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Home / Electricians / New Jersey
How to become an electrician in New Jersey
New Jersey licenses electricians at the state level through the New Jersey Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors.1 You start as an apprentice or trainee and work toward the exam.
Pick your way in
Earn while you learn
A program hires you, pays you on the job and runs your classes.
- Pay
- From day one
- In NJ
- 573 registered programs
Classroom first
Learn the basics, then find work to log your hours.
- Pay
- You pay tuition
- In NJ
- 17 schools with programs
Start on a crew
Get hired as a helper by a licensed electrical contractor and log hours on the job.
- Pay
- Paid on the job
- Start
- No experience needed
The license steps
Start as an apprentice or trainee
Join a registered apprenticeship, take a trade school program, or work as a helper for a licensed contractor.
- Issued by
- New Jersey Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors
Journeyman license
A four-year U.S. Department of Labor-approved apprenticeship followed by one additional journeyman year
Run your own shop
To bid and contract on your own you need a electrical contractor license or registration.
- Issued by
- Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors
Exam vendor, code book, fees, renewal and reciprocity for the New Jersey license.
$77,250
a year is the median for electricians in New Jersey ($37.14 an hour, May 2025).4
Pay by city and percentile- Trenton–Princeton$47.21
- Vineland$36.98
- Atlantic City–Hammonton$31.59
Questions
Do you need a license to work on your own as an electrician in New Jersey?
Check the Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors before you bid work on your own.1
Are electricians in demand in New Jersey?
Projections Central expects about 1,710 electrician openings a year in New Jersey through 2034, counting new jobs and people leaving the trade.3
Find an apprenticeship near you
573 registered programs in New Jersey. Enter your ZIP to see the closest ones and what they ask for.
Find a programMore for electricians in New Jersey
Sources
- New Jersey Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors (njconsumeraffairs.gov, 2026-10-27)
- New Jersey Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors: experience requirements (njconsumeraffairs.gov, 2026-10-27)
- Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2024-2034 (projectionscentral.org, 2024-2034)
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, New Jersey, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)