Electrical work is vital to almost every aspect of modern life and comfort, unfortunately the fact remains that the entry level position doesn’t pay as much as most would like. In fact, it is somewhat understandable considering the pretty low requirements for becoming one. In any case, many electricians are interested in how to make more money as an electrician, and the good news is that there are promotion and advancement opportunities in this line of work, but they take some effort and time to achieve.
How Can You Increase Your Salary as an Electrician?
Most people start their journey as an apprentice electrician, in most cases making somewhere around $11 to $15 per hour. However, you can eventually become a journeyman electrician, and you will be able to make somewhere between $50 and $75 per hour. If you choose to specialize yourself in commercial electric engineering, you will be making even more money than that.
So what exactly allows you to progress in the ranks of electrical engineering and become a very well-paid employee? Well, for starters experience always matters. The longer you do good work, the more your salary is going to rise. It’s going to be a grind, but it’s like that with pretty much any job. The real difference maker in this case is education.
As mentioned earlier, the requirements to become an electrician aren’t very demanding, as you only need to eighteen years of age, have a high school or GED diploma, as well as transcripts which prove that you have completed Algebra 1 or the equivalent in your State/Country. As it happens, various colleges and institutions of higher learning are actually offering electrician courses. These courses are basically going to teach you how to perform more complex tasks so that you can take on a greater responsibility within your company.
Apart from filling you with knowledge, how exactly are these courses going to help your cause? In order to reach certain positions, such as that of a journeyman electrician, you are actually required to have completed the electrician courses in college. Of course, studying in college while working a full-time job isn’t exactly obvious, which is why employers are generally willing to pay entirely for your tuition. Make no mistake though; they are not being generous, but investing in you, hoping that in the end you will be able to provide greater services for the company with the knowledge you have acquired.
As things are right now, the U.S. Bureau of Labor is estimating that there is a considerable demand for electricians, with very few to fill the void… for now. They believe that for the time being, the demand for electricians is going to rise even higher, growing faster than for most other sectors. To put it in other words, if the reason for becoming an electrician, or at least part of it, is making a lot of money, then you are in very good fortune as you will not only be advantaged by the economic sector’s course, but also by the fact that the opportunity to become a master electrician and making more than $150,000 per year is very real if you put the necessary time and work into it.