Part of knowing whether becoming an electrician is right for you is understanding what your day-to-day lifestyle will be like. Depending on what kind of electrician you are becoming, your day can look very different. From routine maintenance calls to running power to a major public event, and even repairing specialized systems like solar panels, there is an opportunity to do many different things within your workday. Nexstar Jobs takes a look at what a typical day looks like for an electrician and some of the things you might run into on the job.
Electrician’s Working Hours
Just like any job, electricians have hours and shifts that they are expected to show up to, and they often line up loosely with regular working hours. Most electricians work a typical 8 to 4:30 shift during the weekday. But, depending on specialization and where the electrician is an apprentice/journeyman, those hours could be 7 to 3:30 or fewer hours per day but more days per week. Unlike other jobs, electricians often have emergency on-call hours or special assignments that run late. Because electrician work is often project-based, electricians need to budget for when they go longer than expected, which can also affect hours.
Another thing that changes hours is if the electrician is working for a company or is an independent contractor. As a contractor, you can set your own schedule, while working for a company comes with more benefits, but jobs are assigned and hours are more rigid.
Typical Tasks For Electricians
The types of tasks vary heavily depending on the electrician’s specialization, but general electricians tend to carry out a fairly predictable list of maintenance and improvement activities for homeowners and businesses. From working on breaker boxes to helping install appliances, general electricians are called in. Working out of a company van, these tasks can sometimes be short, and a day can have many houses or business calls. In the case of a new home or larger project, there can be a task that takes days or longer.
New Scenery, New Opportunities
While the lifestyle isn’t for everyone, electricians enjoy particular freedoms and flexibility in their work. Finishing projects early can shorten a workday, and usually, there isn’t a “quarterly” rush where vacations are restricted. Plus, instead of spending 8 hours in the same spot, staring at a screen, electricians get to experience a new job site every day and make their van their office. If you are someone who feels that a 9-5 isn’t the right fit and that you are ready to start a job where you can work on your feet and with people, Nexstar Jobs can help. We manage an online list of electrical vacancies that cover every skill level and specialization that is updated regularly. We believe that you should enjoy what you do and that we can help you find somewhere that rings true for you. Visit our website today to see how we match contractors to the jobs they had in mind. https://jobs.nexstarnetwork.com/job-search-resources.