What Does The Career Outlook For Electricians Look Like?

Licensed electricians deal in designing, installing, maintaining, and repairing electrical connections and fixtures in a structure. Whether it is a residential property, commercial property, or a public structure, electricians work with the electrical circuits, networks, connections, appliances, and components of such structures.

Most electricians either go to a technical school or enroll in an apprenticeship program to learn the ins and outs of the job. If you are looking to build a career as an electrician or are already one and looking to advance your professional life further, you have numerous options. One might think that an electrician only repairs faulty light bulbs in the house. However, their job entails more than just that. If you wish to learn more about being an electrician, here’s a comprehensive career outlook on the same.

Most common roles and responsibilities of an electrician

The roles and responsibilities of an electrician change depending upon the nature of the job they take up. A simple task might only need them to fix a circuit break or a fuse. However, a critical task might need them to examine blueprints of a building, trace extensive faulty connections or design the entire electrical network for a massive office building. All in all, some of the most common roles and responsibilities of an electrician are as follows:

• Circuit continuity testing
• Electrical network blueprint designing
• Assembly, installation, and testing entire electrical networks
• Connect cables to connectors and terminals
• Install and test electrical switchboards
• Power supply connection installation for electrical components
• Repair all faulty connections and components

Skills and abilities required to become an electrician

When it comes to the skills and abilities required for this job, the list is pretty simple and straightforward. Apart from getting a certification or attending a technical school, here are the common skills and abilities you should have to become a successful and reliable electrician.

• Critical thinking
• Troubleshooting
• Repairing
• Installation
• Coordination with others
• Visualisation
• Color differentiation
• Oral comprehension
• Near vision
• Doing active physical work
• Handling risky and small objects
• Technical and mechanical design
• Customer service

These skills and abilities are only informative and you need not have all of them to become an electrician. However, having all or some of them helps you carry out your tasks better and minimise risks of errors or damages.

Job prospects for electricians

Electricians can find work in virtually any industry. Whether you wish to work as an individual contractor, run your own company, or work as an employee for another company, almost every building requires electrical help and maintenance. The main industries where electricians are in high demand are electricity services, gas services manufacturing, construction, mining, and water and waste services.

The number of full-time electricians in Australia grew to 140,700 in 2019 (Australian Government Job Outlook). This is a 4.5% increase since 2015. Being an electrician is an accomplished occupation and can bring in weekly earnings of about $1,823. This number is fairly high when compared to the national average of $1,460. Do remember that when starting out, the earnings can be low and scattered. However, electricians are usually able to earn more when they’ve spent a few years in the industry and built credibility for themselves.

The average working hours for an electrician are also quite normal. An electrician usually works 45 hours a week if they have decided to pursue this career full-time. It’s also note-worthy to mention here that the field, while male-dominated, has female professionals as well. About 2% of all electricians in Australia are female. This means that if you are a female and interested in being an electrician, you must grab the opportunity.

Securing your practice financially as an electrician

Keeping track of your expenses and taking on lucrative projects is an excellent way of gaining financial stability and turning impressive profits as an electrician. However, securing yourself financially is crucial as well. There are numerous risks involved in your field and slight negligence can cause massive damages to your clients.

Investing in a Professional Indemnity Insurance for electricians is an excellent way of securing yourself against such risks. In case a client file for damages, Professional Indemnity Insurance from BizCover can help you take care of all legal fees (up to a limit) and also pay for damage payments. This way, you don’t need to take out a chunk of money from your incoming cash flows and you can maintain financial stability as well.

Conclusion

Building a career as an electrician is a lucrative option and can help you gain impressive financial stability. There are ample opportunities for electricians to find work since there will always be some electrical issue that needs fixing. If you are looking to advance your professional life as an electrician, you should understand the roles and responsibilities, complete your training, and secure your practice to ensure a successful career.