How To Become An Electrical Worker: What It Is and Career Path

What is an electrical worker and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Ronald Widdoss

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an electrical worker. For example, did you know that they make an average of $25.61 an hour? That's $53,261 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 50,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to an electrical worker?

Ronald Widdoss

Be a sponge. Learn all you can and prove to your employer you can be taught and that your up for the challenge.

ScoreElectrical WorkerUS Average

Salary

4.2

Avg. Salary $53,261

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.6

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.86%

Asian 2.22%

Black or African American 8.19%

Hispanic or Latino 18.76%

Unknown 4.25%

White 65.72%

Gender

female 6.46%

male 93.54%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress level

7.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.8

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.5

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an electrical worker

Explore electrical worker education requirements

Most common electrical worker degrees

High School Diploma

31.1 %

Associate

27.6 %

Bachelor's

21.4 %

Start to develop specific electrical worker skills

Skills	Percentages
Electrical Equipment	11.73%
Hand Tools	9.85%
Electrical Systems	9.54%
Engineering Drawings	8.35%
Switches	8.15%

Complete relevant electrical worker training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 4-10 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New electrical workers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an electrical worker based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real electrical worker resumes.

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming an licensed electrical worker usually doesn't require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed electrical worker in most of states. 25 states require electrical workers to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License url
Alabama	-	State exam required	Licensed Journeyman Electrician
Alaska	-	State exam required	Electrical Worker
Arkansas	-	Third-party exam required	Journeyman Electrician
Colorado	-	State exam required	Journeyman Electrician
Hawaii	Degree required	State exam required	Electrician

Research electrical worker duties and responsibilities

Remove, analyze, identify issue install properly working pressure transducers, effectively accomplishing priorities to go underway.
Trouble shooting circuits, bending and running conduit, EMT, rigid and PVC.
Construct safety provisions, including scaffolding, gang ladders, perimeter railings, fall protection, and temporary covers.
Installed/Maintain automatic transfer switches and stand by generators.

Prepare your electrical worker resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your electrical worker resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an electrical worker resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable electrical worker resume templates

Build a professional electrical worker resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your electrical worker resume.