Can AI replace electrician jobs the way it's replacing entry-level office jobs?

Recent college graduate unemployment climbed to 5.7% in the fourth quarter of 2025, higher than the 4.2% rate for the overall U.S. workforce, according to the New York Fed. Underemployment, meaning grads working in jobs that do not require a degree, hit 42.5% in the same period.

For young workers facing a weak entry-level office market, yes. Electrician employment is projected to grow 9% from 2024 to 2034, the median wage is $62,350, and apprentices earn paid wages from day one instead of paying tuition.

Most apprentices start around $17 to $22 per hour, roughly 50% of the full journeyman rate, and scale up to a full journeyman wage by year four. First-year apprentices typically earn $35,000 to $40,000 per year before overtime.

Most apprenticeships take 4-5 years to complete, requiring 8,000 hours of on-the-job training plus classroom instruction. You can then take your journeyman exam.

Electricians carry a low automation risk of 27%, according to willrobotstakemyjob.com, and analyses from McKinsey and the OECD rank skilled trades among the lower-risk occupations for automation. Electrical work requires hands, judgment, and physical presence on a job site, which is the opposite of what AI is good at.