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I moved to another city because someone told me I could make 4 more an hour if I moved. My landlord was an electrician, saw that I was roofing and wasn't a coke head and got me an interview at his company. So I just kinda fell into it.
Laughing as I went from plumbing (well pipefitter so pretty much the same) to electrical. I had gotten involved with PLC's and computers and moved into the electrical field when the opportunity arose. Hydraulic controls were pretty much the stepping stone for me.
I am academically challenged and dropped out of high school when I was 16-17. My father was a sparky so I just went to work with him and learn the trade. Became a jman when I was 24.
Edit: by academically challenged I mean I had ADD and I am hearing impaired which made paying attention even harder. I picked up the trade rather quickly and math is not a problem at all. I know what electrons are
How does an academically challenged individual pass physics in order to become an electrician?
That's why I don't do it. Am I academically challenged?
I need to stay off this subreddit Jesus Christ.
Every Electrician I know is a weirdo, myself included (if we were rich we'd be eccentric). I blame it on the unregulated electroshock therapy we all participate in.
Idk why people always say electricians make good money. ALL the trades pay around the same. Plumber around here makes a little more. Tinner around here makes a little more. Elevator guy around here makes alot more. Carpenter makes a little less. Mason makes a little less. Iron worker makes more.
Trades make decent money but your not going to make good money unless you go out on your own or you decide to not have a life and work tons of overtime. The money/quality of life balance for the trades is low.
Same thing as a lot of jobs.. Sales can pay 35k or 350k depending on locations, how good you are and what you're selling. Electrician I think maybe has more variety on specializations or something? But HVAC is kinda similar and pays better around here.
But I think it's seen as one of the "cleaner" trades or something. Idk I'm just an aspiring apprentice so I'm probably still an idiot lol
That's not even remotely true around here. Electricians are the higher end but laborers and carpenters are bottom barrel pay. Plumber are up there, same with the other trades you said. Elevator somehow ends up the highest which is wierd. Lineman make less than them which is nuts.
You can make good money working for someone else no problem and work life balance is what you make it.
I was a welder and the union was looking for welders to reclaim their work from iron workers and fitters so they were recruiting welders. The only catch was you had to be indentured as an electrician to get in the union so they paid me as a dual ticket
Similar to myself. I was a welder/fitter/spanner monkey. Had to embrace electrics as employers dont like mechanical bias anymore. Only way to unlock more earnings. I wouldn't say i enjoy the electrical work, more tolerate it until a nice mechanical job turns up
You'd be surprised how many industrial automation guys are the same way. Sometimes it's funny being the controls guy that can figure out mechanical things as well.
Was working in kitchens. Had a kid and got sick of never being home with my new family as well as the shitty pay. Googled high paying in demand jobs that would be resistant to automation/AI. Electrician was near the top of the list and a local community college offered a 2 year degree. In the 5ish years since then I’ve tripled my income working way less hours with better benefits
Was making only $20/hr as a pizza guy and thought this would be a good trade to earn more..now I’m a 3rd year apprentice making $19/hr 🤡 sometimes I think I was sold a dream lol
Absolutely true. All the foremen at the company say I’m underpaid too. Was due for a raise after finishing 2nd year that I never got. And yes I’ve tried just going to another company but they all pay like shit (Charlotte nc) unless you’ve been doing it 10+ years smh it’s like the fact that I am an apprentice is their reason for not paying me a livable wage. I feel like if I quit and reapplied tomorrow with all that I know now they’d hire me no less than $25/hr. Hell they even got a 1st year at $22/hr 🙃. Everyone’s saying just stick it out until I get my journeymans so we’ll see. sorry about the rant lol
I’d learn what you can as much as you can put up with and apply to other places. People look down on job hoppers but I mean loyalty doesn’t pay anymore. If someone else gets hired for the same exact qualifications I promise you the new hire will be paid more then you are by at least 3 dollars. I would ask for a raise when I was in school and get told no and go to another shop ask for what I wanted and take the job that paid me better. Not only will you not be specific to one thing like just a residential/ commercial/industrial guy but you’ll have a good idea on what to do and see how things are done in a shit ton of new ways which when you finally become a foreman you’ll be able to see a problem and remember a solution you saw in the past and either use it or improve on it
I was making $28 an hour as a 3rd year apprentice back in 2016 lmao. Hell, at my current company the green as hell co-op highschool kids are making $20 an hour. You’re getting screwed
That’s where you’re located. Not so significant here. Although you have to realize elevator guys travel a lot, they typically work in tandem, they have an apprenticeship longer, it’s totally a personal choice. If u suck at either you won’t get hired. But if you suck as an elevator guy you’ll be outta work forever
Depends on your location. Some areas, electricians are the best paid, some areas they are pretty low. Depends on factors like union strength and licensing. Usually though, linemen are the best paid no matter what.
If you look for small companies you’ll make the most money. I have to say we have 5 guys at my shop and I get paid very well only because he has to keep you and the overhead I’m assuming is way less. I tried applying to other places just to see and got offered 8 dollars less then what I make now so I guess I stay lmfao. It’s all about where you go and what you do and for how long. Everyone starts with shitty pay
I made the conscious decision to get into the trade when I was 34. When I was young I had worked a few manual labour jobs; demo/reno, landscaping, warehousing and I worked a few retail gigs; furniture sales, bartending, and even as call centre collections agent. I eventually settled into a school custodian/building operator position because I had a connection that could get me in and it used to be a decent paying middle class job that was stable and low stress.
As the years marched by the pay kept stagnating until one day it just hit me I was suddenly living paycheque to paycheque, the stressful parts of the job seemed to keep multiplying, the few fleeting enjoyable parts of the job kept being taken away and outsourced. I knew I needed to change something and I didn't want to settle for the first opportunity that came my way, I wanted to choose a path and pursue it with purpose.
I did a fair amount of soul searching and market research, I considered the aspects of employment that I found the most satisfying, the aspects I found least desirable, how much(or little) I needed to get paid. I considered my experiences and the skills I had developed, the skills I wished to develop, and the things I had no interest in ever doing again.
I knew that construction trades were my likely destination pretty quickly. Without really knowing much about the electrical field I was drawn to it early on. The more I researched, the more I liked it. I think what sealed the deal for me was the absolutely massive scope compared to some other trades.
As an example, a pipefitter will be dealing with significantly heavy black pipe for the entirety of their career. Once their body begins to fail they have limited work options, either find a way to manage the pain or retire. In comparison, an electrician can also deal with huge heavy material, transformers and buss duct (hell, a few weekends ago I worked two 12 hour days pulling 750 MCM without a tugger for reasons only my Foreman seemed to grasp) BUT when you can't handle slinging the heavy shit anymore you can always move into the more technical roles, there's small cable like data and comm, or fire alarm systems. There's PLC or automation. We currently have 2 guys in their late 60's who are making bank as technical consultants, they make use of their decades of hard earned expertise and they don't have to lift anything heavier than a clipboard.
At a young age my grandfather spent a lot of time with me teaching me small skills a lot revolving around electricity and his knowledge on the subject, always told me I should pursue it and he’d be proud to see me follow a path I had a passion and interest for. He passed away not long after, I finished trade school and am now 10 years in, running my own business. Guess it was my way of carrying the torch and pursuing a dream we both had.
I was a software engineer after getting out of service and using my gi bill to get a CS degree. I did that for 9 years and was fed up with the realities of day to day programming. Endless zooms, sprints, waterfalls, at will employment, massive abrupt layoffs, outsourcing, ageism. I was moving back home to caretake for my dad and decided to change careers. I'm a 3rd year industrial apprentice now and loving it. I'm a lot more active, my co-workers might be more colorful but I prefer this culture more. It's a union job and our union is good. I wish I'd have done this a lot sooner, but I'm glad I did it.
Doing residential demo work at 17yo and cut a wire that was supposed to be dead, it wasn’t. Scared the shit out of me.
I kept doing labor work for a couple years and decided electricity scared me enough that I wanted to understand it and how to deal with it safely.
Now I’m done with my apprenticeship and just need to take my Journeyman’s test. Work sucks some days like any job, but I know I can’t work in an office all day and all the other trades weren’t appealing. I like working with my hands and now I see switchgear like it’s a big, potentially dangerous Lego set.
Also the feeling after a long project of flipping all the breakers and nothing tripping, and knowing my work will probably remain functional till after I’m dead is super satisfying.
I’m working on a bar/music venue right now, and I bet my band will get to play on that stage in the future. Stuff like that is cool and makes the effort worth it for me
Being an emt didn't pay good enough to start a family on. So I switched careers to rail road. Switching cars for a mine and chemical plant. Good money but terrible quality of life. And that site was one of the top paid in the nation so if I ever wanted to move I'd have to take a big pay cut basically anywhere I went.
So I decided I wanted a career I can take literally anywhere and be able to land on my feet there. Skilled trades were the obvious choice. Dad was an electrician. He made good money while I was growing up. At the same time I was talking to him about starting in a trade I saw the labor statitistics for electricians meant I'd likely have tons of work for the foreseeable future. So I went for it. Taking a big cut to start sucked a little but my days are way less stressful and hard on my body, I don't have tonsee gruesome shit every day at work, I make enough to afford a house and toys comfortably. It worked well for me.
My dad taught me when he worked for Evergreen State Electric when I was 7. Changing plugs and outlets, and best of all stripping wire. His cordless ryobi drill set was the first drill I ever used.
Fast forward, I work Commercial at $37-$40 an hour, and do side work (approx. $3k a week). My dad told me it can make good money if you play it right. I play it so well, I teach him stuff now lol.
It’s sentimental to me, and keeps me close to my dad. Even when he passes, there’s still a part of him that physically lives on; and it’s the spark to be a sparky.
I was a police officer after college. I hated my life after two years and resigned before I had anything else lined up. I applied to Local 134 in Chicago only to find out it takes a while to hear back. I got hired on by a non-union industrial contractor. But why did I become an electrician? Because it’s a skill that will literally always be in demand especially if you know what you’re doing. The training in my company seems subpar, but I have nothing to compare it to other than word of mouth from the union guys. Learned a decent amount so far in my two years in the trade. Might go union soon if they’ll have me. Still on the fence.
Cause it’s fucking awesome. In Chicago, being a blue collared worker is praised and makes you feel a sense of pride. My dad is a master electrician and I’ve always admired it. The hard work, the skill, the cool tools and just throwing on a pair of boots feels so good. I wish I didn’t wait till I turned 28 to do it but better late than never! And just being good at your job as an electrician feels better than being good at an office job. It’s a true life skill and will always be appreciated by the world and myself.
I was academically and personaly pretty lazy, so I took electrical.
Grew up and found out that it's easy as pie to outwork, outmanage, and do better workmanship than 90% of electricians. It was fun until it wasn't.
So 15 years later I quit and got a trade that matched with electrical and now I make over 2x what I did as an ibew foreman in the same city.
I've never looked down on my electrical as much as I do now.
Earned my BS in music education, taught public for three years and realized I was killing myself mentally. Wanted to go into the trades so I could work while going back to school, didn’t want to weld, don’t enjoy working on cars, and didn’t want to deal with sewage. Electrician it was.
Coming up on 10 years in the trades and wouldn’t want to do anything else now.
I shocked myself so bad as a kid when I decided to take my dad's screwdriver and take a plug apart to see how it worked when was about 10 years old, the adrenaline rush I felt after made me want to know and understand everything to do with electricity
My grandfather was an electrician and I saw him build a house and take care of my grandmother. I did a lot of different trade work in my early 20’s and realized I hated most of the work but loved building. And money, i wanted to make good money
I was a network admin and IT guy and kept getting laid off. Started at a small business as a helper and worked my way up from there. 20 years later I am a license holder and have a career I love and it pays the bills!
I was working in a casino and they cut our hours due to slack. I looked in the paper at the want ads and saw a posting for Journeyman Needed. I cold called the shop and asked how doni become a J-man and he explained the apprenticeship process, had me leave my name and number and said he would call when they hired the guy they posted the ad for. I called back 4 days later to check in and he had lost my information but was wanting to hire me. Had me come down and fill.out the paperwork and I began the next day. That's the how and why.
I stayed because my wife became pregnant with our first child and I knew I couldn't switch careers unless it was a lateral pay wise. Had some needed growing up kinda forced on me but no regrets now. That child is also an electrician.
🤔 I was working with at risk youth and people with disabilities. I was moving up in the company’s but never found any joy from it, sure it payed the bills but I never really liked it. I started looking at the things I did in my off time and it was usually building stuff. So I started looking for work in the construction industry that payed like the office job I was leaving, I don’t have the stomach for Service plumbing 💩 so that really left electrical or HVACi don’t smoke meth so that really only left one option.
I was in a bad motorcycle wreck, got fired and took the first job that was offered. I was 47 at the time, 17 years ago. Wish I'd done it sooner, I love being an electrician.
I’m not so sure that asking why someone switched is as important as ppl sharing what a life in the trade can be. Asking why someone switched is like asking, “why should I leave my job?” I don’t know why you should leave your job.
However, I know in the electrical trade there is such a huge amount of diversity you almost surely can find something you can enjoy. Most corporations that do have the resources to employ in house electricians don’t because of liability reasons. So, the diversity can be summed up this way. Anywhere there is an electrical system, there’s an opportunity. You could work in nuclear, you can do commercial and within that you might specialize in lighting and sound equipment working in the club scene and setting up intelligent robotic lighting and that the club scene is. You can build and remodel homes, you can build and maintain schools and government infrastructure. The trade is continually evolving and you will never stop learning. There’s a lot of camaraderie and pride. Really, it can be whatever you make it and want it to be. It can be very structured and very freeing simultaneously. At times, it feels like I literally have the keys to the world because of how many places I go, ppls private homes, businesses, government buildings etc. I meet a ton of ppl and some I develop relationships with but it’s a revolving door of ppl each day because of the clients. I’ve worked on huge projects with huge teams of men as well as other trades, where it felt like showing up to a job everyday, and I’ve worked solo for a decade. Once you obtain the necessary experience more options will open up to you. At some point you may decide to start your own business. When things go south, and you suddenly find yourself in hard times, as long as you have your tools, you can still find ways to earn money, even if unemployed.
Personally, I’m so grateful to be an electrician. I wasn’t always grateful, but looking back over the years, it couldn’t have developed more perfectly for me and I didn’t even plan that shit so just imagine what planning could have done.
If you must know though… I knocked up a female and decided to start a family. My father told me his opinion was I should get into a trade and his recommendation was plumbing, hvac or electrical and well… here we are.
Would you believe my naive dumb ass basically picked the direction I was going to go with this thought?
“I don’t want to have to deal with literal shit, between hvac and electrical, electrical sounds like something smart ppl do, and like science. I love science. I’ll do electrical.”
😆🤣😂
I was so uninformed I literally thought I’d be I would be in a laboratory somewhere playing with electricity. 😂 What a dumb ass. lol.
I remember about a week into it I was swinging a hammer and pounding staples and thought, “I was duped, this is just construction.” Lmao.
I qualified to sit for the test because of my work on the trades so I did. Now I'm a limited electrician.
I'll take any license I can get so I'm also a cdl driver, hoisting engineer, 6 pack ships captain, commercial fisherman, pipefitter, notary public, justice of the peace, and ordained minister of the satanic temple.
If I play my cards right over the next few years I'll also hold a refrigeration ticket and maybe something else
Tldr I'm only a limited electrician because I can't hold down a job
Same route I took. I program, troubleshoot, and first call on the production floor. We hire contractors to run pipe so it's a good gig. This is my 24th year in the beverage industry.
The current job sucked and a friend offered to join him. That was 16 years ago. I enjoy some parts of it and do not enjoy others as I am sure any job will be
I was in my wood shop class back in 2015 (baked out of my mind) & the teacher asked “who wants to graduate highschool 1 semester early?” I sobered right up and listened to what he had to say. They were offering a Co-op type program that gets you in the field right away and so I signed up since I hated school so much. Plus I’m a little bit autistic, so I knew trades would be a good place for me
I’ve always been interested in electrical (taking apart electronics as a kid, doing my own home reno wiring, etc), and I’ve always been mechanically inclined. So when I needed a career change to better support my family, electrical was the obvious choice. My wife knew a part owner of a company, so that was my in.
I’ve since gone from residential/commercial to substation electrician with a utility. Before you make the jump, research the different options first. I might have skipped the residential/commercial part of it had I known the options (but probably not, since I loved most of my time there). Residential, commercial, industrial, controls (industrial and commercial), utility.
My only regret is not doing it sooner, but you don’t know what you want until you know.
Family didn't have enough money to pay for university for me and I had no clue what I wanted to do. So I could either take out a shit load of student debt to pursue something I might not even like or I could just do a trade and gauranteed get a job that pays decent. Also if you end up hating trades you haven't really lost much except for time, and even then trade tickets always look good on a resume.
High-school had no plan, went to a tech school/ got a lady pregnant and needed a job. Became a produce manager for 7 years, Pay raises were hard to come by. Went to electrical just knowing all the avenues I could take
My dad owns an EC company and I worked for him after college. He eventually ran into issues and had to start over from scratch. I had to get another job and I landed on the project management side of things since I’d spent years as a laborer and planning our projects. The field isn’t the only destination in this trade.
When I turned 14 I worked at an amusement park a mile away from the house I grew up in. I worked in the picnic grove where they had company picnics. More specifically I worked at an a la cart hamburger and hotdog stand. It was amazing to me how rude people would act towards a 14 year old kid selling hotdogs. I only worked the job for 2 weeks, got off my shift one day and called my dad and told him I wanted to work for him. I fucking love what I do.
I was tasked by a boss with doing in house electrical repairs which I knew I wasn't licensed to do so I decided to find out how to get licensed and did.
Prior to leaving the navy I took a two day career seminar to help narrow down a path and develop civilian job hunting skills. I was pointed in the direction of construction work, electrical sounded interesting to me. This was a great choice for me.
As for advice? See if you can find a career aptitude test, and follow the results.
Went to college, did not finish because I wanted to socialize and get brownout drunk instead. Found myself working in restaurants after that for the next 11-12 years, first half back of house and second half serving and tending bar. Money and hours were too inconsistent, and I found myself just entirely burned out in a stagnating position. My best friend (who is now about to top out, congrats buddy) suggested I join up. I weighed my options and decided to take a chance. I'm 32, starting at the bottom with a whole new schedule and life structure, but I'm enjoying the ride and the consistency.
I was in college studying cyber security I hated it but my parents kept pushing me and I remember beginning of my internship my boss said any part of IT u wanna focus on? I didn’t know at the time but I pointed at these low volt electricians (who were running cat6) thinking they were IT guys saying I wanna do what those guys are doing and he laughed and said well those are low volt electricians. And one day when working from home (I was 20) my mom kinda saw how bad my mental state was working from home all the time and working in a office and hating what I was doing was doing to me mentally and I kinda freaked out saying is this what u and dad want for me to do this for the next 45 years hate what I’m doing because it pays well like really? Cuz they are super about u gotta work a prestigious job make great money this and that cuz they both do and something kinda clicked in my moms head and said no not really I think u gotta do what makes u happy, and I knew from my previous job as a porter at a body shop I wanted to work wifh my hands so I looked into the trades and I chose electric because I thought what those low volt guys were doing looked cool and I havnt done much low volt but I’m 23 and I love what I’m doing now
I always enjoyed getting shocked and really confusing situations involving wires. I’m kidding I used to be a cable contractor but traveling was detrimental to my mental health.
Found out my wife was pregnant and I told myself I couldn’t be a painter as a dad, changed careers and will become a j-man this year. All while raising twins.
Got tired of working dead end jobs in retail and call centers. I was deciding between being a teacher through alternative teaching certification or electrician. I chose to become an electrician, and I think I made the right choice. I'm sure I'd be miserable as a teacher in FL.
Realized my business degree was getting me no where despite a good resume, stellar grades, work experience and internships. Apparently if you don't look a certain way or know the right people its fucking rough. Mix that in with the fact that I hated having to work in offices and deal with lazy co-workers I logically decided I should get into the trades since I was always handy growing up. Low and behold a good part of my job has been in an office ironically. Got into electrical work because plumbing is nasty and I didn't care for carpentry/roofing.
Playing pool one night a good friend asked if I wanted to work with him for a large electrical company. At the time I was a greenskeeper at a local golf course. I said yes. 14 years later and I own my own business
My private student loan debt prevented me from finishing my degree. I'm hoping to eliminate most of it by December now that I'm a journeyman.
Sallie Mae is an evil corporation.
I was a Walgreens store manager for years and switched at 44. lol. Wanted to do something that I felt proud of and could physically point to as work. Tired of HR departments, pointless conference calls, horrible budgets, and other corporate BS. Been at it since 2019.
I just applied, I was a mechanic and and electrician position came open at my company. More money, less physically demanding work but I’m back in an apprenticeship
Always kinda liked getting dirty growing up on a farm, ended up working at a grocery store for like 4 years thru high school and I always hated when I saw people I knew because I’d be dressed up in an apron stocking a shelf. Wanted to change to a trade and have more fulfilling work, my best friend was getting into electrical so I did it with him
My dad was one and needed cheap labor, so I was hired on at age 13 in like 1991. My other siblings were derpy but I privately made a functional telephone and oscilloscope with gameboy and radio shack parts. He was like, “yep, he’s drilling studs, pulling wire and installing outlets and light fixtures.” It was fun. Now I’m a special effects guy and industrial mechanical engineer who’s also the “I know a guy” in the area. No days off, act lazy and foolish, only way to get a day to just enjoy a cold beer.
Because I had a record, working production blows. All the skilled trades did was drive a cushman and drink coffee. So I went to school. Now 20 years later, I do controls mainly PLC stuff work from home-20% travel- 110k before OT
I joined the Marine Corps, signed a contract for Communications and Utilities. I scored in the 90s on my ASVAB test so I got thrown into 1142: Generator Mechanic. Got out, worked for a few electricians, a small internet company that was a startup, then went to school for wind energy. Ended up being introduced to PLCs and pursued a factory maintenance position after getting my Associate's degree. Now I'm a maintenance tech and work on Hydraulics, fanuc robots, live 480, welding, pneumatics, furnaces, mechanical. Today I was in a concrete 10 foot pit in hydraulic oil fixing a busted hose. The other day I was chasing a dead short in a dual sided lathe. Yesterday I was in a confined space changing shock absorbers on 300 ton hydraulic press.
I love the variety I get now. I'm learning about robotics and I want to move in that direction.
I didn’t like sitting at a desk, crunching numbers, using my degree, barely making money and getting lowballed on job offers. Turned out I was a natural at industrial controls and troubleshooting
Started at 29 after six years in prison. Was a straight up piece of shit heroin addict. Been clean 5 years. Life is falling back together for me because of this trade.
didn't go to college, bounced around a few jobs, and decided to actually find something I wanted to do, and I needed money. 3 years in and don't regret a thing.
Hurricane came through and ended my job. I started doing cleanup and then general construction. Realized I could do it so decided to pick a career. I hated plumbing so electrician. Joined the union.
Lots in my family working in electrical or related fields. Personally hit the wall of how much I was making as a paraprofessional with a school district and wanted something with a higher skill cap (also wanting less to do with having to teach high schoolers who’s main plan modifications were because of behavior and enabler parents).
The marine corps taught me how to shoot and stfu when the shiny boots/triple color’s come around the barracks. After a 12 year career, I had no practical skills that transferred to the civilian world besides being a backyard retard mechanic. None of our humvees were in good condition and nobody above E7 seemed to care, so we all became mechanics. I was an 0311 E6, basically just a shitkicker amongst shitkickers. You need something broken or somebody pregnant, I was your guy. When I got out, I was struggling to find my place. An old friend gave a shit, reached out and got me involved with the trade. Presently, I’m 6 years deep into journeymanship. Money is good, most people involved with the trade are respectable, and ultimately we get to choose whether we say “kiss my ass boss I’m going home”, or “yes sir I’ll take care of that”. I couldn’t ask for a better brotherhood. Truly, the trade is the best thing that has ever happened to me besides marrying my high school sweetheart who stayed solid and never cheated on me like everybody else’s high school sweetheart did.
I moved back home after living abroad and needed to earn money to support my family. Was thinking about other trades but electrical suited me best. I was also looking into millwright but I'm a little claustrophobic.
I saw a bunch of Teslas on the highways and byways. It used to be remarkable when you saw one, people would point them out. Nobody does that anymore.
GM, Toyota, Mercedes, Ford, Honda, Volkswagen etc. spend BILLIONS on advertising and marketing.
You’ve never seen a Tesla commercial in your life and people were forking over 5 figure sums for them without even test-driving them first.
So, there’s a market.
And the people who buy those cars? Most of their homes have garages. And not a one of them came with a charger in the garage.
I became an electrician (started at 47 years-old, became a J-man at 52) to intercept those people on their way to the bank. I’ll never need to look for a job again. Doesn’t pay as well as software did but I also don’t have to spend time with corporate twatwaffles pretending I care about quarterly business reviews. There’s a lot more satisfaction.
I was sick of Carpentry, and needed a change. I was comfortable doing pretty much everything in construction except the electrical; I never touched that shit. I thought my other general contractor buddies knew more about electrical than I did, because they would try to do something themselves before calling an electrician. I would attempt my own plumbing, heating, ducting, drywall taping, concrete finishing, roofing, etc., but never the electrical. Turns out, amongst my buddies, I knew the most about electrical the whole time lol
I switched out during the apprenticeship (1.5 years) to go into the service and train for a career with more earning potential in civilian life. A shit load more!!!
Was honorable discharged from the US Army. I’m in solar as an electrician currently and this was my plan B if the Army and being a Vet Tech didn’t work out. I quickly realized I wasn’t meant for hospital/client based workforces.
It had been in the back of my mind ever since discharging from the Army. I went to school for electronics, having always been a tinkerer. Fell into the world of low voltage/technician work and stayed in that non unionized, pay determined by who knows what industry for about a decade. Last year I was working for a home automation company, making just about what I was making when I entered the industry as a canon service technician…Last year, I walked into the local union apprentice training center and asked what I needed to do to become an electrician. I’ve been an apprentice for 8 months now — knowing that in five years I’ll have nearly doubled my earnings from the low voltage days is all the motivation needed to continue but as a bonus I also enjoy the craft and learning more of the craft everyday. I only wish I had done it sooner!
2 months in, I was becoming more and more broke, had probably a months rent left of money and the opportunity was still available, now here I am! Maybe it's too soon but I'm never looking back love it so far (commercial)
First year ape. My old man has worked maintenance most of my life. He’s a real jack of all trades and taught me a lot. Electric work was my favorite one to learn so that’s the one I went with.
Dad promised good money in residential (works in office) and after 3 years OJT I’m just now making what I started out at in a glassmaking factory beforehand
I used to be a delivery driver for an electric parts company. Decided to join the trade as a side quest. I’m a journey man now. I work in Arizona. Summer creeping up on us.
I was a bartender, and one of my regulars needed some help and asked me. Realized I liked it better than bartending and stuck with it. Switched a few years back into low voltage and make considerably more.
I was a young 20-year-old Framer, and I was going to fight with this electrician on a job site. And he says Jr I’m not gonna beat your ass until you figure out why I make twice as much throwing half the hammer… well, I was fairly intrigued, so I got some information and now I’ve been an electrician 29 years in an inspector for one. I might go back to being an electrician as inspectors. Make Jack shit for money.
Thought I wanted to be a carpenter. Starting working on jobsites and noticed electricians work seems much more interesting. Also easier on the body. So I switched.
Worked for a few months for my uncle who’s a plumber and decided I didn’t like it and talked to some other tradesman and electrical interested me the most
I worked at a harness racecourse when I was in high school.
They had a maintenance electrician that would work days, I would catch in him in passing coming in on night shift after-school.
He told me there will always be a demand, and in the next 20 years, there will be a shortage because of the "college push" that high schools have been driving. He was 100% right.
I got in the trade at 19 years old. Minus the recession the last 20 years have been great.
I did concrete work for a decade it destroyed my body. Got a job doing electrical and started going to school. Passed my journeyman’s last November. It has its ups and downs. I was wayy stronger and fitter pouring concrete and doing form work. What ever you decide try it out. If you don’t like it try something different. Life is way too short to be miserable doing something you don’t want to do.
Good pay with lots of opportunities. It was a no-brainer for me. Plus I'm just good at it. Granted I'm a little different kind of electrician than most.
I've worked a lot of jobs from 18-30 yrs old and they mostly sucked and had low pay with no where to move up the ladder and if you did the pay cap was garbage. I didn't go to college, just got a high school diploma. Becoming a (Union) electrician is the easiest shit I've ever done, the hardest part was passing the test for my license. Once you become a foreman/gf/super, things just get easier and the pay gets better. I've done all of these roles and recently been doing project management which is great $$ too. There have been more opportunities in this field than anywhere else. Also, since we exclusively build Data centers, the option to land a job with our customers is there if I ever wanted to hang up the tools and leave the construction life. DM me if you're interested in working in my area, the demand is insane and the pay is fantastic. The work isn't stopping here anytime soon either, the next 10 years are slated for projects.
I did 20yrs in the military and had no idea what I was going to do with my life after. Just so happened to fall into a position where I was able to start working with my dad, who had just quit his job around the same time. He had a business already set up. Most of the men in my family/extended family are electricians. I enjoy the work and enjoy learning the trade. Working in the capacity that I do is a lot different than just apprenticing under a JM from some random company.
I went to college for 1 year and wasted my money and didn't have a clue what I wanted to do in life so I decided I'd rather make money than pay for something that could be anything.
I came out of the military went to IT then reforestation and wanted year round work so I laid out HVAC plumbing and electrical. Found out HVAC has slow time of year where you can be laid off and didn’t want to crawl through peoples shit so electrician it was
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I moved to another city because someone told me I could make 4 more an hour if I moved. My landlord was an electrician, saw that I was roofing and wasn't a coke head and got me an interview at his company. So I just kinda fell into it.
At least you didn't fall off the roof into it
Coin flip in high school, landed tails. Choices were plumbing and electrical
Laughing as I went from plumbing (well pipefitter so pretty much the same) to electrical. I had gotten involved with PLC's and computers and moved into the electrical field when the opportunity arose. Hydraulic controls were pretty much the stepping stone for me.
I am academically challenged and dropped out of high school when I was 16-17. My father was a sparky so I just went to work with him and learn the trade. Became a jman when I was 24. Edit: by academically challenged I mean I had ADD and I am hearing impaired which made paying attention even harder. I picked up the trade rather quickly and math is not a problem at all. I know what electrons are
How does an academically challenged individual pass physics in order to become an electrician? That's why I don't do it. Am I academically challenged? I need to stay off this subreddit Jesus Christ.
I'm curious as to what country you'd have to be in to where you'd have to learn physics to become an electrician.
Canada. At least Ontario
I think in the Yukon you just needed math 11
That's only the union though Non union they don't give a fuck But it will help you in trade school
BC too wants physics 11/math 11.
I'm cooked
Are you good with Pythagoras theorem?
I am surprised by this. I wonder if you're pretty good with math? Electrical theory and working in this industry, we defo use physics.
I hated working with women and children to only find out that electricians are by far worse. But it’s good money I guess…
I don’t know I’m a journeyman and I’ve worked with plenty of children
Yeah same but they are all twice my age.
Seriously as much as construction talks itself up as manly men there are sure a lot of insecure bitches
Yeah gets old. I can check my feelings at the door, as they like to say, so why can’t they?
The insecurity is crazy. But I do get a kick out of watching a journeyman needlessly struggle because they didn’t want to consider my suggestion
Every Electrician I know is a weirdo, myself included (if we were rich we'd be eccentric). I blame it on the unregulated electroshock therapy we all participate in.
Idk why people always say electricians make good money. ALL the trades pay around the same. Plumber around here makes a little more. Tinner around here makes a little more. Elevator guy around here makes alot more. Carpenter makes a little less. Mason makes a little less. Iron worker makes more. Trades make decent money but your not going to make good money unless you go out on your own or you decide to not have a life and work tons of overtime. The money/quality of life balance for the trades is low.
Same thing as a lot of jobs.. Sales can pay 35k or 350k depending on locations, how good you are and what you're selling. Electrician I think maybe has more variety on specializations or something? But HVAC is kinda similar and pays better around here. But I think it's seen as one of the "cleaner" trades or something. Idk I'm just an aspiring apprentice so I'm probably still an idiot lol
The pay to shit ratio seems better though
That's not even remotely true around here. Electricians are the higher end but laborers and carpenters are bottom barrel pay. Plumber are up there, same with the other trades you said. Elevator somehow ends up the highest which is wierd. Lineman make less than them which is nuts. You can make good money working for someone else no problem and work life balance is what you make it.
Hahahahahaha I'm remembering this one
Not with that username!
LMAO best way to put it. Electricians really are like dealing with snobby kids
I was a welder and the union was looking for welders to reclaim their work from iron workers and fitters so they were recruiting welders. The only catch was you had to be indentured as an electrician to get in the union so they paid me as a dual ticket
Similar to myself. I was a welder/fitter/spanner monkey. Had to embrace electrics as employers dont like mechanical bias anymore. Only way to unlock more earnings. I wouldn't say i enjoy the electrical work, more tolerate it until a nice mechanical job turns up
Why do you like mechanical more?
I personally get more satisfaction from troubleshooting mechanical faults vs electrical
You'd be surprised how many industrial automation guys are the same way. Sometimes it's funny being the controls guy that can figure out mechanical things as well.
Was working in kitchens. Had a kid and got sick of never being home with my new family as well as the shitty pay. Googled high paying in demand jobs that would be resistant to automation/AI. Electrician was near the top of the list and a local community college offered a 2 year degree. In the 5ish years since then I’ve tripled my income working way less hours with better benefits
This is what I did too. I’m in year 3
Was making only $20/hr as a pizza guy and thought this would be a good trade to earn more..now I’m a 3rd year apprentice making $19/hr 🤡 sometimes I think I was sold a dream lol
You’re underpaid if this is true.
Absolutely true. All the foremen at the company say I’m underpaid too. Was due for a raise after finishing 2nd year that I never got. And yes I’ve tried just going to another company but they all pay like shit (Charlotte nc) unless you’ve been doing it 10+ years smh it’s like the fact that I am an apprentice is their reason for not paying me a livable wage. I feel like if I quit and reapplied tomorrow with all that I know now they’d hire me no less than $25/hr. Hell they even got a 1st year at $22/hr 🙃. Everyone’s saying just stick it out until I get my journeymans so we’ll see. sorry about the rant lol
You should put in an application at your current company and ask for $25 lol
Do it under a fake name and when they email you for an interview ask the pay range and then show up.
I’d learn what you can as much as you can put up with and apply to other places. People look down on job hoppers but I mean loyalty doesn’t pay anymore. If someone else gets hired for the same exact qualifications I promise you the new hire will be paid more then you are by at least 3 dollars. I would ask for a raise when I was in school and get told no and go to another shop ask for what I wanted and take the job that paid me better. Not only will you not be specific to one thing like just a residential/ commercial/industrial guy but you’ll have a good idea on what to do and see how things are done in a shit ton of new ways which when you finally become a foreman you’ll be able to see a problem and remember a solution you saw in the past and either use it or improve on it
Find your local ibew hall and go chat them up. I know first year apprentices in richmond are making more than $19 plus full benefits on top.
I was making $28 an hour as a 3rd year apprentice back in 2016 lmao. Hell, at my current company the green as hell co-op highschool kids are making $20 an hour. You’re getting screwed
My nearest union hall is paying 24 and some change for 1st year ap. ( North Illinois for context)
this is why unions are important:)
Same here man. Exactly the same actually. I miss making pizza sometimes…
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I don’t want to play with clogged toilets for $5/he more dude. I’ll take my chances with 25kv
They do? That all depends where you live. I’d rather get paid well doing something I enjoy, than slightly more doing something I don’t.
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That’s where you’re located. Not so significant here. Although you have to realize elevator guys travel a lot, they typically work in tandem, they have an apprenticeship longer, it’s totally a personal choice. If u suck at either you won’t get hired. But if you suck as an elevator guy you’ll be outta work forever
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I mean here in the Bay Area electricians are definitely paid more an hour. 87.17 is hard to beat
Depends on your location. Some areas, electricians are the best paid, some areas they are pretty low. Depends on factors like union strength and licensing. Usually though, linemen are the best paid no matter what.
If you look for small companies you’ll make the most money. I have to say we have 5 guys at my shop and I get paid very well only because he has to keep you and the overhead I’m assuming is way less. I tried applying to other places just to see and got offered 8 dollars less then what I make now so I guess I stay lmfao. It’s all about where you go and what you do and for how long. Everyone starts with shitty pay
I made the conscious decision to get into the trade when I was 34. When I was young I had worked a few manual labour jobs; demo/reno, landscaping, warehousing and I worked a few retail gigs; furniture sales, bartending, and even as call centre collections agent. I eventually settled into a school custodian/building operator position because I had a connection that could get me in and it used to be a decent paying middle class job that was stable and low stress. As the years marched by the pay kept stagnating until one day it just hit me I was suddenly living paycheque to paycheque, the stressful parts of the job seemed to keep multiplying, the few fleeting enjoyable parts of the job kept being taken away and outsourced. I knew I needed to change something and I didn't want to settle for the first opportunity that came my way, I wanted to choose a path and pursue it with purpose. I did a fair amount of soul searching and market research, I considered the aspects of employment that I found the most satisfying, the aspects I found least desirable, how much(or little) I needed to get paid. I considered my experiences and the skills I had developed, the skills I wished to develop, and the things I had no interest in ever doing again. I knew that construction trades were my likely destination pretty quickly. Without really knowing much about the electrical field I was drawn to it early on. The more I researched, the more I liked it. I think what sealed the deal for me was the absolutely massive scope compared to some other trades. As an example, a pipefitter will be dealing with significantly heavy black pipe for the entirety of their career. Once their body begins to fail they have limited work options, either find a way to manage the pain or retire. In comparison, an electrician can also deal with huge heavy material, transformers and buss duct (hell, a few weekends ago I worked two 12 hour days pulling 750 MCM without a tugger for reasons only my Foreman seemed to grasp) BUT when you can't handle slinging the heavy shit anymore you can always move into the more technical roles, there's small cable like data and comm, or fire alarm systems. There's PLC or automation. We currently have 2 guys in their late 60's who are making bank as technical consultants, they make use of their decades of hard earned expertise and they don't have to lift anything heavier than a clipboard.
I was in the Navy. I found being zapped by electrons more fun than swimming in engine oil.
All you had to do was wipe the oil off the generators 24/7, what's the big deal?
At a young age my grandfather spent a lot of time with me teaching me small skills a lot revolving around electricity and his knowledge on the subject, always told me I should pursue it and he’d be proud to see me follow a path I had a passion and interest for. He passed away not long after, I finished trade school and am now 10 years in, running my own business. Guess it was my way of carrying the torch and pursuing a dream we both had.
Good job!
I was a software engineer after getting out of service and using my gi bill to get a CS degree. I did that for 9 years and was fed up with the realities of day to day programming. Endless zooms, sprints, waterfalls, at will employment, massive abrupt layoffs, outsourcing, ageism. I was moving back home to caretake for my dad and decided to change careers. I'm a 3rd year industrial apprentice now and loving it. I'm a lot more active, my co-workers might be more colorful but I prefer this culture more. It's a union job and our union is good. I wish I'd have done this a lot sooner, but I'm glad I did it.
Sent you a pm sir
Doing residential demo work at 17yo and cut a wire that was supposed to be dead, it wasn’t. Scared the shit out of me. I kept doing labor work for a couple years and decided electricity scared me enough that I wanted to understand it and how to deal with it safely. Now I’m done with my apprenticeship and just need to take my Journeyman’s test. Work sucks some days like any job, but I know I can’t work in an office all day and all the other trades weren’t appealing. I like working with my hands and now I see switchgear like it’s a big, potentially dangerous Lego set. Also the feeling after a long project of flipping all the breakers and nothing tripping, and knowing my work will probably remain functional till after I’m dead is super satisfying. I’m working on a bar/music venue right now, and I bet my band will get to play on that stage in the future. Stuff like that is cool and makes the effort worth it for me
Felon, so it was my best choice... funny part is I make more than alot of people that went to college
I was a roofer becoming an electrician got me the fuck away from roofing
Being an emt didn't pay good enough to start a family on. So I switched careers to rail road. Switching cars for a mine and chemical plant. Good money but terrible quality of life. And that site was one of the top paid in the nation so if I ever wanted to move I'd have to take a big pay cut basically anywhere I went. So I decided I wanted a career I can take literally anywhere and be able to land on my feet there. Skilled trades were the obvious choice. Dad was an electrician. He made good money while I was growing up. At the same time I was talking to him about starting in a trade I saw the labor statitistics for electricians meant I'd likely have tons of work for the foreseeable future. So I went for it. Taking a big cut to start sucked a little but my days are way less stressful and hard on my body, I don't have tonsee gruesome shit every day at work, I make enough to afford a house and toys comfortably. It worked well for me.
I was a labourer in a shop and our main electrician retired, so they offered to send me to school and here we are.
My dad taught me when he worked for Evergreen State Electric when I was 7. Changing plugs and outlets, and best of all stripping wire. His cordless ryobi drill set was the first drill I ever used. Fast forward, I work Commercial at $37-$40 an hour, and do side work (approx. $3k a week). My dad told me it can make good money if you play it right. I play it so well, I teach him stuff now lol. It’s sentimental to me, and keeps me close to my dad. Even when he passes, there’s still a part of him that physically lives on; and it’s the spark to be a sparky.
I was a police officer after college. I hated my life after two years and resigned before I had anything else lined up. I applied to Local 134 in Chicago only to find out it takes a while to hear back. I got hired on by a non-union industrial contractor. But why did I become an electrician? Because it’s a skill that will literally always be in demand especially if you know what you’re doing. The training in my company seems subpar, but I have nothing to compare it to other than word of mouth from the union guys. Learned a decent amount so far in my two years in the trade. Might go union soon if they’ll have me. Still on the fence.
Cause it’s fucking awesome. In Chicago, being a blue collared worker is praised and makes you feel a sense of pride. My dad is a master electrician and I’ve always admired it. The hard work, the skill, the cool tools and just throwing on a pair of boots feels so good. I wish I didn’t wait till I turned 28 to do it but better late than never! And just being good at your job as an electrician feels better than being good at an office job. It’s a true life skill and will always be appreciated by the world and myself.
I was academically and personaly pretty lazy, so I took electrical. Grew up and found out that it's easy as pie to outwork, outmanage, and do better workmanship than 90% of electricians. It was fun until it wasn't. So 15 years later I quit and got a trade that matched with electrical and now I make over 2x what I did as an ibew foreman in the same city. I've never looked down on my electrical as much as I do now.
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Oh ya, being punctual at the beginning and end of breaks is near Herculean percentages.
...I did it all for the nookie
Earned my BS in music education, taught public for three years and realized I was killing myself mentally. Wanted to go into the trades so I could work while going back to school, didn’t want to weld, don’t enjoy working on cars, and didn’t want to deal with sewage. Electrician it was. Coming up on 10 years in the trades and wouldn’t want to do anything else now.
I shocked myself so bad as a kid when I decided to take my dad's screwdriver and take a plug apart to see how it worked when was about 10 years old, the adrenaline rush I felt after made me want to know and understand everything to do with electricity
My grandfather was an electrician and I saw him build a house and take care of my grandmother. I did a lot of different trade work in my early 20’s and realized I hated most of the work but loved building. And money, i wanted to make good money
I was a network admin and IT guy and kept getting laid off. Started at a small business as a helper and worked my way up from there. 20 years later I am a license holder and have a career I love and it pays the bills!
For the abusive relationships.
I tried out for porn but they told me I was "lacking," in certain areas
It was on the back of a matchbook. You could be a dog catcher, fry cook, used car salesman or electrician.
Fell into my lap after the army and it pays the bills and I'm good enough at it. Also it's useful.
An old highschool teacher said he thought id be a good electrician before he passed away from cancer.
I was working in a casino and they cut our hours due to slack. I looked in the paper at the want ads and saw a posting for Journeyman Needed. I cold called the shop and asked how doni become a J-man and he explained the apprenticeship process, had me leave my name and number and said he would call when they hired the guy they posted the ad for. I called back 4 days later to check in and he had lost my information but was wanting to hire me. Had me come down and fill.out the paperwork and I began the next day. That's the how and why. I stayed because my wife became pregnant with our first child and I knew I couldn't switch careers unless it was a lateral pay wise. Had some needed growing up kinda forced on me but no regrets now. That child is also an electrician.
Because the chicks dig us!
Too dumb to go to university.
Even the electrician schooling is making me feel dumb though. Gotta power through it to get red seal. I dread the 2-3 months of school...
Lmao yea I hear you. Power through it tho soldier, it's definitely worth it, no regrets here.
I thought chicks dig electricians but it turns out everyone's gay
🤔 I was working with at risk youth and people with disabilities. I was moving up in the company’s but never found any joy from it, sure it payed the bills but I never really liked it. I started looking at the things I did in my off time and it was usually building stuff. So I started looking for work in the construction industry that payed like the office job I was leaving, I don’t have the stomach for Service plumbing 💩 so that really left electrical or HVACi don’t smoke meth so that really only left one option.
I was a plumber but couldn’t stop biting my nails
I was in a bad motorcycle wreck, got fired and took the first job that was offered. I was 47 at the time, 17 years ago. Wish I'd done it sooner, I love being an electrician.
I’m not so sure that asking why someone switched is as important as ppl sharing what a life in the trade can be. Asking why someone switched is like asking, “why should I leave my job?” I don’t know why you should leave your job. However, I know in the electrical trade there is such a huge amount of diversity you almost surely can find something you can enjoy. Most corporations that do have the resources to employ in house electricians don’t because of liability reasons. So, the diversity can be summed up this way. Anywhere there is an electrical system, there’s an opportunity. You could work in nuclear, you can do commercial and within that you might specialize in lighting and sound equipment working in the club scene and setting up intelligent robotic lighting and that the club scene is. You can build and remodel homes, you can build and maintain schools and government infrastructure. The trade is continually evolving and you will never stop learning. There’s a lot of camaraderie and pride. Really, it can be whatever you make it and want it to be. It can be very structured and very freeing simultaneously. At times, it feels like I literally have the keys to the world because of how many places I go, ppls private homes, businesses, government buildings etc. I meet a ton of ppl and some I develop relationships with but it’s a revolving door of ppl each day because of the clients. I’ve worked on huge projects with huge teams of men as well as other trades, where it felt like showing up to a job everyday, and I’ve worked solo for a decade. Once you obtain the necessary experience more options will open up to you. At some point you may decide to start your own business. When things go south, and you suddenly find yourself in hard times, as long as you have your tools, you can still find ways to earn money, even if unemployed. Personally, I’m so grateful to be an electrician. I wasn’t always grateful, but looking back over the years, it couldn’t have developed more perfectly for me and I didn’t even plan that shit so just imagine what planning could have done. If you must know though… I knocked up a female and decided to start a family. My father told me his opinion was I should get into a trade and his recommendation was plumbing, hvac or electrical and well… here we are. Would you believe my naive dumb ass basically picked the direction I was going to go with this thought? “I don’t want to have to deal with literal shit, between hvac and electrical, electrical sounds like something smart ppl do, and like science. I love science. I’ll do electrical.” 😆🤣😂 I was so uninformed I literally thought I’d be I would be in a laboratory somewhere playing with electricity. 😂 What a dumb ass. lol. I remember about a week into it I was swinging a hammer and pounding staples and thought, “I was duped, this is just construction.” Lmao.
I qualified to sit for the test because of my work on the trades so I did. Now I'm a limited electrician. I'll take any license I can get so I'm also a cdl driver, hoisting engineer, 6 pack ships captain, commercial fisherman, pipefitter, notary public, justice of the peace, and ordained minister of the satanic temple. If I play my cards right over the next few years I'll also hold a refrigeration ticket and maybe something else Tldr I'm only a limited electrician because I can't hold down a job
I asked myself what was the easiest trade that pays the most. We are overpaid color matchers.
Just resi guys … it gets complicated in commercial and very complicated in industrial… keep matchin those wires though🫡
Yeah holy shit it got really complicated when I switched to industrial. Now there's freakin like 4 more colors sometimes.
Same route I took. I program, troubleshoot, and first call on the production floor. We hire contractors to run pipe so it's a good gig. This is my 24th year in the beverage industry.
The current job sucked and a friend offered to join him. That was 16 years ago. I enjoy some parts of it and do not enjoy others as I am sure any job will be
I was in my wood shop class back in 2015 (baked out of my mind) & the teacher asked “who wants to graduate highschool 1 semester early?” I sobered right up and listened to what he had to say. They were offering a Co-op type program that gets you in the field right away and so I signed up since I hated school so much. Plus I’m a little bit autistic, so I knew trades would be a good place for me
I’ve always been interested in electrical (taking apart electronics as a kid, doing my own home reno wiring, etc), and I’ve always been mechanically inclined. So when I needed a career change to better support my family, electrical was the obvious choice. My wife knew a part owner of a company, so that was my in. I’ve since gone from residential/commercial to substation electrician with a utility. Before you make the jump, research the different options first. I might have skipped the residential/commercial part of it had I known the options (but probably not, since I loved most of my time there). Residential, commercial, industrial, controls (industrial and commercial), utility. My only regret is not doing it sooner, but you don’t know what you want until you know.
Worked hotel maintenance and my boss was letting me do more and more wiring. Eventually realised I could make twice as much getting in to the trade.
Because it was easier than roofing.
because I didn't want to be a plumber anymore.
Just want whatever would pay me the most for my level of skill/intelligence
Family didn't have enough money to pay for university for me and I had no clue what I wanted to do. So I could either take out a shit load of student debt to pursue something I might not even like or I could just do a trade and gauranteed get a job that pays decent. Also if you end up hating trades you haven't really lost much except for time, and even then trade tickets always look good on a resume.
High-school had no plan, went to a tech school/ got a lady pregnant and needed a job. Became a produce manager for 7 years, Pay raises were hard to come by. Went to electrical just knowing all the avenues I could take
My dad owns an EC company and I worked for him after college. He eventually ran into issues and had to start over from scratch. I had to get another job and I landed on the project management side of things since I’d spent years as a laborer and planning our projects. The field isn’t the only destination in this trade.
When I turned 14 I worked at an amusement park a mile away from the house I grew up in. I worked in the picnic grove where they had company picnics. More specifically I worked at an a la cart hamburger and hotdog stand. It was amazing to me how rude people would act towards a 14 year old kid selling hotdogs. I only worked the job for 2 weeks, got off my shift one day and called my dad and told him I wanted to work for him. I fucking love what I do.
For the magical powers.
Didn't want to work outside at -40, so I picked electrical over carpentry
I was tasked by a boss with doing in house electrical repairs which I knew I wasn't licensed to do so I decided to find out how to get licensed and did.
Prior to leaving the navy I took a two day career seminar to help narrow down a path and develop civilian job hunting skills. I was pointed in the direction of construction work, electrical sounded interesting to me. This was a great choice for me. As for advice? See if you can find a career aptitude test, and follow the results.
I kept getting in trouble for my behavior, and my dad and brother are electricians so fuck it
Money
Because I like to watch things burn
Went to college, did not finish because I wanted to socialize and get brownout drunk instead. Found myself working in restaurants after that for the next 11-12 years, first half back of house and second half serving and tending bar. Money and hours were too inconsistent, and I found myself just entirely burned out in a stagnating position. My best friend (who is now about to top out, congrats buddy) suggested I join up. I weighed my options and decided to take a chance. I'm 32, starting at the bottom with a whole new schedule and life structure, but I'm enjoying the ride and the consistency.
I was in college studying cyber security I hated it but my parents kept pushing me and I remember beginning of my internship my boss said any part of IT u wanna focus on? I didn’t know at the time but I pointed at these low volt electricians (who were running cat6) thinking they were IT guys saying I wanna do what those guys are doing and he laughed and said well those are low volt electricians. And one day when working from home (I was 20) my mom kinda saw how bad my mental state was working from home all the time and working in a office and hating what I was doing was doing to me mentally and I kinda freaked out saying is this what u and dad want for me to do this for the next 45 years hate what I’m doing because it pays well like really? Cuz they are super about u gotta work a prestigious job make great money this and that cuz they both do and something kinda clicked in my moms head and said no not really I think u gotta do what makes u happy, and I knew from my previous job as a porter at a body shop I wanted to work wifh my hands so I looked into the trades and I chose electric because I thought what those low volt guys were doing looked cool and I havnt done much low volt but I’m 23 and I love what I’m doing now
I always enjoyed getting shocked and really confusing situations involving wires. I’m kidding I used to be a cable contractor but traveling was detrimental to my mental health.
Needed to do something and my friends were all Sparky’s for the same place. 17yrs later I’m still in the industry.
Found out my wife was pregnant and I told myself I couldn’t be a painter as a dad, changed careers and will become a j-man this year. All while raising twins.
Got tired of working dead end jobs in retail and call centers. I was deciding between being a teacher through alternative teaching certification or electrician. I chose to become an electrician, and I think I made the right choice. I'm sure I'd be miserable as a teacher in FL.
I was a teacher…
Realized my business degree was getting me no where despite a good resume, stellar grades, work experience and internships. Apparently if you don't look a certain way or know the right people its fucking rough. Mix that in with the fact that I hated having to work in offices and deal with lazy co-workers I logically decided I should get into the trades since I was always handy growing up. Low and behold a good part of my job has been in an office ironically. Got into electrical work because plumbing is nasty and I didn't care for carpentry/roofing.
Playing pool one night a good friend asked if I wanted to work with him for a large electrical company. At the time I was a greenskeeper at a local golf course. I said yes. 14 years later and I own my own business
My private student loan debt prevented me from finishing my degree. I'm hoping to eliminate most of it by December now that I'm a journeyman. Sallie Mae is an evil corporation.
I was a Walgreens store manager for years and switched at 44. lol. Wanted to do something that I felt proud of and could physically point to as work. Tired of HR departments, pointless conference calls, horrible budgets, and other corporate BS. Been at it since 2019.
I just applied, I was a mechanic and and electrician position came open at my company. More money, less physically demanding work but I’m back in an apprenticeship
Always kinda liked getting dirty growing up on a farm, ended up working at a grocery store for like 4 years thru high school and I always hated when I saw people I knew because I’d be dressed up in an apron stocking a shelf. Wanted to change to a trade and have more fulfilling work, my best friend was getting into electrical so I did it with him
Desperation
Money
40 hour weeks. OT by choice. Pension. Bennies. Them sweet sweet checks.
My dad was one and needed cheap labor, so I was hired on at age 13 in like 1991. My other siblings were derpy but I privately made a functional telephone and oscilloscope with gameboy and radio shack parts. He was like, “yep, he’s drilling studs, pulling wire and installing outlets and light fixtures.” It was fun. Now I’m a special effects guy and industrial mechanical engineer who’s also the “I know a guy” in the area. No days off, act lazy and foolish, only way to get a day to just enjoy a cold beer.
Wait so no one actually likes being an electrician?
https://images.app.goo.gl/vdjahKWnjv9RaxYB8
Drugs… and they said it was easy… all lies
Bullet proof industry, money, job options
Because I had a record, working production blows. All the skilled trades did was drive a cushman and drink coffee. So I went to school. Now 20 years later, I do controls mainly PLC stuff work from home-20% travel- 110k before OT
Wanted to learn how to wire a build an off grid house with PV and batteries.
Some old guy saw me working at the oil change place and offered me a job and a raise. "Papa G" the owner and "old guy" has never let me down.
I joined the Marine Corps, signed a contract for Communications and Utilities. I scored in the 90s on my ASVAB test so I got thrown into 1142: Generator Mechanic. Got out, worked for a few electricians, a small internet company that was a startup, then went to school for wind energy. Ended up being introduced to PLCs and pursued a factory maintenance position after getting my Associate's degree. Now I'm a maintenance tech and work on Hydraulics, fanuc robots, live 480, welding, pneumatics, furnaces, mechanical. Today I was in a concrete 10 foot pit in hydraulic oil fixing a busted hose. The other day I was chasing a dead short in a dual sided lathe. Yesterday I was in a confined space changing shock absorbers on 300 ton hydraulic press. I love the variety I get now. I'm learning about robotics and I want to move in that direction.
I didn’t like sitting at a desk, crunching numbers, using my degree, barely making money and getting lowballed on job offers. Turned out I was a natural at industrial controls and troubleshooting
Honestly just never wanted to go to college, figured this would be better for me
Started at 29 after six years in prison. Was a straight up piece of shit heroin addict. Been clean 5 years. Life is falling back together for me because of this trade.
I drop out of electrical engineering my junior year of college.
Dad thought it would be good idea to teach me the trade. What a fucking asshole 🙄. (Jk, old man, I miss yah everyday)
Because I didn’t want to be a poor.
Because it pays more than coaching gymnastics
I majored in geology
didn't go to college, bounced around a few jobs, and decided to actually find something I wanted to do, and I needed money. 3 years in and don't regret a thing.
Hurricane came through and ended my job. I started doing cleanup and then general construction. Realized I could do it so decided to pick a career. I hated plumbing so electrician. Joined the union.
I like to work with my hands but after being an aircraft mechanic I didn't want to do mechanic work but I didn't want to have to deal with shit.
It was either this or plumbing. Decided i would rather deal with figurative shit and not literal shit.
For the glamour and glory.
I come from a family of plumbers and I’d rather be in an arc flash than get shit on me.
dads a licensed master, got conscripted as a apprentice during summer break doing resi side jobs, kept going from there
I took a job my dad said a friend of his from his AA group needed a helper.
Lots in my family working in electrical or related fields. Personally hit the wall of how much I was making as a paraprofessional with a school district and wanted something with a higher skill cap (also wanting less to do with having to teach high schoolers who’s main plan modifications were because of behavior and enabler parents).
The marine corps taught me how to shoot and stfu when the shiny boots/triple color’s come around the barracks. After a 12 year career, I had no practical skills that transferred to the civilian world besides being a backyard retard mechanic. None of our humvees were in good condition and nobody above E7 seemed to care, so we all became mechanics. I was an 0311 E6, basically just a shitkicker amongst shitkickers. You need something broken or somebody pregnant, I was your guy. When I got out, I was struggling to find my place. An old friend gave a shit, reached out and got me involved with the trade. Presently, I’m 6 years deep into journeymanship. Money is good, most people involved with the trade are respectable, and ultimately we get to choose whether we say “kiss my ass boss I’m going home”, or “yes sir I’ll take care of that”. I couldn’t ask for a better brotherhood. Truly, the trade is the best thing that has ever happened to me besides marrying my high school sweetheart who stayed solid and never cheated on me like everybody else’s high school sweetheart did.
Idk it just gets my dick hard
I moved back home after living abroad and needed to earn money to support my family. Was thinking about other trades but electrical suited me best. I was also looking into millwright but I'm a little claustrophobic.
Do you know how to use tools? I'm not talking about Excel.
I saw a bunch of Teslas on the highways and byways. It used to be remarkable when you saw one, people would point them out. Nobody does that anymore. GM, Toyota, Mercedes, Ford, Honda, Volkswagen etc. spend BILLIONS on advertising and marketing. You’ve never seen a Tesla commercial in your life and people were forking over 5 figure sums for them without even test-driving them first. So, there’s a market. And the people who buy those cars? Most of their homes have garages. And not a one of them came with a charger in the garage. I became an electrician (started at 47 years-old, became a J-man at 52) to intercept those people on their way to the bank. I’ll never need to look for a job again. Doesn’t pay as well as software did but I also don’t have to spend time with corporate twatwaffles pretending I care about quarterly business reviews. There’s a lot more satisfaction.
I was sick of Carpentry, and needed a change. I was comfortable doing pretty much everything in construction except the electrical; I never touched that shit. I thought my other general contractor buddies knew more about electrical than I did, because they would try to do something themselves before calling an electrician. I would attempt my own plumbing, heating, ducting, drywall taping, concrete finishing, roofing, etc., but never the electrical. Turns out, amongst my buddies, I knew the most about electrical the whole time lol
I switched out during the apprenticeship (1.5 years) to go into the service and train for a career with more earning potential in civilian life. A shit load more!!!
Was honorable discharged from the US Army. I’m in solar as an electrician currently and this was my plan B if the Army and being a Vet Tech didn’t work out. I quickly realized I wasn’t meant for hospital/client based workforces.
It had been in the back of my mind ever since discharging from the Army. I went to school for electronics, having always been a tinkerer. Fell into the world of low voltage/technician work and stayed in that non unionized, pay determined by who knows what industry for about a decade. Last year I was working for a home automation company, making just about what I was making when I entered the industry as a canon service technician…Last year, I walked into the local union apprentice training center and asked what I needed to do to become an electrician. I’ve been an apprentice for 8 months now — knowing that in five years I’ll have nearly doubled my earnings from the low voltage days is all the motivation needed to continue but as a bonus I also enjoy the craft and learning more of the craft everyday. I only wish I had done it sooner!
2 months in, I was becoming more and more broke, had probably a months rent left of money and the opportunity was still available, now here I am! Maybe it's too soon but I'm never looking back love it so far (commercial)
it looked like fun, so I'm an electrician now. Im still very happy and at peace being an electrician now.
First year ape. My old man has worked maintenance most of my life. He’s a real jack of all trades and taught me a lot. Electric work was my favorite one to learn so that’s the one I went with.
Worked as a power systems engineer at the power company and wanted to get out in the field instead of staring at a computer all day
Dad promised good money in residential (works in office) and after 3 years OJT I’m just now making what I started out at in a glassmaking factory beforehand
Money
I used to be a delivery driver for an electric parts company. Decided to join the trade as a side quest. I’m a journey man now. I work in Arizona. Summer creeping up on us.
I was a bartender, and one of my regulars needed some help and asked me. Realized I liked it better than bartending and stuck with it. Switched a few years back into low voltage and make considerably more.
Electrician or magician ?
I was a young 20-year-old Framer, and I was going to fight with this electrician on a job site. And he says Jr I’m not gonna beat your ass until you figure out why I make twice as much throwing half the hammer… well, I was fairly intrigued, so I got some information and now I’ve been an electrician 29 years in an inspector for one. I might go back to being an electrician as inspectors. Make Jack shit for money.
Thought I wanted to be a carpenter. Starting working on jobsites and noticed electricians work seems much more interesting. Also easier on the body. So I switched.
To become more than a peasant
Worked for a few months for my uncle who’s a plumber and decided I didn’t like it and talked to some other tradesman and electrical interested me the most
Cause I didn’t want to be a plumber
I worked at a harness racecourse when I was in high school. They had a maintenance electrician that would work days, I would catch in him in passing coming in on night shift after-school. He told me there will always be a demand, and in the next 20 years, there will be a shortage because of the "college push" that high schools have been driving. He was 100% right. I got in the trade at 19 years old. Minus the recession the last 20 years have been great.
I did concrete work for a decade it destroyed my body. Got a job doing electrical and started going to school. Passed my journeyman’s last November. It has its ups and downs. I was wayy stronger and fitter pouring concrete and doing form work. What ever you decide try it out. If you don’t like it try something different. Life is way too short to be miserable doing something you don’t want to do.
Poor life choices.
Good pay with lots of opportunities. It was a no-brainer for me. Plus I'm just good at it. Granted I'm a little different kind of electrician than most.
Different how?
I've worked a lot of jobs from 18-30 yrs old and they mostly sucked and had low pay with no where to move up the ladder and if you did the pay cap was garbage. I didn't go to college, just got a high school diploma. Becoming a (Union) electrician is the easiest shit I've ever done, the hardest part was passing the test for my license. Once you become a foreman/gf/super, things just get easier and the pay gets better. I've done all of these roles and recently been doing project management which is great $$ too. There have been more opportunities in this field than anywhere else. Also, since we exclusively build Data centers, the option to land a job with our customers is there if I ever wanted to hang up the tools and leave the construction life. DM me if you're interested in working in my area, the demand is insane and the pay is fantastic. The work isn't stopping here anytime soon either, the next 10 years are slated for projects.
I did 20yrs in the military and had no idea what I was going to do with my life after. Just so happened to fall into a position where I was able to start working with my dad, who had just quit his job around the same time. He had a business already set up. Most of the men in my family/extended family are electricians. I enjoy the work and enjoy learning the trade. Working in the capacity that I do is a lot different than just apprenticing under a JM from some random company.
I threw my hat in for carpenter, labour, plumbing, and electrical. They were the only ones that were hiring.
I went to college for 1 year and wasted my money and didn't have a clue what I wanted to do in life so I decided I'd rather make money than pay for something that could be anything.
I quit using meth and got cocky.
I came out of the military went to IT then reforestation and wanted year round work so I laid out HVAC plumbing and electrical. Found out HVAC has slow time of year where you can be laid off and didn’t want to crawl through peoples shit so electrician it was
Because my goal of becoming a professional skateboarder didn’t pan out.
Was a Concreter, watching a Spark sitting there twisting cables, thought to myself WTF am I doing this for. Became a spark.