The career path of an electrician is not a single line which has a start and a single direction. To be an electrician is to, at some point, get to choose between multiple selections of forking branches to take to advance the career.
But before we delve into those multiple pathways, let us first take a look at the humble beginnings of all electricians.
A Simple Helper
You might be hard-pressed to think that prior to the start of the electrician career, it takes a school to produce a qualified candidate to take on the role. Apparently, that is not the case.
Any aspiring electrician can kickstart their career by filling in the role of an aid in the form of an electrician’s helper. While the role may not necessarily introduce you into the world of electricity and circuits, the experience will give you enough exposure to give you an insight at the nature of the job and even encounter the difficulty of a menial work.
The task of an electrician’s helper typically revolves around digging trenches using the hands, hauling needed materials in the site, cleaning up job sites, and pulling wires at best.
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A Committed Apprentice
Did the role of a helper did not dissuade you in pursuing a career as an electrician? Good. Then you are already ready to become an apprentice.
Apprenticeship is like schooling, but more with the emphasis of applying the teachings taught in class instead of focusing on text book knowledge. A typical apprenticeship program should last around 4 to 5 years wherein you get to spend classroom learnings once or twice a week. To further solidify your learning, you are also required to accrue at least 8000 hours of working experience.
In the United States, there are three institutions that can grant you apprenticeship should you consider it your calling to add to the pool of certified electricians in the future. They include the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
The Path Towards Becoming a Journeyman Electrician
So, you have survived the 4 to 5 years ordeal of becoming a student electrician and do you want to truly begin your career in this field? There’s only one hurdle in order for that to become a fruition—passing the exam.
There are six aspects in the exam you would need to pass which involves: maintenance, public utility, residential, commercial, industrial, and outside wireman.
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Taking a Path to Take
At last, you passed the exam and you are now considered a certified electrician a.k.a. a “journeyman electrician.” The problem is, what kind of electrician are you exactly around that point?
Earlier at the premise, we talked about the branching career paths that are open for any qualified electrician. And by that, I mean the many subdivisions that leads an electrician to a certain career structure.
With the right time and skill, you could probably be able to handle one or more careers as an electrician. But, typically, it boils down to any of the following: an estimator, a project manager, a field supervisor, a foreman, a sales person, a purchasing person, a superintendent, an inspector, and an instructor.
The Path Towards Mastery
Attaining any of the available journeyman electrician title may seem like the end of the line for those who are pursuing a stable career and good pay in this field. But it does not end there yet.
With just 2 years of working experience as a journeyman electrician, you would qualify yourself to advance your status to “master” level, granted you would pass another major exam.
Becoming a “master electrician” is no easy feat. It will test you of everything you had learned from being a journeyman electrician, some of which you would probably only had learned from actual working experience.
But, of course, there is still the importance of the basics which is the pillar of the field. So, brush up on that if any of them is getting rusty on your end. This is perhaps especially true if you are taking a career path as a journeyman that does not necessarily makes use of your technical skill in the process, but more of something else entirely.
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Attaining the “Master” Status
Finally, you passed the exam towards you taking on the mantle of a “master electrician” which gives you significant perks in the process, notably higher pay at job and the privilege of pulling permits.
While most people in the “master” class are already reaping the benefits of their hard work at this point of their career, it does not mean it could not get any better. There is still yet another path that leads to better opportunities in the field, not as a worker, but as one who leads it.
Be the Boss
Becoming the owner of your own business company, especially in a very lucrative business of doing contractual jobs with big companies requiring electrical work, is perhaps the best possible option you could take your career to. While the privilege of being called a CEO or the boss of the building may be one thing about this role, another major appealing factor why people pursue a career in business as a master electrician is undoubtedly about the money that comes in the process.
As the person who manages his own company, you, the future CEO gets most of the pay. And the bigger the projects your company handles, the bigger also is the takeout pay for the boss. It is for this very same reason why company owners become rich and why people aspire to become it.
However, as easy as it sounds like, you also have to be realistic about starting a business coming from a “master electrician” status. By entering the business market, you going into a domain with very stiff competition, some of which probably already established to be entrenched into it. Tackling on the big guys is not necessarily easy unless you have miracle business plan that topples competition.
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