So you’ve successfully completed your electrical pre-apprenticeship and you really enjoyed a taste of what it’s like to be an electrician. Your next steps in the process of becoming a sparkie involve doing an apprenticeship pathways course and completing an apprenticeship with an employer - but you’re still unsure of what niche area you see yourself in.
Choosing a specialisation can be tough considering you’ve only just completed a pre-apprenticeship and you still need to complete your apprenticeship. Your apprenticeship will definitely help you get a better understanding of the area you want to specialise in as you’ll be exposed to different scenarios.
Let’s take a look at the career options an electrician can pursue once they’ve completed their pre-app and apprenticeship qualifications.
1. Residential Electrician
A residential electrician works on homes and other residential properties to install, maintain, repair and upgrade electrical installations, systems and appliances.
As a residential electrician, your work might include planning the electrical layout for a new house, installing new wiring during a renovation or repairing various fixtures and outlets.
Essentially, you’ll handle all the small and large electrical work in residential properties.
A course that’s useful for residential electricians is the
Checking and Testing an Electrical Installation course. It gives you the knowledge needed to safely test new and modified electrical installations before putting them to use.
Another course that is also really useful for residential electricians is the
Solar Maintenance and Inspection course. With so many homes moving into the solar space, this course is a no brainer as it gives electricians the practical skills in installation, commissioning, maintenance and fault finding on renewable energy systems.
2. Commercial Electrician
Commercial electricians carry out similar work as residential electricians, except on commercial buildings like offices, retail stores and hospitals.
As a commercial electrician, your day may include working on wiring, electrical outlets, switchboards, lighting, transformers, motors or generators. You’ll also need to deal with more complex electrical wiring and extensive power distribution systems.
Some courses that will prove useful to a commercial electrician include the
Certificate II in Split Air-con and Heat Pump Systems and the
Open Cabler Registration course which enables you to install and maintain telecommunications cabling in buildings.
3. Industrial Electrician
Industrial electricians generally work in industrial settings such as in production, automotive, pharmaceutical, and food processing plants. They deal with heavy machinery and high voltage systems and need to have a thorough understanding of the particular industry they’re in.
Typical jobs include installing electrical systems and components for manufacturing equipment, troubleshooting of systems and electronics, and maintenance of electrical systems.
The
High Voltage Switching Operations course and the
Cert IV in Instrumentation course are essential courses intended for electricians and engineers in industrial facilities.
4. Construction Electrician
Construction electricians specialise in working on construction sites for buildings as they’re being built. They work on all structures from residential to industrial sites and need to understand construction blueprints.
Their work involves performing installation of lighting fixtures and switches, circuit breakers, heating and cooling systems, communications systems and troubleshooting malfunctioning components.
With solar panels and renewable energy growing in demand, construction electricians can take advantage of courses like our
Design and Install Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Systems course.
This course provides the knowledge and skills to design, install, test, repair and maintain photovoltaic systems.
5. Specialist Electrician
Another progression pathway you can choose is as a specialist electrician. A specialist electrician focuses on specific electrical work and is typically an expert in their chosen field. An example of this is focusing on repairing a building’s
heating and cooling systems or only
work on solar panels.
As a specialist, the certification you choose depends on the type of work you’ll deal with.
6. Emergency Electrician
Emergency electricians provide emergency repair services to residential and commercial clients.
They have to be on call 24 hours a day, every day of the week and must be ready to respond to all emergencies. Some issues you’ll encounter as an emergency electrician include blown switchboards, exposed wiring and smoking or burning sockets.
Emergency electricians need to have comprehensive knowledge of a wide range of aspects of electrical work in order to be able to test and repair the wiring and systems at the client’s premises.
Get Started On The Right Path
As you can see a career as an electrician offers so many interesting and rewarding pathway options. It’s up to you to choose the one that best suits your personality, lifestyle and skill set.
If you’re looking for the best electrical courses in Perth,
get in touch with us at CET. Let us advise you on electrical specialisations and help you select the right courses.