How Much Does It Cost to Become an Electrician




A lot of young people always think about of earning a steady income after completing high school. A career as an electrician will be a good idea for them and they will have to undergo training to become a certified professional. If you are one among them the training will not cost you a great deal in comparison with other professions like engineering and medicine. Identifying the most suitable apprenticeship program in your locality is the first step and there are a good number of schools and local unions provide quality training programs to become qualified electricians.

The apprenticeship programs will charge you in between $400 and $1,000 per year and you will have to undergo on-the-job training under the supervision of a certified technician. Though various states have different rules and regulations the normal training period will last for almost four years. One of the greatest advantages of this program is that the electrician will get paid a reasonable amount during the training and the amount will be approximately equal to the half of the salary of a certified professional. That clearly indicates that the students will not be under any huge financial obligation and people with limited income can also start thinking of becoming an electrician. Other costs involved with the electrician training program include the fees for purchasing the text books and also for class room training.




Once you complete your apprenticeship program successfully you will have to purchase tools and supplies to start your career as professional electrician. The common practice is that your toolkit will be provided by the union or school during the education period. The cost of the toolkit will be around $300 to $400 and in rare cases, you will have to find money to purchase tool kits. That is where the importance of finding quality apprenticeship programs comes in. When you become a certified electrician you will have to submit a monthly union fee to the concerned authority and the amount will stand in between $10 to $20 per month.

After the completion of the course, you will have to search for positions in different sectors. If you show great skill and promise during the training you will be absorbed by the city construction crews owned by the local unions. In such cases, you do not have to waste time searching for jobs because you will be getting consistent work for a prolonged period of time. If you plan to work as a self employed electrician you will have to invest money for the promotion of your business. Aggressive marketing plans will have to be chalked out and some of the plans include giving advertisements in the news papers, creating website and posting ads in supermarkets.

Placing frequent advertisements will involve expenses around $250 per month and in order to create a professional website you need to spend around $4,000. You also will have to pay an annual fee of around $50 for web hosting and domain name renewals. The average cost of becoming an electrician differs, depending on the location and you will have to consult with your local electrical union representative to have a better understanding about the exact figure. On an average level, you should be prepared to pay in between $2,000 to $5,000 for tools and training and, advertisements and other promotional plans will involve a cost of a couple of thousand dollars every year.