PathSource - ELECTRICIAN, IN-DEPTH: You Have To Use Your Brain When Handling 5,000 Kilowatts

× We offer our visitors 5 free video views. Download the free iOS app here for access to thousands of videos. Schools may contact us for full platform access.

Tags:

ELECTRICIAN, IN-DEPTH: You Have To Use Your Brain When Handling 5,000 Kilowatts

About this video

David, an Electrician, describes what he loves most about his job, its challenges, why he chose to be an Electrician, and how hard it is to get a job in his field. It's a great feeling when you successfully solve a problem and help people, using your hands AND your smarts.

Degree: Speech Communication

Job Title: Electrician

Job Summary: Electricians

Job Description

Electricians install and maintain electrical systems in homes, businesses, and factories. Almost every building has an electrical system that is installed during construction and maintained after that. Electricians do both the installing and maintaining of electrical systems.

On-the-Job Training

Apprenticeship

Additional Info

Most states require licensure. Requirements vary by state. Contact your state's licensing agency for more information.

Quick Facts

Average salary

National Statistic Change Location

Confirm

$30,000 - $80,000

Projected Job Growth

20 to 30 percent

Typical schedule

Full-time

Typical workplace

Indoor, Physically demanding, Office

Personal Qualities

Leadership ability, People skills, Problem solving skills, Technical skills

Educational Path

Education Requirement

High school degree

Recommended Education Degree

High school degree
Associate degree

Recommended Majors

Electrician
Electrical Engineering
Electromechanical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Mathematics

Related Careers

Computer
ATM
and Office Machine Repairers
Construction Laborers and Helpers
Drafters
Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technicians
Electrical and Electronics Installers and Repairers
Elevator Installers and Repairers
Heating
Air Conditioning
and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers
Home Entertainment Equipment Installers and Repairers
Line Installers and Repairers

View Detailed Career Data

PathSource provides free English transcriptions for each of our informational interviews on video which will appear here after you have signed in. Our advanced transcriptions are highly interactive. They scroll down automatically as the video plays and users can jump to a specific part of the video by clicking on any word in the transcript.

For a small fee, we offer transcriptions in different languages, making PathSource a great tool for English Language Learners. This feature is currently available for customers in the education field only.

Please contact us at support@pathsoruce.com if you have any questions or would like to get a price quote for advanced transcripts offered in a second language.

P3.instances[0].transcript.parse_transcript_data({"transcript":"What I like most about being an electrician is putting things together and then working. It's kind of a nerd thing to say, but it's kind of a good feeling when you work hard on something that it ends up working. And I don't work behind a desk. I'm the type of guy, I need to be moving, I need to be doing something, and it just fit. And plus, I'm good at math. The challenge for me is getting up at the crack of dawn-- I'm sure that is with everybody. But having to think about what you do to a T so you don't hurt anybody, or kill anybody, or kill yourself even. There's a lot more thought process involved when you're dealing with 5,000 kilowatts rather than a little house plug or something like that. You really have to use your brain and you really have to make sure you're doing the right thing, or it could be a catastrophe. You could blow up a panel. You can blow up a house. The most dangerous fires in the house are electrical fires. So if we mess up, people get hurt. Well, I had a friend that was a glazier. For those of you don't know what that is, they work on windows. And I said, how do you get into that? I'm looking to do something else. I'm looking to basically expand my portfolio. And he said, you don't want to do this. You either want to be a plumber or an electrician. They don't work as hard and they make the most money. All of them work hard. None of them work less, it's just a different kind of work. So that's the main things why I chose to be an electrician. And plus, it was the most math involved, more than physical labor. So that's why-- I wanted to be able to use my brain as well as be able to move around. Is it hard to get a job as an electrician? It can be, but for the most part it's not. You can either go through the union or just learn the trade on your own. Go to an non-union shop, be an apprentice. But there's always construction work going on. If somebody's willing to give you a job or give you an opportunity to do that, I'm sure they would. But through the union there's a process. It's just like applying for a job-- there's a background check, all that other stuff, you have to take a test. But if you want to work in construction, all you have to go is go to a site-- you guys need any help? You can be a laborer, whatever. But they're going to start you off at the bottom of the barrel, then you got to work your way up. ","file":{"id":311470,"video_id":"2844371942001","name":"1456-David-Electrician2","duration":145357,"thumbnail_url":null}});