Career Path, skill route
Equipment: 10 skills, step by step
Understand why motors, control panels and machines run or stop.
New to the trade? Start with Common Foundation.
- Region
- Texas, United States
- Language
- English
- Units
- Metric
Other regions, languages and units
Texas is the first full career path. These are next. Until then, read the guide for your region.
- New South Wales, Australia: career path coming. Read the guide
- Ontario, Canada: career path coming. Read the guide
- England, United Kingdom: career path coming. Read the guide
- California, United States: career path coming. Read the guide
- Language: Traditional Chinese, coming
- Units: show US customary (imperial) or Dual units
Skills in order
Open any skill to see what it needs first, what it opens up and what to read. Skills in the same step can be learned in any order.
Step 1
Motor principles and types
How motors turn electricity into motion, rotor/stator/winding roles and common motor types.
Needs first: Electricity and magnetism: fields, Ampere's law, induction (Common Foundation)
Helps to know first: DC, AC and waveforms (Common Foundation)
Opens up: What a variable frequency drive does, Control panel components: relays, contactors, protection devices, The big picture of automated lines and smart warehouses, Electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, Sensory checks for pump and motor abnormalities
Texas Journeyman exam areas: Motors and Generators (NEC Knowledge); Motors and Generators (Calculations)
Read:
- Electric Motors, Generators and VFDs: One Clear Picture from Electromagnetic Induction to Real-World Power Systems
- What Is an Electric Motor? How Electricity Turns Into Motion
- What Is an Electromagnetic Winding? A Plain-English Guide for Motors, Transformers, and Coils
Practice this skill
Free question 1: A motor disconnect is required to be in sight from the motor. What does 'in sight from' mean under the NEC?
- The disconnect is in the same room, at any distance
- The disconnect is visible from the motor and not more than 50 ft away
- The disconnect is within 25 ft, even if a wall blocks the view
- The disconnect can be seen on a camera monitor at the motor
Show the answer
Answer: B. The disconnect is visible from the motor and not more than 50 ft away
'In sight from' means that one piece of equipment is visible from the other and not more than 50 ft distant. Distance alone, or a camera image, does not satisfy it.
Reference: NEC 110.29 (NEC 2026)
Lock-out/tag-out and machine safety
Lock-out/tag-out, energy isolation and machine guarding concepts and responsibilities.
Licensed work. This site explains the concept only. Doing the work needs the right license and supervision.
Needs first: Respect the site: how electric shock happens (Common Foundation), Lifesaving practice: voltage-testing concepts and spotting site hazards (Common Foundation)
Opens up: Reasoning about why equipment stops, De-energised work and isolation concepts for maintenance
Texas Journeyman exam areas: Electrical Control Devices and Disconnecting Means (NEC Knowledge)
English reading for this skill is coming.
Practice this skill
Free question 1: A motor disconnect is required to be in sight from the motor. What does 'in sight from' mean under the NEC?
- The disconnect is in the same room, at any distance
- The disconnect is visible from the motor and not more than 50 ft away
- The disconnect is within 25 ft, even if a wall blocks the view
- The disconnect can be seen on a camera monitor at the motor
Show the answer
Answer: B. The disconnect is visible from the motor and not more than 50 ft away
'In sight from' means that one piece of equipment is visible from the other and not more than 50 ft distant. Distance alone, or a camera image, does not satisfy it.
Reference: NEC 110.29 (NEC 2026)
Free question 2: A three-phase motor disconnect is being selected. Which design meets the NEC operating requirements for a motor disconnecting means?
- It opens all ungrounded supply conductors at once, and no pole can be operated independently
- It opens one ungrounded conductor, since that stops the motor
- It uses three single-pole switches, one for each phase
- It opens only the grounded conductor
Show the answer
Answer: A. It opens all ungrounded supply conductors at once, and no pole can be operated independently
The motor disconnecting means must open all ungrounded supply conductors and be designed so that no pole can be operated independently. Opening one phase can single-phase the motor and leaves parts energized.
Reference: NEC 430.103 (NEC 2026)
Three-phase power and power factor for plant loads
kW, kVA and kVAR, the cost of poor power factor and how it is improved.
Needs first: Three-phase power intuition (Energy), Power, energy and the electricity bill (W, kWh) (Common Foundation)
Helps to know first: Passive components: capacitors, inductors and impedance (Common Foundation)
Texas Journeyman exam areas: Motors and Generators (Calculations)
Read:
Practice this skill
Step 2
What a variable frequency drive does
How a VFD rectifies, filters and inverts to control motor speed.
Learn the concept here. Practice hands-on only under a qualified electrician.
Needs first: Motor principles and types
Helps to know first: Power electronics basics: rectifiers, LEDs and inverters (Common Foundation)
Read:
Practice this skill
Control panel components: relays, contactors, protection devices
What relays, contactors and protection relays do in a control panel and how they fail.
Learn the concept here. Practice hands-on only under a qualified electrician.
Needs first: Electricity and magnetism: fields, Ampere's law, induction (Common Foundation), Three lifesaving conductors: hot (live), neutral and ground (earth) (Common Foundation)
Helps to know first: Motor principles and types
Opens up: Sensor signal flow, The role and hardware architecture of a PLC, Reasoning about why equipment stops
Texas Journeyman exam areas: Electrical Control Devices and Disconnecting Means (NEC Knowledge); Electrical Control Devices and Disconnecting Means (Calculations)
Read:
- What Is a Protection Relay and How Does It Protect Your Circuit?
- 5 Key Facts About the Electromagnetic Relay Working Principle
Practice this skill
Free question 1: A three-phase motor disconnect is being selected. Which design meets the NEC operating requirements for a motor disconnecting means?
- It opens all ungrounded supply conductors at once, and no pole can be operated independently
- It opens one ungrounded conductor, since that stops the motor
- It uses three single-pole switches, one for each phase
- It opens only the grounded conductor
Show the answer
Answer: A. It opens all ungrounded supply conductors at once, and no pole can be operated independently
The motor disconnecting means must open all ungrounded supply conductors and be designed so that no pole can be operated independently. Opening one phase can single-phase the motor and leaves parts energized.
Reference: NEC 430.103 (NEC 2026)
Step 3
Sensor signal flow
How sensors such as Hall-effect sensors turn physical changes into control signals.
Needs first: Electricity and magnetism: fields, Ampere's law, induction (Common Foundation)
Helps to know first: Control panel components: relays, contactors, protection devices
Opens up: The role and hardware architecture of a PLC, Reasoning about why equipment stops
Read:
Practice this skill
Step 4
The role and hardware architecture of a PLC
Where a PLC sits in a line and how I/O modules relate to sensors and actuators.
Needs first: Sensor signal flow, Control panel components: relays, contactors, protection devices
Opens up: The big picture of automated lines and smart warehouses
English reading for this skill is coming.
Practice this skill
Reasoning about why equipment stops
Use trips, sensor signals and motor heat as clues to why a machine stopped, and escalate correctly.
Learn the concept here. Practice hands-on only under a qualified electrician.
Needs first: Control panel components: relays, contactors, protection devices, Sensor signal flow, Lock-out/tag-out and machine safety
Read:
- Types of Electrical Careers: 6 Paths Beyond Construction Section: Path 3: Industrial Equipment and Controls, Understand Why Machines Run or Stop
Practice this skill
Step 5
The big picture of automated lines and smart warehouses
How conveyors, picking, robots, controls and IT combine into an automated facility.
Needs first: The role and hardware architecture of a PLC
Helps to know first: Motor principles and types
Opens up: Semiconductor fab facility systems
Read:
Practice this skill
Step 6
Semiconductor fab facility systems
Power, gas, chemical, ultrapure water and cleanroom systems in a fab and the roles around them.
Learn the concept here. Practice hands-on only under a qualified electrician.
Needs first: Lifesaving practice: voltage-testing concepts and spotting site hazards (Common Foundation)
Helps to know first: The big picture of automated lines and smart warehouses
Read:
- Electrician Career Paths in the AI Era: 5 Routes and a 0 to 12 Month Roadmap Section: Route 3: Facilities engineer
Where this path leads
Jobs this route feeds into, from the U.S. Department of Labor O*NET and the European ESCO classification. Job titles and duties vary by employer and region.
- Electronics Engineers, Except Computer ProfessionalO*NET OnLine
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians TechnicianO*NET OnLine
- Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers Skilled tradeO*NET OnLine
- Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment TechnicianO*NET OnLine
- Electrical engineering technician Technician
Electrical engineering technicians work together with electrical engineers in electrical engineering research. They perform technical tasks and aid in the designing, testing, manufacturing and operation of electrical devices and facilities.
ESCO - Electromechanical engineering technician Technician
Electromechanical engineering technicians collaborate with electromechanical engineers in the development of electromechanical equipment. Electromechanical engineering technicians are responsible for building, installing, testing, monitoring, and maintaining the electromechanical equipment, circuits and systems
ESCO - Instrumentation engineering technician Technician
Instrumentation engineering technicians assist instrumentation engineers in the development of control equipment, such as valves, relays, and regulators, which can be used to monitor and control processes. Instrumentation engineering technicians are responsible for building, testing, monitoring, and maintaining of equipment
ESCO - Industrial electrician Skilled trade
Industrial electricians install and maintain electricity cables and other electrical infrastructure in large industrial and commercial buildings. They perform inspections and repair defective parts of electrical systems to ensure efficiency.
ESCO - Electrical mechanic Skilled trade
Electrical mechanics install, repair and maintain mechanical and electrical components of machinery, tools and equipment. They test electrical parts to ensure efficiency and make improvements accordingly.
ESCO
This page includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Skill routes: 1 + 6
The branches. Everyone starts with Common Foundation. The six routes run side by side, so you can grow in more than one. Inside a route, skills stack: later steps need the earlier ones.
- Common FoundationSafety habits and electrical basics every route starts with
- ConstructionTurn the drawings into conduit, wiring and equipment on site
- RepairFind the cause of a fault through observation and measurement concepts
- EquipmentUnderstand why motors, control panels and machines run or stop
- SystemsConnect power, signals, networks and device configuration
- EnergyGeneration, substations, transmission, solar and storage
- ManagementDrawings, quantity take-off, schedule and crew coordination
Back to the Texas license ladder
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