I really hate what I do…I got a college degree and hate the industry I work in.
I’ve got a few friends that are electricians but they do small work and wouldnt be able to support a staff with it.
I’ve got another friend looking into the union and when they have their next recruiting sessions.
Can someone give me an idea what I should look into, where to go or how to get into this? I live on the South Shore of Massachusetts.
Zero experience except for wiring outlets in my own house…I’m a good shock absorber though 😛
Thanks for any info you can give me….
Replies
I wouldn't know. I'm no electrician.
On that note... heres my thoughts
You are 33 yrs old. Probably.. most likely making some good money with the college edumacation. Mortgage? Family? Kids? school? cloths? car payments? Insurances? new paper subscription? Got bills ?
Im thinking that after the time you go to day school, find someone to pick you up, then do the time you have left in night school and then the years it takes to become a journeyman electrician...( maybe that's when you start to make really good money)
My point is.... you might not be able to be able to make the money your accustomed to now. The money you need to make ends meet.
But that's just my thoughts. I've always been a little leary about those crafty electricians. Maybe they are making boat loads of money.
GoodLuck
Do your homework and check everything out. If you are not happy doing what you are doing then do something else. I had a young boss who started out as an engineer and then after a few years he went back to university and got his MBA then after a few years stopped doing that he bought an appliance install and repair business and was happy as a clam getting dirty and all. When I met him he was in his early thirties and he had an amazing attitude about life. Nothing is written in stone and after a few years of doing electrical and you don't like it, try something else.
I think the average person has several careers and some, more than others so don't feel bad about wanting to change.
Whatever age you are at now in ten years you will say"if only I hadn't started this ten years ago." Even when you are 70 you will say the same thing.
roger
My son in law did 5 yrs in a federal prison for a bank heist, got his license while in the pen. So, rob a bank?
I have career shifted MANY times in the last 20 yrs. It can be a challenge, but I get bored easily and decide to try something new, but still related to the building trades.
Maybe you could sideways shift from your current work into a similar field, with out taking a huge leap of faith into full blown ele. work? Having done a ton of my own ele. work and actually being a helper for a time with a real ele. contractor,I have realized it does take a long time to aquire the skill needed to make a living that I am used to..not trying to disuade you, only wanted to add my 2 cents ...go with caution.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
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Sure you can do it. I would think a tech school on the side would give you a good basis. Then find somebody to work for for a while.
Do small jobs (there are millions of them), do them well (all big jobs are just multiple small jobs). Show up when you say you will or don't say you will.
If your heart is in it you won't mind the strains of change. Besides, have you ever seen a middle age professor or banker that can hardly walk - physical work is a blessing.
Edited 1/28/2006 10:45 am ET by Fonzie
I'm in the Mid-West, here the apprenticeship is five years, .......after a six month probation.....starting wages are 40% of Journeyman scale, with raises every 1000 hrs.
after probation you become indentured and start receiving full benefits...
school the first year consist of one full day (not paid) of classroom, then only night classes for the next four years..
attendance WILL affect your wages.....miss school....lose a % of your rate......the Director of Apprentices here takes this VERY seriously.....after all you are receiving a very good education for FREE..
Attendance at work is almost as important....for without accumulating hours you don't get a raise....!
Appearance is also a factor.....show up with a bunch of plumbing on your face or weird hairdos ......and you WILL be going home , or back to see the Director.......really not a good move by any apprentice....
Homework and class attendance are watched closely....
you are NOT excused from class for ANYTHING .....
Schooling is #1
you can be fired...
you can be laid-off...
you can be turned back by a contractor.. as a NO HIRE, and guess who will be speaking with you about that...
all you need is Aptitude, Attitude, Appearance, and Attendance, and you might make it........
Roger makes some good points.
In my Union ( local 32 Plumbers & Pipefitters Seattle WA ) I have noticed the apprentices getting older & older.
It's not uncommon to have an apprentice in their 40's
That is if you can afford to start at the bottom, & Ma probably pretty close to Wa price. So it's probably around $12 per hour starting. Give or take a bit.
Outside of carpol tunnel <spelling> & some strian on the knees electrical work is pretty body friendly.
I would call the local union & set up an interview, alot of the people I see these days getting into union trades are doing it for the retirement & health & welfare benifits.
Not saying non-union doesn't have good benifets, usually just less work to maintain the bennies if you're union.
You have to start at the bottom and work your way up. It's not a part time endevore. Freaking night school and and all that crap isn't gonna teach you squat about cutting in recess cans or trouble shooting or all the other stuff that comes along.
Get a job as a helper for a company that does both Residential and commercial. If you have a knack for it then that's all the better. The tricky part is to find a company that will let you grow with your skills. If starting out at the bottom isn't what you had in mind then give it up. You are starting out with a stratgy for failure.
My resume? I got tired of traveling all over the U.S. and Canada as an equipment supervisor, never being home etc. Went home on rest, quite my job and then asked myself. "Now what?" By pure accident got hired by a small electrical contractor, a year and a half later I was running my own jobs and doing fine. I went from a salary of $46,000 a year to $ 7.50 an hour. No overtime. But I had apptitude, and loved to eat. It helped that my wife works, but we still had bills out the wazoo. Mortgage etc.
Anyway I make a real good living now and could make even more if I wanted to move, but I'm content. I bit the bullet for a long time and was lucky enough to take to it easily. And was very lucky to get partnered with a real good electrician that had the patience and took the time to teach me whatever I needed to learn even though he was three years younger then me. Raging alcoholic though. Thats why the boss liked us together. I made him come to work every day and made sure he stayed sober and didn't sneak off early to go to the bar.
Ugha Chaka! Ugha Chaka! Ugha, Ugha, Ugha, Chaka!
Find a dream and chase it!!! Life is just too short to wake up any morning and not be happy with the day ahead.
I graduated from college with a DVM. I had a draft notice waiting and instead of going in as an officer and inspecting food freezers for 2 years I went in as an enlisted man. I ended up flying helicopters for 11 years and am now building houses.
I have a brother who was a neurologist and surgeon for 15 years. The money was fine but the hours were awful and he wanted to see his children grow, he builds now also.
It takes a few years of mac and cheese until you start to see good money but if you like your work and are the best at it you'll do just fine.
Thanks everyone for the advise....
I'm not making THAT much...about 40K/year and in Massachusetts...that's crap.
I hate getting up in the morning knowing I have to do this job...the people are very clickly and talk behind your back. It's not the type of person I am.
I've got a few leads out there, and as long as I can support my family (wife, 5 mnth old and mortgage) I'm ok.
Just cant do this industry any longer.
I'll post if I find something....
Thanks again.
I'm not making THAT much...about 40K/year and in Massachusetts...that's crap.
If you start as an electrician's helper for a residential electrician, you'll probably start out around $10-12/hour. As a union apprentice, you'll probably be about the same, with pre-determined increases every so many hours. So in either case, you'll be taking a substantial pay cut.
Also, you'll have to log the required number of classroom hours, probably at night if you're working full time.
In the end, it's all worth it- but you've got to be willing to make the sacrifice for the next 4-5 years.
Bob
get the wife to work and the kid to grandma's .... then get to work yourself.
I went back to trade school at the ripe old age of 30 ... actually started at 29 ... turned 30 and celebrated with my 19 year old roommate! I was the "old guy" in our class.
I had a background heavy on interior remodeling ... knew if I wanted to run my own remodeling show ... I'd have to learn exterior and structural real quick.
This all came after I'd spent 8 years in sales. Got tired of sales ... decided to go back to what I started at age 8 with my Dad ...
I say there's more and better money to be made in the mechanical trades unless you really love the carpentry side of things and can really sell yourself and your skills.
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
That's an interesting story! I graduated from one of the top engineering schools in the country, went in the service, and came home to any job I wanted.
I worked for the most interesting guy I ever met in my life. He was hard working, totally dedicated and extremely wealthy. They had discovered huge fields of oil and natural gas on his property and he was making $2 million a month!
He still came to work every day at his old job and carried on just like he always had. One day I asked him " Why do you continue to work this hard and such long hours when you could do anything you wanted. He replied that " a person should always find a job that they love so much...they would do it for nothing if they could" and in comparison, that's what he was working for!
Several years later, I helped a friend of mine build an entire new home from the ground up. I fell in love with the homebuilding business. The advice my old boss gave me never left my mind, and shortly after, I quit my job and got into the building business.
I had more than my share of Macs, but after almost 30 years, I still love to go to work every morning and see every new building as a new challenge.
My brothers, who were also in the engineering profession, joined me a long time ago and they are as fired up as I am!
So if you've got a dream...chase it!
You only get one life, BE HAPPY IN IT! I realized that I wanted to be an electrician too late in life. Around here (michigan) its a long way to being able to live off of what i'd make (gotta be a grunt for a while). If I wasnt going to be a rockstar when I was younger, I could've gone to college for electrical and by now I would be making some money.