Any Electricians around here?

[DigitalCancer]

So...I'm thinking of trying to do this work. I'm 26, HS Diploma, 1 semester of college (what a failure, I know) and I'm tired of job hoping. I'm a Help Desk Analyst right now and moving over to programming and it's not working out with me.

I want to get a job where I make decent money and I can make a real career out of it. I don't expect it to be easy work but, just wanted to get a description of a day in the life from some real 'live' electricians? What can I expect?

What all do I need to know? I believe I read that it's 4yrs of training? How much 'roughly' will starting pay be for the 1st-2nd-etc. years? I've read some statistics, but I'm interested in actual facts as well.

How much will classes cost me? How bad is the math?

This isn't something I'm just jumping over to, this is something that I've considered in the past and REALLY wish that I would have jumped into an apprenticeship.

Any input is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[BoomerD]

IIRC, we have a member who's either still an electrical apprentice, or was not long ago. Hopefully he'll see this and chime in with better info.
Where do you live? Some states have different standards for the apprenticeships.

http://www.njatc.org/

Here in NorCal, wages for a journeyman electrician (at least in construction) range from the mid $30/hr to the mid $40/hr plus fabulous benefits.

Contact your nearest IBEW local for more information
http://www.ibew.org/

IMO, it's a GOOD trade to get in if you don't mind the hard work, getting dirty, and often, working in inclement weather.

 

[caspur]

Try this first.

http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-SC-750-...2273035&sr=8-4

Its a toy, but you may not want to start 4 years of school for something you hate.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Wage depends on location and how powerful the local union is.

If you are even half way technical you'll have no problem with the classes. Cost? dunno.

As far as the actual work? Not too terribly mind intensive, but you'll do your fair share(if not more) of gopher work until you find your feet. IF you don't mind bending pipe and pulling wire - it won't be too bad of job for you.

<- not an "electrician" but plays one on occasion.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Try this first.

http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-SC-750-...2273035&amp;sr=8-4

Its a toy, but you may not want to start 4 years of school for something you hate.

lol, half the electricians I've worked with over the last 10 years couldn't do that!

 

[Gibson486]

you know, if you just graduate from a 2 year college, you could be on the implementation side. You essentially program controls for huge sites that run on PLCs. You work aside electricians most of the time. They wire, you program the PLC and debug it on site.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

you know, if you just graduate from a 2 year college, you could be on the implementation side. You essentially program controls for huge sites that run on PLCs. You work aside electricians most of the time. They wire, you program the PLC and debug it on site.

Yeah, or you could do that... IF you have a reasonable sense of logic.

<- Controls Engineer w/ 1 year of school just like the OP.

 

[DigitalCancer]

Yeah, or you could do that... IF you have a reasonable sense of logic.

<- Controls Engineer w/ 1 year of school just like the OP.

Yea...cept I do hate programming (or at least what I'm doing now). I like the 'idea' of it, but overall...I don't like having to think about all of the different circumstances for data and what not (I know this is an entirely different sort of programming but the same logic style goes).

I do not mind the 'gopher' work at all...I'm usually good with the heat, the cold is a different story but I'm sure I'd be fine with a good pair of overalls. ^_^

BoomerD:
I really do think it's something that I want to do and I need to look into the local IBEW around here. I reside in Indiana, not sure as to how wages are around here really.
Do you mean $30/hr while training? Surely not, seems a bit on the 'too good to be true' scale. I assume you're talking about a full fledged electrician, in the end, makes that right?

Thanks for the advice guys! Keep it coming!

EDIT: One more thing...how are the hours? You don't really work into the night right? Unless you're wiring a building I guess?

 

[richardycc]

'Find a Job You Love and You'll Never Work a Day in Your Life'

your post is giving out that "I need a job that pays well, I don't care if I like it or not" vibe.

 

[Gibson486]

Yea...cept I do hate programming (or at least what I'm doing now). I like the 'idea' of it, but overall...I don't like having to think about all of the different circumstances for data and what not (I know this is an entirely different sort of programming but the same logic style goes).

I do not mind the 'gopher' work at all...I'm usually good with the heat, the cold is a different story but I'm sure I'd be fine with a good pair of overalls. ^_^

BoomerD:
I really do think it's something that I want to do and I need to look into the local IBEW around here. I reside in Indiana, not sure as to how wages are around here really.
Do you mean $30/hr while training? Surely not, seems a bit on the 'too good to be true' scale. I assume you're talking about a full fledged electrician, in the end, makes that right?

Thanks for the advice guys! Keep it coming!

EDIT: One more thing...how are the hours? You don't really work into the night right? Unless you're wiring a building I guess?

It's Dependant on how well the project are managed.

 

[DigitalCancer]

'Find a Job You Love and You'll Never Work a Day in Your Life'

your post is giving out that "I need a job that pays well, I don't care if I like it or not" vibe.

Really? That's not what I'm trying to get across. I just want a job that has a future with decent pay. I'm tired of computer (jobs) (I want to keep them as a hobby only).

I don't mind hard-work as long as it's not going to kill me in the end, lol. I want something that I can be proud of and is a true profession. I'm 26 and really need to get my act together, I've let too much hold me back and I can't afford to do it anymore or I'll end up 30yrs old working at BurgerKing. =/

I think I'd love to work as an electrician....my aunt/uncle had one electrician they used and I followed him around a bit when I was younger and was fascinated by the idea, but then I turned more toward computers thinking I would like it more as a profession but, I don't. I don't like the work because it's not the stuff that I want to do with them ya know?

 

[dud]

Stop for a moment, a minute, and hour or even a day and ask yourself what YOU think will make you happy! What do you enjoy doing? I ask because if you enjoy what you are doing it is not a job.

 

[magicrat03]

$30/HR while training is a most likely a big no for sure but not totally impossible just pretty much improbable. Apprentices usually make a percentage of what a journeyman makes. First year up to 80&#37; and so on.

What kind of electrician do you want to be?

Residential types in the midwest are not usually union. Some in big cities they can be. Can make from the mid teens and up. Usually day shift. All weather types. Not many apprentices here due to lack of unions.

Commercial types that work in that type of construction are usually the union types with the large hourly wages. Prevailing wage jobs are your friend and where you hear of the magical 30-40/hr. Usually day shift. Usually working in all weather types no electricity in the building yet usually means no ac or heat.

Industrial types who work in a factory type setting can be be union or not. They can make from the mid teens/hr and up. Shift work, usually round the clock. Mostly indoors, but also mostly in non air conditioned and poorly heated factories. PLC programming is not as hard as computer programming.

All the trades at my union company make with in a buck an hour of each other but you hardly ever see a sweaty, dirty electrician.

Apprenticeships take 4 years or less, depending on your hours worked as it is a total hours type of thing for a union type apprenticeship. Total school hours are typically about 550-600. Having a 2 year degree would help you get an apprenticeship and put you ahead of most others. Most union apprentices I know had to take a test to qualify for it and the highest score(s) make it.

Taking some classes on your own before starting an apprenticeship would also help. Having a relative or friend in the trade/same union can really make it easy to get a union type apprenticeship.

IBEW work is usually construction and usually commercial. Can be multiple shift work but is usually day shift.

 

[DigitalCancer]

Thanks for the lengthy info....I'll definitely have to investigate some more around here. This is more of a thing that I was thinking of today and decided to really start looking into it because I don't like where my life is at/headed right now. I do want kids soon, but I want to be able to raise them instead of hopping from job to job ya know?

 

[ebaycj]

I don't like the work because it's not the stuff that I want to do with them ya know?

What do you want to do with them? Why not do that?

 

[BoomerD]

Yea...cept I do hate programming (or at least what I'm doing now). I like the 'idea' of it, but overall...I don't like having to think about all of the different circumstances for data and what not (I know this is an entirely different sort of programming but the same logic style goes).

I do not mind the 'gopher' work at all...I'm usually good with the heat, the cold is a different story but I'm sure I'd be fine with a good pair of overalls. ^_^

BoomerD:
I really do think it's something that I want to do and I need to look into the local IBEW around here. I reside in Indiana, not sure as to how wages are around here really.
Do you mean $30/hr while training? Surely not, seems a bit on the 'too good to be true' scale. I assume you're talking about a full fledged electrician, in the end, makes that right?

Thanks for the advice guys! Keep it coming!

EDIT: One more thing...how are the hours? You don't really work into the night right? Unless you're wiring a building I guess?

Yep, journeyman electrician...NOT apprentice. I'm not sure how the IBEW's program works, but in my union apprenticeship, a brand new apprentice starts at 45% of scale...then gets increases of 10% (of journeyman, not of the current pay scale) for about every 1000 hours worked. That'd translate to about $15/hr on the check plus benefits to start...then every 6 months or so, about $3/hr raise. If you work more than 40 hours/week, the raises come faster...and it's possible (but not common) to skip a step in the program.
Plus, (often during the winter months when you're out of work) there's the "related training" classes. I had to go to classes for a minimum of 144 hours every year. Those are unpaid...and you aren't allowed to take any tax deductions for your expenses (that are strictly schooling related) because it qualifies you for a new job...although if they're college classes, tuition may qualify for one of the related education credits)

It looks like you're right outside of Gary...that should be an area with a strong union presence. Odds are, you may work in Chicago from time to time...depending, of course, on the rules of the various locals. (some are tougher than others on "travelers.")

I am not an electrician, but I HAVE worked out of the IBEW halls a few times...running crane and boom truck for electrical contractors.

 

[JEDI]

i think in the DC area, all the apprentices in major unions (hvac, elctrician, plumber, elevator, etc) not only get free school (including books), but get paid to goto school.

instead of working that day, you goto school for 8hrs at the same pay.

non-union apprentices goto school at nite on their own dime.

 

[Dirigible]

My septuagenarian uncle has been doing residential electrician work in Santa Barbara since he got out of high school. He owns Santa Barbara Electric Co.

He mostly just wires peoples houses/repairs/replaces old wiring. As he likes things to stay exactly the same (he's lived in the same house his entire life) it fits him. I think I'd get bored in such a job.

 

[roguerower]

Like everyone has said, it depends on the work you want to do. We've got 2 electricians on our jobsite right now who traveled down from Minneapolis for our job. They're both union and they'll be hiring most of their guys out of the local hall. They both know their shit and they like the work down here because it isn't as union restrictive as work up north can get. That said, they did have to hire a local equipment operator to work their backhoe for the site electrical they had to put down.

The nice thing about commercial construction is that it changes as time goes on. Unless you get into specialized residential projects, the odds are that your work is going to stay fairly similar for years to come. Depending on the type of commercial construction job you get depends on what you get to work on. I work in federal work so Barracks are a lot different from Headquarters which are a lot different from Motor Pools which are a lot different from Hangars. Keeps you on your toes.

Work days will depend on the job schedule, progression of the job, other subs, etc. For instance, if the building is dried in and you get a rain day, no issue since you just work inside. If you get a rain day and you're outside doing runs for site lighting and you can't work inside, then there's nothing to do.

I have liked most electricians that I've worked with. They're usually smarter than most workers on the job and some of them are brilliant. The supt on my job last summer was smart as a whip and was a great guy to talk to when not doing work.

 

[hanoverphist]

you know, if you just graduate from a 2 year college, you could be on the implementation side. You essentially program controls for huge sites that run on PLCs. You work aside electricians most of the time. They wire, you program the PLC and debug it on site.

this is the difference between industrial, commercial and residential electricians. commercial will know what a PLC is, residential guys wont. i always tell my customers im not an electrician, even tho ive been terminating PLC IO for a decade or so. just makes it easier in the long run. (i work for an industrial electrical contractor as a "systems integrator")

the pay could be very good in a lot of places, but is very subjective to location. if youre seriouos at all about this, talk to the local IBEW or local community colleges about it. community colleges usually have a fair offering for motor control, electrical and PLC programming.

 

[DrPizza]

My son just started as a linesman apprentice with the local IBEW. Starting pay up here is around $26 an hour for apprentices. After a shitload of hours (roughly 3 1/2 years to 4 years, including overtime), he'll be a full-fledged journeyman. Journeymen get $42 per hour. Every 500 hours, he gets a raise on his way to that $42. Emergency/inclement storm weather pay is double-time, 16 hour days. On his way to journeyman, he has to do all sorts of online book work. So far, that part has been pretty trivial. Had to pass his exams for his CDL - something by itself that can be valuable to you. He's been "playing with" various construction equipment - backhoes, etc., to get the feel of them. Attended apprentice school on weekends for a month and a half on weekends (that part was unpaid, but his hotel was covered for it.) But, while he was doing that, he was also working M-F on a jobsite about 2 or 3 hours away.

So far, he absolutely loves it. Right now, he says he does a lot of grunt work. Where he's working right now, they give them a per diem rate to help cover their hotel expenses; so that's a slight bonus.

Downside: if you have family, close girlfriends, etc., forget it. 2 weeks ago, he was working out of one city 4 1/2 hours from home; almost on the Canadian border. The job they were working on lasted until last week. Last Monday, he was assigned to another group fairly close to NYC. No guarantees about how long you're going to be on a particular job site - try finding an apartment or room to rent under those circumstances. Thus, living arrangements suck. Of course though, the flip side is that he'll get to live in a lot of different areas. Next time he'll be "home" is Christmas.

 

[BoomerD]

My son just started as a linesman apprentice with the local IBEW. Starting pay up here is around $26 an hour for apprentices. After a shitload of hours (roughly 3 1/2 years to 4 years, including overtime), he'll be a full-fledged journeyman. Journeymen get $42 per hour. Every 500 hours, he gets a raise on his way to that $42. Emergency/inclement storm weather pay is double-time, 16 hour days. On his way to journeyman, he has to do all sorts of online book work. So far, that part has been pretty trivial. Had to pass his exams for his CDL - something by itself that can be valuable to you. He's been "playing with" various construction equipment - backhoes, etc., to get the feel of them. Attended apprentice school on weekends for a month and a half on weekends (that part was unpaid, but his hotel was covered for it.) But, while he was doing that, he was also working M-F on a jobsite about 2 or 3 hours away.

So far, he absolutely loves it. Right now, he says he does a lot of grunt work. Where he's working right now, they give them a per diem rate to help cover their hotel expenses; so that's a slight bonus.

Downside: if you have family, close girlfriends, etc., forget it. 2 weeks ago, he was working out of one city 4 1/2 hours from home; almost on the Canadian border. The job they were working on lasted until last week. Last Monday, he was assigned to another group fairly close to NYC. No guarantees about how long you're going to be on a particular job site - try finding an apartment or room to rent under those circumstances. Thus, living arrangements suck. Of course though, the flip side is that he'll get to live in a lot of different areas. Next time he'll be "home" is Christmas.

Lineman and electricians are completely different animals, even if they do (sort of) deal with the same product.
I can do electrical work...to a point. I can bend and run conduit, pull wire, do some terminations, etc., but as far as linework...I can set transformers, and use a crane to pull wire...but you ain't a gonna get me up any damned pole. (me on a pole would look like a giant tootsie roll pop!)

I spent 7 years as the crane operator for one of the local electrical utilities. I got a pretty good overview of lineman work...and it definitely isn't for me.

:thumbsup: to those who do it though...it's tough, often thankless work.

 

[DrPizza]

At his boot camp, he was one of the first 2 to qualify on climbing the poles, other than the couple who had already done so for similar occupations (tree trimming.) When they had the opportunity to go up the BIG pole (130 ft? something like that) He went right up it. A former marine had to drop out after 4 or 5 weeks - afraid of heights and couldn't get over it.

 

[NL5]

Well, I am an IBEW inside apprentice. I don't know the scale in Indiana, but here you start at 40&#37; of journeyman, and can make up to 120% (or more). Journeyman scale right now is $36 with some pretty good benefits. School is "free", but here we have day school, so you lose a days pay while you're in school. You go for 21 weeks a year - one full 8 hour day a week, split into 2 terms for five years. You owe them an additional 5 years after you turn out for the free schooling. It's VERY tough to get into, and to be honest, the classes are pretty tough, and there is a shit ton of homework. We do mostly commercial and industrial work. It tough, but I absolutely love it. I wish I had done this when I was 20.

To get in, I took a Power Utility Certification program (about 6 terms) at a local CC. Might be a something to look into.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask, and I'll try and give you as much help as I can.

edit - I also interned with a line crew, so I am pretty familiar with that side as well.

 

[ussfletcher]

Lineman and electricians are completely different animals, even if they do (sort of) deal with the same product.
I can do electrical work...to a point. I can bend and run conduit, pull wire, do some terminations, etc., but as far as linework...I can set transformers, and use a crane to pull wire...but you ain't a gonna get me up any damned pole. (me on a pole would look like a giant tootsie roll pop!)

I spent 7 years as the crane operator for one of the local electrical utilities. I got a pretty good overview of lineman work...and it definitely isn't for me.

:thumbsup: to those who do it though...it's tough, often thankless work.

My engineering teacher in High school was a lineman and at some point he decided it wasn't worth the danger to make $120k a year and left it to make $40k (starting) in a nice cushy job.