Electrician - or Electronics technician for energy and building technology - ensure that electricity flows safely, lights are on and modern technology works in everyday life. Whether building a smart home, installing solar systems or carrying out household repairs, electricians are sought-after specialists with a wide range of applications.

Here we provide you with an overview of training as an electrician, requirements, salary and further training opportunities.

The beginning and career as an electrician - Training and further education

The job title electrician is the most common term and most jobs in this direction can be found under this search term.

However, the actual and therefore correct term nowadays is electronics technician. The electrician or electronics technician apprenticeship prepares you for work in the skilled trades. Accordingly, it also involves manual, i.e. practical parts. This takes place in a company so that you get to know the real work right from the start.

At the same time, however, knowledge must also be standardised. This involves the theoretical basics that every electrician needs to know. In the end, it makes no difference which specialisation you choose - everyone will expect you to be able to lay at least one cable and connect one device.

The basics are taught at vocational school. Not only are you taught the knowledge there, but care is also taken to ensure that a uniform standard is maintained. This means you are on the safe side and can actually fulfil the requirements of your job.

Training period

The Training period is generally 3 ½ years. In some specialisations, this training period can be shortened if, for example, you already have previous knowledge or have exceptional comprehension skills.

Remuneration during training

During your apprenticeship, you will work in a training company. This means that you will work there for a period of time. This work is remunerated and the amount of pay depends on the company in the region and the chosen specialisation. However, you can expect to earn around 800 to 1,300 euros per month.

Now you may be asking yourself why it’s so little. The answer is simple: you don’t work full-time, because you also attend vocational school, nor do you work independently, because you’re still learning and need to be supervised.

Requirements for training as an electrician

There is no precise rule regarding the conclusion of training. Nevertheless, the requirements can be derived from practice. This shows that you have better chances of getting an apprenticeship with a middle school diploma than with a lower secondary diploma. However, this advantage isn’t automatic and doesn’t guarantee success. In fact, your grades and personal interest are much more important. Good marks in physics and math matter more than the level of your diploma. Plus, a genuine interest in skilled trades and strong manual skills will give you an even bigger advantage.

This means that you should feel free to apply if you have the right interests and a few good grades. But if in doubt, it doesn't even matter that much. There is a shortage of skilled labour at the moment. This means that there are many companies desperately looking for trainees.

Try and apply and you will see if you have a chance. However, it should also be noted that the profession of electrician is not without dangers. Therefore, companies may take on trainees whose grades or manual skills are not the best. However, you will then have to show that you can learn and improve during your apprenticeship. In other words, you then have to prove yourself within the company.

In actuality, you can make your search for an apprenticeship even easier. Instead of blindly applying to a number of companies, a phone call is often enough to find out whether trainees are being sought after. If so, there is often a certain urgency. In this case, it is worth submitting your CV to those companies.

Contents of training as an electrician

Once you have found your training place, you will learn:

• How to assemble and disassemble assemblies
• How to measure and calculate electrical currents
• How to assemble switchgear assemblies and enclosures
• How to carry out further services and then document them
• How to create a plan with a design for the modification or expansion of a system and implement it
• How to check the systems and various safety devices
• How to plan and organise your own workflows
• How you calculate the company's requirements

You will therefore learn the basic knowledge you need to plan and carry out your own work independently in real working life. You will also learn how to prove this execution and how to comply with all rules and requirements arising from the safety regulations and the company's specifications.

After your apprenticeship, you can either concentrate on your job or continue your education. For example, you can train to become a state-certified technician. This allows you to work in development, lead teams or work as a project manager in electrical engineering.

If you want to become a master craftsman, you will gain in-depth knowledge in a number of areas. This will give you the skills, so that you can carry out more demanding work. You will also learn how to train apprentices yourself. This is rounded off with knowledge of business management so that you can become self-employed at the end if you wish.

The electronics engineer and the love of money

An electronics technician does not want to work for free. Nor should he, and he is paid for it. As always and in every profession, the salary represents the investment that a person has to put into their own training, such as the time and money, the demand that exists for this job and the requirements that have to be met when carrying out the job. A more expensive training programme therefore justifies a higher salary, as do longer training programmes. A job that is in high demand is paid more and a job that involves more responsibility is also paid more.

We can put it even more simply. Training as an electrician doesn't really cost you any money, because you already earn a wage during the training period. The duration of 3 ½ years is also not that long. In addition, a relatively large number of people can complete the actual training and the work is often carried out in a team with less individual responsibility. This means that there are many prerequisites for lower pay. The only point in favour of higher pay is the shortage of skilled workers.

However, to make the most of the shortage of skilled labour and to compensate for the other points - short training period, pay during training, many trainees, less responsibility - you have to work on yourself a little. Further training is a good way to do this.

Specialisation through further training

As you specialise through further training for electronics technicians, the investment in your training increases as you spend more time on it. By continuing your education, you will also be part of an ever-shrinking circle of specialists who are increasingly well versed in a particular specialisation. By becoming a state-certified technician, completing master craftsman training or studying at university, the responsibility you can take on increases. All of this also increases the demand for your particular skills. This means that the salary for electricians is now moving into completely different areas. This puts it in your hands to actively shape your income.

Electrician salary

The training period earns you around 1,000 euros gross per month. When you start work, this more than doubles to just over 2,000 euros gross per month. With a little work experience, you will already be earning 3,000 euros gross. If you have proven yourself in the job for 10 years, you can start with 3,600 Euros salary per month .

These figures are average values. They also vary by region. If you want to aim particularly high right from the start, you need to go to Bavaria, Hesse or Baden-Württemberg. Salaries for electricians are currently highest there.

While you have less control over where you are situated, you are also able to adapt your own behaviour accordingly if you want to earn more money. What does that mean? Go to the boss and tell him that your colleague is getting paid more and that you would like to be paid more? The answer will probably not be agreement, but an explanation as to why your colleague actually deserves the higher salary.

In other words, if you want more money, you have to earn it. You can do this quite simply by becoming more useful to your employer. In addition to the aforementioned further training, you can also do this by being much more committed. Instead of waiting for an assignment, you find the tasks and complete them. This will also give you more experience, which will be reflected in a better result for your work, which will then increase your value to the company. Show your willingness to perform, show commitment and develop your talent. Then you will be on your way to a salary that is above average.

Another way to increase your salary is to work for a larger company. Here, however, you can usually expect higher demands. You can earn even more if you are prepared to work shifts or even nights. The bonuses associated with this can be impressive.

In addition to the differences between the regions, there are also differences between the cities and the countryside. There is more money in large cities in particular. In addition, the south earns more than the north and the east. However, this comes at a price. The cost of living is also significantly higher in the south.