That perception could be changing, however. While the skilled labor shortage presents challenges to the construction industry and to homeowners trying to hire skilled workers, it also presents opportunities for workers. Take a look at a few of the potential opportunities that becoming an electrician could present.
To combat the electrician shortage, James is working to raise awareness about such impressive salaries. He started a competition four years ago to convince young people to become electricians. Part of his strategy is convincing parents that their children could make a good living in the field. Others working on boosting the number of electricians are also working on getting the word out about the salary potential.
John Puckett, a former teacher in the Building Industry Technology Academy, a statewide program in California schools to promote careers in trades, told The Orange County Register that construction work can be lucrative , especially for those who move up the ranks or start their own companies.
Electricians who join unions can make more than those who do not. In heavily unionized eastern Michigan, one comparison showed that when you put together pay and benefits such as pensions and health insurance, compensation for unionized workers can be twice that of their non-unionized peers.
How much could you earn as an electrician? Take the PayScale Salary Survey and get your free salary report today. The path to becoming an electrician can be much more affordable than four-year colleges and other post-secondary education programs.
The top 3 locations that employ the most Electricians are St. Information on the businesses and industries that employ Electricians and on wages and locations for those in the field. Judicial law clerks make somewhat more than Electricians while Other drafters make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Electricians as measured by average annual salary in the US.
In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Electricians shown in red than for the overall labor force shown in gray. The number of people employed as Electricians has been growing at a rate of This graphic shows the share of Electricians employed by various industries.
Construction employs the largest share of Electricians at Demographic information on Electricians in the US. Starting electricians are called apprentices, and they must work under the supervision of a master electrician for a number of years. After passing the required classes and logging some time, apprentices can become journeymen.
This is the upper tier and it allows you to make designs, run your own shop, get permits, and just generally work for yourself.
All of this takes time and access. Many electricians join a union to get that access, along with all the traditional union perks. They pay for apprenticeships and training courses. Areas have better and worse union member density, making it easier or harder to find master electricians to work with.
Some parts of the country also have a higher density of non-union jobs , making the choice more complex. Regardless of the approach, apprentices can expect to spend three to five years working before they can move on to become journeymen.
While the US fell way, way, way back in new housing starts when the market crashed, that trend is beginning to get itself back into familiar territory. As construction demand continues to grow, the demand for skilled electricians is going to grow. For some context, in the mids, the US was building roughly 1, houses each month. We need more new electricians than the number that are leaving.
Electrical work is a growing trade. According to the U. Bureau of Labor Statistics , electrician jobs are expected to grow by 8. This is more than double the 3. The increase in demand is driven by an increase in electronic devices and building components that rely on electricity.
From to alone, total electricity consumption in the U. People are using more electricity than before, and more electricians are needed to install and maintain these electrical systems. Not all industries are experiencing the electrician shortage in the same way. While overall demand for electricians is on the rise, some industries are growing more than others. The construction industry employs the most electricians at about , people.
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