Electrician

Types of Degrees Electrician Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many electrician graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Undergraduate Certificate	9,499
Basic Certificate	7,469
Associate Degree	2,613

What Electrician Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to electrician and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Electrician Majors

Electrician majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Skills for Electrician Majors

A major in electrician prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Quality Control Analysis - Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
• Troubleshooting - Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Abilities for Electrician Majors

As you progress with your electrician degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Electrician Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with electrician:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Electricians	8.9%	$55,190
First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers	12.6%	$65,230
Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers	14.2%	$47,190
Signal and Track Switch Repairers	2.0%	$70,490

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Electrician?

This major attracts more men than women. About 95% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of electrician majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	46
Black or African American	221
Hispanic or Latino	345
White	1,816
International Students	6
Other Races/Ethnicities	179

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Electrician. About 0.2% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Electrician Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Electrician majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $48,540 to $67,800 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Electrician

Some degrees associated with electrician may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for electrician careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	4.6%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	26.7%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	41.9%
Some College Courses	14.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	10.8%
Bachelor’s Degree	2.9%

Online Electrician Programs

In 2020-2021, 521 schools offered a electrician program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	348	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	45	0
Associate’s Degree	206	1
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Electrician Worth It?

The median salary for a electrician grad is $59,190 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 48% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $385,800 after 20 years!

Trades Related to Electrician

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to electrician.

Major	Number of Grads
Lineworker	2,155
General Electrical & Power Transmission Installation/Installer	1,651
Other Electrical & Power Transmission Installers	140

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Fran Hogan under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.