Greetings all. My wife’s son is interested in becoming a residential electrician and is wondering what the best route might be. I told him I’d post a query, as there seems to be a fair number of electricians here.
Tradeschool? Apprenticeship? Some other route?
He’s a bright, hardworking and responsible kid, currently living with his dad in Rockland County, New York.
Any advice from electricians or other tradespeople?
Thanks!
Allen
Replies
Buddy of mine did it by the apprenticeship program by Local 3 in NYC. I'm not sure how far west in NY you are, but you could give them a call. If you know anyone already an electrician in the union, you should definitely call them because finding out when and where the applications come out is needed since applications go fast.
Thanks for that quick response! I'll pass along that info. My stepson is in Rockland County (his mother and I live in the western part of the state).
Allen
yah, this might help find the right Training Center....
http://www.njatc.org/training/find.aspx
residential training is three years shorter but
the boy might consider going through the longer apprenticeship to become a Journeyman Wireman... where the top scale is made since some areas have a split scale between resi and commercial / industrial
resi work can be demanding and as he gets older he might decide he would like to go a little slower than the 20 Y.O.s coming up behind him and it's usually then that most bungalow busters have to go BACK to school for the last three years of the apprenticeship
one other benfit of going this route...the education is essentially free,.
one other thing, he doesn't have a nose ring does he?
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., wer ist jetzt der Idiot ?
Edited 5/19/2007 9:43 pm by maddog3
Thanks for that link.
No body piercings or tattoos, BTW.
Allen
anytime Allen,
and the question about the jewelry is a legitimate one ....:).
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., wer ist jetzt der Idiot ?
We dont have unions here, we dont have appentships. Best way is to go to school, cant afford school. hit up a electrical contractor and say "I want a job" They all need gophers.
Yeah, there's probably a working electrician near him that could use a good helper. The challenge might be in finding one who is a good electrician, a good businessman, a good boss and a good teacher, I suppose.
The boy's mother is wondering if he'd do better getting the basics and technical background in a structured academic environment, before moving out into "the field" as a gopher or whatever.
Allen
He would but he would learn alot he never need, I maen school is #1 but hands on is where you learn.
If he isn't able to go the union route have him look into these guys. You can work for a contractor and attend classes somewhat like the union offers.
http://www.ieci.org/index.mv?screen=BecElect&xsub=1
"Without education, we are in a horrible and deadly danger of taking educated people seriously." G.K. Chesterton
http://thewoodwhisperer.com/
Another option is the Association of Builders and Contractors. Their website is abc.org.
They offer apprenticeships in electrical, plumbing and some others. It's a 4 year program whereas the union is 5 years. I went through it and it works. Now I are a electrician and my fuel bill is $709.
~Peter
Thanks, Peter.
Now I are a electrician and my fuel bill is $709
Is that good or bad in San Diego? Here in upstate NY that would be great for an annual figure, but closer to a typical January heating oil bill.
Allen
My current job is a Target store in Vista. The trip is ~37 miles each way; down from 42 due to clever map use. My car gets ~8 miles per gallon. The current gasoline price is ~$3.399 per gallon.
I fill up every other working day. ~$65 [$60~70] each time. Running close to unemployment benefits.
As for ABC, they do require the night school whichis good since you learn the Code and theory that way. A lot of the electricians in the field don't know the Code except those bits they run afoul of in inspections. Same with theory. ABC is a union alternative although some of the contractors will have public jobs, such as schools, which pay prevailing wages.
~Peter
Now I are a electrician and my fuel bill is $709
Or is that your weekly gasoline costs as you drive around to residential electrical customers?!
Allen
Thanks. I looked at the info; nothing nearby, but maybe he'd be willing to relocate.
Allen
Brownbagg,
What state do you live in?
kansas
So do you need any sort of licensing to be an electrician in Kansas? (I'm assuming it varies city to city.)
I'm also assuming that things are much different between NY and Kansas! Kansas is a right-to-work state, whereas NY has forced Unions.
I live in Washington state, and there are a lot of artificial hoops to jump through to become a plumber or electrician here. Unfortunately for homeowners, it has the effect of creating an artificial shortage, and the prices jump up dramatically for people who have to do permitted work.
You could try posting in the electrical forum over on JLC. Their forum is fairly active.
http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/index.php
Glamorous
Edited 5/19/2007 10:21 pm ET by dustinf
Yeah, the JLC forums would be good. I'm a JLC subscriber, but have so far avoided the forums. One addiction is enough! Still, methinks I'll give that a try.
Thanks.
Allen
If he's in, or will move to, an area with a union apprenticeship program, I'd definitely do it. Most union work is commercial/industrial but the pay is great and so are the bennies. Another good angle is to work for a utility company--they can't find enough good people.
You can get into residential by hiring on as a helper. After you put in some time drilling holes and pulling wire you might get bumped up. Pay will probably be lower and bennies are probably non existent but it's an easier work culture.
Big advantage of union work is the training you get.
Good advice. I'll pass it along.
Allen
Why residential? Commercial has some advantages. The pay is better, and you don't have to deal with homeowners.
There are several opportunities that open up when you have a journeyman's card from a state approved apprenticeship program. Of course you can get jobs on commercial construction, and you can be licensed as a contractor on your own, and you can also work as an electrician at a specific location, say, in the maintenance department of a manufacturing plant. That way you don't have travel. The work there tends to be more troubleshooting and controls oriented rather than pulling wires, which may be more interesting.
The unions, such as IBEW, provide excellent training.
Once in the program I'd consider training in optical fiber, too. It's highly specialized and not many people yet have the training.
I think there's a couple reasons he's drawn to the residential side. He likes the idea of being self-employed. And his dad does home remodeling work, and he often works alongside him.
But he's probably not aware of all the options in the field, so all these responses I think will be very helpful for him.
Allen
I Googled "ibew" and got lots of information on training and apprenticeship.
Greetings all. My wife's son is interested in becoming a residential electrician and is wondering what the best route might be.
Allen,
The most direct answer would be to call the state -- they're the ones who set the rules on how to get a license.
You're probably going to find out some BS about having to work under the tutelage of a licensed electrician for 4000 or 6000 hours or something like that before even being ELIGIBLE to take a proficiency exam.
As far as I'm concerned, that pretty much forces someone into an apprenticeship type of relationship.
So call the state, or look on their website. Hope that helps.
call the state, or look on their website
Thanks. I'll also post over at JLC; maybe there's an electrical contractor near Tappan, NY that would be willing to offer the young man a source of mentorship or general advice/information about the profession.
Allen