We rely on electricity. Like, a lot. It powers our electronic devices, home appliances and, on a more basic level, allows us to not sit in the dark at night. As technology advances, we’ll most likely continue to depend on it for personal and business purposes. And to whom do we owe thanks for making electrical power so readily available? Electrical workers.

Electrical workers typically begin their journey into the trade by enrolling in electrical trades programs at local trade schools or community colleges. Other than maintaining power for millions of your fellow Americans, there many reasons to explore and purse an electrical trade program.

Enhanced training

Electrician training programs, which are commonly offered at trade schools and community colleges nationwide, provide students with comprehensive training in the skills they need to be successful electrical workers. Many programs offer this sort of thorough training that can be completed over the course of just a few months, which helps meet the demand for electrical workers and which we’ll touch on a little later. There are also programs that specialize in certain kinds of electrical work.

Great pay

On top of knowing they keep America’s power up and running, electrical workers tend to make good money. The median salary for an electrician in May of 2017 was $54,110, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Electrical power line installers and repairers earned a median wage of $69,380 during the same period. Electrical work can be a very lucrative career path, allowing workers to power America while also powering their bank accounts and supporting their families.

Working environment

Electrical workers have the luxury of being able to work in a variety of different settings. Electricians can work in construction sites, commercial offices, residential buildings, and essentially anywhere else where someone may be experiencing electrical issues or needs something installed. Another setting in which electrical work is done is on power lines, for those who are not afraid of heights.

Career opportunity and options

Career opportunities in electrical trades are plentiful. The career options for electricians run the gamut from construction work to business and residential and even jobs in the lineman trade. According to data from the BLS, employment of electricians is projected to increase by 9 percent by 2026 and electrical lineman employment is expected to increase by 14 percent during the same period. In addition to benefiting from an increase in demand, electrical workers can essentially work anywhere in the country they choose. People all across America use electricity for a number of different things and they need people to install and troubleshoot problems.

Exciting work

Electrical work is a dynamic trade to be in. Each day on the job has the potential for you to see or do something you might not have expected when you woke up. This is true for some electrical workers more so than others. For example, a residential electrician can probably expect more day-to-day variability than those who are working on a long-term construction project. Regardless of the type of electrical work you decide to go into, knowing that you’re helping power America can spark excitement in your everyday role in an electrical trade.

Start your own business

Many electrical workers, especially electricians, are employed by contractors. There is a small percentage of them, however, who start their own business. In 2016, 8 percent of electricians were self-employed, according to the BLS. The BLS notes that “many electricians work alone,” so it makes sense that some of them would have their own businesses. However, running your own business requires more than electrician chops; you need to be able to effectively communicate with customers, be personable and be skilled at the business side of things. That being said, self-employment is something many electrical workers aspire to do after they have gained some experience and completed a trade school program.

Learn practical skills

As an electrical worker and even as a student in an electrical trade program, you will learn skills that are useful even outside of electrical trades. For example, as we touched upon in the previous section, electricians need to have good customer service skills. They need to be able to answer questions customers may have and explain to them what they are doing and why. Another example of a practical skill is reading blueprints. This is more common among electrical workers who are involved in construction, as they need to know the layout of the structure in order to install the electrical components in the right places.

Learning all of the skills necessary to become a professional electrical worker also fosters a dedication to lifelong learning, as the ways we harness power are going to continue to change in coming years. Solar energy has played and will continue to play a bigger role in providing electricity across the country going forward. Solar panels require electricians to install them. Certainly there will be more technological advances in energy in the near future that electrical workers will need to learn about in order to do their jobs the best they can.

As you’ve seen, there are many reasons to consider a career in electrical trades. There are many options to choose from and one final benefit of trade school and community college programs is that you can figure out what you want to do within the field as you learn. If you’ve decided that electrical work is for you, there is no better option in Chicagoland than one of Coyne College’s programs to help you take advantage of the increasing job demand.

Spark your career at Coyne College

Coyne College, one of Chicago’s finest trade schools, offers two programs for aspiring electrical workers: electrical construction and planning and electrical construction maintenance.

Both programs are available during days and nights at the Coyne’s Chicago Loop campus at the intersection of State and Madison Streets. At Coyne College, we’re dedicated to helping you fit an education into your busy schedule.

The electrical construction and planning program can be completed in as few as 78 weeks. The electrical construction and maintenance program, on the other hand, can be finished in 42 to 56 weeks, depending on whether you take day or night classes.

As a student in either of Coyne College’s electrical programs, you will be submerged in classes such as:

• Electrical and Electronic Principles
• Electrical Test and Equipment Safety
• Electrical Construction – Residential
• Electrical Theory and Applications
• And more!

You will learn the ins and outs of the electrician trade in a setting that focuses on your individual success and be taught by Coyne’s highly knowledgeable instructors who have years of real-world experience under their belts.

Coyne College career services department can help students with job placement, including apprenticeships. Coyne College has more than 110 years of experience in helping transform students with dreams into qualified, skilled trade professionals.

Discover all that Coyne College has to offer and begin your journey to a new career today by visiting https://www.coynecollege.edu/.