Who is an electrician, what does he do, description of the profession

An electrician is a specialist in the installation, repair and maintenance of electrical equipment and electrical circuits. By the way, in 2021, the ProfGid career guidance center developed an accurate career guidance test. He himself will tell you which professions are suitable for you, and give an opinion about your personality type and intelligence.

Story

The profession of an electrician appeared at the end of the 19th century, when the use of electricity and power stations began. To control them, people were needed to maintain them and monitor their work.

The profession of an electrician is one of the most important, qualified and complex. They monitor the operation of electrical equipment and also carry out timely repairs.

Where to study

To get an education, you can choose any educational institution that offers this specialization. The most prestigious are:

• Moscow State Technical University named after N.E. Bauman.
• St. Petersburg State Electrotechnical University "LETI" named after. IN AND. Ulyanov (Lenin).
• Omsk State Technical University.
• Kazan State Energy University.
• Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin.

Description of the profession of an electrician

An electrician is a specialist with knowledge in the field of electricity, electrical supply and electrical safety. This requires a lot of knowledge.

The profession of an electrical technician is in great demand on the labor market: all enterprises - large and small, as well as private homes, require such specialists.

This specialty implies having good knowledge in the fields of mathematics, physics and drawing. It is also very important to know applied mechanics and basic electronics. An electrician, while carrying out his activities, must be endowed with the following qualities:

• technical thinking;
• attentiveness;
• accuracy;
• visual acuity.

Electricians cannot be people who have diseases of the musculoskeletal system, as well as the cardiac and nervous systems.

Personal qualities of a good electrician

This type of employment is recommended for those who are interested in exact sciences . Especially physics and mathematics. Specialists of the highest category must have an excellent understanding of diagrams and be able to draw up drawings .

An electrician must have basic knowledge of applied mechanics and electronics . You also cannot do without a special set of personal qualities.

Caution

Together with attentiveness and accuracy, these character traits help to cope with any difficulties. Not only the normal functioning of the electrical network, but also the life and health of the electrician himself and his colleagues depends on the actions of the employee, because they have to work under high voltage.

Caution is one of the main virtues of an electrician.

Keen vision

An electrician with poor vision will not be able to cope with equipment and tools that require high concentration. And if a screwdriver is inserted inappropriately, you can cut off power to an entire enterprise or get seriously injured.

Physical endurance

The specialist must have a reliable vestibular apparatus. This is especially true for high-altitude work and cases when you need to be in an uncomfortable position for a long time. for people with spinal diseases and weak hearts.

Responsibility

with a high degree of civil responsibility can work as an electrician . When performing any manipulations with electrical equipment, safety precautions must be observed. This will help protect both yourself and the people around you.

Would you like to become an electrician?

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Danger

The profession of an electrician is a dangerous one, so a person who wants to become one must have the appropriate skills, abilities, and be a qualified worker.

They work mainly under voltage, thereby putting their lives in danger.

Depending on the place of work, the responsibilities differ in the range of functions performed.

The main activities of electricians are:

• repair;
• service;
• installation of electrical appliances;
• assembly of electrical elements.

Options for working as an electrician

As already mentioned, there are many professions related to electricity. There are just as many operating modes. If we are talking about emergency crews, then the work is most often done in shifts - every two days or three days. If an electrician works in the housing and communal services system, then there will probably be a standard 5-day work week. When laying new lines, most likely a team of electricians will work in shifts far from home.

At the same time, the service of calling an electrician to your home is now widespread. If you need to repair an appliance, re-wire it, fix an outlet, there is always an advertisement for a private electrical repairman. In this case, the electrician works (or earns extra money) exactly as much as he wants.

In a word, an electrician has many options for earning money: private services for the population, contract work as part of a team of craftsmen, work for hire.

Photo source pvproductions/freepik

Requirements for the profession of an electrician

Each employee has his own skill level. This profession provides for six categories and five groups of electrical safety clearance.

There are five classes:

1. Have basic knowledge. This can be considered a full-time electrician with specialized education. Specialists have the skills to ensure safety and provide first aid.
2. An electrician with an education in electronics has knowledge of high-voltage equipment.
3. In this group, the employee must have sufficient information about the work, know the rules for operating electrical equipment, as well as the nuances of safety precautions.
4. The fourth group includes highly qualified specialists who have the basic principles and know the design features of electrical equipment. A 4th class electrician carries out repair and maintenance work.
5. Specialists with in-depth knowledge in the field of electronics, who know the basic circuits and nuances of the area under their jurisdiction.

Electrician education: how to get it?

To learn to become an electrician, you need to graduate from high school and then enter a higher or secondary specialized educational institution. The directions and names of the courses can be very different, but the profile must be related to electricity in one way or another. In this case, of course, the practical component of training, as well as an extensive safety course, is of great importance.

Professional retraining for another specialty is also possible, subject to the required clearance.

Advantages and disadvantages

With increasing qualifications and obtaining a higher rank, wages increase. And this is a tangible incentive. To improve the level of qualifications, various training courses are held for electricians.

The most difficult part of working as an electrician is correctly identifying the fault.

Any field of activity has its own advantages and disadvantages that arise in its process. The advantages of being an electrician are:

• Opportunity to earn additional income.
• Combination is also possible, that is, the implementation of the work process at several enterprises.
• This profession is one of the most in demand.

Negative features are:

• High danger during work.
• There are also times when it is necessary to work at height.
• Salary depends on qualifications and location of activity.

Electrician training

If you enroll after 9th grade, you can receive a diploma in 4 years . After 11th grade, studying at a university will take almost 3 years. You can choose any educational institution where there is a specialty “Electrical power and electrical engineering” and the corresponding faculty.

The most prestigious universities include:

1. Moscow State University named after Bauman. Power engineering.
2. LETI im. Lenin in St. Petersburg. Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Automation.
3. Omsk State Technical University. Energy Institute.
4. Kazan State Power Plant. Institute of Electric Power and Electronics.
5. UrFU named after Yeltsin in Yekaterinburg. UralENIN.

ATTENTION There is also a distance learning form - online courses, but it does not involve practice. After training, you will first have to be an intern, and only then will you have the opportunity to work full-time.

Job descriptions of the profession

The following duties can be identified that an electrician must perform:

• Engaged in laying electrical cables.
• Connects equipment.
• Conducts the necessary calculations of cable dimensions.
• Involved in drawing up a plan for the placement of electrical registers.
• Performs preventive inspections and routine repairs of electrical devices.
• Carries out installation work and also carries out installation of secondary circuits.
• They are engaged in the repair of electrical networks.
• Engaged in the installation of insulators and sockets.
• Prepare the devices before turning them on.
• They look for faults and carry out further repairs.
• They train personnel in the field of safety when working with electrical devices.
• They also gain new knowledge.

Responsibility

An electrician has a lot of responsibility because he has many important resources at his disposal.

The electrician must be responsible for:

• Late measures taken that should have secured the facility.
• Backlog of scheduled repairs and equipment downtime.
• Lack of compliance with labor protection standards and other safety procedures.
• Knowingly false data about the condition of the serviced object.
• Failure to comply with management orders.
• Lack of compliance with labor regulations and discipline.

Tasks of the profession

The main task of an electrician is to carry out the process of constantly supplying electricity to various premises, including streets.

There are the following types of electrician profession:

1. Electrical engineer – is involved in the direct design of electrical supply systems for a building and monitors the correct implementation of this project. Also capable of repairing devices and preventing possible emergencies. A person holding the position of an electrical engineer must have technical skills, knowledge of mathematics and drawing.
2. Electrical technician - is directly involved in the repair of electrical devices, as well as prevents and eliminates all possible problems. His powers include preventive inspections of devices, carrying out measurements and calculations. An electrical technician must know the principle of operation of a transformer, the general structure of power systems, and automation systems.
3. Electrician – assembles and repairs electrical networks, simple components, and lighting devices. Can also perform the work of a conventional electrician, inspecting and repairing power supply devices.

How does one usually build a career?

A career as an electrician usually involves achieving a higher rank and access class. Specialists with levels 4 and 5 can be subordinate to a number of employees whom they will supervise.

Career progression is usually not expected, but in rare cases, exclusively at large energy facilities, you can get the position of senior electrician or electrical engineer.

Prospects

Each time you increase your rank or access class level, you receive a pay increase.

On the territory of the Russian Federation, the only prospect for an electrician is to install new wiring privately. This is your own business, bringing in not too much, but stable income.

Our specialists are valued abroad. An electrician is a profession that will help you go abroad for a higher level of income.

If you still have even the slightest doubt that the electrician profession is right for you, then we strongly recommend taking a career guidance test from Profgid . It costs mere pennies, and at the same time allows you to avoid mistakes that can go in the wrong direction and cripple your entire life. Find out more >>

Career growth and development

To become an electrical engineer, you need to obtain a college degree. The same applies to those who want to work as an electrical engineer, electromechanic or high-level specialist. The difference between them is small. In other cases, higher education is not required.

Therefore, for people who have received specialized secondary education or are working from scratch, there is an opportunity to improve their qualifications and thereby increase their salaries.

For those who already have a higher education, there is always a chance to improve their rank.

This way you can get a job as a production manager or manager of an enterprise or workshop.

A few words about self-taught

It should be noted that self-taught does not mean a bad electrician - lack of education, alas, is not a determining factor. In practice, many specialists performing electrical installation work do not have any crusts at all, but even licensed companies and organizations can envy the quality of their work. At the same time, even electrical engineering personnel with higher and secondary technical education may show an unacceptably low level of knowledge and skills.

Therefore, if you decide to start your path to mastering such a profession on your own, you can safely start studying the site and technical literature. Then, if you wish, you can enroll in full-time or part-time study to obtain a specialty or improve your rank.

The main thing is to take a responsible approach to studying all the nuances - electricity does not forgive mistakes, remember, the priority of your safety and the health of others should come first.

Manufacturing sector

The most common job title is electrician for the repair and maintenance of electrical and electromechanical equipment. At any large industrial enterprise, every workshop and even more or less important production unit has a staff of electricians. The site's specialists repair and maintain all electrical equipment in the workshop. This requires high qualifications and versatile professional training. Shop electricians cannot be called “electricians.” They are in charge of a large amount of various equipment: socket and lighting networks, machine tools, cranes, as well as the power supply system for household and utility networks.

Even a short-term downtime of a machine can lead to disruption of the technological chain, failure to complete an order, financial damage and other problems. The task of shop electricians is to quickly detect and eliminate faults independently or with the involvement of specialized specialists from the enterprise.

Specialists from the electrical laboratory division measure the insulation resistance and other parameters of the step-down transformer Source Ooo-transelektro.ru

Negative sides

The negative side of the profession is the high risks to the life and health of workers, and injuries are possible. Working with voltage is dangerous because Electric shock cannot be ruled out. In addition, electricians have to work at height when laying power lines. You have to be careful, otherwise you might fall down.

Increased requirements for the quality of work performed. It is forbidden to ignore safety rules. Improper repair of equipment or connection leads to accidents or a threat to human life and health, which may lead to claims for compensation for damage caused.

Safety is Responsibility #1

The electrical engineer who maintains the facility always bears personal responsibility for safety. Therefore, they must take measures to prevent accidents and failures. This is done by analyzing too much load on the power grid nodes.

The specialist must prevent people from interfering with the proper operation of electrical network devices. To do this, they monitor the integrity of seals and seals on control and measuring mechanisms.

The importance of the electrician profession involves a very wide list of responsibilities, knowledge of which will help to conduct truly professional work and ensure efficient energy operation of the facility being serviced.