In 2021, the average U.S. household owned a staggering 25 connected devices. These included smartphones, laptops, and smart TVs, to name a few.
What’s more, experts say global appliance sales increased in the same year. Small appliance sales rose by 21%, while those for large appliances jumped by 31%.
All those figures prove that reliance on electronic devices and electricity is increasing.
It’s no wonder then that electricians have also become more in demand. Thus, if you’ve always wanted to become one, you might have wondered how much you can make.
So how much does the average electrician make, then? What factors influence their salary, and is there anything they can do to boost it?
We’ll answer all those questions and more in this electrician guide, so read on.
How Much Does the Average Electrician Make?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, electricians made a mean wage of $63,310 in 2021. That translates to an hourly pay of $30.44 on average. As for the median, the yearly rate was $60,040 or $28.87 per hour.
Median, in turn, is the mid point of electrician wages. That means half of U.S. electricians made less than $60,040 while the rest made more.
What Factors Influence an Electrician’s Wage?
One of the factors that have a bearing on how much electricians make is their area of specialization. So do their professional level or classification, location, and client base. Employer-provided bonuses can also raise their wages.
Area of Specialization
Let’s say you look up residential electricians near me online. You’ll likely get several results wherein the experts say they’re also commercial electricians. You might even find a few stating they’re also marine electricians.
Those terms (i.e., residential, commercial, or marine) refer to an electrician’s specialization. They also indicate the professional’s salary range; residential electricians often make the least. After all, home electrical systems are less complex than commercial and marine systems.
Service Location
In many cases, an electrician servicing places with a higher cost of living makes more.
Likewise, the higher the number of service locations, the more an electrician can make. Think about it; the more areas they cater to, the more customers they can serve. And the more happy clients they get, the more profits they can reap.
By contrast, electricians in rural areas often make less as they also often have a lower cost of living. Moreover, they have fewer potential customers since these places usually have fewer residents.
Professional Level or Classification
Another factor that can boost an electrician’s wage is their professional level. In the U.S., there are three: apprentice, journeyman, and master.
Apprentices are electricians-in-training; they either attend a trade school or undergo apprenticeship. Their training, in turn, can take three to four years, sometimes even five, to complete. Once they finish their official “schooling,” they become journeymen electricians.
Another thing to note is that apprentice electricians can’t conduct jobs alone. Instead, they must work under the supervision of a journeyman or master electrician. That’s why apprentices make the least, while journeymen and master electricians make more.
Once licensed, journeymen can start gaining more experience to become master electricians. Their wages increase at this point but may continue to go up throughout a few years. Over this period, they strive to get at least 4,000 hours of work experience.
After completing those work hours, journeymen can take the master electrician exam. Passing that test gives them the highest professional classification.
All that experience allows master electricians to make the most money. Moreover, they can have journeymen and apprentices work for them.
Employer-Provided Bonuses
Some companies offer signing/sign-on bonuses to electricians they hire. It’s usually cash and divided and spread over a few months. So, if you’re lucky to get this, you can expect your wage to be higher during the first few months of working.
Electrical contractors may also provide bonuses based on an electrician’s performance. Therefore, they often require meeting key performance indicators (KPIs). The employed electrician receives the incentive if they meet or exceed the set KPIs.
Many electricians also receive Christmas or holiday bonuses. But they may get paid even more if they complete jobs during holidays or weekends.
How Can You Make More as an Electrician?
One of the best ways to increase your wages as an electrician is to get as many jobs as possible. Whether you get paid by the hour or per job, the more you take, the more money you can make. Just be sure not to overwork yourself, though.
Additionally, the number of hours or jobs you do adds to your work experience. So, the more work or hours you put in, the closer you get to completing the prerequisites to become a journeyman. And once you become a licensed journeyman, you can start earning more.
Likewise, the more hours you put in as a journeyman, the sooner you can take the master electrician exam.
You can also make more money as an electrician if you specialize in more than one area. An example is becoming a licensed residential and commercial electrician. And if you’re still not happy, you can also work as a marine, aviation, or automotive electrician.
You should also apply to electrical contracting companies offering employee bonuses. Then, review and compare their offers to determine the one with the best incentives.
Just as vital, though, is to check what the companies’ current and past employees have to say. Please pay particular attention to reviews about their working environment and workplace morale. Even if a company offers excellent bonuses, don’t work there if it has unhappy workers.
Start Training to Become the Best Electrician
And there you have it, the guide to the question, how much does the average electrician make? Now you know they can make over $60,000 yearly, or more than $30 an hour. However, you also learned that factors like levels and location allow them to make more.
So, if you’d like to become an electrician, use all that new knowledge to your advantage.
Are you interested in reading more informative articles like this? Then please feel free to check out our other recent news and blog posts!
