Residential Electrician Apprenticeship

D

Douglas Quaid

Orthodox Inquirer
Heritage
I was wondering if anyone had experience with residential electrical work, and could offer any pros/cons. There's a 2 year apprenticeship where I live. The average journeyman's wage is $40/hr, so apprentices make $22/hr the first 6 months, $26/hr after 6 months, $30/hr after 1 year and $34/hr after 18 months. Not bad money. The license is only for residential work, so that's why the apprenticeship is shorter and money is a little less than the typical route for the full electrical license.

I've had general laborer jobs in the past for a plumbing company and a general contractor. I enjoyed helping out with the service and residential work significantly more than going to big commercial sites, so that's why I'm interested in this residential program and not bothered by the lower pay ceiling/scope of work. Residential/service also seems like a great way to start your own business down the line.
 
It’s heavy on forearms due to electric shocks. Senior electricians just make the project of wires configuration and electric switchboard configuration. Real work actual passing of wires holes, etc is done by junior employees.

Best electricians are the ones who before worked in a big power company. The company which provides electricity. Or when you build a house certifies everything is ok. They are normally up to date with all codes, etc.

Doing house calls will mean a lot of availability.

Electricians and carpenters are the best paid workers construction related. From my experience.
 
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Take whatever entry path you get to your license. It's tough to be picky when you start. The electricians I've had best success with were the guys in smaller mom-and-pop shops that get called out to a wide variety of jobs. These are the guys that can re-wire an old home that was built during aluminum wiring days, hang LED lights in an office, then drive across town to a small manufacturing plant and troubleshoot or install 3-phase panels/services/transformers.

No shortage of work for someone that can do both sides. Electricians have the best job security for decades going forward, IMHO. It is such a hard trade to get licenses, once you are in - you're in. Frankly, the workforce is getting dumber and electricians are proportionally rarer with time. Only so many guys can do the job, that's the simple truth.

It can be very demanding on the body - pulling wire through an attic all day in the summer, re-hooking a service that blew during a thunderstorm (whilst standing in a puddle of water), etc. A man has to focus in this field.

Electricians seem to be good mechanics also. They are good at troubleshooting and not afraid of manuals/diagrams/plans. Such a good skill.
 
magoo said:
Electricians and carpenters are the best paid workers construction related. From my experience.
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I find the big 3 trades (electrician, plumber, HVAC) are all paid very well in my area, along with anything niche like spray foam. And all of them make better money than carpenters.

If you become a master electrician and set up your own business in a high cost of living area, you can make a killing, and that job won't be replaced by AI for a long time.
 
Would anyone have a real scoop on the pros/cons of being an electrical lineman in the US? I've been considering pursuing this path. My main concern is that I have a wife and newborn child, and there's a lot of travelling involved. That being said, the money seems good enough to buy an RV to live in comfortably, so my wife and child could always come along. I could also in this way avoid paying rent/mortgage in the totally insane real estate climate we find ourselves in...
 
I have a friend who is an electrician (not even a "master" electrician" but just the regular kind) and he is booked up a month in advance. He is constantly struggling to keep helpers. He says due to the economic crisis, people are holding on to older properties (or renovating, adding a garage office/apartment, etc. instead of building / buying) and therefore he is in high demand. The same is true for an auto mechanic I know. No one can afford new cars, so he stays busy repairing the old ones. I think these are excellent careers to get into.

Lineman? Around here you work for the monopoly electric company, which is similar to working for the government. Good pay, good benefits, regular pay bumps, job stability, etc. It's going to be woke like any big corporation, and white guys probably can't advance very high, but it's a good job all things considered.
 
So around where I live we have 3 types of electrical apprenticeships. There's also union and non-union.

The Inside apprenticeship: This is to become a general electrician that can work on almost anything, usually commercial jobs. Pays the most and takes the longest at 4-5 years. I am not that interested because of the length and did not enjoy being on commercial sites at previous construction jobs.

Low voltage: Takes 3 years, pays a little less, easier on body and they work on things like fire alarms, security systems, audio/video, etc. Seems like a mix of electrical work and IT. Easier to get in than inside too. Seems pretty nice compared to most construction jobs.

Residential: As discussed, this takes 2 years, pays a little less, easier to get into than inside and focuses on residential. The quicker time frame and opportunity for entrepreneurship are appealing. I also enjoyed residential work a lot more at previous jobs, which doesn't seem to be the norm. But I'd rather deal with homeowners than most of the miserable bastards in commercial.

I'm going to stick with my current job for at least a while, but the low voltage and residential apprenticeships continue to be on my mind.
 
Douglas Quaid said:
So around where I live we have 3 types of electrical apprenticeships. There's also union and non-union.

The Inside apprenticeship: This is to become a general electrician that can work on almost anything, usually commercial jobs. Pays the most and takes the longest at 4-5 years. I am not that interested because of the length and did not enjoy being on commercial sites at previous construction jobs.

Low voltage: Takes 3 years, pays a little less, easier on body and they work on things like fire alarms, security systems, audio/video, etc. Seems like a mix of electrical work and IT. Easier to get in than inside too. Seems pretty nice compared to most construction jobs.

Residential: As discussed, this takes 2 years, pays a little less, easier to get into than inside and focuses on residential. The quicker time frame and opportunity for entrepreneurship are appealing. I also enjoyed residential work a lot more at previous jobs, which doesn't seem to be the norm. But I'd rather deal with homeowners than most of the miserable bastards in commercial.

I'm going to stick with my current job for at least a while, but the low voltage and residential apprenticeships continue to be on my mind.
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Does the door stay open for this long term? I'd get while the getting is good! I'd go residential. I assume anyone who can do regular residential can do low voltage as well.
 
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