not an electrical engineer but just an electrician, like a journeymen and then a master electrician?
What does it take to become an electrician?
- Thread starter TheSiege
- Start date
most union shops have apprentice programs, you take classes and work as an apprentice for X years, then progress
or you could go through a technical college program, like this:
http://www.uvsc.edu/catalog/2004-2005/schools/tti.html
or you could go through a technical college program, like this:
http://www.uvsc.edu/catalog/2004-2005/schools/tti.html
You befriend an electrician, get them to take you on an an apprentice, work for years and years under them doing the trade.
so is there no degree? you just get an apprenticeship? damn im 24 i wonder if i am too old? how well does a apprenticeship pay, if at all?
Call your local union(International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) to find out as suggested above. Depends on the trades but most 1st year apprentice get 50% of journeymen wage that increase by 10% per level & full wage after 1 year of achievement of journeymen ticket. There are trades that only takes 3 years to become a journeymen and as little as 2 session of schooling (typically 2-3 months each) and there are trades that take as much as 7 years to get the full journeymen ticket. It is possible to get full journeymen ticket in most trades in 4 years or less by working in oil camps & such due to overtime accumulation.
My sisters bf just became a journeyman.. he makes really good money, always has, even as an apprentice.. But to give you an idea, he makes over $70k now.. this is in PA
Yep. My little bro is currently doing this, I believe he's about half way through year two. As for getting in... it certainly didn't hurt that my father and cousin belong to the same union.
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In Washington state, construction apprenticeships last about 5 years. You start out at about $13-$14/hour and after about 6 months (assuming work was available for the entire period) you move up to around $16, then after a year you get $18, then $21, etc.
You make good money from start to finish and the work is rewarding from what I've heard (the electrician is one of the few people to see a project from start to finish, they get to turn the lights on at the end). However it is not a guaranteed 40 hours per week type of deal.. contractors dip into the apprenticeship programs pool of apprentices when they have projects. You get put on a wait list and when its your turn get hired on. If the company likes you they can keep you, but if they only need you for that one project then you go back to the pool. If there is lots of work you'll get hired again right away, if it is the slow season then you may be waiting around for who knows how long.
You make good money from start to finish and the work is rewarding from what I've heard (the electrician is one of the few people to see a project from start to finish, they get to turn the lights on at the end). However it is not a guaranteed 40 hours per week type of deal.. contractors dip into the apprenticeship programs pool of apprentices when they have projects. You get put on a wait list and when its your turn get hired on. If the company likes you they can keep you, but if they only need you for that one project then you go back to the pool. If there is lots of work you'll get hired again right away, if it is the slow season then you may be waiting around for who knows how long.
70-75K is standard in most trades that include overtime, however regular time should be somewhere around 55-65K. It is never is too late to change career and I urge the OP to call around to find out what his interest is in and what opportunities that the chosen career leads to. Apprenticeable Occupations
I was a Network Security/Database Admin with schooling in Industrial Design & Computer Science (9 years of postsecondary education). And, I'm now in my late 30s & is in my second year of Plumbing Apprenticeship. My focus is in Mechanical Plumbing (geo thermal, heat pump, AC), and can't wait to get my general plumbing & refrigeration ticket to start my own company.
I'm with a private company here in Victoria, however The United Association here is Local 324.
Originally I wanted to get into electrical/control, however the wait list for schooling is 1.5-2 years therefore I went to plumbing & refrigeration with control. And, learning multiple skills will help me greatly once I have my own company.
Does have an EE degree help or hinder becoming an electrician?
Conversely, does being an electrician help or hinder becoming an electrical engineer?
Conversely, does being an electrician help or hinder becoming an electrical engineer?
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