I am currently at a crossroads. I am a 20 year old high school graduate with 1.5 semesters of college under my belt. I currently have a full time job with a company making around 30-35k a year, and am not enrolled in school. Im not sure if I will ever go back either. I have a chance to enter into an Electrician apprenticeship for 5 years. They will send me to school and ofcourse have on the job training. One drawback is I will only be making 20-25k for the next year or so if I start, but I have the potential to make alot more money in my future than my current job. Any electricians out there have any input? The company is a pretty big one, and I wont have to work for them for any amount of time after I get my license which is a good thing. Sorry for the long post, but Im not sure what I should do.
Any Electricians???
- Thread starter KduncSS
- Start date
Im no electrician but thing is for sure is that mostly everyone has to start from the bottom and work there way up.
I used to work as an electricians helper after college. I wanted to eventually one day have my own busniess. (They do make good money). My boss was making around 70k a year.
i got burned out doing it after about a year. I couldnt stand the crawl spaces every day. i decided i like being on level ground better and nwver looked back.
i got burned out doing it after about a year. I couldnt stand the crawl spaces every day. i decided i like being on level ground better and nwver looked back.
Electrician is one job that will NOT get shipped overseas. People who have old houses always need things done ... you will rarely, if ever, be out of work. Most of the time by the time you get to the house it is at least dried in so while it may be cold or hot you will at least usually be dry.
I am NOT an electrician but I have done the work before. it really isn't a bad job at all. and if they are willing to pay for your education .. you should jump at it asssuming you can afford to live on the 2o-25k for the first year or so.
I am NOT an electrician but I have done the work before. it really isn't a bad job at all. and if they are willing to pay for your education .. you should jump at it asssuming you can afford to live on the 2o-25k for the first year or so.
i say go for it, being licensed (any trade) is in demand.
my dad started as an electrician at 20yrs old, for the past 25yrs he's been a plant manager at a couple huge plants banking WELL over 100k
my dad started as an electrician at 20yrs old, for the past 25yrs he's been a plant manager at a couple huge plants banking WELL over 100k
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i was 19 when i started my apprenticeship and it was 4 yrs. I would say you are looking at a union co because they are a 5 yr program. I was on davis-bacon jobs when i started and was making 30k-35k as a first year apprentice witch wasnt bad. And as you know the wage only goes up.
I started my own co after school and know have two trucks, a small shop, and a few employes. And if you are willing to work you can make some good money. A good journeyman can make 50k-80k depending on location and type of job. And from there you can move up in the field or the office and make more money, or start your own co. If nothing else you will have something to fall back on.
What type of apprentinceship are you looking at IEC,ABC,IBEW:beer:
I started my own co after school and know have two trucks, a small shop, and a few employes. And if you are willing to work you can make some good money. A good journeyman can make 50k-80k depending on location and type of job. And from there you can move up in the field or the office and make more money, or start your own co. If nothing else you will have something to fall back on.
What type of apprentinceship are you looking at IEC,ABC,IBEW:beer:
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Yes it is a union Co. which is very new to me also. I guess I am just afraid of failure. My current job is a good one, and I have the potential in 3-5 years to making very good money, but being that I dont have a degree I feel that I will be expendable. I have been working here for almost 2 years and have proved time and again to be reliable and hardworking, but anything could happen, and say I am let go 3 years from now, what could I do? Need to do some soul searching....
silverstang00 said:
You are afraid of failure? ... what happens if you are let go 3 years from now? .. sheeesh .. grow up .... it doesn't matter what job you have ... these are gonna be issues .. you think that ANY employer is less likely to lay you off than another? dream on dude. the days of spending a career with one company are OVER. you are as likely to be laid off tomorrow as any other time. if you enjoy the job .. go for it ... other than that ... go flip burgers .. that's a pretty safe job
Dont appreciate you telling me to grow up, but thanks for your comment. What I meant was that I would quit my current job and the new one would not work out. Then I would be stuck, as I would have not be employed or have any income. If you have no more input than that worthless post, please stay out of the thread.RDJ said:
silverstang00 said:
couple of things ..
1. if they are paying you 25K to go to school .. that counts as employment and can go on your resume
2. What happens if your current job lays you off in a year .. you are in the same boat.
3. What happens if you current boss decides he just doesn't like having your car in his parking lot and fires you? Depending on what state you live in it CAN and does happen. you're int he same boat.
4. I moved across the damn country for a job. worked there just about 5 years and got laid off ... was out of work for 8 months.
You do need to grow up. shyt happens no matter who you work for or where you work. You have a chance to get educated for FREE and get paid while you are going to school. How many kids your age would kill for that chance and all you can think of is what happens if they lay me off???
actually you are probably better off where you are .. leave the free education for someone who understands what an opportunity it really it and is not afraid to reach out and take advantage
Refrigeration HVACR has it all going on.
I'm a union electrician in Chicago, I got in right after the Army. I'm 29 and I made $98,000 last year, of course with overtime. As a first year apprentice I was making $11.50 an hour now I make $39.99 an hour but thats with foremans pay. Once you get your card you can work anywhere in any local in the United States. I say go for it, its not that hard. Best of luck.
I'll say again, you can stay out of the thread bud. I dont know where you get off thinking you know anything about me from the words posted here. Sucks you got laid off, now GTFO. The chances of me getting fired from my current job are very slim, as I was grandfathered in and the company is still family owned. I really dont expect anyone on this board to sway my decision one way or another, but I thought since I am on here so much I might as well see if any electricians post here. The chance to do this arised very quickly and hit me from left field, so I think I think I am justified mulling it over for a day or two...RDJ said:
The program is an IBEW, what are the differences?scotty98 said:
tell them to call me...I work from 10:30 at night to 7 am then take math and english classes at the college until noon to get my algebra up to par (didnt do so well in school) so someday I can become an electrician...its an opportunity thats for sure...and its not a desk job...i would do it
I repair electrical controls and can say its been pretty good to me.When I was younger I spent 6 months wiring up a new factory and it sucked.The pay was good but it was a construction type atmosphere with some idiot boss telling everybody we need to run 300 ft of conduit per 12 hr shift.
Now I just take it easy until a machine quits working and then Im asked to take a look at it.I have projects to work on(i.e.building a control panel)but Im treated very well.
My suggestion is to get into what I do,or even better,get into the high voltage line repair.Those guys make some good money but you have to know somebody and have a big pair of balls.
Now I just take it easy until a machine quits working and then Im asked to take a look at it.I have projects to work on(i.e.building a control panel)but Im treated very well.
My suggestion is to get into what I do,or even better,get into the high voltage line repair.Those guys make some good money but you have to know somebody and have a big pair of balls.
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