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Permalink Reply by Benn Gilliam on January 20, 2010 at 1:57am

Apprenticeships will vary greatly depending on who ask. Some electricians view the apprenticeship process negatively. Often those looking to get into construction find that the associated work is too strenuous. This happens regularly and fairly quickly.

Some electricians also think, “Why train somebody that will eventually be my competitor?” The "ask an in option" is best if you have a strong personal relationship with the Master Electrician and/or this person has the means to hire you for the long term.

With the housing market being what it is, I would think very carefully before entering this realm.

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Permalink Reply by Benn Gilliam on January 20, 2010 at 1:45am

Well, my father is an electrician. If you would like some insight about the trade, I can answer general questions or ask him specifics. Anything to help. I'm new and hoping to contribute.

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Permalink Reply by steve on January 26, 2010 at 9:27pm

Apprenticeships often require you starting at a wage which is 40 - 60% that of Journeyman wages. As you progress your wages increase, usually every 6 months. For example, you might start at 10.00 an hour, and by year 4 make 20.00 an hour. Where I live, apprentice programs usually follow a similar track. If you live in a city with strong union representation you might start at 18 - 19.00 an hour, and progress to 30-33.00 an hour.

If taking that big of a wage cut/ sacrifice for 4 years is too much, maybe you can consider taking classes in electrical maintenance at a local community college. Sometimes you might get "grandfathered" in for certain hours you studied. If you want to be a lineman (which will be a growing need for due to retirements) their program while demanding often starts out with higher pay, and finishes with higher pay.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Hamm on January 26, 2010 at 10:08pm

Do lineman follow a similar path; ie apprentice, journeyman, master or is it more school based? Where would be a good place to find job opportunities in my area? Call the local union?

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Permalink Reply by steve on January 27, 2010 at 7:14pm

Lineman follow an apprentice path. In addition there are schools around the country for lineman. Pacific Northwest Lineman College in Boise, Id is a school in the northwest. In addition Bismarck State College in North Dakota offers an online program that might count as schooling in an apprentice program. Unions offer programs too. A lineman program is 4-5 years, is demanding, and there is much to learn. Lineman follow something similar. Apprentice -> Test out -> State Exam -> Journeyman.

This is from what I have gathered. Pay can be considerably more especially if you are on storm crews. Crews can work serious amounts of overtime, and many lineman I have met throughout the years love the job, and its all they have ever wanted to do.

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Permalink Reply by Garrett C on January 28, 2010 at 9:39pm

I'm a senior in high school still, but when I graduate I'm really thinking about going to a trade school and to become an electrician. It's hard to argue with an active job that pays well, and has manly connotations!

I can't say if it is or isn't the best way to become one, but I know at the school I'm thinking about, almost all of the graduating class (16 out of 18 Students) last year went on to Journeyman positions in companies around the state.

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Permalink Reply by Ravi Knypstra on January 28, 2010 at 10:12pm

Just open up the top of the nearest piece of electronic equipment at your office job and start poking your fingers around in there, making sure that it's plugged in and turned on.

Or you could check out the local trade school.

What kind of electrical work are you interested in doing? Residential electric? Automotive electric? Commercial electric? What? Three-phase high-wattage? AC/DC? What are you interested in that's electrical? Is your interest in this motivated by your natural curiosity or are you just looking for a way to make more money?

There are also lots of places online to get an education in electronics, but I would seriously recommend trying to find a shop near you where you can do some sort of apprenticeship, if such a thing still exists in America today, to see if you fancy that particular aspect of the electronic spectrum.

My particular area of interest in electronics is audio and AC high voltage stuff, like microphone pre-amps or Tesla coils, that sort of stuff.

What is it about electronics that interests you is the first question you probably need to answer and why.

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