Have you ever wondered what a an electrician does? Working with electricity can be a dangerous business and electricians are responsible for installing, testing, repairing and maintaining electrical wiring or electronic systems. Electricians can be called on to work in a wide range of environments including manufacturing, homes, power stations, factory machinery and even robotics. Electricians can also be employed to deal with low voltage systems like security alarms and telephone, internet and video cabling.
Skills involved in training to become an electrician include being able to read blueprints and be involved in installing, maintaining and repairing wiring and electronics. During the construction of new buildings, electricians may work on the wiring and circuits or they may be called in to fit wiring retrospectively after the building is complete. Problem-solving and decision making to improve electrical output may also be needed. You will also find electricians working inside factories or industrial facilities working on electrical machinery and robots. It is quite a perilous profession and especially for the electricians who work outside on cabling and wiring lines where safety is paramount. For Electrical Control Components manufacturers, visit http://www.osmelectrical.com/.
You’ll need to display the following attributes to be a successful electrician: a certain level of physical fitness, normal colour vision (for wiring purposes), be good with your hands, a sense of balance and to be good with heights. Subjects that are useful to study at school include maths, physics, chemistry, computing, english and technology. If being well-paid and having job security is important to you then knowledge of electronics is always in high demand as our need for electricity isn’t going to diminish anytime soon. An electrician may also find themselves working in interesting and exciting settings as the entertainment industry always requires electricians to install and arrange complex lighting for concerts and TV shows.
You could become a self-employed electrician, responding to call outs from customers and working on different private projects. A works van will be an investment you’ll need to consider for transporting tools and equipment between jobs. Having a career as an electrician can be an interesting and varied job and work can be required literally anywhere there is lighting, climate control, alarm systems or appliances. One day you could be using testing meters to isolate electrical faults, supervising apprentices and then inspecting and repairing circuit breakers and transformers. The next day you could be installing back-up generators in commercial properties.
You’ll need to be reasonably fit as the job often requires bending, kneeling and standing for long periods of time. The work can be noisy if you’re working in an industrial plant with heavy machinery and there is always the risk of electric shocks and burns. There are strict guidelines in place for the use of safety clothing and eye protection as the job can be dangerous. However, the profession offers a great deal of satisfaction and is a highly sought after skill, meaning you should never be short of work which s great peace of mind in a fluctuating economy.
