Lead electricians assign and inspect the work of electricians and trades helpers. They plan and develop work schedules, equipment usage schedules, and procedures for equipment maintenance. They also utilize knowledge, skills, and electrical testing equipment to evaluate systems accurately for maintenance, warranty repairs, design, and other purposes. Lead electricians earn a median sum of $58,000 annually or $27 per hour.
Lead electricians coordinate the daily operation of the electrician's shop. They are responsible for leading and coordinating the work of electrician positions in installing, maintaining, repair, and removing electrical systems. They also lay out and estimate the cost of construction projects and electrical maintenance work related to electrical.
In terms of academic qualifications, lead electricians hold a high school diploma or its equivalent. Although, earning a higher degree may prove advantageous in the long run. They are expected to have some years of experience as an electrician. Some states require that lead electricians have a valid driver's license to practice.
What is a Lead Electrician?
What Does a Lead Electrician Do
There are certain skills that many lead electricians have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed color vision, communication skills and physical strength.
How To Become a Lead Electrician
If you're interested in becoming a lead electrician, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 13.6% of lead electricians have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 3.4% of lead electricians have master's degrees. Even though some lead electricians have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Lead Electrician Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a lead electrician can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as owner, progress to a title such as facilities manager and then eventually end up with the title director of facilities.
Average Salary for a Lead Electrician
What Am I Worth?
Roles and Types of Lead Electrician
There are several types of lead electrician, including:
Electrician Helper
Role:
Does the idea of sitting at a desk all day seem unpleasant to you? If you're the kind of person who needs hands-on, physical work, a job that offers productivity and blends physical and mental tasks, then working as an electrician helper may be a great career choice for you. With this kind of job, you benefit from several advantages that you may not get from other jobs. You get to work with your hands, make decent wages, gratification to your skills, freedom, variety of work, and incredible chances for professional development.
Becoming an electrician helper provides you the chance to explore all kinds of career options - far beyond typical construction and maintenance work. You may pursue electrician jobs in various specialty areas, including industrial work in factories, underwater cabling, fire alarm installation, security system installation, setting up a/c, or all kinds of communication and call systems. Another great perk of being an electrician helper is that you won't be confined to any office space. Most of the time, you'll work a combination of inside and outside, have to squat for long periods, climb ladders, and have plenty of places to move around. To an extent, electrical work is almost like a built-in work-out! Generally, working as an electrician helper, you may assist your master electrician by supplying, holding, repairing, or installing electrical wiring, tools, and equipment.
Another additional aspect of choosing an electrician helper as a career is that you may start-out this role with a high school diploma or GED, which means there's no need for earning any formal education. However, completing an electrician apprenticeship program, vocational school degree or association training may help pump your resume. To be successful, you must possess manual dexterity, troubleshooting skills, stamina to perform strenuous tasks, and the ability to follow instructions from your supervisors or managers. Another primary advantage of becoming an electrician helper is the big payoffs. Working as an electrician helper, you may make an average annual wage of $32,000, or $15.4 per hour, with other benefits or pensions. Apart from all the financial rewards and personal satisfaction, a career as an electrician helper brings you tremendous employment opportunities. The job growth rate for electricians and construction craft workers projects to grow 10 percent through 2026, a rate the BLS describes as about as fast as the average for all occupations. Not only that but by obtaining an electrician training or license and advanced skills, you may become your boss and start your own electrician company from scratch.
- Average Salary: $36,733
- Degree: High School Diploma
Electrical Foreman
Role:
An electrical foreman is a supervisory electrician who is tasked with overseeing the planning and execution of large electrical projects. He/She supervises power linemen and electricians in installing, repairing, and maintaining electrical power lines or systems. He/She conducts regular inspections of the construction site to ensure materials and supplies are available. Besides that, he/she enforces safety regulations and working conditions among the employees to avoid hazards. Furthermore, he/she oversees customer relations, material management, and quality control.
To become an electrical foreman, you need a high school diploma or its equivalent. You must have completed an apprenticeship program and be familiar with local electrical codes. Additionally, you may undergo on-the-job training. Four to seven years of work experience and a license in an area of expertise are also required. Relevant skills are maths, analytical, and communication skills. An electrical foreman's salary ranges from $52,000 to $105,000, with an average of $73,809 yearly.
- Average Salary: $50,996
- Degree: High School Diploma
Industrial Electrician
Role:
Industrial electricians perform several functions related to electrical control. Their work involves testing, troubleshooting, installing, and repairing electrical components. They are able to read and interpret blueprints and electrical code specifications. They are usually electrical contractors checking new equipment and systems and maintaining departments of factories and industrial establishments.
This position requires confidence and comfort around electrical work in order to diagnose and respond to issues that help solve electrical problems. Understanding an electrical problem and investigating ways of fixing a problem is key. For industrial electricians to succeed, they must learn to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions to problems. Since they work in teams, they should communicate and be attentive detail.
Working hours for industrial electricians vary depending on their role. Those working in maintenance typically work full-time hours. Other roles may require them to work over the weekends, during public holidays, and late in the evenings.
- Average Salary: $62,533
- Degree: Associate Degree
States With The Most Lead Electrician Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active lead electrician jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where lead electricians earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Lead Electrician Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pennsylvania | 1,653 | $57,828 |
| 2 | California | 625 | $78,249 |
| 3 | Utah | 577 | $52,744 |
| 4 | Florida | 486 | $33,339 |
| 5 | Texas | 453 | $44,786 |
| 6 | Virginia | 399 | $58,550 |
| 7 | Kansas | 388 | $44,646 |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 342 | $43,986 |
| 9 | North Carolina | 320 | $41,378 |
| 10 | Arkansas | 316 | $39,420 |
| 11 | Nevada | 313 | $58,355 |
| 12 | Georgia | 273 | $45,362 |
| 13 | Nebraska | 268 | $57,083 |
| 14 | Michigan | 264 | $61,475 |
| 15 | Idaho | 259 | $55,164 |
| 16 | New Mexico | 242 | $47,604 |
| 17 | Ohio | 238 | $51,508 |
| 18 | Massachusetts | 212 | $70,030 |
| 19 | Maryland | 200 | $63,889 |
| 20 | Illinois | 195 | $49,345 |
| 21 | New York | 193 | $67,921 |
| 22 | Montana | 190 | $61,844 |
| 23 | Colorado | 182 | $56,856 |
| 24 | South Carolina | 178 | $39,923 |
| 25 | Washington | 168 | $79,068 |
| 26 | Indiana | 151 | $52,897 |
| 27 | Alabama | 148 | $42,572 |
| 28 | Oregon | 145 | $74,261 |
| 29 | Alaska | 141 | $79,976 |
| 30 | Missouri | 138 | $53,617 |
| 31 | Louisiana | 137 | $48,295 |
| 32 | South Dakota | 135 | $49,690 |
| 33 | Arizona | 130 | $50,574 |
| 34 | New Jersey | 120 | $69,480 |
| 35 | Tennessee | 117 | $49,806 |
| 36 | Connecticut | 113 | $73,205 |
| 37 | Wisconsin | 113 | $70,744 |
| 38 | Iowa | 93 | $49,007 |
| 39 | Kentucky | 92 | $51,674 |
| 40 | Minnesota | 91 | $74,610 |
| 41 | Maine | 69 | $62,514 |
| 42 | Mississippi | 61 | $45,562 |
| 43 | West Virginia | 57 | $53,652 |
| 44 | Wyoming | 37 | $66,392 |
| 45 | Delaware | 37 | $57,784 |
| 46 | Hawaii | 36 | $70,737 |
| 47 | North Dakota | 33 | $74,713 |
| 48 | New Hampshire | 30 | $65,511 |
| 49 | Vermont | 27 | $81,840 |
| 50 | Rhode Island | 27 | $67,055 |
Top Skills For a Lead Electrician
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 8.3% of lead electricians listed electrical equipment on their resume, but soft skills such as color vision and communication skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Lead Electrician Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Lead Electrician templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Lead Electrician resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Lead Electrician diversity
Lead Electrician Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among lead electricians, 2.6% of them are women, while 97.4% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among lead electricians is White, which makes up 65.8% of all lead electricians.
- The most common foreign language among lead electricians is Spanish at 45.5%.
Online Courses For Lead Electrician That You May Like
1. Fundamentals of Electrical Controls
Learn the parts and wiring techniques used in a motor control installation, become a Controls Electrician...
2. Control Systems Made Simple Beginner's Guide
Learn fundamentals of Mechanical & electrical system modeling, simulation and control with this unique practical course!...
3. Electrical Control & Protection Systems
This course introduces electrical control & protection systems which are a critical part of any electrical substation...
Best States For a Lead Electrician
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a lead electrician. The best states for people in this position are Vermont, Alaska, Washington, and California. Lead electricians make the most in Vermont with an average salary of $81,840. Whereas in Alaska and Washington, they would average $79,976 and $79,068, respectively. While lead electricians would only make an average of $78,249 in California, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Alaska
$79,976
Avg. Salary
2. Vermont
$81,840
Avg. Salary
3. North Dakota
$74,713
Avg. Salary
How Do Lead Electricians Rate Their Jobs?
Top Lead Electrician Employers
Most Common Employers For Lead Electrician
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Magazine | $81,018 | $38.95 | 6 |
| 2 | Vivint Solar | $72,724 | $34.96 | 13 |
| 3 | Fluor Corporation | $67,018 | $32.22 | 8 |
| 4 | Turner Industries | $64,666 | $31.09 | 6 |
| 5 | Nutmeg Technologies | $64,269 | $30.90 | 6 |
| 6 | Direct Energy | $64,138 | $30.84 | 10 |
| 7 | Eldeco | $63,683 | $30.62 | 7 |
| 8 | M.C. Dean | $63,281 | $30.42 | 6 |
| 9 | Walker Engineering | $61,449 | $29.54 | 5 |
| 10 | Helix Electric | $60,949 | $29.30 | 6 |