How To Become A Solar Power Installer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a solar power installer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a solar power installer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $17.96 an hour? That's $37,358 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 27% and produce 4,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreSolar Power InstallerUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $37,358

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.8

Growth rate 27%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

0.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.53%

Asian 5.79%

Black or African American 15.79%

Hispanic or Latino 36.32%

Unknown 6.32%

White 35.26%

Gender

female 6.90%

male 93.10%

Age - 27

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 - 27

Stress level

6.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.7

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a solar power installer

Explore solar power installer education requirements

Most common solar power installer degrees

Associate

33.3 %

High School Diploma

29.6 %

Bachelor's

18.5 %

Start to develop specific solar power installer skills

Skills	Percentages
Rectifiers	41.07%
Solar Power	30.97%
Electrical Equipment	7.92%
RAN	7.37%
Installation Process	5.57%

Complete relevant solar power installer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New solar power installers 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 solar power installer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real solar power installer resumes.

Research solar power installer duties and responsibilities

Manage telecommunications, data and CCTV equipment.
Sound knowledge of the DC power and batteries along with chargers and power boards.
Dig trenches, install conduit, pull electrical cable, and perform miscellaneous manual labor functions as directed.
Drive grind rods into the ground, dig holes with shovel or auger truck for the installation of wood poles.

Get solar power installer experience

Generally, it takes 6-12 months to become a solar power installer. The most common roles before becoming a solar power installer include lead installer, installer team lead and installation technician.

Prepare your solar power installer resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable solar power installer resume templates

Build a professional solar power installer 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 solar power installer resume.