Career Changers

Professional electricians are not manual laborers, yet most of them don’t work desk jobs, either. More than 300,000 electrical workers have found that the field offers unlimited mobility, excellent compensation—including health insurance and a pension plan, and even educational opportunities. And in case you are wondering, the need for electricians and line workers in growing!

Powering America careers can be broadly divided into four segments: “Inside” which includes standard electrical installation and maintenance for office buildings, retail stores, manufacturing plants, malls, and more; “Voice Data Video” which includes the installation and maintenance of computer networks, internet connections, fiber optic systems, life, health, and safety equipment, and voice, data, and video systems; “Outside” which includes specialized high-voltage cabling and equipment for utilities to bring electricity from the generating plants to the consumer and low-voltage cabling and equipment for long-distance communications; and “Residential” which includes electrical installations and maintenance in our homes and apartments.

Here’s what a Powering America career can mean:

College Credits – anyone completing our career education programs may be eligible to receive from 22 to 58 credits toward the award of an associate’s degree. We also enable credits earned in our apprenticeship programs to be transferred to a four-year college for application towards a bachelor’s degree. All of this without incurring debt!

Pay & Benefits – our apprenticeship programs combine formal, instructor-led class work with real work experience. It is possible for individuals to earn total wages of from $80,000 to $150,000 during a three- to five-year apprenticeship—earning while they learn. There are excellent benefits as well.

A Future – there dozens of Powering America career choices, from technical to managerial to entrepreneurial. The place to begin is with apprenticeship training. With it, it is possible to build exciting, challenging, and rewarding lifelong careers.
Powering America professionals say they enjoy this work. They will tell you it’s a great career because the work engages the mind. It is challenging, it can be physically demanding, but it is also rewarding. And, beyond that, our electrical and technical professionals can, and often do, become supervisors or take management positions within the companies they work for. In some cases, they even purchase the company or start a new company of their own. In one study it was found that 7 out of 10 of the owners and senior managers of electrical, line, and technical contractors started their careers as apprentices. Some may become electrical inspectors or safety professionals, some may return to school to become engineers or project managers, where credits earned under an apprenticeship program can be a real help.

Our programs don’t lock people into a job, they unlock opportunities. A choice of programs is available to qualified men and women. Don’t let job titles like “journeyman” fool you, many women have built successful careers through our programs, and our industry is always on the lookout for bright, capable applicants regardless of gender or any other factor.

How Can I Get More Information?

The electrical training ALLIANCE is a nonprofit organization that works with the Powering America team to train the next generation of electrical workers. The ALLIANCE consists of 300 joint apprenticeship and training centers (JATCs) in the United States and Canada, more than 100 electrical industry manufacturers and training partners, and a vast network of public and private educational institutions from secondary school level to the university level.

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Inside Wiring

Commercial and Industrial electricians (Inside Wiremen) install power, lighting, controls and other electrical equipment in buildings. The table below shows the approximate percentage of Linemen performing specific duties.

99% Installing New Wiring and Repairing Old Wiring
98% Installing Receptacles, Lighting Systems and Fixtures
97% Planning and Installing Raceway Systems
94% Troubleshooting and Repairing Electrical Systems
92% Planning and Initiating Projects
92% Supervising Journeymen and Apprentices
88% Establishing Temporary Power During Construction
88% Establishing Power Distribution within Project
87% Establishing Grounding Systems
86% Installing Service to Buildings and Other Structures
86% Providing Power and Controls to Motors, HVAC, and Other Equipment
82% Installing Fire Alarm Systems
71% Installing and Repairing Traffic Signals, Outdoor Lighting, and Outdoor Power Feeders

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Voice Data Video

Voice Data Video Installer Technicians install circuits and equipment for low voltage systems, such as phones and computer networks. Many of the work processes of VDV Installer Technicians are listed below:

– Plan and Initiate Projects
– Install Underground Voice or Data Circuit Feeders to Entrance Facilities
– Provide or Connect to the Grounding Electrode System
– Install Pathways and Spaces for Installation of Low Voltage Wiring
– Install, Terminate and Test Wires and Cables, both Copper and Fiber-Optic
– Install, Test, Certify and Troubleshoot Local Area Network (LAN) Cabling Systems
– Lay Out, Install and Verify Operation of Security and Access Control Systems
– Install Communications and Sound Distribution Systems
– Provide Testing, Analysis and Repair of Video, Voice and Data Systems; including Electronic Devices such as Gateways, Routers, Hubs, NIC Cards, Telephone Switches, etc.
– Prefabricate Systems, such as Telecommunications Racks, for Field Installation
– Work on other Sub-systems such as Communications, Entertainment, Environmental, Life Safety, Energy Management and Custom Lighting

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Residential

HVAC technician using a meter to check heat pump amperage

Residential Wiremen install all of the electrical systems in single-family and multi-family houses or dwellings. Many of the work processes of Residential Wiremen are listed below:

– Plan and Initiate Projects
– Install Underground Power Circuit and Telephone Feeders to Entrance Facilities
– Provide or Connect to the Grounding Electrode System
– Install Pathways and Spaces for Installation of Low Voltage Wiring
– Install Pathways and Circuit Conductors for Power Distribution
– Test, Certify and Troubleshoot All System Wiring Installations
– Install and Verify Operation of Security, Fire Alarm and Access Control Systems
– Install Sound and Cable TV Distribution Systems
– Install Local Area Network Systems
– Install and Work on other subsystems such as Heating/Air Conditioning, Solar Voltaic Generation and Energy Management Systems

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Outside Line

The table below shows the approximate percentage of Linemen performing specific duties.

96% Installing and Maintaining Transformers and Other Equipment
93% Stringing New Wire or Maintaining Old Wire
92% Supervising Journeymen and Apprentices
91% Installing and Maintaining Insulators
91% Establishing Work Position for Maintaining and Repairing Overhead Distribution or Transmission Lines
87% Planning and Initiating Project
81% Establishing OSHA and Customer Safety Requirements
81% Setting of Towers, Poles and Construction of Other Devices to Hold Electrical Wiring
69% Installing, Repairing and Maintaining an Underground Electrical Distribution System
65% Assembly and Erection of Substations
56% Installing, Maintaining and Repairing Traffic or Train Signals and Outdoor Lighting
50% Tree Trimming