How Long Does it Take to Become an Electrician?

A career as an electrician can be very rewarding for many reasons. The income from these jobs is excellent, and there are many different kinds of electrical work that you can choose to focus on for your job. You will also have lots of opportunities to advance and grow in this career, which can be a big benefit if you are looking for future opportunities for advancement.

Becoming an electrician is a little more complicated than just being hired for the job. You will need to be licensed, and there is a training program that you will need to complete to be able to work. The requirements can vary slightly by state, but the basic requirements that you need to meet will be largely the same.

If you are ready to learn some more about how long it takes to become an electrician, you need to keep reading.

How Long Does it Take to Become an Electrician?

There are a few different routes that you can take to become an electrician. You might have access to different ways of starting out in this career in your local area, or you might only be able to become licensed using one method. You might need to do some research to figure out what your options will be in your region of the US before you start making plans to become a licensed electrician.

If you want to skip trade school, the process might only take nine months after you have your GED or high school diploma. If you want to get some credentials under your belt and some hands-on experience before you start working, you might need to commit two to three years to the process of becoming a fully-licensed electrician. Both of these routes to becoming an electrician are valid options, and you can easily have a great career after taking either path.

1. Complete High School or Get a GED

This part of the process will take you four years in total if you are going through high school on the usual schedule, but it might take you less time if you are in an advanced or online schooling program. You will need your high school diploma to be allowed to attend a trade school, so you cannot be homeschooled or work through a non-licensed school program. For those who did not complete high school, the GED can be scheduled and taken within a few months in most cases.

2. Attend Trade School

Trade school will take you anywhere from nine months to two years to complete. If you are getting a full associate's degree, the process of completing school will be two years, but certificate programs can be shorter. This is a great way to get training and exposure to the processes that you will use when you are working, and it will also help you to make connections to get a job when you have your diploma in hand. Trade schools often place people in their first jobs, which can be great if you are not sure where to look for entry-level jobs in this field.

3. Get On-The-Job Training

Electricians will almost always have to complete a set number of hours of training with the supervision of a licensed electrician. The on-the-job training hours will range from 4,000-12,000 hours in most places. The number of hours will depend in part on the state that you are getting licensed in and might also depend upon the requirements of the company or companies that you are considering working with. You can usually also skip trade school and head straight to an apprenticeship program that will give you these hours in lieu of your trade school diploma.

4. Take a Licensing Exam

The licensing exam process might vary per state as well, but in all instances, you will need to be able to show that you have the knowledge to do electrical work safely. This is usually a fee-based test, but there are almost always limitations on the number of times that you can take the test. You might also need to check on the experience requirements that are needed to pass the test so that you are sure that you are ready to take it. You will typically only need to wait a few weeks to take this test.

5. Obtain All The Licenses You Need

There might be more than one license that you will need to complete your daily job tasks. You should look at the standard licenses that are required by companies with a job opening to help guide your licensing determinations. You might need to get these licenses in a certain order as well, so make sure that you check on this information before you pay for a test that you cannot take out of order. The licensing process will usually take a month or two to complete, depending upon the number of licenses that you will need to have in hand to get hired or to move from an apprentice to a fully-licensed electrician.

An Electrician Career Can be Very Rewarding

If you have been pondering becoming an electrician, you now know more about how long it will take you to be ready to become a licensed electrician. There are a couple of ways to start out in this career, and both can be beneficial. The choice between the two routes might be based entirely on your options in your local area, but you may also get the chance to choose between the two options to find the right path for your unique situation.

Electricians make great money, help people to build houses and improve their living spaces, and have a lot of room to grow in their careers. You can also easily gain the experience needed to start your own business if you wish. There are few trades that are as beneficial to select for stability, future opportunities, and excellent compensation. Becoming an electrician will take some commitment at first, but you will be rewarded for your time and energy right away.

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