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What is a licensed electrician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted expert
Ronald Widdoss

As a licensed electrician, you will need to install, maintain, and repair electrical power, lighting control systems, and communications systems. Your training and work experience will allow you to professionally analyze, detect, and fix electrical problems in businesses and residential homes.

Major responsibilities as a licensed electrician include reading blueprints or technical diagrams and installing and maintaining wiring. You may also need to inspect electrical components and know how to work on transformers and circuit breakers. Licensed electricians are experts at identifying electrical problems using different testing devices.

To become licensed, you will need to complete an electrician apprenticeship program or complete an electrician program at a trade or technical school. You may need to show three to five years of electrical experience and prove you are comfortable reading and understanding electrical blueprints and schematics. There are good positions available for a licensed electrician, and your beginning salary could be $48,000 a year.

What general advice would you give to a licensed electrician?

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.
ScoreLicensed ElectricianUS Average
Salary
4.4

Avg. Salary $56,328

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
7.6

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
8.7
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.87%

Asian 2.29%

Black or African American 8.98%

Hispanic or Latino 18.86%

Unknown 4.29%

White 64.71%

Gender

female 2.11%

male 97.89%

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

Licensed electrician career paths

Key steps to become a licensed electrician

  1. Explore licensed electrician education requirements

    Most common licensed electrician degrees

    High School Diploma

    35.7 %

    Associate

    27.4 %

    Bachelor's

    14.0 %
  2. Start to develop specific licensed electrician skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Electrical Equipment14.48%
    Ladders13.76%
    NEC10.09%
    Hand Tools9.42%
    Electrical Issues3.64%
  3. Complete relevant licensed electrician training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 4-10 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New licensed electricians 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 a licensed electrician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real licensed electrician resumes.
  4. Obtain the necessary licensing

    Becoming a licensed licensed electrician usually doesn't require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed licensed electrician in most of states. 25 states require licensed electricians to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.
    StateEducationExamLicense url
    Alabama-State exam requiredLicensed Journeyman Electrician
    Alaska-State exam requiredElectrical Worker
    Arkansas-Third-party exam requiredJourneyman Electrician
    Colorado-State exam requiredJourneyman Electrician
    HawaiiDegree requiredState exam requiredElectrician
  5. Research licensed electrician duties and responsibilities

    • Remove, analyze, identify issue install properly working pressure transducers, effectively accomplishing priorities to go underway.
    • Trouble shoot any electrical problems, install VFD's and PLC's for the oil field.
    • Comply with all local codes, NEC, safety procedures, OSHA, EPA, waste handling rules, job specs.
    • Maintain OSHA certifications for all large projects.
  6. Prepare your licensed electrician resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your licensed electrician 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 a licensed electrician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable licensed electrician resume templates

    Build a professional licensed electrician 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 licensed electrician resume.
    Licensed Electrician Resume
    Licensed Electrician Resume
    Licensed Electrician Resume
    Licensed Electrician Resume
    Licensed Electrician Resume
    Licensed Electrician Resume
    Licensed Electrician Resume
    Licensed Electrician Resume
    Licensed Electrician Resume
  7. Apply for licensed electrician jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a licensed electrician job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first licensed electrician job

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Average licensed electrician salary

The average licensed electrician salary in the United States is $56,328 per year or $27 per hour. Licensed electrician salaries range between $37,000 and $84,000 per year.

Average licensed electrician salary
$56,328 Yearly
$27.08 hourly

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How do licensed electricians rate their job?

-/5

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Licensed electrician reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2023
Pros

Thinking about the job while working the job

Cons

Bending pipe,cause it cost me money if the measurements is off


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2022
Pros

Is to keep lights burning to satisfy customers

Cons

The customers siting on the dark


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A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2022
Cons

Retarded trades who think they are special. They don't realise to be an electrician requires superior brain power, something they can only dream about. Hence the continual flapping of their gums trying to make us believe their dull useless lives are interesting.

Pros

Nothing? Its the worst job on site and you have to put up with working with uneducated divs. And thats just the management.


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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