Wired for Success: Career Insights from a Master Electrician – JobGuppy
Summary:
In this conversation, Josh Grooms, a master electrician, discusses his role and experiences in the electrical trade. He shares insights into the daily tasks and projects of an electrician, including working in attics and troubleshooting electrical issues. Josh also highlights the variety of work and job satisfaction that comes with being an electrician. He discusses the transition to business ownership and the responsibilities that come with it.
Josh provides advice for those considering a career as an electrician, emphasizing the importance of physical labor and the ability to adapt to different tasks. He also shares insights into income and financial growth in the field and provides resources for job searches and union information.
Josh’s Bio:
– Union Apprenticeship
– Journeyman
– Foreman
– Commercial Field
– Industrial Field
– Service Electrician in the Residential Field
– Business Owner
Career advice:
– Look for local unions to start learning the trade.
– Listen and learn from those around you.
– Electricians can be a rough crowd. Be prepared for this and don’t let your peers and superiors knock you down.
Service Electrician in the Residential Field Description:
- If you are running new electrical routes it can involve lots of digging and being dirty.
- Climbing ladders and working in attics.
- Performing diagnostics on faulty electrical outlets.
- Example Projects:
- Kitchen remodel
- Looking for broken wires from rodents chewing through them
- Diagnosing
Educational Requirements:
- While a college degree is not required, there is still a formal process to advance as an electrician.
- Here is an article showing the number of hours required in Texas to advance: How to Become an Electrician in Texas.
- Example School Programs
- Penn Foster Online Electrician School Program for a Residential Electrician.
- Austin Career Institute Electrician School Training
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
- Find your local Electrician’s Union chapter: IBEW Directory
Skills Needed:
- Ability to do physical labor.
- Some jobs allow for work in isolation. Others will require working with others.
- If this is important to you, discuss this during the interview process.
- Learning electrical code.
Job Search Terms:
- Electrician Apprentice or Helper
- Journeyman Electrician
- Wireman
- Industrial Electrician
- Master Electrician
Potential Job Sites:
- Job Board on the Electrician’s Union Website.
- Example job search showing Fox Service Company’s Careers page in Austin, TX
- Example job search for the title of Electrician on LinkedIn.
Income & Salary:
- Job Search on the Electrician’s Union Website shows the following ranges:
- Listings across the U.S. ranged from $26-$60/hr range.
- Texas Inside Journeyman Wireman: $27-$34/hr
- Illinois Journeyman Signal Technician: $59/hr
- From the interview, Josh suggests the income range for a good electrician in Austin, TX area may be between $75k-$80k/yr. And leadership roles may get up to $110k-$135k range.
- Glassdoor is showing $34k – $59k/yr when searching for the general title of Electrician. Some example companies where the military, Tesla, Amtrak, Boeing, and the Union.
Get in Touch
Podcast Chapters
- 00:00 Intro
02:34 Career Path and Experience
03:28 What does your week look like?
05:08 What are the various electrician industries?
06:14 What are some example tasks?
10:22 Time breakdown
13:51 Options to work alone or in a group
15:31 Different ‘niches’ for electricians
16:14 Experience needed to be a Service Electrician
16:49 How did you know you wanted to be an electrician?
18:50 What can a career path look like?
23:30 Discussing the Electrician’s Union
24:22 Surprises, likes, and dislikes
25:33 Education requirements and ongoing certification requirements
28:30 Income growth opportunities
32:19 Importance of location and weather conditions
33:05 Job searching
34:29 Parting advice and inspirational words
35:33 That’s a wrap