r/AusElectricians

How much money do sparkies actually make?

Seek reckons $95,000 - $115,000. But I hear it being a lot higher.

So what is your income? After expenses but pre-tax.

I'm recovering from an L5 S1 disc protrusion and looking at getting back into this career has anyone got any experience with their bad discs?

Edit I'm 23 and I believe I did my back Doing heavy squats

How do you guys feel about the Aus Standards being made a free for all?

I’m asking as i feel the general consensus is for young people nowadays is to do a trade, where most people say to become an electrician. Anyone else concerned that the feild may even become over saturated or is the demand for sparkies still to great for that to be an issue? - coming from someone 5 months into first year as a spark- cheers would love if someone could expand on their thoughts

Anyone here applied for a WA license recently? Says 4-8 weeks to switch over from NSW.

I just have a job opportunity and could be a deal breaker if its 8.

Does anyone know if completing a Cert II lets you fast-track into Semester 2 of a Cert III at TAFE? I’m about to finish my Cert II and start Cert III next semester. I’ve heard 6 modules are transferable, but I’m not sure if that covers all Semester 1 units so I can join the cohort that started earlier this year.

G'day sparkie and sparkets just a quick question for the solar sector as I have been trying to improve my installation times for jobs.

When running AC supply and Battery Backup for a 10kW inverter, I want to utilise the full 40A, so a 10mm 4c+e with a black sleeved active conductor as neutral would save me running 2 x TPS and allow me to run only one cable, (plus's get the 40A) my question to you is;

1. is there such a cable out there that has
   2x10mm actives, 2x10mm Neutrals and a
   6mm earth or am I limited to using 3* cable and sleeving one of the actives,

2. can I utilise a 3 phase isolator and run both battery and ac supply through the one isolator? A friend of mine in the same sector says he is doing this currently but I can't find any resources on why it could be wrong, (I'm currently using 2 isolators)

And finally 3) is there anything you guys have improved on in the past that saved you a bunch of time?

Would love to get your experiences and knowledge 🤙
Legends.

Hey legends, after a bit of advice.

I’m a bit embarrassed to admit I’ve never really done insulation resistance testing outside of TAFE. The company I work for has never used an IR tester and doesn’t even own one, so I’ve basically just done all fault finding with a multimeter up until now.

I’ve recently started learning more about IR testing (mainly for fault finding) and I’m about to buy a tester and start using it properly. Bit of a gap in my skillset I’m trying to fix.

I’ve heard IR testing can potentially damage certain equipment/loads, so I understand the importance of isolating things, I’ll mainly be using 500V for residential work.

My question is: in real-world fault finding, do you actually disconnect things like dimmers, LED drivers, appliances, etc every time you IR a sub-circuit? Or is there a more practical approach people use? It seems like it could get very time consuming depending on the job, especially if you’re chasing a fault rather than doing compliance testing.

Also looking at buying my first tester, debating between the Klein ET600 and the Kyoritsu 3132A. Any clear winner or preference between the two in real use?

Appreciate any advice.

Hey guys,

I qualified as an electrician last year and have about 3–4 months of post-trade experience so far. I’m currently working in data centres, and while the money is really good, I’m starting to worry about the type of experience I’m getting.

During my apprenticeship I only got around a year of residential work, so I don’t feel very confident with things like switchboard wiring, fault finding, or maintenance on existing installs. In my current role, the work feels a bit specialised and repetitive, and I’m concerned I’m not becoming a well-rounded sparky.

Part of me thinks it’s early in my career and I can always go get that experience later. But another part of me feels like I should be doing that now while I’m still young, before I get too comfortable or “stuck” in this kind of work.

I’ve even considered picking up Saturday work with a smaller company to build those skills, but I worry I’ll come across as incompetent or behind compared to others.

On top of that, I’ve noticed this is starting to affect my confidence in and outside of work. I second guess myself a lot, even when I know I can do the task. I think some of that might come from how I was treated growing up,, feeling like I’m not quite good enough tends to carry over into work.

Just wondering if anyone else has been in a similar position early in their career? Did you stick it out where the money was, or move to get broader experience? And how did you deal with the confidence side of things?

Appreciate any advice.

Hello all, first year apprentice fridgie (not a sparky I know) here and I am having some concerns. I recently asked a couple of guys what they make an hour and the numbers for some of them were pretty low (In the $30's per hour). With the cost of living at the moment it feels like I will never be financially comfortable. How are you guys coping with it all? Are you making enough money? How do you make more money? What is the game plan financially? Just need some ideas and thoughts, thanks.

Hi all, I am qualified sparky and thinking of doing a project management course. Few questions For people who have done a PM degree.

Did you find it taught you many helpful skills?

Did it open you up to new career paths?

Did you enjoy the course?

Cheers legends

Honestly it feels like electrical apprenticeships in Australia are becoming more about labour than actual training.

On paper, ESV, TAFE, supervision requirements, and training standards all sound good. In reality, a lot of those rules barely exist once you’re onsite.

First year apprentices get sent out alone, expected to figure things out themselves, or used mainly for repetitive labour instead of learning properly.

TAFE teaches proper procedures and competencies, but has no real authority over workplaces. ESV says supervision rules exist, but realistically there’s very little control unless someone gets seriously injured or dies. Getting shocked, unsafe supervision, or near misses often don’t even seem to matter enough.

So apprentices end up stuck in the middle.

The workplace wants productivity.
TAFE wants competencies completed.
ESV has rules on paper.
The apprentice carries the risk.

People say apprentices should “just refuse unsafe work” or “take charge,” but it’s not that simple when apprentices have no real power and no safe pathway to push back. Speaking up can easily lead to reduced hours, getting treated badly, or losing the job completely.

ESV also claims apprentices can report unsafe workplaces and get help finding another employer, but in reality most of the response just becomes “talk to your TAFE,” which pushes the issue somewhere else instead of solving it.

Companies also know how competitive electrical apprenticeships are now. One apprenticeship posting gets hundreds of resumes, so employers know apprentices are replaceable. That power imbalance keeps a lot of people quiet.

There are definitely good companies and good tradies out there, but there’s still a massive gap between what the apprenticeship system says should happen and what actually happens onsite.

EDIT: This post was edited and cleaned up with ChatGPT for readability, but all opinions and experiences written here are based on my own experiences as an apprentice.

Hey everyone

I'm a final year Product Design student looking to develop a product that will be aimed at helping sparkies on site. I'd love to hear from those in the trade about what frustrates ya the most at work, regardless of whether it is tool-based or just a situation in general.

Your responses will be super valuable for guiding the direction of my project and the product I develop.

Cheers to anyone willing to share!

Anyone else getting sick of the wages questions?