Is Being An Electrician a Good Career? 8 Reasons Support Yes
Being an electrician can be personally, professionally, and financially rewarding. You provide a valuable service to all kinds of people and businesses and get to combine thinking with doing as you solve electrical problems and work with your hands. An . If you’re looking for an in-demand career in the Trades, check out the 8 reasons why being an electrician might be a good idea..
Demand for Electricians is High
Electricity fuels society. It powers homes and commercial buildings and is a critical component for new technologies like AI and cryptocurrencies. That’s one reason why demand for electricians is high. Employment of electricians is expected to grow more than 10 percent through the decade, representing more than 80,000 jobs per year1. Some states have especially high demand. For example, if you live in , , , , or , you can expect demand that’s above the national average. And in states like , , and , demand is projected to be more than twice the national average.
Electricians Can Earn Competitive Salaries
As a licensed electrician, you have the potential to earn a good living. While the median salary for an electrician was $61,590 in 20232, where you live, and work again plays a role in how much you can earn. For example, the median wage of an electrician in the government sector was $73,9602 in that same time period. And some states offer higher compensation. Both and pay electricians and average salary of more than $70,000 . Top earners in New York and Illinois can make more than six figures.
Electricians Follow a Progressive Path for Career Growth
From trainee to apprentice to licensed electrician, there’s a clear pathway to advance your career as an electrician. Even after you earn your journeyman’s license, you can still move onward and upward. You can continue to advance to a master electrician, which requires more training and education. As a master electrician, you can tackle duties that you can’t as a journeyman, including the design of electrical systems, supervising other electricians, and managing electrical projects.
Hands-On Work as an Electrician
For many people, being an electrician is a good career choice because of the type of work you get to do. Instead of working on repetitive tasks in a factory or distribution center, or sitting at a desk in an office, you get to move from job to job, working with your hands and your brain. You use your expertise to install lighting and electrical systems and to troubleshoot issues when customers lose power.
Independent Work as an Electrician
A career as an electrician provides you with the opportunity for independent work. Even if you work for a big company or private contractor, you often have the ability to manage your own schedule. You’re the person who maintains systems and troubleshoots issues, most often on-site.
Variety of Settings Where Electricians Work
As an electrician, there are a variety of places where you can find employment. For example, you could work for a construction company, installing electrical systems for new homes and buildings as they are built, or you could work for an electric company, maintaining power lines and troubleshooting issues when there are outages. Or maybe you could find work as a maintenance electrician at manufacturing plants, colleges and universities, or aerospace companies.
There’s Always More to Learn as an Electrician
There are always new trends within the electrical trade, including new technology and tools. You can keep up with them by reading trade journals or magazines, networking with other electricians, or through professional organizations like the . You can also take continuing education courses or earn industry certifications like the , which validate your knowledge in another area of your job.
Become Your Own Boss as an Electrician
Even as you work for another company, you can get a taste of being an electrical contractor by taking on side jobs and outside contracts if you have the correct local or state approvals or licensure. And when and if you’re ready to take the leap, you can become fully independent and have your own business someday. You could work as a self-employed contractor, finding and building your client list, performing the tasks of the trade, and hiring your own apprentices if the need arises.
Are you interested in pursuing a career as an electrician? èצӰ offers an Electrical / Electronics training program that can prepare you for a career in this fast-growing trade. You learn from skilled electricians with many years of experience. And through our partnership with Johnson Controls, you have access to one of the top electrical employers in the country. Fill out our form to learn more.
1 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Retrieved Feb. 28, 2025
2 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Retrieved March 10, 2025