I've been working in administration for years and I'm thinking about changing sectors. My dad was an electrician his whole life and he tells me there's a lot of demand right now, but I'm not sure if it would still be that way with all this renewable energy stuff. Can someone who works in this field tell me how they see the future of the profession?
The demand for electricians is still really strong, even with renewables - actually, solar installations, batteries, and all that infrastructure need people who know their way around electricity.
What would change is that you'd have to be willing to constantly learn new stuff, not just traditional wiring but also smart systems and energy efficiency.
Are you thinking about doing a formal technical degree or more hands-on apprenticeship? because it depends a bit on how much time you have to make the transition from administrative work.
Renewable energy actually generates more work for electricians, not less - solar panels, batteries, storage systems, all that new infrastructure needs constant installation and maintenance.
What I would recommend is that while you're studying, you take supplementary courses in smart systems or home automation, because that's where the industry is moving now and it would give you an edge over someone who only knows the traditional stuff.
What actually changes the game is that installing a solar system isn't the same as maintaining it, and that's where the money stays. The others answered well about demand, but nobody mentioned that the work is getting more fragmented: some electricians end up specializing in renewables and make good money, but others stick with conventional installations that pay less every year. If you go into this, figure that the first few years you'll probably be doing training or making less while you learn the specialty, and regional market matters a lot (big cities have way more opportunities than small towns). That said, considering your dad lived off this his whole life, at least you know there are people who make it sustainable, so the sector is still viable if you specialize and don't just wait for work to come to you.
The sector is completely overwhelmed right now, and what you're seeing with renewables is the opposite of what you'd think: they need tons of qualified people to install panels, maintain battery systems, set up smart connections... All that's new work that didn't exist before. What I can tell you from my own experience is that people I know have gone from monotonous jobs to making pretty decent money without long university degrees, and on top of that they have more clients than they can handle; office work is more stressful and there's less demand every year, whereas an electrician with decent training right now can charge whatever rate they want. At 40-50 your dad probably saw the profession at its peak, but now with the energy transition it's even better, so go for it.
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