Home › Trades › Electricians

How to become an electrician

Most electricians learn the trade in a four- or five-year apprenticeship; some start at a technical school, many of which offer programs whose graduates usually receive credit toward the apprenticeship. Electricians earned a median $63,190 a year in May 2025, and BLS projects 9.2% growth in the job count from 2025 to 2035, with about 72,700 openings a year. Typical entry education: high school diploma or equivalent.

The steps

1. Finish high school or the equivalent. A high school diploma or equivalent is required. Some electricians start at a technical school; many offer programs in circuitry, safety practices and basic electrical information, and graduates of these programs usually receive credit toward their apprenticeship.
   BLS wording

   “A high school diploma or equivalent is required to become an electrician. Some electricians start out by attending a technical school. Many technical schools offer programs related to circuitry, safety practices, and basic electrical information. Graduates of these programs usually receive credit toward their apprenticeship.”

2. Enter an apprenticeship. Several groups, including unions and contractor associations, sponsor the programs. For each year, apprentices typically receive 2,000 hours of paid on-the-job training and some technical instruction, which includes electrical theory, blueprint reading, mathematics, electrical code requirements, and safety and first-aid practices. Workers with electrical experience in the military or in construction may qualify for a shortened apprenticeship based on their experience and testing.
   BLS wording

   “Most electricians learn their trade in a 4- or 5-year apprenticeship program. For each year of the program, apprentices typically receive 2,000 hours of paid on-the-job training as well as some technical instruction. Workers who gained electrical experience in the military or in the construction industry may qualify for a shortened apprenticeship based on their experience and testing. Technical instruction for apprentices includes electrical theory, blueprint reading, mathematics, electrical code requirements, and safety and first-aid practices. ... Several groups, including unions and contractor associations, sponsor apprenticeship programs.”

3. Pass the licensing test where the state requires one. Most states require electricians to pass a test and be licensed, and requirements vary by state. The tests have questions on the National Electrical Code and state and local electrical codes. Electricians may be required to take continuing education courses to maintain their licenses.
   BLS wording

   “Most states require electricians to pass a test and be licensed. Requirements vary by state. ... The tests have questions related to the National Electrical Code and state and local electrical codes, all of which set standards for the safe installation of electrical wiring and equipment. Electricians may be required to take continuing education courses in order to maintain their licenses.”

4. Work as a journey worker, with master as a possible next step. After completing an apprenticeship, electricians are considered journey workers and may perform duties on their own, subject to local or state licensing requirements. After meeting additional requirements and working as a qualified electrician, journey workers may advance to become master electricians; electricians may also find opportunities to advance to supervisor or to other roles in project management.
   BLS wording

   “After completing an apprenticeship program, electricians are considered to be journey workers and may perform duties on their own, subject to local or state licensing requirements. ... After meeting additional requirements and working as a qualified electrician, journey workers may advance to become master electricians. Electricians may also find opportunities to advance to supervisor or to other roles in project management.”

Steps follow the Occupational Outlook Handbook: Electricians, read 2026-09-23. The state-specific hours, exams and fees are below.

How long it takes

Most electricians learn the trade in a four- or five-year apprenticeship, typically with 2,000 hours of paid on-the-job training a year.

Counting the first license in each sourced state that takes 2,000 or more on-the-job hours, the states ask for 4,000 to 8,000 hours, about 2 to 4 years at full time, including the minimum years some states set (2,080 hours a year): WA 4,000, CA 4,800, AL 8,000, CO 8,000, CT 8,000, KY 8,000, MA 8,000, MI 8,000, NJ 8,000, OK 8,000, OR 8,000, TX 8,000, UT 8,000. The other 17 sourced states license the contractor rather than the worker, state the requirement in years, or leave licensing to cities; each state page says which.

Time-to-journeyman calculator: pick a state and your hours a week →

What it costs

Published license and application fees in the 26 sourced states with one (a city's or county's where the state licenses only locally) run from $12 to $1,475 depending on the state and tier; exam-vendor fees are separate where one applies. Apprentices typically receive paid on-the-job training in each year of their apprenticeship. What it costs to start in each state is in the table below; the full tier-by-tier fees are on each state page.

License-cost calculator: every published fee for one state, itemised →

License requirements by state

Of the 30 states sourced so far for electricians, 15 require a worker to hold a state license or certification, 3 do not at the state level and 12 are not stated on the pages read. Each row is read from the pages its record names and dated on the state page.

"State license for workers": "Required" where a state passage says a worker needs a license or certification, "None at state level" where one says none is needed, "Not stated" where the pages read do not say; the state page gives what they do say about where licensing sits. "First license after" is the on-the-job hours to the first license on the main path that takes 2,000 or more of them (a separate, narrower license a state also offers, such as a residential-only one, is not counted; the state page names it); its years are the hours at 2,080 a year (≈), a state's minimum years where it sets one (at least), or the years a state's own page gives for those hours (as published); "varies" means the state licenses contractors, states experience in years, or licenses locally. "Starting fee" is what a worker pays to start working: the published state fees for the registrations, trainee or apprentice credentials, learner's permit and federal steps held before any experience; exam-vendor fees are extra. "None required": the state licenses no one at the worker level (only contractors, or only cities and counties). "None listed": the state licenses workers but lists no credential before the first license. "Not stated": the pages read do not say whether a worker needs a license. "No state fee": the only start step is federal (EPA 608). "Not published": a start step's fee is not published. A place named beside a figure marks a city's or county's fee, a local example. The license-cost calculator also totals what it takes to hold the first license. 1. Alabama: at least 4 years. Four years is the work-experience route; a completed non-DOL apprenticeship is entered as two years. Licensing layer vintage 2026-09. The remaining 21 of the 50 states and DC carry pay and employment now and gain this section as each board is read. Compare time and cost across every sourced path →

Apprenticeships

Unions and contractor associations are among the groups that sponsor the programs; requirements differ by state and locality. Most workers enter apprenticeships directly, and some enter after working as a helper. The federal Apprenticeship Finder searches apprenticeship openings by occupation and by city, state or ZIP code. Apprenticeship Finder →

U.S. Department of Labor records list 84,362 registered apprentices active across the 50 states and DC in fiscal year 2024 under the occupation titles DOL maps to electricians; the state pages give each state's count and, where enough apprentices carry a wage DOL counts, the median starting and completing wages (how they are counted). Apprentice counts and wages in every state → · what those wages come to at your hours a week →

What electricians earn, by state

Electricians (SOC 47-2111) earned a national median of $63,190 a year in May 2025, $30.38 an hour, with 757,220 employed. Oregon paid the most, $101,310, 60% above the national median.

Top five by median annual wage: Oregon ($101,310), Illinois ($99,560), Hawaii ($96,460), Washington ($95,220), Alaska ($89,440). Lowest five: Arkansas ($49,070), Alabama ($55,690), North Carolina ($56,800), Florida ($57,250), Georgia ($58,320).

"Per 1,000 jobs" is how concentrated the trade is in that state's workforce. A state can pay well and still have few openings; the employment column and this one together say how much of a market there is.

As files: pay by state (CSV) · pay by metro area (CSV) · state licensing requirements (CSV) · all files and how to credit them.

Job outlook, 2025 to 2035

BLS projects 9.2% growth in employment from 2025 to 2035 (821,000 to 896,900 jobs) and about 72,700 openings a year over the decade, counting growth and replacement.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program, Table 1.2 Occupational projections, 2025–35, and worker characteristics, 2025, retrieved 2026-10-03. Openings count growth plus the workers who leave the occupation.

Common questions

Sources

• Occupational Outlook Handbook: Electricians, read 2026-09-23: the steps, training length and licensing pattern.
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, retrieved 2026-10-03: every wage and employment figure. How the numbers are built.
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program, Table 1.2, retrieved 2026-10-03: growth, openings and entry education.
• State licensing authorities, one per state, each cited and dated on the state page; layer vintage 2026-09.