North Carolina·Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations·SOC 49-2095

Best Electrical programs in North Carolina, ranked by enrollment

Inspect, test, repair, or maintain electrical equipment in generating stations, substations, and in-service.

29 schools in North Carolina run programs that feed this job, graduating 454 people a year. The job pays a median of $104,710 in North Carolina across about 950 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledWiremanRelay TechnicianSubstation TechnicianSubstation ElectricianLinemanInside WiremanRelay EngineerRelay Operator
Graduates / yr
454
in North Carolina
Median pay · North Carolina
$104,710
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
950
people employed
Schools
29
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
46%
across those schools
Median net price
$37,072
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in North Carolina that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

3 programs in North Carolina that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in North Carolina (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own North Carolina page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1308
67.8%
26$59,859$15,372
288
19.4%
1$39,766$9,500
358
12.8%
2$37,415$9,500

Top 25 schools in North Carolina

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 3 of the 29 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Richmond Community College
Hamlet, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
88Electrical and Power Transmission Installation/Installer, General$73,77446%
2Miller - Motte College - Jacksonville
Jacksonville, NC Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
37Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians, Other75%$21,837
3Davidson - Davie Community College
Thomasville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
29Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician46%
4Central Piedmont Community College
Charlotte, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
26Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician31%
5Forsyth Technical Community College
Winston-Salem, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
25Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician34%
6Pitt Community College
Winterville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
25Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician35%
7Coastal Carolina Community College
Jacksonville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
22Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician49%
8Miller - Motte College - Fayetteville
Fayetteville, NC Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
21Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians, Other78%
9Guilford Technical Community College
Jamestown, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
20Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician31%
10Wake Technical Community College
Raleigh, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
20Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician33%
11University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Charlotte, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
19Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician$66,42169%80%
12Asheville - Buncombe Technical Community College
Asheville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
17Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician40%
13Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
14Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician$67,00360%82%
14Mitchell Community College
Statesville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
11Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician28%
15Rowan - Cabarrus Community College
Salisbury, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
11Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician35%
16Isothermal Community College
Spindale, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
9Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician55%
17Central Carolina Community College
Sanford, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
8Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician43%
18Craven Community College
New Bern, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
8Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician48%
19Durham Technical Community College
Durham, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
7Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician45%
20High Point University
High Point, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
7Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician74%$37,07275%
21Vance - Granville Community College
Henderson, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
5Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician53%
22Western Piedmont Community College
Morganton, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
5Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician49%
23Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute
Hudson, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
4Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician45%
24Catawba Valley Community College
Hickory, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
4Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician35%
25Stanly Community College
Albemarle, NC Public · 1 feeder programs
4Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician48%

All 29 schools in North Carolina

Every school in North Carolina with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in North Carolina that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Richmond Community CollegeHamletPublic881
Miller - Motte College - JacksonvilleJacksonvillePrivate for-profit371
Davidson - Davie Community CollegeThomasvillePublic291
Central Piedmont Community CollegeCharlottePublic261
Forsyth Technical Community CollegeWinston-SalemPublic251
Pitt Community CollegeWintervillePublic251
Coastal Carolina Community CollegeJacksonvillePublic221
Miller - Motte College - FayettevilleFayettevillePrivate for-profit211
Guilford Technical Community CollegeJamestownPublic201
Wake Technical Community CollegeRaleighPublic201
University of North Carolina at CharlotteCharlottePublic191
Asheville - Buncombe Technical Community CollegeAshevillePublic171
Western Carolina UniversityCullowheePublic141
Mitchell Community CollegeStatesvillePublic111
Rowan - Cabarrus Community CollegeSalisburyPublic111

What electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay earn in North Carolina

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in North Carolina
$104,710
Mean annual
$98,330
Jobs in state
950
What the range looks like
10th pct$65,540Median$104,71090th pct$117,150
Versus the national median
+1.6%

U.S. median $103,020. North Carolina pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
1.45×

Concentrated here: North Carolina employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.

Metro areas in North Carolina

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
$105,300median
280 jobs
Wilmington, NC
$106,950median
60 jobs
Raleigh-Cary, NC
$99,480median
90 jobs
Greensboro-High Point, NC
$108,240median
70 jobs
Winston-Salem, NC
$102,310median
50 jobs
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC
$103,100median
30 jobs
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
$99,590median
50 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+5.5%
Faster than average
Openings per year
2,000
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
1,300
23,400 → 24,700
Typical entry education
Postsecondary nondegree award
Plus moderate-term on-the-job training

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay page.

How to become a Electrical

Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0
Typical entry education
Postsecondary nondegree award
Work experience needed
Less than 5 years
On-the-job training
Moderate-term on-the-job training

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Top skills

Critical ThinkingReading ComprehensionActive ListeningSpeakingMonitoringWriting

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in North Carolina

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 4 majors mapped to Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay4 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 15.0303Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician
  • 15.1702Power Plant Technology/Technician
  • 46.0301Electrical and Power Transmission Installation/Installer, General
  • 47.0199Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians, Other

Common questions

Answers for people weighing electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay programs in North Carolina.

What degree do you need to become an Electrical?+

Postsecondary nondegree award is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician, which awarded 308 degrees in North Carolina in 2024-25, 67.8% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming an Electrical?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Electrical and Power Transmission Installers, Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 454 people a year in North Carolina.

How much do electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay earn in North Carolina?+

The median is $104,710 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 1.6% above the U.S. median of $103,020. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay growing?+

BLS projects a +5.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 2,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in North Carolina?+

29 institutions in North Carolina reported graduates from at least one of the 3 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Wireman, Relay Technician, Substation Technician, Substation Electrician among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 49-2095.

Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay in other statesTexasIllinoisVirginiaNew YorkFloridaOhioTennesseeCalifornia

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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