What Electricians Do and Who Hires Them

What the work looks like

Electricians install, maintain, and troubleshoot the systems that deliver power, lighting, and controls to buildings and machines. The work splits into three main lanes: residential (houses and apartments), commercial (offices, retail, institutional), and industrial (factories, refineries, plants). A first-year apprentice in any lane spends the first months pulling wire, bending conduit, and fetching for the journeyman. By year two you are making up boxes, trimming out fixtures, and terminating devices. By year four you are running small jobs.

US apprenticeships usually run 4 or 5 years (8,000 hours on-the-job plus classroom). The IBEW/NECA joint apprenticeship is the biggest union path and is typically the highest-paying entry. Non-union ABC/IEC apprenticeships are common in right-to-work states and many sunbelt markets.

Common entry titles: electrical apprentice, electrical helper, low-voltage apprentice, and cable installer. First-year apprentice pay in most US markets is $18 to $25 per hour; by journeyman scale (year 5) it is often $35 to $55 per hour plus pension and health. Union locals post scale publicly so you can check.

Employers hiring at this level include commercial contractors (Rosendin, Cupertino Electric, MYR Group), mechanical and electrical firms, industrial service companies, residential service shops, and municipal public-works departments.

Safety and tools

PPE: hard hat, safety glasses, arc-rated FR clothing for any panel work, Class 0 or Class 2 rubber insulating gloves with leather protectors for energized work, steel-toe boots. Always wear your badge with voltage rating visible.

Core tools an apprentice buys first: Klein 8-inch lineman pliers, Klein needle-nose, wire strippers (Klein Kurve 11055 is the industry default), Klein 9-in-1 screwdriver, tape measure, utility knife, torpedo level, and a non-contact voltage tester. A CAT III or CAT IV digital multimeter comes next. A 1/2-inch EMT hand bender is often the first piece of conduit tool any apprentice buys.

The NEC (NFPA 70) is the code every electrician works under. Your local jurisdiction may amend it. OSHA 1910.333 and NFPA 70E govern safe work practices around energized equipment and define the arc-flash boundaries and PPE categories.

Your first exercise

Find your nearest IBEW local and your nearest ABC or IEC chapter. Note the next apprenticeship enrollment window. Prerequisites are typically: 18 years old, high school diploma or GED, valid driver license, drug test, and a passing score on an aptitude test (often algebra and reading comprehension). Schedule a study hour for basic algebra if you have not used it in a while.

Where to go next

For residential-focused apprentices: Residential Wiring and Electrical Code & Permits. For commercial: Conduit Bending, Electrical Wiring, Reading Electrical Schematics, Service Panels & Load Centers. For industrial: Industrial Electrical Systems, Motor Controls & Starters, PLC Programming Basics (Introduction to PLC Programming), Reading Electrical Schematics. Low-voltage and specialty work: Low Voltage Wiring. Safety foundations: Workplace Safety, Lockout/Tagout (LOTO), Confined Space Entry, Fall Protection.