What you need to know about training to be an electrician

Why should you train to be an electrician?

Changing career paths can be a daunting prospect. Not only does it take a lot of motivation and dedication to learn a new skill, but you’re almost certainly going to be thrust into complex and unfamiliar work scenarios that you’ve never experienced before.

However, with the right attitude and mindset, it can also be an extremely rewarding experience – especially when you pick as interesting and stimulating a career path as studying to be an electrician.

An essential trade that’s always in high demand, an electrician’s work is never done, which means they always have work in the pipeline. As a result, many electricians have access to a great salary potential, as well as a wide range of benefits, including:

• Being your own boss
• Interesting and challenging work
• Varied working environments
• Respect across other trade professions
• Skills that can help you for the rest of your life

Of course, learning such a crucial skill set isn’t for everyone, so the first thing you need to consider if you’re thinking of becoming an electrician is whether or not you’re suited to the job.

Let’s take a closer look at exactly what an electrician does, what their average workday looks like, and how you can start the studying process.

What does an electrician do?

As their name suggests, an electrician’s main responsibilities lie in the designing, installation, maintaining, testing, and repairing of electrical wiring systems and equipment.

The majority of electricians often find their work involves fixing reported problems with electrical systems or installing new lighting and heating systems in people’s homes. But that’s not to say there aren’t even more nuanced and interesting electrical jobs out there in the commercials sector.

What does a typical day for an electrician look like?

As with any professional trade, electricians are often responsible for a huge range of different electrical work and tasks, and as a result, no two working days are ever truly the same.

Here are just some of the typical jobs you might be hired to take on once you’re qualified:

• Installing and rewiring residential buildings
• Carrying out PAT tests on electrical equipment
• Installing fibre optic and broadband cables
• Installing computer network systems
• Designing and installing electrical control panels
• Working with streetlights and traffic management systems
• Working on domestic and commercial construction sites
• Maintaining electrical motors, transformers, and machinery
• Electrical vehicle charging and design

Naturally, alongside all of these potentially exciting challenges, you’ll need to keep on top of an ever-changing set of industry regulations, so you can carry out your work to a high standard.

How much does an electrician earn?

Alongside a varied working environment and great job prospects, those looking to make a career change to an electrician can expect a potentially excellent salary, depending on their overall skill level.

You can find more about what might determine your earnings in our article looking at how much electricians earn, but here is a quick look at the average electrician’s starting salary options:

• Apprentice electricians – £10,000 in their first year and £22,000 in their final year
• Trained electricians – an average salary of £33,000
• Qualified electricians – upwards of £42,000 depending on specialist experience

How do you start studying to be an electrician?

Once you’ve decided that you’d like to become an electrician, you naturally need to get the right qualifications before you can begin work. There are many companies out there that offer electrical training courses, but choosing the right one is extremely important.

Electrical training courses can usually provide a successful student with a City and Guilds qualification, allowing you to focus on becoming a domestic electrician, an industrial electrician, lighting, heating, refrigeration, electric vehicles, or PAT testing.

What’s involved?

Once you join their electrical training course, you’ll be introduced to a variety of study areas, including a general overview of electrical components and theory, which will include high-level maths and physics, as well as various hands-on practical assessments.

And, of course, during your training, you’ll also need to decide on which area of electronics you’ll like to specialise in. So, to help you to decide on this, let’s take a look at the different types of working environments you will be exposed to as you train to be an electrician.

Different electrician working environments

As we’ve already mentioned, electricians can expect to work in a wide variety of different and challenging environments. All of which require the right electrician tools and ingenuity to overcome. These environments could include numerous outdoor and indoor spaces or even a mixture of both.

It’s not uncommon for people in this field to find themselves working in large industrial settings, such as factories, plants, construction sites, and warehouses one week, and then domestic buildings or public spaces the next.

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The type of electrical work you carry out determines your working environment

So, if you enjoy meeting new people, for example then you might want to focus on domestic jobs, which more customer interaction.

However, to become a reputable domestic electrician, it’s also important to be friendly and polite to customers, and you’ll need to be comfortable entering strangers’ homes, neatly highlighting the other skills you’ll need in this role besides technical knowledge.

On the other hand, if you decide to start working as an industrial electrician, you’ll almost certainly need to be a good team player and be respectful of those who will be working alongside you.

Other desirable skills

Electricians in this area often work as part of a team, particularly when laying cables or installing large-scale electrical equipment, and if you work on a construction site, you’ll likely be working with plumbers, builders, and decorators.

For construction site electricians as well, excellent timekeeping is essential. And you’ll always need to view your work as just a small part of a larger project, with an awareness of how the quality of your work could affect the completion of other project tasks.

For more on how to decide what type of electrician to become, why not read our article discussing the differences between commercial and domestic electricians?

What is an electrician’s work-life balance like?

One of the most common reasons cited by those studying to become an electrician is that they wanted a job that improved their work-life balance while also expanding their career options.

And while we could sit here at tell you all the work-life balance benefits and career potential that comes with this type of work, it’s always better to hear it straight from the source.

That’s why we spoke with recently qualified electrician, Mark Brown, who just completed their electrical training course, to give you a genuine insight into their experience of becoming a qualified electrician.

What made you want to re-train as an electrician?

“It’s something I’ve always fancied doing. My dad is an electrician, and I’ve always had an interest in it but thought I’d missed out by not getting an apprenticeship when I was younger.”

“I worked in construction for 19 years, sometimes as an electrician’s mate. Then, at the age of 42, I was made redundant from working offshore due to covid and reassessed my options. I decided that I wanted to be an electrician…. I suppose I always did, but life took me down other roads.”

What was the most difficult part of the training and the most enjoyable?

“The sheer volume of information to be digested and retained was hard, especially having to get back into maths after 30 years.”

“However, this part which I call the hardest was also the most enjoyable, because once you start to get your head around it, you realise that you actually love it. Well, I did anyway. I think it brought out my inner geek.”

How has this training affected your career? Are you now working as an electrician?

“I only completed my last exam, which was a practical one, on Monday the 22/02, so I’m now actively seeking employment as a domestic electrician or even as an electrician’s mate. I’m very optimistic though, as the qualifications I have gained are invaluable.”

Would you recommend this course to other people looking to re-train?

“I would definitely recommend this course to anyone looking to retrain. I can only speak for my own experience regarding the instructor/lecturer that I had, Allan Morrison. He was outstanding.”

“He could go from anecdotal stories from his time as an electrician to the darkest depths of BS 7671 without drawing breath. This enhanced the whole learning experience, as real-world examples really help to make sense of and give perspective to the very formally written regulations.”

Upskilling as an electrician

Of course, even once you’ve become a fully qualified electrician, the learning never stops, and you should always be looking to upskill your services. In fact, upskilling is one of the best ways to expand your potential work options. Here are just a few ways that you can go about doing this:

• Learning how to install specialist technology, such as solar panels and electric vehicle charging points
• Researching correct smart device installation and maintenance
• Improve your sales and business marketing skills
• Look at schemes such as the Registered Competent Person Electrician or BSI accreditation for further qualifications

And on top of these, you can also join Checkatrade to get full access to all our resources!

We’ve plenty of articles discussing everything there is to know about working in the electrical industry, including articles on how to start an electrician business.