Solar photovoltaic installers earned a median annual wage of $53,140 as of May 2025, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which projects 37 percent employment growth from 2025 to 2035, one of the fastest rates of any occupation tracked. Unlike most trades on this site, it does not require a multi-year apprenticeship. Most installers are working within 3 to 9 months of starting training.
What solar installers earn
The BLS median for solar photovoltaic installers is $53,140 annually as of May 2025. The bottom 10 percent earn under $37,000, and the top 10 percent, typically crew leads and installers in high-cost solar markets like California and the Northeast, earn more than $80,000. About 4,200 openings are projected each year over the coming decade.
This is the lowest median wage of any trade we've covered on this site, and that's worth saying plainly rather than burying it. What it trades against is the shortest entry timeline by a wide margin. A first-year plumbing or electrical apprentice earns less than a solar installer while investing four to five years to reach journeyman pay. A solar installer can be earning close to median wage inside a single year.
How to become a solar installer
Most installers complete a training program lasting 3 to 9 months, often through a community college, technical school, or a solar company's own paid training track. That's followed by OSHA safety certification and, for installers who want to advance past entry-level helper work, the NABCEP PV Installation Professional certification, the credential employers and customers most commonly ask for.
No four-year degree is required, and in most states no dedicated solar license exists, though some states require electrical licensing for anyone doing panel-to-grid wiring rather than just mounting and racking. That distinction matters: an installer who wants to do the full scope of the job, not just physical installation, benefits from pairing this training with an electrical apprenticeship track over time.
What the job actually involves
Entry-level installers spend most of their time on physical assembly: measuring and cutting mounting rails, carrying and positioning panels, and working on rooftops in whatever weather the job requires. It's outdoor, physical work, closer in daily texture to roofing or carpentry than to electrical work, at least at the entry level.
More experienced installers move into wiring panels to inverters and the electrical grid, system design, and site assessment, work that pays meaningfully more and increasingly overlaps with licensed electrical work. The ceiling in this trade is tied directly to how far an installer moves from "carries panels" toward "designs and wires systems."
Why this trade is growing so fast
Solar photovoltaic installer and wind turbine technician are, per the BLS, the two fastest-growing occupations in the country for the coming decade. The driver behind solar specifically is straightforward: falling equipment costs, utility-scale and residential demand both rising, and a construction and installation process that has to happen on-site, on a specific roof or plot of land, every time. No installer anywhere can do this work remotely.
That's the same logic behind every trade on this site. The asset has to be built and maintained where it physically sits, and that requirement doesn't change no matter how good AI gets at everything else.
The honest downsides
The median wage here is genuinely lower than plumbing, electrical work, or most trades we've profiled, and it's worth going in with that expectation set correctly rather than discovering it after training. The fast growth rate is also partly a function of a small, young occupation. Fast growth on a small base still means a modest number of total annual openings compared to a mature trade like electrical work.
The industry is also more exposed to policy than most trades on this site. Residential solar demand moves with interest rates, state net-metering rules, and federal tax credit policy, and 2024 saw an actual installation downturn in the residential segment following California's shift to less generous net-metering terms. A trade tied this closely to subsidy and policy cycles carries more variability than one tied to plumbing or basic electrical maintenance, which people need regardless of what Washington or a state legislature decides in a given year.
The work is also seasonal and weather-dependent in a way indoor trades aren't. Installers in colder climates often see slower winters.
Who this trade actually fits
People who want the shortest possible path from zero to a paycheck in a trade that can't be automated or outsourced. People comfortable with physical, outdoor labor who aren't ready to commit to a four-to-five-year apprenticeship yet, or who want to test the trades generally before committing to one with a longer runway. It's also a reasonable entry point for someone who wants to eventually move into electrical work and would rather start earning immediately than begin with zero income in a formal apprenticeship.
It's a weaker fit for anyone who needs the higher earning ceiling of electrical, plumbing, or elevator work from day one, or who wants a nationally uniform licensing path rather than a patchwork of state and company-specific standards.
- How long does it take to become a solar installer?
- Most installers complete training in 3 to 9 months, followed by OSHA safety certification. This is significantly shorter than the 4- to 5-year apprenticeships common in plumbing, electrical work, or ironworking.
- Do you need a license to install solar panels?
- Most states don't require a dedicated solar installer license for mounting and racking work. Wiring panels into the electrical grid often requires electrical licensing, which varies by state.
- Is solar installer a good career, or just a good entry point?
- Both, depending on the goal. The median wage of $53,140 is lower than most trades on this site, but the training timeline is by far the shortest. Many installers use it as a stepping stone toward licensed electrical work.
- Is solar installation a stable industry?
- Growth is strong overall, but the residential segment is more exposed to interest rates, tax credit policy, and state net-metering rules than most trades. It saw an installation downturn in 2024 tied to policy changes in California, its largest market.