How do I become an electrician?

[Irving]

Well, some quick math tells me that I only need to work an extra 10 hours a week to make the same as the $15/hr I've been surviving on for the last two years (got laid off from a $40k job before that. OUCH). So yes, I guess I am serious. I'll call them and feel them out a bit, see just how likely it will be that I can get the hours (or overtime) required to get enough pay to keep supporting my family. I really appreciate your help.

[Irving]

I've found these two websites. Is this the kind of place I need to be looking?

http://www.ibew111.com/

http://www.djeatc68.com/

This second one looks like I could start out working at the wage I earn now, and taking classes at the same time. Seems promising. Also, in the first link, it looks like you can register at the end of March and start in April, which would be about as perfect timing as I could ever hope for.

[Mtn.man]

My son in law, all his brothers and dad are master electricians. They went to trade school, and now some work out of the Union Hall. But work has been real slow.

[gnihcraes]

nice thing about the electrician career, many I know have become other things with that knowledge - working for companies on computers and phone systems etc later on in life.

[Irving]

I just got off the phone with the Denver Union (second link). I got some more information and it was a mix of positive and negative stuff. The process takes a little longer than I'd like (can't apply until April 7th) and the director did mention that there could be periods of no work for up to 3 months. He did say though, that for the most part apprentices are gainfully employed. I plan on going down to the office to apply on the 7th though. I just need to find something stable to do in the mean time.

[GreenScoutII]

nice thing about the electrician career, many I know have become other things with that knowledge - working for companies on computers and phone systems etc later on in life.

Not to go off topic here, but that is the best damn avatar pic I've ever seen!

[GreenScoutII]

Irv, now is probably not the best time to get into one of the trades. Contrary to what some might tell you, electricians and plumbers are not recession proof occupations. New construction is all but dead right now, not a lot of remodel work is being done, and service work sucks too much to contemplate.

If you do want to start into the electrical trade, you will have to start as an apprentice. Virtually all of your training will be on the job because, outside of the union, there is no formal classroom education beyond manufacturer's product training. It is incumbent upon you to seek the knowledge required to grow in your profession. I will warn you, they will try to kill you with every hard, labor intensive job in the shop for at least your first year. Accept it and embrace it.

I don't know how strong the union is in the Denver area. If they have a strong presence, you are better off working for a union shop as the pay, benefits, and working conditions are generally much better than non-union. Unfortunately, most places in Colorado don't have a strong union presence and so the few union guys I know spend a lot of time "on the books" waiting for work.

If I haven't scared you off, you will probably find that after the initial year or so of hard physical work you will start to learn a lot and really enjoy your work. Before I was a plumber, I had a desk job. I can't tell you how much better it is to be out in the field working with my hands than pecking at a computer or talking on the phone all day. You will have real satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment that one simply cannot get from sitting in an office.

As for licensing, the state of Colorado only licenses two construction trades. Plumbers and electricians. Everybody else is licensed by the county (or building department) where they live and work. The upside to this is that these two trades have not become dominated by cheap immigrant labor in the way that framing, concrete, roofing, and HVAC have. Generally speaking, strating wages for a green apprentice plumber or electrician are in the 8-12 dollar per hour range depending on where you live. In the Denver area, it might be a little higher.

I would say if you survive your first two years scraping by and get your residential wireman's license, you can probably be making 18-20 per hour. Get your Journeyman's license (after four years) and you will probably see 20 - 25 per hour (sometimes more) depending on demand and more importantly, where you live.

There you go, thats my take on the subject.

[Marlin]

Irv, now is probably not the best time to get into one of the trades. Contrary to what some might tell you, electricians and plumbers are not recession proof occupations. New construction is all but dead right now, not a lot of remodel work is being done, and service work sucks too much to contemplate.<SNIP>

Yep I'd say think long and hard about it at this time..

Why do you think I've been here so much.. A few of my sources have been telling me, other than the odd job here and there They haven't been doing full 40hr weeks..

Granted My CLP gig isn't the standard To judge how things are going, but it can come close. The last two I was even offed was were for a couple of days and that was it.. One was just to go help out pull some wire for the rest of the day.. That one they called at 1:30, so I figure that meant that they had screwed the pooch..

Heck I'd almost say check out the Plumbers also, at least they get more service calls than sparkies do.. so that might be something..

[Irving]

Irv, now is probably not the best time to get into one of the trades. Contrary to what some might tell you, electricians and plumbers are not recession proof occupations. New construction is all but dead right now, not a lot of remodel work is being done, and service work sucks too much to contemplate.

I appreciate the warning, but I feel like this is the case with pretty much every industry right now. I just need to decide if there is a better time than now to try and break into the industry.

I've been looking pretty hard at working for Union Pacific, but they are currently not hiring in Denver. They had an opening in Grand Junction, but that is to far. I've been checking the website at least once a week though because I've noticed that the job openings have been changing at least that often.

[GreenScoutII]

Well I wish you luck Irv. I think you'll enjoy working with your hands and have a lot of fun doing your job from day to day. Just do your homework and decide what you want to do. It will work out in the end.