Christy Hovanetz, Ph.D., is a Senior Policy Fellow for ExcelinEd focusing on school accountability and math policies.
We celebrate Labor Day on the first Monday in September, honoring the American labor movement of the late 19th century. Oregon was the first state to celebrate Labor Day back in 1887, and soon after 30 more states joined in to commemorate the contributions of laborers who built our country. In 1894, Labor Day was declared a federal holiday during President Grover Cleveland’s second term.
America’s labor movement originated during the Industrial Revolution, when unskilled agricultural jobs were replaced with factory jobs. Today, the electrification of the United States has created demand for electricity to power homes, factories, office buildings, data centers, EV chargers, utilities, construction, manufacturing, renewable energy, cybersecurity, broadband services, cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence and upgrades to the nation’s electrical grid. This growth means there’s also a pressing need for electricians.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the demand for electricians will grow 6% annually until 2032—twice the rate of all other occupations—creating 73,500 job openings each year. These jobs fetch a median salary of $61,590 per year, though the highest paid 10% made more than $104,000.
Math is an important part of the electrician skillset.
Electricians use addition, subtraction, multiplication and division with fractions, percentages and decimals to determine room dimensions, wiring lengths, watt conversions and load calculations to select the correct size circuit breaker or fuse is needed.
Ohm’s Law is an example of the logical thinking, problem solving and practical math electricians use to figure out the current of a circuit, voltage drop, power loss and conductor resistance. Trigonometry, specifically the tangent function, is used to figure the precise angle to bend a section of conduit to protect and route electrical wire when wiring a structure. Geometry, especially the Pythagorean Theorem, is needed to understand basic alternating current (AC) power concepts.
Electricians must be adept at calculating these equations and applying math principles to solve routine electrical problems.
But it’s not just electricians that need math in the workforce. In our 21st century economy, 94 percent of jobs require some level of math skill for tasks such as budgeting, time management, using charts and graphs, using fractions and more.
Implementing good policy is a labor of love. And ExcelinEd’s math policy fundamental principles and comprehensive K-8 math model policy will reduce work time if you’re seeking math policy ideas—and allow you recharge during your Labor Day holiday.
Spurred by the Soviet Union’s October 1957 launch of Sputnik, the first satellite to orbit Earth, Congress passed The National Defense Education Act on September 2, 1958, to promote math education in the U.S. With an urgency to compete in the space race, the government dedicated $840 million to improving the teaching of math, science and foreign language to create more mathematicians and scientists and promote higher education for all.
