The importance of electricians in today’s society cannot be overstated and hence why there is a staple enough demand for them. Not only are the jobs they do are very technical which requires years and years of hands-on learning experience—and, thus, cannot be easily replaced by just anybody—they are also significantly risky, too, which essentially makes every electrician a hero in their own way, even if many do not pay mind to it.
But for a job that is so valuable to an electric-dependent society, being an electrician has to be a well-paid endeavor, right?
That is indeed actually correct. But not all electricians are paid the same—some specialties do actually pay better than others, as also influenced by other factors such as the type of employment, the level of the workload, and the area where the service is rendered.
So, which electrician jobs do actually pay the best, particularly in 2019, and how do you find your niche for it?
1. Oil Rig Electrician
The price of crude oil—the so-called “black gold”—may have seen its fair share of rise and fall across the years and is being threatened by the discovery of renewable resources of energy, but the oil business is still big and lucrative. For an enterprise that literally dabbles with large sums of money, it has got to offer jobs that pays very well—in fact, it does!
There are plenty of available positions whenever there is a new rig being constructed somewhere in the middle of the sea, not to mention of the needed manpower to maintain its operations. Of these positions, there is always a special spot for an electrician whose primary role is to provide a smooth flow of electricity in the platform in order for it to become operational and therefore profitable.
Being in an oil rig, an “electrician” in it can fall in one of these three positions—a general electrician, an electrical technician, or a chief electrician.
Of these roles, a general electrician is considered to be paid the least which goes somewhere between $63,000 to $65,000 per year on average. An electrical technician, on the other hand, nets better annual pay for its more specialized role which is set at an average of $74,000 per year. Lastly, the chief electrician—also known as the “maintenance supervisors”—gets paid the most with a ballpark pay of at least $83,000 to at most $87,500.
If you are not bothered in the idea of working somewhere in the middle of the ocean at extended periods at a time and actually love the scenic atmosphere of the open seas, to be an oil rig electrician is likely a job for you just for these two reasons alone.
2. Substation Electrician
Despite the growing concern to its disadvantages compared to the other branches of being an electrician, to work in a substation is still the next best paid role an electrician could get in the industry.
According to the May 2019 statistics, the average yearly salary of a substation electrician in the United States is around $55,286 per year. But it can also be as low as just $41,000 and as high as $69,000 per year.
If working in an oil rig is not an option for you—possibly after weighing in the pros and cons of working at an offshore platform—but find money to be a concern, choosing to be a Substation Electrician should make sense. Also, substation electricians are themselves “quite heroic” in that their services directly caters to a wide populace which might be a thing for you.
3. Industrial Electrician
The world never runs out the need for a fully-operational factory aimed for business. Whether it is something to be built from the ground up or an already existing one which requires maintenance over time, there is always a qualified electrician behind it every step of the way.
By average, the industrial electrician’s yearly salary for 2019 is measured at $53,210 and can actually range between $41,000 and $75,000 per annum.
Although the average annual salary of an industrial electrician lags way behind an oil rig electrician and slightly behind a substation electrician, what makes this particular specialization appealing to some is indeed the pay still.
By choosing to be an industrial electrician, you must probably like the idea of working on large projects involving a wide variety of people, all while sharing common goals—to finish the project and get paid in the process of its construction.
4. Construction and Maintenance Electrician
The boom of the real estate business soared the heights for the number of building constructions which demanded a lot from workers, particularly the electricians whose integral role cannot be missed. Although this “increased” in the demand for making constructs may have waned along the way, it still meant that there are still projects which require the presence of a well-suited electrician for the task at hand, even if it also meant just maintenance.
Based on 2019 statistics which measured the annual salaries of electricians in this field, a Construction and Maintenance Electrician gets an average yearly pay of $51,367. But of the electrician roles listed so far, it has the widest disparity from the lowest and the highest paid $15,500 per year to $81,500 per year, respectively. This is likely differentiated by factors involving the actual role and the working location which significantly have major role in altering an electrician’s per annum wage.
To be a Construction and Maintenance Electrician is to work on projects big and small. If you are the type who is not necessarily selective of the magnitude of the project so long as there’s a work to be done, this role makes for an easy choice for most journeymen.
5. Commercial Electrician
There is not a commercial building that does not run on electricity anymore which, thus, makes electricians a ubiquitous element of the modern society. For a Commercial Electrician, this involves dealing enterprises that operate day-in and day-out and are completely dependent on electricity.
At an average annual salary of $41,174, this role is least among highest paid for a journeyman electrician. However, it is also worth noting that, many things considered, a Commercial Electrician can also be earning an average of $28,000 per year or as high as $66,500 per year.
If you like the dynamic environment of working different areas while servicing for an enterprise establishment like a store, a restaurant, etc., to be a Commercial Electrician is likely a role for you.