Skilled trades
Electrician in the United States
101 postings read · sampled 2026-10-01 · source ats · 29 employers · largest 13% of it
What employers actually ask for
Credentials named in the 101 postings we read, ranked by how many mentioned each one.
- Journeyman Electrician LicenceState licensing board22%
- Secret Security ClearanceU.S. Government (DCSA)6%6 of 101 postingsU.S. Government (DCSA) →
What it costs
Exam and application fees plus typical self-study hours. Almost nobody needs every credential on this list — start with the top line.
Not in the total: Secret Security Clearance — sponsored by an employer, not purchasable.
Lower signal for this role
Credentials that barely appeared in this sample. That is not a claim they are worthless — plenty are valuable for a different job, a different city, or a promotion later. It is a claim that employers here mostly did not ask.
- Associate DegreeAccredited institution2%2 of 101 postingsAccredited institution →
- CDL-AState DMV / FMCSA3%
- OSHA 10-HourOSHA Training Institute3%
What the official taxonomy says
O*NET surveys people already doing this job. That describes who got hired over a long window, not what employers are asking for now — where it disagrees with the counts above, the counts are the more current answer.
- Post-secondary certificate62%
- High school diploma or equivalent31%
- Less than high school diploma2%
Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
O*NET 47-2111.00 · pulled 2026-10-01 · percentages are of surveyed workers, each rounded separately, so they need not total 100
What it pays
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. A different survey from the postings above, so the two do not share a sample.
Every credential above costs $150 — less than a day's pay at the median.
Who was hiring
Employers with at least one matching posting in this sample.
Anduril Industries · Latitude Inc · SpaceX · McWane Inc · Sila Services · Walmart · Cogent Talent Solutions · Redwood Materials · Pearce Services · 360 IT Professionals · Atlas Energy Solutions · City of New York · Kodiak Robotics · Qualdoc · Relativity Space · Westgate Resorts · 1X · APR Consulting Inc · Budderfly · Etched · George P. Johnson (GPJ) · Ingram Barge Company · Innophos · J&J Snack Foods · MAT Holdings · Renuity · Rocket Lab · Saronic · The Florida Panthers
Next
- Roast and Resolve — Now aim your résumé at this target. Free roast, paid rewrite.
- Synap — Two-minute daily lessons to drill the skills underneath the credential.