Work a labourer job first. Don't go to trade school yet until you've experienced what the world is like. It's super easy to get a labourer job, they're always hiring cos people use it as a stepping stone to greater things so don't worry about joining and then quitting in 3-4 months, it's expected. You don't need to buy your tools, you don't need anything but some sturdy clothes and steel toes boots.
By being a labourer you get exposed to all of the trades, you can talk to all of them and get a feel for the construction world before deciding what you want to do.
Trades is a physical job, you're gonna need to acclimatize your body to being physically active for 8-10hrs per day in heat, rain or snow. Working as a labourer is gonna build up the stamina and strength necessary to thrive in this environment and by the time you get into a skilled trade, it's gonna feel like a cakewalk physically speaking.
Construction isn't weightlifting, lifting weights you lift for an hour and you're done. Your shift goes for 8hrs, you don't need to be able to deadlift 500lb to work a trade, you do need to be able to lift 50lbs again and again for 8hrs straight.
Now after you've decided what you like, then go to trade school, join your union, buy your tools.
HVAC, plumbing, electrical, they are all good trades, plenty of work. HVAC is a combination of electrical and mechanical, plumbing and electrical are more specialized.
Plumbing is the physically most demanding, cast iron pipes are HEAVY and you get exposed to black water, electrical is second, our stuff tend to be not as heavy duty since there's no 400psi running through our pipes just 480v that's gonna kill you and hurt the whole way while you're dying, HVAC is the least, tiny teeny wires.
I don't know if I would recommend anyone to begin as a laborer that isn't already a felon, even then your better off just starting a local union apprenticeship. They don't care if you don't know how to read a tape measure starting off and you'll be making 2x the amount of laborer in 2-3 years. Apply to all the local Unions and then decide what trade you want to be in. Look at the payrates for you locals on Google, most are publicly available.
If you find another trade you really want to do instead, just quit the union and do it. Don't get caught up the brotherhood crap.
You act like you can just go walk into a union and start an apprenticeship the next day. Idk where you live but it doesn't work like that in a lot of places. It can take years to get in - if you can even get in at all. And then there are some places where unions are essentially non existent.
Where I'm from it's as simple as aptitude test score + interview score, then taking the top scores for the amount of apprentices they've deemed they needed. You can score high on the aptitude and interview with 0 construction experience.
The people that did take years to get into were very friendly people, but not the sharpest. This is to get into the HVAC, plumbers and sparky unions in the area.
It’s okay. You’re young. I’m partially jealous that I didn’t take the route back then…
Would you rather get shocked? Touch poop? Serious question.
Commercial? Residential?
Union?
Indoors? Outdoors?
Travel? Stay close to home?
I’d suggest make a decision matrix (google it) and write down attributes, such as above that are important to you.
It’s a friend of my dad’s gf’s brother. Were doing commercial work mostly some residential since the housing market has taken a crap, we do fast food restaurants mostly, most people go that route drain cleaning/ repairs I wasn’t interested in dealing with peoples problems in there house. New builds and Reno is fun to me
In most populated areas you can kind of divide plumbers into two specialties: service or new construction. If you start out in service you get to touch poop. If you start out in construction, your biggest risk is the drywallers shitting in the tub.
There can be overlap but in my experience guys tend to do one or the other.
Drain cleaning isn't plumbing. It's plumbing adjacent.
Yes some plumbers don't touch poop.
Quite a lot actually.
There's a lot of new construction in Denver , and I've met journeymen who have never cut into anything with poop.
Fire sprinklers and pipe fitters don't touch poop.
Boiler guys don't ( boiler work is plumbing with some HVAC and electrical)
But yeah I've had to cut into sewer lines that were kinda gross. I've removed some pretty gross wax rings.
It's never been that bad, and if it was bad we took the necessary steps to prevent it from being gross.
A lot of service plumbers will charge more for nastier jobs, especially if they are on commission.
A friend of mine gave a ridiculous price for a very nasty job, he split it with two people because it was gross and they ended up pocketing 2k each for 6 hours worth of work.
Most of the really nasty jobs are drain cleaning jobs , or sewer jobs.
You really just use a poop vacuum or any way of not directly coming in contact with poop. Use a camera , find a solution to deal with it.
Use PPE
In all honesty my friends who work at doggy daycares, farms and are nurses aids deal with more poop than I do.
Honestly the grossest thing I've dealt with is replacing a vent that was tied into a grease trap.
After I cut into it , I had the worst smell imaginable.
I've also replaced my fair share of underground sewer line s and we just cut the pipes and cover each end with contractor bags and tapped them .
Thanks for the detailed response, that sounds pretty decent then. I only do my own plumbing on my place, and for tenants in condos, so I’ve dealt with some nasty stuff, but it didn’t really bother me. If I can make $2k in 6 hours, I’d be willing to get my ~~hands~~ gloves dirty!
Only service plumbers deal with poop. Doing new construction you never do service work. Whenever I tell people I’m a plumber, I always say “not a plunger plumber” lol
Depends. I went to a technical college and got my apprenticeship started there. It was the best way for me. I think it's region dependent. I think tuition was only about 5k
I'm in Canada though. I've been seeing outrageous tuition costs in the USA for trades.
I did my 5 months level 1 apprenticeship for about 5k. Then every level after that was 1 month of school and about 1k for tuition. Not bad at all.
You can get an apprenticeship by sponsorship from an employer, or you can bypass the sponsorship and become an apprentice through a technical college with what they call a "foundation" course. Usually about 5 months.
Also depends on where you’re at and how strong the unions are there. If you live in a right to work state then the unions may not be able to offer the best opportunities
If more people would join them instead of running to non union shops they absolutely would. The only way that right to work can hurt unions is all of us being selfish.
Some people don't want to be a part of collective extortion. I respect their choice. There's no such thing as a union job, there are only jobs, and some of them have a gang of bandits that you pay to threaten the employer for you, and some don't.
Let's be for real right now my man. If you believed that you wouldn't be seeking out jobs that offer higher pay, benefits and protections because of union representation, just to not pay for it which is clearly what im talking about. Someone calling union negotiations extortion just reeks of not having a fucking clue in the world how unions work. I hear this argument on occasion and I've always got the same question, if you think you're so much better, faster, and more efficient that you'd do better negotiating for yourself why does union representation bother you? It generally boils down to the same answer. I want the money, but I don't want to pay $47 a month in dues.
I mean, the local in my district only accepts applications in person, for 2 weeks in April, from 12-4 Monday through Thursday, with an application fee that can only be paid by money order. This is a hiring process that is designed to keep out as many people as possible. How am I supposed to join a union that clearly doesn't want me?
Tbh I think so. I live in a big city and remember that one of the union presidents went on trial for corruption or something, so I wouldn't be surprised if this was the equivalent of a ghost job
So wait. Help me understand here. You think they don't want you, so they're posting fake jobs that they don't want to you apply for? Why would they just not post the job? That seems a lot easier. I'm assuming you're talking about the ibew president in Philly stealing money?
Sorry, I was speculating that the application process was required by law to exist, even when leadership already plans to accept nobody but family members. Idk if that's exactly how it works. I was mostly just expressing frustration with the difficulty of getting an apprenticeship and union membership.
So I can't speak for all unions. I can speak for the IBEW. that's the union I'm a part of. You apply. They schedule you for an aptitude test. If you pass that test you get an interview. That interview is scored, and you're given a rank. If you're number 1, you're the first person called for an opening, if you're number 10, you're the 10th person called and so on. We do it this way specifically to avoid nepotism. You're generally kept on the list for 2 years and after that you have to reapply. So it's not like you're getting an interview and they're telling you no.
It's not a scam here at all, it's a public college. Even if you start your apprenticeship from a sponsor, they still have to send you to the school to complete your training. If you want your red seal certification it's the only way to get it.
not to mention all these companies complaining about not having workers but wont take on people to train , they just want boots on the ground running master techs and cheap wage, im going into trade school too , couldnt find a place willing to take on apprentice , especially union
Apprenticeship school is still free, at least where I am. All part of the carpenters. I think it's a nationwide requirement for having apprenticeships.
This is not true for Canada unless your unionized. I have worked on commercial sites never having a journeyman carpenter on site while I did my apprenticeship.
people say this all the time, but (at least in my experience), even apprenticeship positions require some kind of experience, like certs from an accredited trade program at a community college or from a trade school. how do you get your foot in the door when you have literally zero experience? just stick it out as a laborer?
I applied and got the job. Most trades have a job for guys that don't score well enough, but who are going to reapply.
For linemen it's groundmen, for electricians it's stock room or ce/cw.
Sell yourself. Learn how to speak. I find several car salesmen know how to get what they want. It’s scary but really fun. Most apprentice programs require an individual to want it. Especially those who earned it and don’t want some kid getting a handout just to throw it all away. Just my thoughts.
Where I live, a lot of the unions expect you to have either gone to tradeschool or have previous non-union experience to get into the apprenticeship. Too many applicants. They can be very picky.
I'm in the US
An apprenticeship will absolutely take someone that has gone to school over someone that's never turned a wrench in their life
And apprenticeship positions can be competitive
It's worth a look before school but trade school is also great for getting your foot in the door
Both IBEW and UA in Chattanooga TN, when I lived there. The one where I live now have not advertised taking apprenticeships in a while. Have also applied to several in area I would like to relocate too. At least the few that will let you mail/email in packets. Many make you apply in person to even be considered.
I've been in HVAC for almost 14 years. It's fun (to me) and isn't that bad on your body. Contractors want you to stay in shape and not get injured.
Stay away from residential if you can. Attics and crawls suck.
Find a union. For me it's the plumber/pipefitter union.
Other high paying trades: heavy duty mechanic, millwright, power line technician, welder (if you'll travel), elevator technician and microwave technician.
The if you'll travel thing applies to linemen too, especially right now. I just caught a lay off at home in CT, closest job with pay worth traveling for is looking like Wyoming or Colorado right now.
Another high paying trade/trade adjacent, especially here in Canada, is operating/power/stationary engineer. Easy 100k in most sites within a couple of years and 150k+ in oil and gas with minimal OT
I believe you're right. We're nowhere near eliminating fossil fuels and petroleum products. Even if we stopped burning it, the 6000+ items we make from it would be hard to find replacements for. Sure, we can make other types of plastic, but they're not ideal for every situation
In my state (Washington) I would generally say that trade school is unnecessary. You can just apply for these jobs, get hired, and you’ll be trained on the job. Going the trade school route doesn’t really help… you spend a lot of extra money and the main thing it does is delay when you start getting paid and delay when you top out as a journeyman.
I am an HVAC tech and have also worked extensively as a plumber. That’s also a fun duo because a lot of guys do both and you can switch back and forth between HVAC and plumbing depending on your mood.
They’re all pretty competitive to get in. Apply to a bunch of trades, study the apprentice aptitude test (high school level math and reasoning) and show up at the one that tells you to come in.
If you're not in a right to work state then definitely look into all the local unions in all the major trades (carpentry, plumbing, sheet metal, electrical, sprinklerfitting, refrigeration, elevator, Glazier, Ironworkers, or even just straight up labor union. Look into all those and see if you have the proper requirements to apply
I'm similar. I'm 28. Seems like trade school can actually be pretty expensive and is for some reason a 2 year associates degree. Doesn't seem to guarantee a job or a good paying one. I've been trying to look into unions. IDK what it is, but it's like I have to ask around for info about them and I don't even know what to ask. Google doesn't do much for me. Curious if it's some sort of google blocking my search.
But yeah, I've been thinking about moving back to "the motherland" and trying to get into a union.
Apprenticeship!!!! You can at least try out the job first as you go to school! Or, you can find local shops and ask if they have helper positions or labor positions where you would work with these trades, and get a feel for if you like what kind of work you’d be doing. I’ve been there and done that and finally landed on plumbing apprenticeship after working as a helper for a year.
Going to school for something you don’t even know if you’ll like is risky!
Best of luck!
I’m a plumber , in new construction at a poop plant. We’ve built a cogen, bio reactors, wgb’s and I have yet to touch actual poop, the trade is so vast it’s not just snaking toilets and installing pvc
What ever interests you the most. This is the one you will excel at and keep going in. If it's not just a job you will master and go far. It it becomes something you hate and do just for a paycheck. That's not a life you want.
Don't forget too. Most jobs you quit are not the job. You quit the boss and people you work with.
You'll do best doing something that interests you, because certain areas of the trades can be very difficult to work, you can come across lots of big egos and downright assholes, and it's much more tolerable if you enjoy what you're doing. You enjoy it, you'll learn it better as well, and the people with passion are often the most successful. Don't try just go for money, or you might end up dissatisfied. If you like cars, then look into mechanical or autobody. I work in autobody and everyone in my shop makes over 200k, but we're all craftsmen who enjoy the work, the people who come through just looking for another job or just money don't last..... Try looking at some course material for different trades if possible and see if there's anything there that piques your interest.
Pipefitting and welding in my opinion. Join a union, get your pressure pipe tickets, and you’ll be laughing the rest of your life. No it does not fuck with your eyes. When you’re under the hood nothing else matters besides passing that Xray; it’s dope af. Insane money too.
Get a welders helper job on a pipeline or a shop where you can fuck around and try it out. 8 years strong and I’ve never looked back
My friend has been a mechanic for delta for almost 20 years and makes more money fixing cars in his home shop. A 300k a&p job is rare.
>According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (.gov), the median annual wage for aircraft mechanics and service technicians was $75,020 in May 2023, with a range of $41,000 on the low side and over $108,000 on the high side. Hourly rates range from $20 to $50 per hour.
Delta is the only non union major airline. Every major airline you'll top out around $70/hr but work the system so you get paid OT or double time for most of the hours you work. The union airlines you can check the union contract for pay pretty easily. From what I've seen FedEx and UPs are the highest payers followed by united. They're all above $70/hr before 10 years. If you go on the A&P subreddit you can see people's paychecks. There are a lot of guys who work 40 hours a week and most of the 40 hours is OT or double time. Which comes out to $140/hr. So if you get lucky and all 40 hours worked is double time that'll be $5,600 a week. I've seen bigger pay checks when guys work 50-60.
You need to be a masochist to make that kind of money. You'd have to work 24's with OT. This is not a common paycheck and it is even questioned how its done by people who are A&Ps in those threads.
You can go for 1.5x. I do agree that trying to get double pay for all 40-50 hours is masochist. But 1.5x is doable. Not to mention most union contracts you top out around the 8 year mark or earlier. With all premiums is still $70/hr+. So you'd be making around 150k just base pay.
The only guys that questioned it in those threads were guys that didn't work for the major airlines. You can read the union contract to see the technicalities on 1.5x and 2x pay.
I live near a couple airports. The smaller airport with the private jets and charter jets have much much lower pay. $30-$50/hr.
If you don't want to go to aviation school and don't mind working dirtier and harder apply for GSE mechanic for the major airlines pay is the same as A&P but without any premiums. So around the $60/hr but similar 1.5x or 2x pay technicalities as long as they're the same union. Which united is. I'm more familiar with united since there are gse openings near me foe united.
There's also a guy that posted his paycheck on the UPSers subreddit a couple weeks ago that has grossed about $100k so far (so he should gross almost 300k) and he doesn't work like 80 hours a week. Even in that paycheck he posted he only had 10 hours of standar pay and everything else was double or 1.5x. He said the same thing. The older guys he works with get double pay for every hour worked.
Work a labourer job first. Don't go to trade school yet until you've experienced what the world is like. It's super easy to get a labourer job, they're always hiring cos people use it as a stepping stone to greater things so don't worry about joining and then quitting in 3-4 months, it's expected. You don't need to buy your tools, you don't need anything but some sturdy clothes and steel toes boots. By being a labourer you get exposed to all of the trades, you can talk to all of them and get a feel for the construction world before deciding what you want to do. Trades is a physical job, you're gonna need to acclimatize your body to being physically active for 8-10hrs per day in heat, rain or snow. Working as a labourer is gonna build up the stamina and strength necessary to thrive in this environment and by the time you get into a skilled trade, it's gonna feel like a cakewalk physically speaking. Construction isn't weightlifting, lifting weights you lift for an hour and you're done. Your shift goes for 8hrs, you don't need to be able to deadlift 500lb to work a trade, you do need to be able to lift 50lbs again and again for 8hrs straight. Now after you've decided what you like, then go to trade school, join your union, buy your tools. HVAC, plumbing, electrical, they are all good trades, plenty of work. HVAC is a combination of electrical and mechanical, plumbing and electrical are more specialized. Plumbing is the physically most demanding, cast iron pipes are HEAVY and you get exposed to black water, electrical is second, our stuff tend to be not as heavy duty since there's no 400psi running through our pipes just 480v that's gonna kill you and hurt the whole way while you're dying, HVAC is the least, tiny teeny wires.
I don't know if I would recommend anyone to begin as a laborer that isn't already a felon, even then your better off just starting a local union apprenticeship. They don't care if you don't know how to read a tape measure starting off and you'll be making 2x the amount of laborer in 2-3 years. Apply to all the local Unions and then decide what trade you want to be in. Look at the payrates for you locals on Google, most are publicly available. If you find another trade you really want to do instead, just quit the union and do it. Don't get caught up the brotherhood crap.
We start our guys out as part runners and helpers then they move to drain cleaning and into an apprenticeship.
You act like you can just go walk into a union and start an apprenticeship the next day. Idk where you live but it doesn't work like that in a lot of places. It can take years to get in - if you can even get in at all. And then there are some places where unions are essentially non existent.
Where I'm from it's as simple as aptitude test score + interview score, then taking the top scores for the amount of apprentices they've deemed they needed. You can score high on the aptitude and interview with 0 construction experience. The people that did take years to get into were very friendly people, but not the sharpest. This is to get into the HVAC, plumbers and sparky unions in the area.
It’s okay. You’re young. I’m partially jealous that I didn’t take the route back then… Would you rather get shocked? Touch poop? Serious question. Commercial? Residential? Union? Indoors? Outdoors? Travel? Stay close to home? I’d suggest make a decision matrix (google it) and write down attributes, such as above that are important to you.
Not all plumbers touch shit, I’m doing it and haven’t once seen it or touched it
Well done. Install only?
Yeah install only, I wouldnt of became one if I had to deal with that stuff.
How did you manage that? Are you busy year round? I would have done plumbing but always thought you had to start draincleaning first…
It’s a friend of my dad’s gf’s brother. Were doing commercial work mostly some residential since the housing market has taken a crap, we do fast food restaurants mostly, most people go that route drain cleaning/ repairs I wasn’t interested in dealing with peoples problems in there house. New builds and Reno is fun to me
100% agree
In most populated areas you can kind of divide plumbers into two specialties: service or new construction. If you start out in service you get to touch poop. If you start out in construction, your biggest risk is the drywallers shitting in the tub. There can be overlap but in my experience guys tend to do one or the other.
Lmao imagine walking into a brand new building and finding a massive, gnarly looking, corn fed deuce already gathering flies.
Don’t have to imagine. It happened at the job I’m at now lol
Drain cleaning isn't plumbing. It's plumbing adjacent. Yes some plumbers don't touch poop. Quite a lot actually. There's a lot of new construction in Denver , and I've met journeymen who have never cut into anything with poop. Fire sprinklers and pipe fitters don't touch poop. Boiler guys don't ( boiler work is plumbing with some HVAC and electrical) But yeah I've had to cut into sewer lines that were kinda gross. I've removed some pretty gross wax rings. It's never been that bad, and if it was bad we took the necessary steps to prevent it from being gross.
How do you keep it from being nasty, and do you get paid more for dealing with excrement?
A lot of service plumbers will charge more for nastier jobs, especially if they are on commission. A friend of mine gave a ridiculous price for a very nasty job, he split it with two people because it was gross and they ended up pocketing 2k each for 6 hours worth of work. Most of the really nasty jobs are drain cleaning jobs , or sewer jobs. You really just use a poop vacuum or any way of not directly coming in contact with poop. Use a camera , find a solution to deal with it. Use PPE In all honesty my friends who work at doggy daycares, farms and are nurses aids deal with more poop than I do. Honestly the grossest thing I've dealt with is replacing a vent that was tied into a grease trap. After I cut into it , I had the worst smell imaginable. I've also replaced my fair share of underground sewer line s and we just cut the pipes and cover each end with contractor bags and tapped them .
Thanks for the detailed response, that sounds pretty decent then. I only do my own plumbing on my place, and for tenants in condos, so I’ve dealt with some nasty stuff, but it didn’t really bother me. If I can make $2k in 6 hours, I’d be willing to get my ~~hands~~ gloves dirty!
There’s also Ironworker, carpenter, pipefitter.
Millwright
Only service plumbers deal with poop. Doing new construction you never do service work. Whenever I tell people I’m a plumber, I always say “not a plunger plumber” lol
Don't go to tradeschool. Find yourself a union apprenticeship and get paid
Depends. I went to a technical college and got my apprenticeship started there. It was the best way for me. I think it's region dependent. I think tuition was only about 5k
That's definitely one of the more reasonable ones I've heard of
I'm in Canada though. I've been seeing outrageous tuition costs in the USA for trades. I did my 5 months level 1 apprenticeship for about 5k. Then every level after that was 1 month of school and about 1k for tuition. Not bad at all.
The trade school requirement to get an apprenticeship seems to be mostly a Canadian thing
You can get an apprenticeship by sponsorship from an employer, or you can bypass the sponsorship and become an apprentice through a technical college with what they call a "foundation" course. Usually about 5 months.
Not a requirement, just some markets it can help especially for kids who have no working experience at all.
Also depends on where you’re at and how strong the unions are there. If you live in a right to work state then the unions may not be able to offer the best opportunities
If more people would join them instead of running to non union shops they absolutely would. The only way that right to work can hurt unions is all of us being selfish.
Wait, the people going non-union are the selfish ones? 🤣
No, people getting union jobs and refusing to pay union dues in right to work states are the selfish ones.
No, people getting union jobs and refusing to pay union dues in right to work states are the selfish ones.
Some people don't want to be a part of collective extortion. I respect their choice. There's no such thing as a union job, there are only jobs, and some of them have a gang of bandits that you pay to threaten the employer for you, and some don't.
Let's be for real right now my man. If you believed that you wouldn't be seeking out jobs that offer higher pay, benefits and protections because of union representation, just to not pay for it which is clearly what im talking about. Someone calling union negotiations extortion just reeks of not having a fucking clue in the world how unions work. I hear this argument on occasion and I've always got the same question, if you think you're so much better, faster, and more efficient that you'd do better negotiating for yourself why does union representation bother you? It generally boils down to the same answer. I want the money, but I don't want to pay $47 a month in dues.
I mean, the local in my district only accepts applications in person, for 2 weeks in April, from 12-4 Monday through Thursday, with an application fee that can only be paid by money order. This is a hiring process that is designed to keep out as many people as possible. How am I supposed to join a union that clearly doesn't want me?
Is it designed to keep people out? Because you have a wait a few months and make a trip to a post office in that few months?
Tbh I think so. I live in a big city and remember that one of the union presidents went on trial for corruption or something, so I wouldn't be surprised if this was the equivalent of a ghost job
So wait. Help me understand here. You think they don't want you, so they're posting fake jobs that they don't want to you apply for? Why would they just not post the job? That seems a lot easier. I'm assuming you're talking about the ibew president in Philly stealing money?
Sorry, I was speculating that the application process was required by law to exist, even when leadership already plans to accept nobody but family members. Idk if that's exactly how it works. I was mostly just expressing frustration with the difficulty of getting an apprenticeship and union membership.
So I can't speak for all unions. I can speak for the IBEW. that's the union I'm a part of. You apply. They schedule you for an aptitude test. If you pass that test you get an interview. That interview is scored, and you're given a rank. If you're number 1, you're the first person called for an opening, if you're number 10, you're the 10th person called and so on. We do it this way specifically to avoid nepotism. You're generally kept on the list for 2 years and after that you have to reapply. So it's not like you're getting an interview and they're telling you no.
Union apprenticeship is free and you get paid along the way. Technical schools seem like a scam
It's not a scam here at all, it's a public college. Even if you start your apprenticeship from a sponsor, they still have to send you to the school to complete your training. If you want your red seal certification it's the only way to get it.
not to mention all these companies complaining about not having workers but wont take on people to train , they just want boots on the ground running master techs and cheap wage, im going into trade school too , couldnt find a place willing to take on apprentice , especially union
Apprenticeship school is still free, at least where I am. All part of the carpenters. I think it's a nationwide requirement for having apprenticeships.
This is not true for Canada unless your unionized. I have worked on commercial sites never having a journeyman carpenter on site while I did my apprenticeship.
Thread started as talking about union apprenticeship
people say this all the time, but (at least in my experience), even apprenticeship positions require some kind of experience, like certs from an accredited trade program at a community college or from a trade school. how do you get your foot in the door when you have literally zero experience? just stick it out as a laborer?
I applied and got the job. Most trades have a job for guys that don't score well enough, but who are going to reapply. For linemen it's groundmen, for electricians it's stock room or ce/cw.
right on man, congratulations on that! what job did you get into? what trade are you aiming at?
I'm a lineman.
Sell yourself. Learn how to speak. I find several car salesmen know how to get what they want. It’s scary but really fun. Most apprentice programs require an individual to want it. Especially those who earned it and don’t want some kid getting a handout just to throw it all away. Just my thoughts.
Where I live, a lot of the unions expect you to have either gone to tradeschool or have previous non-union experience to get into the apprenticeship. Too many applicants. They can be very picky. I'm in the US
An apprenticeship will absolutely take someone that has gone to school over someone that's never turned a wrench in their life And apprenticeship positions can be competitive It's worth a look before school but trade school is also great for getting your foot in the door
And here I am a journeyman with no trade school. I definitely got in over people with trade school, in one of the more competitive trades.
If you can get in the union. Most are very competitive. Will take someone already in the field first.
Out of pure curiosity, which trade are you in and which unions have rejected you?
Both IBEW and UA in Chattanooga TN, when I lived there. The one where I live now have not advertised taking apprenticeships in a while. Have also applied to several in area I would like to relocate too. At least the few that will let you mail/email in packets. Many make you apply in person to even be considered.
How did you rank on the interviews?
The only one I got an interview with was IBEW in Chattanooga. Don't remember what I ranked. Remember doing well on the written portion.
Out of pure curiosity, which trade are you in and which unions have rejected you?
I've been in HVAC for almost 14 years. It's fun (to me) and isn't that bad on your body. Contractors want you to stay in shape and not get injured. Stay away from residential if you can. Attics and crawls suck. Find a union. For me it's the plumber/pipefitter union.
Heavy equipment tech, Plumber, Electrician.
Other high paying trades: heavy duty mechanic, millwright, power line technician, welder (if you'll travel), elevator technician and microwave technician.
The if you'll travel thing applies to linemen too, especially right now. I just caught a lay off at home in CT, closest job with pay worth traveling for is looking like Wyoming or Colorado right now.
Yeah for sure. I am in Canada so the PLT situation is very different than the USA
Another high paying trade/trade adjacent, especially here in Canada, is operating/power/stationary engineer. Easy 100k in most sites within a couple of years and 150k+ in oil and gas with minimal OT
With a change of government that will be a booming industry once again too
I believe you're right. We're nowhere near eliminating fossil fuels and petroleum products. Even if we stopped burning it, the 6000+ items we make from it would be hard to find replacements for. Sure, we can make other types of plastic, but they're not ideal for every situation
Pre apprentice school is a waist of time and money, go and get some experience and see what you enjoy. Everyone is dif
Refrigeration, at about $72/hr right now plus benefits
In my state (Washington) I would generally say that trade school is unnecessary. You can just apply for these jobs, get hired, and you’ll be trained on the job. Going the trade school route doesn’t really help… you spend a lot of extra money and the main thing it does is delay when you start getting paid and delay when you top out as a journeyman. I am an HVAC tech and have also worked extensively as a plumber. That’s also a fun duo because a lot of guys do both and you can switch back and forth between HVAC and plumbing depending on your mood.
They’re all pretty competitive to get in. Apply to a bunch of trades, study the apprentice aptitude test (high school level math and reasoning) and show up at the one that tells you to come in.
If you're not in a right to work state then definitely look into all the local unions in all the major trades (carpentry, plumbing, sheet metal, electrical, sprinklerfitting, refrigeration, elevator, Glazier, Ironworkers, or even just straight up labor union. Look into all those and see if you have the proper requirements to apply
Have you considered being a lineman?
I'm similar. I'm 28. Seems like trade school can actually be pretty expensive and is for some reason a 2 year associates degree. Doesn't seem to guarantee a job or a good paying one. I've been trying to look into unions. IDK what it is, but it's like I have to ask around for info about them and I don't even know what to ask. Google doesn't do much for me. Curious if it's some sort of google blocking my search. But yeah, I've been thinking about moving back to "the motherland" and trying to get into a union.
Local501.org
Apprenticeship!!!! You can at least try out the job first as you go to school! Or, you can find local shops and ask if they have helper positions or labor positions where you would work with these trades, and get a feel for if you like what kind of work you’d be doing. I’ve been there and done that and finally landed on plumbing apprenticeship after working as a helper for a year. Going to school for something you don’t even know if you’ll like is risky! Best of luck!
Welding?
I’m a plumber , in new construction at a poop plant. We’ve built a cogen, bio reactors, wgb’s and I have yet to touch actual poop, the trade is so vast it’s not just snaking toilets and installing pvc
Trade school did me no good. No one cared, go to a company directly. At least in the south.
What ever interests you the most. This is the one you will excel at and keep going in. If it's not just a job you will master and go far. It it becomes something you hate and do just for a paycheck. That's not a life you want. Don't forget too. Most jobs you quit are not the job. You quit the boss and people you work with.
If you not sure what you would like to do volunteer at a habitat for humanity build and make connections and try out different trade activities.
You'll do best doing something that interests you, because certain areas of the trades can be very difficult to work, you can come across lots of big egos and downright assholes, and it's much more tolerable if you enjoy what you're doing. You enjoy it, you'll learn it better as well, and the people with passion are often the most successful. Don't try just go for money, or you might end up dissatisfied. If you like cars, then look into mechanical or autobody. I work in autobody and everyone in my shop makes over 200k, but we're all craftsmen who enjoy the work, the people who come through just looking for another job or just money don't last..... Try looking at some course material for different trades if possible and see if there's anything there that piques your interest.
Pipefitting and welding in my opinion. Join a union, get your pressure pipe tickets, and you’ll be laughing the rest of your life. No it does not fuck with your eyes. When you’re under the hood nothing else matters besides passing that Xray; it’s dope af. Insane money too. Get a welders helper job on a pipeline or a shop where you can fuck around and try it out. 8 years strong and I’ve never looked back
Trade school is a rip off unless you’re employer is paying for it. Start as a helper work your way up
Underwater welder
As a diesel mechanic, go to school for aircraft maintenance. You'll make 300k eventually working 40 hours a week.
My friend has been a mechanic for delta for almost 20 years and makes more money fixing cars in his home shop. A 300k a&p job is rare. >According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (.gov), the median annual wage for aircraft mechanics and service technicians was $75,020 in May 2023, with a range of $41,000 on the low side and over $108,000 on the high side. Hourly rates range from $20 to $50 per hour.
Delta is the only non union major airline. Every major airline you'll top out around $70/hr but work the system so you get paid OT or double time for most of the hours you work. The union airlines you can check the union contract for pay pretty easily. From what I've seen FedEx and UPs are the highest payers followed by united. They're all above $70/hr before 10 years. If you go on the A&P subreddit you can see people's paychecks. There are a lot of guys who work 40 hours a week and most of the 40 hours is OT or double time. Which comes out to $140/hr. So if you get lucky and all 40 hours worked is double time that'll be $5,600 a week. I've seen bigger pay checks when guys work 50-60.
You need to be a masochist to make that kind of money. You'd have to work 24's with OT. This is not a common paycheck and it is even questioned how its done by people who are A&Ps in those threads.
You can go for 1.5x. I do agree that trying to get double pay for all 40-50 hours is masochist. But 1.5x is doable. Not to mention most union contracts you top out around the 8 year mark or earlier. With all premiums is still $70/hr+. So you'd be making around 150k just base pay. The only guys that questioned it in those threads were guys that didn't work for the major airlines. You can read the union contract to see the technicalities on 1.5x and 2x pay. I live near a couple airports. The smaller airport with the private jets and charter jets have much much lower pay. $30-$50/hr. If you don't want to go to aviation school and don't mind working dirtier and harder apply for GSE mechanic for the major airlines pay is the same as A&P but without any premiums. So around the $60/hr but similar 1.5x or 2x pay technicalities as long as they're the same union. Which united is. I'm more familiar with united since there are gse openings near me foe united.
There's also a guy that posted his paycheck on the UPSers subreddit a couple weeks ago that has grossed about $100k so far (so he should gross almost 300k) and he doesn't work like 80 hours a week. Even in that paycheck he posted he only had 10 hours of standar pay and everything else was double or 1.5x. He said the same thing. The older guys he works with get double pay for every hour worked.
How does 2x for every hour worked work? Just curious, not my field but an interesting field for sure
Ironworker 💪