Understanding the Electrician Job Description
An electrician can earn an average salary of $47,000 to $63,000 a year and sometimes may earn more. The electrician job description and the job’s benefits seem appealing to many because of the challenging and enjoyable nature of the work. There’s also the benefit—not always obvious in the electrician job description—that you can be paid to train for the job that makes the career seem lucrative. Nevertheless, you should understand the electrician job description before you make the decision to pursue the job.
The general electrician job description covers both design work and hands-on work. For designing, you will be responsible for designing and reading electrical system schematics. Then, for hands-on work, you’ll be building new electrical systems and maintaining existing electrical systems. The electrician job description means that you’ll be working on electrical systems in homes, factories, and most any kind of buildings. The electrician job description may also include work on equipment and machinery.
Still, there’s more to the general electrician job description than designing, maintaining, and building electrical systems. During your three to five years of training, you’ll learn how to design, build, and maintain electrical systems that are as efficient and as safe as possible. Safety and efficiency are integral to the electrician job description. If you don’t make sure the right amount of electrical current is getting to its destination, the electrical system could provide inadequate power or it could even cause a fire and/or damage to the system.
The electrician job description includes working with wiring, outlets, transformers, circuit breakers, and fiber optic cables. If you have a specialization, your electrician job description may include work on computers, phone lines, and alarm systems. The electrician job description typically involves work primarily in construction and may include being your own boss as an independent contractor.
Licensure is an important part of the electrician job description. Following your apprenticeship and classroom training, you’ll have to take an examination in order to be licensed as an electrician in your state. Requirements differ from state to state, but the examination usually involves both written and practical tests.