Because they must be licensed, most electrician jobs hold very similar requirements when it comes to electrical knowledge and skills. What can vary from job to job are the additional skills and abilities that may be associated with that specific job. For example, a chief electrician will need to have more hands-on experience in the oil and gas industry and will also need to have good leadership, communication, and management skills.
There are four basic electrician jobs associated with the oil and gas industry:
It can be more difficult to get a job as an apprentice in the oil and gas industry, but it is not impossible. Depending on the state, an apprenticeship may be as long as four years, and it must be combined with classroom and hands-on training. Apprentice electricians will assist the journeymen and perform some basic electrical work.
Journeymen are the most common electricians hired, and they perform the daily tasks, repairs, maintenance, construction, etc. required by the site.
The draftsman is hired more often for specific projects, to develop the specifications for electrical systems for reactivated or new sites.
The chief electrician is hired to oversee others, if the rig or site has multiple electricians. This person can also have other management-related tasks like creating a budget or reports.
In addition to completing a formal apprenticeship or training program and becoming licensed, other qualities that the electrician should possess include good color vision (electrical wires are often color coded), good troubleshooting or problem-solving skills, customer service skills, and critical thinking skills.
Other requirements you might see on an electrician job posting include: