So, you want to become an electrical contractor/engineer? Selecting electrical work as a profession brings several rewarding growth opportunities. After all, the need for electricity is on the rise in today’s society. But before you reach a decision, it’s not only important for you to know the numerous duties of an electrical contractor/engineer, but also the requirements for becoming a certified electrician.

Luckily, in this article, you will learn everything about becoming a certified electrical contractor in a step-by-step process. It doesn’t matter if you are looking to start a career in electrical contracting, or are still only considering it, the information provided below will prove useful. Here’s what you need to know:

An electrical contractor or engineer designs, develops, tests and installs electrical hardware, systems and equipment. They work in a variety of settings, including commercial and residential structures. To become an electrical contractor, you have to receive extensive training and obtain a license according to the local regulatory guidelines and standards which apply to your country.

Steps to Become a Certified Electrical Contractor

Several schools and colleges offer instructional programs for prospective electrical contractors. Moreover, a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering offers comprehensive training in electrical design and systems. Academic programs generally include hands-on coursework and internships to help you gain practical experience.

Novice electricians can also gain supervised training under an experienced master electrician through apprenticeships. National organizations, state agencies and unions can introduce you to contractors and companies offering apprenticeship programs. These typically require a high school diploma. If you qualify, you will be offered paid positions that will last at least five years.

As mentioned earlier, electrical contractors perform a range of services for commercial and residential properties. In addition to installing and maintaining electrical systems, hardware and equipment, electrical contractors also train and hire new electricians, do administrative work, as well as plan and schedule projects with clients. They can be an integral part of the team involved in the building process, ensuring the electrical systems are up and running before the final work is completed.

Therefore, mentored training and experience in various electrical positions will provide you the industry-related and foundational knowledge and skills required to become an electrical contractor. Additionally, working under a master electrician can give you the experience and skills required for a journeyman or novice electrician to obtain a license, get certified, and perform independent work.

Some countries require electrical contractors to acquire an electrical contractor or master electrician license, while others don’t. If it’s mandatory in your state or country, you can obtain your license from the relevant state boards. However, keep in mind the requirements to get licensed will vary from state to state.

But generally, the requirements include meeting the experience requirements by working under an experienced master electrician, paying a certain amount as fee, as well as passing a written examination. Also, your license has to be renewed every few years, where you will have to pay the fee as well. You should contact the licensing agency in your state for a clearer picture about the requirements.

Once you have acquired your license, you are a certified electrical contractor and start working independently, or by joining a contracting company. But you should also understand that being an electrical contractor requires ongoing education to stay up to date with the technical advancements in the electrical domain, as well as any changes to the standard electrical code.

Electrical contractors with enough experience under their belt can also consider starting an electrical contracting business of their own. By starting your own business, you can increase your earnings from your work. Not to mention, you will have increased scheduling flexibility, which means you can employ other electricians to work under you and dispatch them to work on projects offered by clients.

And with that, we come to the end! As you can see, this article covers all you need to know to become a certified electrical contractor. Hopefully, now, you will have a better understanding about the requirements and duties the job entails.

An email from a customer on Wednesday made our week: “I’m really late in sending you a picture of my kitchen that Pegasus helped create. Every time I turn on the under cabinet lights,  I still get that great feeling from the first time. ” And what a beautiful kitchen it is:

Fluorescent T5 Thin-Inch Light Fixtures in her kitchen remodel. We were just as thrilled with the email she sent us in the midst of the remodel:

Just wanted to let you know how pleased I am with my experiences with your website, customer service and products. I hate to be long-winded, but it”s important for me to tell you about my search for under cabinet lighting. Because I’m spending lots of money on a remodel which included gutting the kitchen, I wanted to be sure to choose the best product for the lighting under the new cabinets.

After searching at the big box stores and getting no more info than what was written on the lighting display, I tried two local lighting specialty stores. Believe it or not, I was told at one of them by the manager that xenon doesn’t have a color temperature. (I decided he had to have been born and raised on a planet with different laws of physics.) No one could really help me at all and seemed totally disinterested in trying to sell me anything. Discouraged, I came home and Googled “under cabinet lighting.”

Your website is a window on the world of lighting! Oh, my goodness, the articles about lighting, the recommendations, the product descriptions!! I was totally elated, then began to think maybe it was just too good to be true, so I revisited your website a few more times over the next few days. Then…….just to be 100% sure…….I called your toll-free number and talked with a customer service representative. I told her that I wanted WHITE light for the under cabinet lighting: standard fluorescent is too blue, daylight and LED is too green and xenon seems too yellow, so I wanted to be sure to get a color temperature that would be white. I also wanted lighting that would produce as little heat as possible. She recommended the Thin-Inch with a color temp of 4100K. We talked about my previous experiences for a couple of minutes and I thanked her for being so helpful and we ended the call.

After all that, can you believe I was still a little nervous about ordering? A couple of days later, I decided to suck it up and take the plunge. So I measured all the spaces under the cabinets, made my list using your recommendations about installing under each cabinet and filling the under cabinet width and ordered online. The shipment arrived a day early which was a very pleasant surprise. The kitchen is now mostly finished.

But the best part of it all is what the under cabinet lighting does for the backsplash! It is AMAZING!! That awesome WHITE light is perfect…….no other word describes it. And after arguing with the electrician about the placement of the fixture at the front of the under cabinet space, not the back, he agreed that the front works best as your website recommends. My experience with Pegasus has been one of the best and easiest of this remodel. Thank you so much! I’m looking forward to having it all done and sending you photos.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lea, for reminding us why we do what we do!

We are so happy you love your new kitchen.

Just like every other industry, the electrical industry is constantly changing and improving. Sticking with out-dated practices will leave electrical contracting companies behind their competitors. A high quality, leading electrical management team stays ahead of the industry and keeps their services up-to-date and revolutionized.

As stated above, the electrical industry is changing rapidly. Just a few years ago building owners were changing their lighting from “old technology” T12 fluorescent lamps and magnetic ballasts to T8 lamps with electronic ballasts. This resulted in more uniform lighting that was less expensive to operate. Then came the T5 lamps and now …. LED lamps and fixtures. The new LED fixtures and lamps can result in an enormous energy savings, but buyer beware. Many manufacturers and contractors have sprung up to chase the new LED lighting market. Some of them are reputable and deliver a good product, but some of them are fledging and can leave a client “in-the-dark.” Thus, if you are in the market for energy savings through lighting make sure you deal with an experienced electrical manufacture and contractor.