The electrician industry is one of fastest growing sectors in the world. Look around you and you’ll understand why. Everything we do is somehow affected by electricity and our dependency on wires and circuits is only growing. With this growing need for electricity and power comes the need for more skilled, qualified, and experienced electricians. Despite this obvious evidence as to the worth of the electrical trade, I am still approached by potential tradespeople with the question: Why become an Electrician?
Why You Should Become an Electrician
If you’re looking for job that is physical, challenging, and technical then you should think about becoming a tradesman, and more specifically, an Electrician. Electrical work is for people who enjoy solving problems quickly and effectively while working with small teams. Electricians are often natural problem solvers who excel when given difficult technical tasks.
As an apprentice electrician you will learn everything you need to know about being an electrician. Unlike with traditional post-secondary schooling, as an apprentice electrician you will actually make money while you are learning which makes this job attractive to people who don’t want to go to school and end up in debt. At the start of an apprenticeship trainees make $15-18 per hour but their wages increase every year and by their final year of apprenticeship can be making upwards of $30 per hour.
With the US economy regaining it’s feet the construction and housing industries are set to see a sizable increase in production within the next 5-10 years. This means that anyone who begins their electrician training now will be prepared for the coming increase in job availability. That’s not to say that there isn’t a strong need for skilled electricians now as many older tradespeople are retiring and leaving a job vacuum that needs to be filled. This is especially true for electricians and for the other technical trades.
If you live in a highly industrial area then that’s another great answer for why become an electrician. Electricians are highly sought after in industrial sectors or areas with large amount of construction due to their unique skills. It’s impossible for a general contractor to provide the same quality of work that a trained electrician can offer which makes them invaluable to professional construction companies, who are required to follow code and have an electrician perform electrical installations.
Another reason to become an electrician is the large number of different ways to specialize in the trade. Journeyman electricians can become auto electricians, motorcycle electricians, airplane electricians, marine electricians, etc. The more an electrician specializes the more they are paid and many specialized electricians make excellent salaries.
Electricians in the US and Canada also have the support of the IBEW, the International Brotherhood Of Electrical Workers, which represents over 675,000 members from a variety of electrical related fields, including electricians. This ensures that electricians are properly treated and respected as well as making sure that electricians receive the proper benefits and wages. The strong Union support of one of the best reasons for why you should become an electrician.