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My fiancee has got a dream job on the opposite side of the country, so we're moving. I'm having some trouble finding work opportunities that I'm not woefully underqualified for, or are entry level service industry jobs. Thankfully I have no debt, a decent amount in savings, and my fiancee will be making a decent amount at her new job. I've learned lately that I much more enjoy the hands on work that I do, whether it's making my own repairs to our cars or getting certifications to be a repair service tech for machines we use at my current job. I've always had an interest in electricity. While hunting for jobs, I've been seeing a decent amount of ads for electrician apprenticeships and I'm pretty interested in it. What goes in to becoming an electrician apprentice? Is it easier to find a place that's willing to hire me with no experience and put me through the apprenticeship? Do I take classes first that are outside of the apprenticeship program? Do I go through the IBEW or similar organization to find out how to become an electrician? What are some good resources for learning this stuff on my own time?
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Sep 1, 2019 03:29
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| # ? May 2, 2024 21:36 |
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It depends on which side of the country you're on. The west coast is good for unions, and I'd recommend IBEW if you're over there. East coast is more difficult for unions, but IBEW can be a good plan depending on the state. Basically, you walk in the front door of an IBEW hall and say "I've got two thumbs, a pulse, and the ability to comprehend spoken and written english" and they'll sign you up. You can probably get by with only two of those qualifications, too. Apprenticeship classes assume you're a big dummy with no experience, and treat you as such. Four years later, you take your tests, and a year after that, you're a licensed electrician and an IBEW journeyman. Congrats. You'll have to buy your own tools (not terribly expensive). They'll supply books and a time and place for your classes. The classes move at precisely one pace, and if you're not a huge idiot, you can pass. Even if you're a huge idiot, if you work hard you can pass. You'll be an apprentice for five years, and you'll be treated like garbage for a few of them, especially if you show actual talent and can display more aptitude than journeymen. You get a guaranteed raise every six months until you graduate, and then you work at whatever the union-guaranteed wage is for that job. The retirement pension program is OK, and you start putting money into it after your first full working week as an apprentice, and are vested after 2 or 4 years, depending on your local. Health benefits depend strongly on the local, and are probably going to be garbage. Non-IBEW side is: you show up to work and if there's work you work and if there's not you get laid off. Repeat until you have enough hours to take your state licensing exams. If you studied, you pass, and your job may or may not give you the raise required by state law. You can still get laid off at any time for any or no reason. Find a job that's got good benefits and stick with them until the end of your life or until the company goes bankrupt. The job is pretty straightforward. You'll learn a lot, and it'll almost all be variations of "I've done this a hundred times, but on this project specifically, these few details are different." Don't go crazy buying top-of-the-line tools straight off. Learn what you use the most and get good stuff there. There are tools on my required tool list from a decade ago that I bought Harbor Freight versions of and have used perhaps twice.
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Sep 1, 2019 17:45
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Cool. Thanks. I'm moving to Olympia, WA. Most of the websites that are thrown together for the different union locals out there look like they're from 2004 and aren't the easiest to navigate or get information out of. From what I understand, to be considered for an apprenticeship, I need to fill out an application and pay a fee, take an aptitude test (which looks to consist of some 6th grade math and some 7th grade word problems) and then an interview with a JATC panel. Does that sound right? I have a BS in math, and I took some electromagnetism classes in college. Are you saying in your post that the classes at some kind of vocational school are pretty useless pre-apprenticeship if you're not a dumby? Or are you talking more about the courses you start taking once you get in?
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Sep 2, 2019 01:54
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BAE OF PIGS posted:Cool. Thanks. I'm moving to Olympia, WA. Most of the websites that are thrown together for the different union locals out there look like they're from 2004 and aren't the easiest to navigate or get information out of. From what I understand, to be considered for an apprenticeship, I need to fill out an application and pay a fee, take an aptitude test (which looks to consist of some 6th grade math and some 7th grade word problems) and then an interview with a JATC panel. If it is anything like the IBEW in PA, nepotism plays a huge factor. The local I tried applying for only took 10 apprentices a year, and they all had dads or other family members in the union and they ended up getting in. I remember them struggling on the aptitude tests, which according to the panel, I didn't miss anything on. Also be aware, if once again it is like PA, they only do one class per year.
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Sep 2, 2019 03:38
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You can earn a living as an electrician, but the associated risks are shocking.
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Sep 2, 2019 03:42
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