Texas SOT

Anyone know anything about Electrician Apprenticeships?

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  • Higgins909

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    This is my latest interest. My current job is kinda Meh... Planning to have my ged by the end of the month, half way done... 25... Does anyone have info on this industry, in Texas? There seems to be some strange pay system and rank system and hour system? I used to have a little ACC book and I think electrician was in there. But they had the average pay at $13hr. Does that sound right or this? I found a website saying $23 for Austin. Then I see youtube talking about how they make 3 figures... I don't really know what they do. But it seems like it's a wide industry. Maybe there is more of a norm for the Austin area? Working out in the weather? Hazards? (My current work has it's own share of hazards primarily cancer) Am I going to need to know Spanish? My current work has hired many A/C people over the years and they all seem to be Hispanic.

    Perhaps there is an Apprentice here that could fill me in or someone else working as a Journeyman or something?

    Thanks,
    Higgins909
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    Axxe55

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    Like many other career fields, it depends on what type of electrician you are as to what the pay rate is.

    My father did his apprenticeship while serving in the Air Force. He mainly ended up working lots of huge manufacturing and machine shops, electrical powerplants and large companies in the electrical department. He also moonlighted doing housing electrical on new houses as well.

    So being an electrician covers a lot of area. And the pay scales differently for each type of application as well. Some of those high-line electrical repair guys, can very well exceed six figures a year. Pretty dangerous work and pretty far off the ground.

    You really need to be much more specific in what area you want to work in.
     

    mongoose

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    Only apprentice I was around was a Union apprentice who went to school nights , took tests and worked during the day. Jouneyman ( had his Masters license actually). Made the kid do all the grunt work. Not sure of the pay.
     

    baboon

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    Unions back home you pretty much need an in to get in the union. I am also reminded of my dad who dropped out of High school for WWII. When he returned he found a high school diploma went farther then a GED. He went & got his diploma while I was pretty young. He vowed none of his kids could go the GED route and have his respect!
     

    Sasquatch

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    I looked at the trades once upon a time. The requirements for Electricians, Plumbers & Pipefitters, and Iron Workers were very similar to get accepted into their apprenticeship programs - you had to have a passing grade in Algebra II, a diploma or GED, pass a drug screen, and be willing to accept the terms of the apprenticeship - meaning you *will* work for the union for a certain amount of time, or you'll pay them for the schooling you received.

    The entry level pay is probably close to $13-15 an hour - I'm more familiar with the union scale in Oregon and Washington (pretty much the same in those two states) but figure it'll be within a couple bucks here or there.

    Starting pay there was $13-15 / hr depending on the union. You worked a 40 hour week, starting as a general labor hand under the supervision of a journeyman. After work you went to school for 3 to 4 hours per night, four nights per week. Every four to six months you were "re-rated" or evaluated. If your work performance + your academic performance were acceptable, you received a pay raise. This continued until you were out of schooling and made journeyman, which back there, again, depending on union, was $30-35 / hr + benes. Keep in mind that you're going to be paying union dues, which they had a scale based on your position/pay rate. I think the journeymen were putting close to $5 / hr back into the union, but that covered your pay when you were laid off / between jobs and helped pay for your other union benes + lined the pockets of those running the union.

    Once you get past the schooling and work out of the shit-jobs, a lot of them can be "easy" because you're going to have apprentices of your own.

    The gentleman who I used to work for had a son my age. He was a member of the electricians union - went straight to it after high school. He's now a foreman with his company, pulling down a bit more hourly than the regular journeyman workers. He's also single, no kids, and socks away a ton of his money. He'll take a full month off every year for vacation. He has worked residential, but most of his career has been commercial - a lot of banks, retail shops, industrial facilities, and one of the last jobs I knew he was working was a renovation of the Federal courthouse (before ANTIFA kept trying to burn it down)

    If you're willing to travel and be whored out to other locales, you could potentially make even more, as the local scale varies place to place.

    Some years back I was laid off from my job as a tow truck operator, and went to work for a time driving motor coaches. We got a contract for Intel's construction to transport the union workers from the parking lot, to the jobsite. I got to talk to a lot of various trades, and to guys from all over. Intel mandated union labor (virtue signalling, or just liked spending money, I dunno, but they mandated union labor vs non-union whenever they had the option) - the local unions didn't have enough workers. They called in guys from all over the lower 48. I met guys who were thrilled because their home scale would be $20 or so per hour, but they were paid at the higher local scale there in the Portland area, which was $15/hr higher. I met a few guys from San Fran who travelled because their own local scale was higher, but it was so high that most businesses were opting for cheaper non-union labor.

    One thing I heard over and over - was that "if I could do it all over again, I'd join the Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters, because they cover HVAC work, and you can make a good living a lot easier than what I'm doing" - food for thought. FWIW, the Plumbers & Pipefitters I talked to all also said they wished they'd gone HVAC, because it was easier on the back and knees. They said they wished they could be running a service truck, adjusting/replacing thermostats, or controller boards on AC systems.

    Low voltage electricians were in high demand up that way. The guys running network cable, wired security cams, etc were always busy.

    As much as I generally loathe unions - the trade unions do a good job of taking care of their members, and if you're willing to work, they'll help you stay gainfully employed. If you're not good at math though, you should study up, as they all required mathematical aptitude.
     

    candcallen

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    The problem with unions are the corruption and near ponzi scheme dues in many places. The higher the dues the less benefits for the worker the more corrupt the leadership and the kickbacks to political phuktards that do no represent the actual rank n file members.

    5 bucks n hour dues is cheap. In more corrupt places like nyc it can be many times that.
     

    baboon

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    Linemen for power companies pay good money! My brother retired from it. I remember my brother talking about the guys who got scared off, as their training increased. Climbing poles, power & high voltage were all things that led to attrition. The thing to remember is the more over time you pull means a lot in many trades.
     

    Daley_G

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    Linemen for power companies pay good money! My brother retired from it. I remember my brother talking about the guys who got scared off, as their training increased. Climbing poles, power & high voltage were all things that led to attrition. The thing to remember is the more over time you pull means a lot in many trades.

    True statements. Last company I worked for was running fiber and coax for all the major internet providers and the biggest problem they had/have is finding guys willing to sign up. Many of the older guys started digging the trench so to speak and went all the way to the VP level. Perfect job for someone who doesn't mind going where the work is on the company's dime.
     

    Dawico

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    Workers in the trades are in huge demand right now across the country. Everyone is hiring.

    Call around and see what everyone is offering.

    If you learn a trade and can show up everyday on time you will always have work but you get out of it what you put into it. Find your path and learn everything you can. Learn to do the things that others can't or won't do.
     

    FireInTheWire

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    Dawico hit it on the head. There is a lot of work out there, if your willing to show up on time, bust ass and don't run your mouth. Folks in trades respect that greatly. It won't be long until your the guy they trust and will put more responsibility on you.

    With that being said. The electric trade will always have work. Folks need power whether its 120v, 7200kv or 345kv. You and your family will always eat.

    Figure out what electric trade you want to do. Residential and commercial 600volts or less. Distribution powerlines 120volts to 34kv. Transmission powerlines 34kv to 345kv.

    They all pay good after you earn your keep. Do get caught up in union BS. Your don't need them. That GED will work just fine. Nobody cares how you graduated just as long as you did, somehow.

    If you don't like working for your money or being out in mother nature.... stay away!
     

    mongoose

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    Good tradesmen don’t always make good business owners. Two entirely different skill sets.
    Very true. Additionally, getting a Masters License so yo can start your own CO is not an easy task . The best journeyman I ever worked with could not pass the Masters test. Just was not “ school” smart.
     
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    gdr_11

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    OP, read this; it is a good explanation of the ins and outs of an IBEW apprenticeship.


    With that said, you can also look for electrical contractors and find out which ones have an IBEW certified apprenticeship program. Some contractors are more than willing to promote a hard working laborer into an apprenticeship program if they think he will make a good journeyman. Others will not, or they do not have enough journey electricians on staff who want to wet nurse someone through several years of development.

    Trade schools and community colleges will get you electrical certifications so you can work in minor electrical work which can expose you to more of the skilled craft level industry. As noted before, the field spans a huge range of positions. For instance, I managed two large work groups that contained electrical shops of 40-50 craftsmen and they were broken down into high voltage (distribution and substation), a group that handled normal 110-480 work and a specialty group that deal with elevators and more electronic related electrical tasks. The lineman role is also a different breed.

    Talk to some folks who do the work and educate yourself. A local public or large private utility is also a good source of information since they often host job fairs
     

    mongoose

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    If I were to go into a trade and start my own business now it would be HVAC. I was a GC for many years.
     
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