15 highest paying electrician jobs (Duties and salaries)
Updated 21 August 2023
Electricity has many uses, which enables electricians to specialise in different sectors to establish and maintain commercial, residential and municipal projects. Electrical specialists have different responsibilities and income potential. Knowing about electrician jobs with a high earning potential can help you decide which job matches your knowledge and skills to advance your career. In this article, we offer a list of 15 of the highest paying electrician jobs, outline their national average salaries and highlight the duties of each position.
Salary figures reflect data listed on Indeed Salaries at the time of writing. Salaries may vary depending on the hiring organisation and a candidate's experience, academic background and location.
15 highest paying electrician jobs
Here's a list of 15 of the highest paying electrician jobs:
1. Avionics technician
National average salary: £30,546 per year
Primary duties: An avionics technician installs, tests, maintains and repairs electronic equipment on aircraft and spacecraft. Examples of equipment and systems they work on include radios, radar and navigation systems. They also maintain the wiring that connects these systems, diagnose avionic issues, perform checks and tests before flights to ensure electronic equipment is functioning and organise test equipment and aircraft maintenance staff for flight tests. These professionals coordinate their work with aircraft engineers and technicians and maintain records of repairs and tests.
2. Wind turbine technician
National average salary: £31,751 per year
Primary duties: A wind turbine technician maintains electrical, hydraulic and mechanical systems on wind turbines. They ensure the safe operation of wind turbines through installations, inspections, adjustments and repairs. Wind turbine technicians travel to different sites to maintain equipment, monitor inventory and order spares. They also follow strict safety procedures and update site managers using checklists and reports on their inspections, maintenance and repairs.
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Related: Certified electrician vs licensed electrician: a guide
3. Electrical technician
National average salary: £32,581 per year
Primary duties: An electrical technician usually works under an electrical engineer to install electrical equipment, wiring and outlets in buildings. They conduct tests on new systems, respond to service requests, troubleshoot electrical systems, estimate timelines to complete repairs, install new or repair existing equipment and perform routine preventative maintenance. Electrical technicians also advise management and electrical engineers on equipment and systems, read and interpret blueprints and diagrams, maintain a record of all services and report to the electrical engineer or management.
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Related: How much does an electrician make? (With key skills)
4. Marine technicians
National average salary: £32,973 per year
Primary duties: A marine technician inspects and maintains electrical systems on marine vessels, such as ships, boats and yachts. Marine technicians install and repair electrical wiring, secure work and rest areas to ensure the safety of crew and passengers and maintain an inventory of electrical equipment and spares. They also connect the power supply to electronic equipment on vessels and conduct tests periodically and before long voyages.
5. Maintenance electrician
National average salary: £33,958 per year
Primary duties: A maintenance electrician diagnoses issues and repairs electrical equipment in commercial, industrial and residential buildings. Car maintenance electricians install electrical systems when necessary and inspect electrical components, such as loading fuses, transformers, wiring, switches, panels and circuit breakers. They collaborate with carpenters, welders, plumbers and machinists for larger projects. They also document maintenance tests and repairs and create preventative maintenance plans.
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Related: 11 careers in electricity (With salaries and duties)
6. Automation technician
National average salary: £35,059 per year
Primary duties: An automation technician installs, maintains and repairs computer, robotic and electric systems to automate processes in various industrial settings, such as manufacturing and large-scale agricultural operations. They install, maintain, troubleshoot and repair industrial automation and control systems, such as programmable logic controllers, and observe safety standards when working on various systems. Automation technicians also create or follow blueprints of structures and machinery to install and maintain systems.
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Related: How to become an auto electrician (Plus definition)
7. Commercial electrician
National average salary: £36,587 per year
Primary duties: A commercial electrician performs electrical works on commercial buildings, including factories and offices. They design electrical systems for commercial buildings and collaborate with engineers and architects to ensure other building systems, such as heating, cooling and lighting systems, integrate efficiently. Commercial electricians also provide price estimates for electrical installations, install new systems and perform routine and emergency maintenance.
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Read more: Domestic vs commercial electrician: what's the difference?
8. Electrical estimator
National average salary: £36,772 per year
Primary duties: An electrical estimator works for project management, electrical contracting or construction companies to estimate the cost of installing electrical systems and equipment. They analyse construction blueprints to identify electrical needs, provide solutions within a specific budget and prepare project briefs for project management or electrical contracting companies. Electrical estimators also evaluate the labour necessary to complete a project, update cost databases to reflect cost fluctuations and compare estimates to determine if it's more profitable to construct or subcontract the installation of electrical components.
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Related: What does an estimator do? (Plus salary information)
9. Industrial electrician
National average salary: £37,035 per year
Primary duties: An industrial electrician works in manufacturing and commercial settings with heavy equipment to manage large amounts of electricity. They may specialise in specific industrial electrical systems, such as power distribution, automation or robotics. Their duties include installing electrical equipment and systems in factories, troubleshooting electrical issues such as power outages, and coordinating with contractors and engineers to integrate electrical systems in large construction projects. Industrial electricians also perform routine inspections and repairs on electrical equipment.
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Related: How to become an industrial electrician (With key skills)
10. Solar installer
National average salary: £37,111 per year
Primary duties: A solar installer fits, maintains and replaces solar panels on buildings and land for energy supply. They evaluate a property to create an installation plan according to the client's requirements, connect panels to a building's electricity system and ensure outdoor equipment is weatherproof. A solar installer also provides cost estimates for installing a solar energy system, assesses locations to determine installation areas and adjusts building surfaces to accommodate solar panels.
11. Electrical foreperson
National average salary: £37,150 per year
Primary duties: An electrical foreperson leads a team of electricians and support staff to plan, install, repair, inspect and maintain electrical systems. They also estimate the costs of electrical projects, review electrical procedures, collaborate with contractors and electrical engineers to meet the project's design needs and recommend changes to ensure they meet local standards. An electrical foreperson also delegates responsibilities to their team to ensure compliance with safety procedures.
Related: How to write an electrical project manager CV
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12. Lead electrician
National average salary: £38,492 per year
Primary duties: A lead electrician delegates responsibilities, provides guidance and trains electricians to perform their duties, including installing, maintaining, troubleshooting and repairing electrical systems. Lead electricians inspect electrical systems, recommend maintenance tasks and identify necessary repairs. They analyse schematics, blueprints and drawings to determine processes for efficient installation and inspect other electricians' work to ensure compliance with codes and safety regulations.
13. Electrical designer
National average salary: £39,696 per year
Primary duties: An electrical designer creates diagrams and layouts for electrical circuits, systems and power distribution. They may specialise in designing commercial, industrial or residential electric systems. These professionals create and update electrical drawings, coordinate with contractors, engineers and architects to ensure the design is feasible and calculate voltage supply. Electrical designers ensure designs comply with building standards, estimate costs of materials and labour for installing electrical projects and create specifications for purchasing equipment.
Related: How to become an electrical designer in 8 simple steps
14. Linesperson
National average salary: £51,820 per year
Primary duties: A linesperson installs, repairs and upgrades overhead and underground electrical transmission and distribution systems. They also dig trenches to install underground lines and equipment such as transformers, set up and climb poles to install and maintain overhead lines, install metres and create records of their work. A linesperson can work for energy, utility and telecommunication companies.
15. Substation technician
National average salary: £58,475 per year
Primary duties: A substation technician performs installations and routine maintenance and makes emergency repairs on wiring systems and control panels in electrical substations. Substations are large electrical plants and transformers that convert the transmission of high-voltage electricity into lower voltages for distribution. A substation technician also inspects electrical facilities and equipment to ensure they meet standards, coordinates with other service station personnel to schedule maintenance and repairs and maintains records of tasks they perform on sensitive equipment, such as transformers and circuit breakers.
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Salary figures reflect data listed on the quoted websites at the time of writing. Salaries may vary depending on the hiring organisation and a candidate's experience, academic background and location.
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