| Without electricians, you would not be able to read this | | | | work for homeowners including rewiring a home, |
| article on your computer in your home or apartment | | | | replacing a broken fuse box, installing new lighting and |
| cooled by the air-conditioning system. Electricians are | | | | other electric household items. As for electricians |
| the people who install, connect, test, and maintain | | | | specialized in factory work, they will have to repair |
| electrical systems for a large of purposes such as | | | | motors, transformers, generators, and electronic |
| lighting, climate control, security, and communications. | | | | controllers on machine tools and industrial robots. |
| Most electricians tend to specialize either in | | | | How to become an electrician? In order to become an |
| construction or in maintenance work, even though an | | | | electrician, you will have to complete an apprenticeship |
| increasing number of electricians can do both. For | | | | electrician program typically lasting 4 to 5 years. During |
| electricians specialized in construction work, it mainly | | | | this apprentice electrician program, students alternate |
| consists of installing wiring systems into newly built | | | | between on-the-job training with related classroom |
| houses, businesses, and factories. But it consists also in | | | | instruction. Most apprenticeship electrician programs |
| rewiring or upgrading existing electrical systems as | | | | are sponsored by union organizations. After the |
| needed. For electricians specialized in maintenance | | | | completion of the apprenticeship electrician programs, |
| work, it consists mainly in maintaining and upgrading | | | | you can either specialize in maintenance or |
| existing electrical systems or repairing electrical | | | | construction work, or do both. |
| equipment. | | | | In the U.S., there were about 656,000 electricians in |
| But maintenance work can vary greatly depending on | | | | 2004 including two-thirds of wage and salary workers |
| where the electrician is employed. For instance, an | | | | specialized in the construction work and the balance |
| electrician who works in a residential area will not to | | | | worked as maintenance electricians in other industries. |
| the same maintenance work than an electrician | | | | Besides prospects for electrical engineers are very |
| employed in a factory. The electricians specialized in | | | | good since jobs are expected to grow about as fast |
| residential work perform a large array of electrical | | | | as the average for all occupations through 2014. |