians install, repair and maintain electrical systems.  They work on homes, multiple-family dwellings, shopping malls, hospitals, factories, public buildings, and virtually every type of structure used by man.  Employment opportunities are excellent for qualified Electricians.  Monetary rewards are excellent.

Electricians must be physically fit, able to work comfortably in any area from small cramped spaces, to high up, balanced on ladders or power poles.  They must be able to lift heavy objects and equipment, and spend long hours, kneeling, bending and standing.  Electricians must have excellent eye-hand coordination, and good color discrimination.  They must have good communications skills to interact successfully with other trades and professions.  Electricians must be responsible, mature individuals, attentive to detail, and aware of the potential danger any carelessness on their part, could cause to the individuals around them.

Most Electricians work a regular forty hour week, though overtime may be required if deadlines demand.  Electricians working for large corporations, or maintenance, may work one of three eight hour shifts.  Some Electricians working to correct power failures, or other emergency situations may by required to work on call.  Most Electricians specialize in construction or maintenance.  Wherever they work, Electricians must follow both state and local building codes as well as the National Electrical Code.

Education

To become an Electrician, you must first obtain a high school diploma or equivalent.  If you are still in high school, it would be advantageous to take any courses available in computers, mathematics, physics, mechanical drawing, shop, or electronics.  A second language is also useful.

Most Electricians today get their training through apprenticeship programs.  Applicants must be at least eighteen years of age.  You apply for apprenticeship programs through electrical unions such as the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.  For further information about this union, and others, go to the following site:  http://www.ibew.org/

Apprenticeship programs are earn-as-you-learn programs and usually take about four years.  They involve on-the-job training combined with formal instruction.  Apprentices work under the direct supervision of licensed Electricians and begin by doing simple tasks that advance  in complexity as knowledge increases.

Apprenticeship programs cover both the construction and maintenance of electrical systems.  Programs involve about one hundred and fifty hours of coursework, and about two thousand hours of on-the-job training under the guidance of a licensed Electrician.

To become an Electrician you can also start by attending a training program for Electricians available in a vocational or Technical College, as well as in the Armed Forces.  After graduation, you can then work as a helper to a licensed Electrician, and in time get your license and become a Licensed Journeyman Electrician.

Virtually all areas require practicing Electricians to be licensed.  Licensing requirements vary from state to state but usually involve a specific number of hours of experience under the supervision of a licensed Electrician, and the successful completion of a written exam.  Once this is accomplished, you will be considered a Licensed Journeyman Electrician.

Electricians must constantly update their knowledge as the field is complex and rapidly becoming more so with changes in electrical and building codes, and the growing sophistication of electrical systems.

Licensed Electricians, with sufficient knowledge and experience are able to advance to even more responsible and lucrative positions as supervisors, managers, and building inspectors.