Electricians
Install, maintain, and repair electrical wiring, equipment, and fixtures. Ensure that work is in accordance with relevant codes. May install or service street lights, intercom systems, or electrical control systems.
Most important skills
- Troubleshooting
- Repairing
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
- Installation
- Quality Control Analysis
Key knowledge
- Building and Construction
- Administration and Management
- Mechanical
- Mathematics
- Design
- Customer and Personal Service
- Public Safety and Security
- Psychology
What the work involves
- Assemble, install, test, or maintain electrical or electronic wiring, equipment, appliances, apparatus, or fixtures, using hand tools or power tools.
- Diagnose malfunctioning systems, apparatus, or components, using test equipment and hand tools to locate the cause of a breakdown and correct the problem.
- Connect wires to circuit breakers, transformers, or other components.
- Inspect electrical systems, equipment, or components to identify hazards, defects, or the need for adjustment or repair, and to ensure compliance with codes.
- Advise management on whether continued operation of equipment could be hazardous.
- Test electrical systems or continuity of circuits in electrical wiring, equipment, or fixtures, using testing devices, such as ohmmeters, voltmeters, or oscilloscopes, to ensure compatibility and safety of system.
- Maintain current electrician's license or identification card to meet governmental regulations.
- Plan layout and installation of electrical wiring, equipment, or fixtures, based on job specifications and local codes.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Post-Secondary Certificate (61.7% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (28%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 4 years, up to and including 10 years (36.8%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Electricians is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very high | Higher on contact with others than 82% of occupations compared | 78% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 67% of occupations compared | — |
| Teamwork | High | Higher on teamwork than 75% of occupations compared | — |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 80% of occupations compared | — |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 83% of occupations compared | — |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 70% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 73% of occupations compared | — |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 66% of occupations compared | — |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 1%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 20.71%
- Constant contact with others: 78.29%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2022
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 5.91%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Extremely important: 21.54%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2022
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 1%
- Very important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Extremely important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2022
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 1.01%
- Limited freedom: 4.39%
- Some freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- A lot of freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2022
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0.86%
- Once a month or more but not every week: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a week or more but not every day: 26.69%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2022
Conflict situations
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a month or more but not every week: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a week or more but not every day: 1.86%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2022
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a month or more but not every week: 19.98%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 7.96%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2022
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 15.37%
- Fairly serious: 1.22%
- Serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Extremely serious: 4.99%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2022
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O*NET-SOC 47-2111.00 · SOC 47-2111 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8