A Typical Day

Franco, the electrician I shadowed, sees around 2-3 clients a day. He installs electrical wiring, lights, outlets and other electrical devices as well as configuring and maintaining electrical systems.

Top 3 Perks

1) It’s rewarding to solve seemingly impossible problems
2) Mental and physical work
3) Job autonomy

Job Culture

Indoors and outdoors, on ladders, lots of physical work, problem solving, face to face discussions with clients, installations, maintenance, working occasional weekends or evenings

My Experience

The electrician I job shadowed is named Franco and he is originally from Italy. He has a fairly unique story and has always had a love for electronics. When he was around six years old he used to play with the outlets in his house. This is dangerous, and even more in Italy since their voltage is 220 volts versus our 120 volts. He was amazed by electricity and he said he used to jam anything made of metal in the outlets (bad kid…). Franco continued to be passionate about electricity and got a degree as an electronic technician. He then moved here from Italy and after a bunch of years working here he just had to write an exam, however this is not a typical path to become an electrician. This passion and curiosity fuels his work day in and day out; however, since he loves playing and problem solving with electricity he really dislikes using manuals and instructions.

The day I watched Franco, he installed a chandelier, which seemed more technical than I anticipated with all these little parts and crystals. The chandelier came with instructions for installation, but Franco loves the challenge so he tried to install it without the instructions. Even though it took him a while, he did it, which is pretty impressive because the instructions looked very technical. He was also finishing up wiring an older home which required some detective like work to find the pathway of the wires.

Although he does a lot of installations the majority of Franco’s work is wiring and when he does this he is all over the house. He uses walky talkies with a partner and climbs up into attics, crawlspaces, and everywhere else. It looks physically exhausting and during all this he is working out the problems mentally as well.

 

Requirements

1) Complete a 4-5 year apprenticeship which includes on the job training and in class
2) Become a journeyman electrician by passing an exam

Skills Needed

Problem solving, physical strength, good with hands, patience, open mindedness, technical skills, good eyesight, math skills

The Field

- Electrical regulations change very often which can be frustrating
- The field is shrinking and Franco says he definitely has more business due to less electricians around