A commercial journeyman electrician holds a journeyman license, where the state issues one, and installs and services power, lighting and controls in offices, stores, schools and light industrial buildings. They run conduit and feeders, set and terminate three-phase panelboards and switchgear, and lead an apprentice or two on site.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, electrical contractors · BLS, May 2025
Responsible for installing, repairing, and maintaining commercial electrical systems independently to ensure safe and efficient operations. Contributes to the company’s high standards of service and customer satisfaction by consistently providing expert electrical solutions.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Install new commercial electrical systems and equipment in accordance with local codes and industry standards.
Repair and troubleshoot electrical issues in existing systems to minimize downtime.
Perform routine inspections and preventative maintenance to ensure optimal performance.
Read and interpret blueprints, schematics, and technical drawings for accurate installation and repairs.
Maintain detailed records of work performed and materials used.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Conduct pre-job assessments and site evaluations prior to commencing work.
Coordinate with project managers and site supervisors to schedule and execute work efficiently.
Interact with customers to explain work performed and address any service concerns.
Document daily activities and update work orders for continuous process improvement.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Revenue per Hour: Achieve a minimum of $150 per hour.
Callback Percentage: Maintain a callback rate of less than 5%.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: Exceed an average rating of 4.8 stars.
Safety Incident Rate: Ensure zero safety-related incidents during projects.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Valid Journeyman Electrician certification recognized by the state.
Minimum of 3 years of commercial electrical experience.
Proficiency in reading blueprints, schematics, and technical documents.
Strong problem-solving, communication, and customer service skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Previous work experience in a commercial or industrial electrical environment.
Experience with advanced electrical control systems and modern energy-efficient technologies.
Familiarity with large-scale commercial projects and complex electrical networks.
Prior experience working independently with minimal supervision.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift and carry up to 50 lbs.
Work in varied environments including confined spaces and outdoor settings.
Frequent climbing, bending, and maneuvering in areas with overhead hazards.
Consistent use of personal protective equipment in compliance with safety regulations.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours consist of a 40-hour week.
May require weekend or overtime hours based on project demands.
On-call or emergency response duties as needed.
Regular travel within designated service areas to service multiple job sites.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Hourly rate ranging between $25 - $35 per hour.
Eligibility for performance-based bonus incentives.
Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision insurance plans.
401k retirement plan with company match.
Paid time off, holidays, and additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we foster an environment of innovation, teamwork, and continual growth.
Our commitment to excellence ensures that all team members are empowered with the latest tools and training.
We value diversity and an inclusive work atmosphere that supports professional development.
Join a company where your skills are recognized and your potential is nurtured to help you achieve long-term success.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
A commercial journeyman opens bigger gear, shares the site with more trades and works under stricter rules for live parts. Many jobs happen in buildings that stay open while the work goes on.
Arc flash lives in commercial gear
OSHA's arc flash guide says arc flashes typically involve large panels, switchboards, motor control centers, transformers and metal-clad switchgear. That is the gear a commercial journeyman opens every week. The guide also warns that a shut-off circuit isn't the same as an electrically safe one. NFPA 70E defines that as disconnected, locked or tagged out, and tested for absence of voltage. Source: OSHA: Protecting employees from electric-arc flash hazards (OSHA 4472, 2024).
Dead parts first, then locks and tags
OSHA writes one set of electrical rules for general industry and another for construction. Service in a running building usually falls under the general industry rule: shut off live parts before work unless that adds hazards, like cutting off alarms, or isn't feasible, like testing, then lock out, tag or both. New installs and build-outs usually fall under the construction rule, 1926.417, which has crews disable and tag every point a circuit could be energized from. Which applies depends on the work. Source: OSHA: Selection and use of electrical work practices (29 CFR 1910.333).
Open buildings set the hours
Tenant work in an open mall or a busy office often moves to nights or weekends so power can be off. Where covers come off near other people, OSHA's general industry rules call for signs and barricades to keep workers away from exposed live parts, and an attendant when those aren't enough. The journeyman plans the shutdown with the building contact and puts every cover back before people return. Source: OSHA: Safeguards for personnel protection (29 CFR 1910.335).
Fire alarm and low-voltage work may need its own license
Fire alarm, nurse call, controls and data cabling often land on the electrical contractor. Oregon licenses limited energy technicians on their own, its experience route lists fire alarm and other signaling work, and a Class A holder must work for an electrical contractor, a limited energy contractor or one industrial plant. Other states handle this work their own way, so check before you staff it. Source: Oregon License Directory: Limited energy technician Class A (LEA).
Public jobs are paid by the work done
Minnesota requires prevailing wage on construction funded in whole or in part by state money, including state buildings, colleges and schools. The rate depends on the type of work each person does. So on those jobs the journeyman's daily time sheet becomes a pay record, and the hours by job and by type of work have to be right. Source: Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry: Prevailing wage information.
How much commercial journeyman electricians make
Electricians who work for electrical contractors earned a median of $29.60 an hour ($61,570 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $63,190 median for electricians in all industries. About 541,390 of the 757,220 electricians in that survey work for electrical contractors.
Hourly with overtime, plus the template's bonus for performance. On public jobs a prevailing rate can set the floor for those hours, and it may sit above your shop rate.
Electrical contractors
$61,570$61,570 median Middle half $48,310–$80,740 10th–90th $39,560–$108,780
All industries
$63,190$63,190 median Middle half $49,430–$83,940 10th–90th $42,640–$108,510
$25k$50k$75k$100k$125k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Electrical contractors
$39,560
$48,310
$61,570
$80,740
$108,780
All industries
$42,640
$49,430
$63,190
$83,940
$108,510
BLS reports residential and commercial electrical contractors together. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Holds a journeyman license valid in each state where you work
Bends and installs EMT and rigid conduit in neat parallel runs
Sets, feeds and terminates three-phase panelboards and transformers
Reads electrical drawings, one-line diagrams and panel schedules
Follows your lockout and arc flash steps every time gear is opened
Keeps an apprentice busy and the day's work moving with no foreman nearby
Teach these on the job
Your daily reports, time and material tickets and as-built markups
The lighting control and fire alarm systems you install
Each general contractor's site rules and badge process
Your energized work permit and arc flash label process
Prevailing wage time sheets by class of work
The company owns the heavy kit: hydraulic benders, threaders, tuggers, knockout sets, lifts, and the arc-rated suits and face shields for gear work. Journeymen carry hand tools and meters rated for the gear they open, usually CAT III or CAT IV. In the ad, name the kinds of buildings you work in and the mix of new work, tenant work and service.
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Pressure to work energized
The general contractor's superintendent wants a new circuit landed in a live panel today because the shutdown isn't until Saturday. What do you do?
A strong answer: Won't work energized without a justified, approved energized-work permit under the company's program, explains why to the superintendent and foreman, and plans for the shutdown.
Behavioral · Trade coordination
Tell me about a time another trade's work blocked your conduit or cable runs.
A strong answer: Talked with the other trade, brought in the foreman when needed, stayed productive elsewhere, and documented the delay.
Build each target from jobs you have already closed, and keep service tickets and bid work in separate columns.
Revenue per Hour
On service and time-and-material work, billed revenue divided by hours on those tickets. On bid jobs, compare installed hours with the estimate's labor instead, since the contract fixes the revenue.
Callback Percentage
Warranty returns and failed inspection items traced to the journeyman's own work, per job or ticket closed in the month. Owner changes and design errors aren't callbacks, so tag each return before you count it.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Ratings from the general contractor's superintendent, the facility manager or the store manager on each job, plus the length of the punch list at closeout. Ask about cleanup and communication too.
Safety Incident Rate
Recordable injuries, near misses and safety violations on the journeyman's jobs, including lockout and arc flash audit findings. Track them against hours worked so long jobs compare fairly with short ones.
Not 70E by name. OSHA has never made NFPA 70E part of its rules. But OSHA's general industry rule, 1910.332, requires electricians and others who face a shock risk to be trained in the safe work practices their jobs call for. Qualified workers must learn to tell exposed live parts from other parts, find their voltage and know the clearance distances. OSHA also says consensus standards like 70E are sometimes used as evidence that a hazard is recognized, so many contractors train to it.
How much does a commercial journeyman electrician make?
Electricians who work for electrical contractors earned a median of $29.60 an hour ($61,570 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $48,310 and $80,740 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
How can I test a commercial journeyman's skills before hiring?
Hand them a bender, a stick of EMT and a sketch with an offset and a kick, then watch the layout and the result. Next, give them a panel schedule and a one-line diagram and ask how they would feed a new rooftop unit. Last, ask how they would prove a feeder dead before cutting it. You want clean math and a test-before-touch habit.
How is a commercial journeyman different from a field supervisor?
The journeyman installs. The field supervisor, often called the foreman, plans the crew's week, orders material, keeps pace with the general contractor's schedule and signs the daily reports. Plenty of foremen keep a hand in the install work for part of each day. When you promote, pick the journeyman who plans well, not just the fastest installer.
How much commercial experience should I ask for?
Three years of commercial work is the template's floor. What kind matters more than how long. Someone who has only roughed in strip mall shells may never have terminated switchgear or worked in an occupied hospital or school. Ask about their two most recent jobs, the largest service they helped set and whether they have worked in a running building.
