How to Become an Electrician
The process from application to a job offer takes several months. We contact you by email and text at each step. Sign in to your application at any time to see its status.
Already an electrician? Go to Electricians, Contractors and Schools.
Step 1
Is This Trade for You?
What you do: decide whether this work is right for you.
Electricians wire buildings, plants, schools and hospitals, and keep them running.
- You travel to wherever the jobsite is
- You work on the jobsite by day and take classes at night
years, with a raise each time you reach a required milestone
hours of on-the-job training
hours of classroom instruction
an hour to start, paid from your first day
Watch This Before You Apply
This is construction work, and it's hard, physical work. You travel to wherever the job is, and you work outside in the heat and the cold. This video shows you what a day is like for an electrical apprentice.
Watch: A Day in the LifeOpens on YouTube.
What the Job Requires
You learn the trade on the jobsite. Your 8,000 hours of on-the-job training are on construction sites. You come to the training center for the test, the interview and your night classes.
The work includes all of these.
- Climb ladders, scaffolds, poles and lifts
- Work in attics, crawlspaces and manholes
- Lift and carry 25 to 50 pounds
- Use hand tools and power tools
- Work indoors and outdoors in all weather
- Read technical drawings
- Troubleshoot equipment
- Work as part of a crew
- Follow safety procedures
- Attend class at night on top of a full work week
- Drive to the job and to class. Starts are early, and the job can be an hour or more from home
- Keep a reliable vehicle
Pay and Costs
- Starting pay
- Over $20 an hour, from your first day on the job
- Raises
- Each time you reach a required milestone
- Application fee
- $25
- Tuition
- None
- You buy
- Your books, your hand tools and a laptop for class
- Experience
- None needed. Training starts from the beginning
Is the Electrician Apprenticeship the Only Apprenticeship Available?
No. Every building trade has its own apprenticeship, including carpenters, plumbers, ironworkers and sheet metal workers. apprentice.org lists the building-trades apprenticeships in Pennsylvania.
Step 2
What You Need to Qualify
What you do: check that every line is true for you.
- Age 18 or older, or 18 by September 1 if you are still in high school
- High-school diploma or GED. Homeschool and online-school diplomas count
- Algebra I, or an equivalent such as SkillsPrep or Tech Math
- Home in Beaver, Lawrence, Mercer or Crawford County, Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania driver's license showing that address
- Reliable transportation. Jobs can be anywhere in the four counties, and classes are in New Castle
- Still in high school
- Your school must send your final transcript after you graduate.
- No algebra credit
- SkillsPrep offers an online math course for apprenticeship applicants. Finish it and send the completion certificate with your application.
- Free practice
- Khan Academy has free algebra lessons and practice problems. Use it to brush up before the SkillsPrep course or the aptitude test.
- Live somewhere else
- We can only take people who live in the four counties. Every other area has an electrical apprenticeship of its own. Where Do You Live? shows how to find the program for your area.
Step 3
Documents to Have Ready
What you do: gather these before you start the application.
- Pennsylvania driver's licenseUpload it. The address must be in one of the four counties. If you moved in recently, also upload your PennDOT address-change paperwork.
- Birth certificateUpload it.
- DD-214Upload it, if you served in the military.
- Résumé OptionalUpload it if you have one.
- Official high-school transcriptDo not upload. Your school sends it straight to us. Ask early.
Step 4
Your School Records
What you do: get your school records sent to us. Find the box that fits you.
You Graduated From a High School
Ask your school's guidance office to send your official transcript straight to us. It must show your graduation date and an algebra credit.
Mail records to:
The Electricians' Training Center
3891 Wilmington Road, Neshannock Township, PA 16105
You Have a GED, HiSET or Homeschool Diploma
You may mail these or bring them in yourself. We check for a raised seal, a watermark or original signatures.
- GED or HiSET certificate, or a Commonwealth Secondary School Diploma. Request records at diplomasender.com
- Home education diploma on Pennsylvania form PDE-6008, signed by your home education supervisor and your twelfth-grade evaluator
- Diploma from a Pennsylvania-approved homeschool diploma organization
- Diploma and transcript from a cyber charter or accredited online school
- Official college transcript showing an associate degree or higher
Proof of Algebra (Any One)
- Official transcript showing an algebra credit, from any school. The course name can vary: Algebra 1, Elementary Algebra, Math 9, Integrated Math or similar. We go by what the transcript shows
- SkillsPrep or Tech Math completion certificate
- For a homeschool transcript with no grades: the written evaluation for your algebra year
What We Cannot Accept
- A plain copy, a photo or a scan of a school record
- A letter or certificate signed only by a parent, with no supervisor or evaluator signature
- A homemade transcript that does not name the school, program or organization
- A photocopy with no signature or seal
- A course certificate that is not a diploma
Sign in to your application to see which records have arrived.
Step 5
Apply
What you do: fill out the online application.
- Press Start Your Application and tell us where you live
- Create an account on the application site
- Pay the $25 fee
- Answer the questions and upload your documents
- Ask your school to send your transcript to us
- Time limit
- 30 days from the day you create the account. If your school needs longer, contact us and we will make arrangements.
- Read first
- Applying and Qualifying for the Apprenticeship (PDF). It includes sample questions from the aptitude test.
Ready to Apply?
This list is saved only on this phone or computer. To see what we have received, sign in to your application.
Part 1 Is Finished When Your Application Is Complete
Your application is complete when we have received everything on the list. Then Part 2 begins: the aptitude test, the interview, the list and the offer.
Questions: contact details are on the About page.