Anyone here an electrician ? how is it? is the money good? is

Welding machine tech. Get the same training as an electrician. Money is alright. $30/hr with 401k

>>745011263
Do you live comfortably with that money? do you enjoy your job?

>>745010929
It takes 5 years so I'm kinda hesitant. Also I heard they have the highest suicide rate, many of them get bored after a while

>>745010929
Bumping for interest

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>>745010929
Electrician here. Ten years. 20+ an hour. Going for my masters soon . Hopefully have a biz up and running by spring of 2019

>>745010929
electrician with a specialty in solar installations sounds like a pretty solid future, no?

>>745011657
Go oil field. Much better money

>>745011639
>10 years
>Only 20+ an hour
What? Don't you guys make at least 80k???

>>745011639
How physically demanding is it? I imagine winters and traveling must be hard

>>745011739
With a masters it's closer to 100k it also depends on what I'm doing . I make close to 30/he when in the oil field but normal everyday shit is 20/hr it really depends on what I'm doing . I make 80/hr on side jobs. You have to be specific lol

>>745010929
>Just no you'll be considered a bitch ass wire puller among other tradesmen

- a pressure vessel welder

>>745011937
Oh, ok now it makes sense. So you really have time for side jobs? Like you get off at 4 and go somewhere else?

>>745011975
Know* fuck nobody said we're smart.

wastewater operator here. electricians at our plant seem pretty chill, make comparable

>>745011657
No. We joke that people who do solar are gone. It is plug and play and very much will be outsourced to cheaper labour. Stay away from solar unless you do homing renovations.

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>>745011799
Winter can be cold but I meved to South Texas for the oil money . Now summers are the time I dread and it's work that's for sure. 4 runs of 4/0 copper wire that's 200 ft long is dam heavey. Also be prepared to dig when an apprentice

>>745011333
The money is good. Can definitely get paid more, but you would have to travel to where the jobs are. I've known electricians who get paid upwards of $42/hr plus per diem. But for me, I do live pretty comfortable. I enjoy my job because of the job itself changes everyday. I could be working on repairing a machine and then later be assigned to install heating machines on large units of steel. One thing I enjoy is the education aspect. Lots and lots of theory regarding AC/DC circuits, electrical motors, and programmable logic controls. It takes 3-5 years depending on the trade you're in, but that is a small amount of time to get started in that type of career.

>>745011975
Isnt electrician like top 3 best trades in the USA?

>>745012063
Yeah and a weekend or two a month

>>745012201
I'd say . Welder is also good. After that it's plumber and hvac

>>745010929
Electrician with 5 field years and no schooling here.

$25/hr with $145 per diem currently in NY. The work isn't too bad. Most people you deal with are assholes but that's just the kind of people that flock to the profession. Find yourself a good master or journeyman to teach you if you can. Easier and faster to go in as a green helper and make your way up with experience in contrast to school.

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I'll also say you will always have work. I've quit companies after a week and had a new job the same day. It takes lots of effort to be out of work

>>745012374
>>745012181
>>745012374
I get laughed at everytime I tell people I want to be an electrician. Why do tradesmen get little to no respect in the USA?

>>745012374
being green is the only way to learn and i do low-volt

Electrician here, been doing it for 10 years, most of it on aircraft. Made $90K last year. Currently in school since I got laid off. Waiting on a clearance to go through for a job with the FAA for $70K.

>>745012682
they don't until they are building their house lol

>>745012499
>>745012181
Don't you guys have to compete with cheap mexican labour and visa workers?

>>745012682
Electricians usually do just because people think it's so dangerous and think electricity is some kind of harmful magic . Plumber and hvac get shit because you don't need to know much and welders are quite respected in my experience

>>745012499
Why??? And doesnt that hurt your resume??

Go to Australia, make $50/hr as a qualified electrician. Tradies are worshipped over there for some reason.

Why do electrical when you can do hvac. Same pay if not more.. your pay will rise faster, and better chance of starting your own company.

>>745012841
I didn't up north . Here in Texas there are a lot of Mexicans who do electrical work but they usually arnt the straight from Mexico tryp most are very Americanized that I've had experience with

Engineer who works with electricians. Of the construction trades they usually seem the happiest. They don't physically wear out. You seem to get an interesting mix of people. If you join your local IBEW you may be able to start as a helper, get learning and make some money. Also when crazy things happen you may get paid to go there and help rebuild whatever plant/mall/venue etc. Also lots of electricians are retiring soon.

>>745012374
So the asshole redneck tradesman is true???

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This chick went from White Trash single mother and major slut to a high position in the IBEW. She turned her life around and so can any of you. God dam was she nasty.

>>745012904
Doesn't hurt a bit as long as you know your code. It's very usual in this line of work. If you don't get along with someone like your boss you head to the next one

cuz they actually make shit, unlike finance and banking who just move money around like the fuckin leeches they are

>>745012682
Just laugh back on your way to the bank.

>>745010929
Why is USA short on tradesmen? Are trades really that backbreaking?

>>745013177
not since osha

>>745010929
Im a spark. There are so many different branches of the trade that they are virtually different careers. Im in commercial construction and maintenance but there is domestic, AC, industrial, PLC / machine control, solar... you need to think about your niche within the trade.

Domestic is the easiest to self employ but the crappiest work. Commercial is the best work... lots of deadline stress but you are dealing in huge $ contracts and its tough to crack into as a business owner...

>>745012931
>Get killed by spiders
No thanks

>>745013177
Not really . People now days are just lazy.. no millennials want to dig a ditch when they are owed a life and a lot of money

>>745012982
Really? I see way too many HVAC vans. So I assumed there was a lot of competition

>>745012682
People tend to find manual labor as a lesser thing. Most get tilted if you tell them you make 10k a week tho.

>>745013061
It's not 100% true but the vast majority southern or northern are dickheads, yeah.

Electrician of sorts. I specialize in 12v, so automotive electrician. 16 years. $25 an hour. Any questions and I'll do my best to answer.

>>745013080
Hear alot of single mothers go into this trade

>>745012841
I work for a government contractor, so no worries regarding that kind of competition. Now if those workers are willing and able to pass the NEC test like every electrician I know, then they can be my fucking guest.

>>745013458
>10k a week
Explain

>>745012931
This is true.

50 an hour with full penalties and as much OT as you can handle.

You can clear 4 to 5k a week if you sacrifice yourself completely

>>745013294
This is also true but I've done just about everything. I can bend pipe emt to alu ridged or pull romex. Although like I said recently it's been a lot of oil field stuff. Long pulls big wire but easy everything else

Become a Machinist. Way cooler job. Thats what I do near Vancouver, BC. It's a really fun job where I'm making and building new shit almost on a daily basis, constantly improving both my knowledge and skill level, I finished my red seal program last year which is a test you take AFTER you finish your apprenticeship. I make 39.50 an hour and feel pretty happy all day.

Elevator Mechanic-
>$19.44 Starting off
>4yrs of schooling
>$38.88 after turnout in ATL
Just put a new contract for 3% raises a year for 5 years so wage will go up
Not a bad way to go I definitely recommend joining a trade to anyone.

>>745013612
>>745013605
Don't electricians spend months without work or get laid off? I'm afraid of another economic crisis (2008)

>>745013458
Lol 10k a week? Didn't know you were pulling 500k annually as a wire puller. Now shut the fuck up and install my hot tub poorfag

>>745013590
Not a week, my bad. I've been drinking. I meant a month. I make like 9800 and a some change a month so I say 10k a month just to make conversation easier.

>>745013796
I tried. The union is full of smug assholes thinking that they have some super special club and didnt let me in even though I aced all the tests. Fuck them

>>745013835
Let me redirect you to here, faggot.

>>745013862

>>745013756
Whats does a Machinist do?

>>745013950
I'll agree there. Definitely, a stick up most of the mechanics asses. If you can make it past the probationary period it's pretty much solid though because the union backs you.

>>745013816
Not really unless you are union. Even during the 08 shit there was plenty of work for us. Now sometimes you will have a short week or day but I've never been off months unless I wanted a break.

>>745010929
I suppose starting your own company as a plumber is way easier than an electriciam

>>745014096
I make pretty much literally anything out of metal. Using lathes, milling machines, radial arm drill presses, boring mills, CnC lathe - CnC mill. I do line boring, I can also weld. My job in particular focus's on making parts for Hydraulic Cylinders and I CnC aircraft parts.

Heres a fun basic example of what I do daily (but industrial...not..chess pieces haha)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcGHtI9Lql4

>>745014190
Yes it is. That's very true but fuck playing in shot all day lol

>>745014162
Damn really? Sounds great
>>745014139
It'll take a decade of begging before they give me a chance. Fuck those guys, seriously

>>745014306
Do I have to go to school or something? Don't want to get scammed by some shit tier college

>>745014355
Really it's so bad when you get vacation many company's want to just give you the money and not have you take the days. It's happened multiple time to me

Automotive Refinisher/painter. Flat rate 16/hr, average 150-180 hours solo per 50 hour work week. Vocational high school, on the job started washing card, icar training along the way. 28 years old, started when i was 16, professionally at 20.

>>745010929
Why do electricians have the highest suicide rate?

>>745014190
A plumbers entire kit fits in a bucket.

Sparkies need about 10k worth of just commissioning equipment before they have even bought the 15 different screwdrivers they need to carry

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>>745012682
The different number of skills you will learn as an electrician will almost guarantee you a job the rest of your life. With the potential to own your own business. It's a market that will always be needed, and is constantly being updated.

Those people are fucking morons, and their respect shouldn't be coveted.

>electrician for thirteen years

>>745014501
Happens all the time. No one to fill my shoes im >>745014581

>>745014501
I want to join but Im an autistic retard with no mechanic skills. Any tips?

>>745014471
All trades can be learned on the job. Sometimes you have to work for less money but the training makes up for it. When I started ten years ago I was green and had no tools. For 9/hr. But boss got me tools and I learned fast and two years later I took my journeyman statpay went from 9/hr to 15/hr in that time and jumped to 20 when I got my journeyman lisc and I was just doing new construction homes at the time

>>745014306
Just wanted to add on I'm not sure how machinists are viewed in the States but from where I'm from I'm basically worshipped by customers and contractors because they think what I do is some sort of voo-doo magic that only the elite understand. While it does take a LOT of knowledge to get going, once you start gaining experience you can just naturally start doing harder and harder things without really thinking about it. It's a trade that definitely starts off tough but becomes super rewarding the better you are at it. Some just do manual machining which is cool, some do Only CnC (we make fun of these guys because it's a "clean" career) and guys like myself that do both. Like i said I also do some welding, nothing spectacular but a lot of parts I make sometimes require welding round stock to so i can flip the part around after turning it to hold it true. or I weld cylinder rods together to Eyes, barrels ect. I also take apart hydraulic cylinders, inspect them fully, see what needs repaired. If parts are fucked or out of tolerance, I get to head to my office and create an auto cad drawing and make a new part. If the part itself is just..shit designed, I can engineer something better. production parts I will make a program for and run on the CnC machines. Sometimes it can take me 6 hours to make a program..but then the machine will pump out Hundreds of parts on it's own with little handling. I prefer manual machining though it's a lot more fun and hands on.

>>745014633
Whats with the mask?

>>745014634
Exactly. Boss will lose 5 k if I go away for a week
>>745014731
Go plumbing lol

>>745014471
Generally you go to school. In Canada you can either get apprenticed by a journeyman machinist and take the 6-7 week program for first year once you both feel you are ready. In my case i took a 25 week foundations course which didn't require an apprenticeship and then I found a shop after i finished that class to take me in. Then like most trades you go to school for 6-8 weeks once a year to "level" up your apprenticeship until you finish fourth year and become a journeyman. I then took the red seal test after that which basically certifies me to work anywhere i want in the world not just Canada. That shit was an easier test to take then my third year final.

>>745012682
Because we are the backbone to this country and once you realize your worth and earn the pay you actually work for, if you are capable of mastering your craft, people who blew their parents money on fucking off in college realize you know how-to balance the real world and progress alot better if you play your cards righhtt

>>745014815
Fumes

>>745010929
Question for all of you guys. Do I work by myself or do I have to deal with asshole rednecks once I finish learning?>>745014633

>>745014941
Damn sounds rough. Do you have to wear it all day?

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I have no experience with electrician stuff, but I'd like to make it a career. What would I have to do to become an electrician? I'm fresh out of high school with no experience.

>>745014945
Work for a company and take in as much knowledge as you possibly can. Ask tons of questions, learn from as many sources as you can. Get out and do as many Types of jobs possible and fill your vocab so to speak on the subject. THEN start your own shop so you don't look like an idiot when you have to turn down a simple job because you have no experience in the matter..Orr fake it till you make it.. Youtube will teach you how to do most things lol.

>>745014815
It's for when I'm crawling around in attics. That fiber glass insulation will fuck you up.

>>745014945
In electrical you can make a nice wage once you get your masters you will usually need an apprentice or some kind of helper. Until then it's usually just you and a journeyman working unless it's a big job. You never have to deal with many people until you start running a company. I'd say I have three to ten people around usually

>>745015027
I'm not him but I assumed it was the auto guy . That mask is for then he is painting cars and shit

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>>745014769
Thanks for this anon, I've been talking to my boss/mentor about becoming a machinist, but after reading this I'm starting to love both the hands on and creative aspect of the career. Have a nice picture

Which one of you retards hooked some ground wire to my hot water line and now I get corrosion on my copper pipes and pinhole leaks in my pipes all over my house, behind the drywall.

>>745015272
Actually in many places we have to ground the pipes . It's code

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>>745010929
>Electricians on /b/
Why?

>>745015257
Yeah man! Go for it, it's a really sick job and I wouldn't go back and change it. You get to do so many different things.

>>745013796
I always wonder if I can open up the door when I'm on the elevator. Is it possible? How can I do this? I always wonder what is between the floors.

>>745015606
Arent we allowed to like shitposting and Guro Hentai?

>>745014713
There is a lot of competition for apprenticeship slots. I work at a shipyard at runs a pretty good apprentice program. Every year they get 4000+ applications for the apprenticeship, 6-7% of those get chosen. So yeah, be prepared to fight for those spots. It helps to know someone in the trade who can vouch for you. Some families have 3rd and 4th generations in the trades, which means they like to be tight knit. But hopefully you can end up like me not have to go through all of that nepotism BS. Work okn your confidence a bit and you should be alright.

>>745015676
You seem happy and fulfilled by your work. Gives me hope

>>745015731
I guess not. Sad panda.

>>745010929
Learning a trade is worth it. Less school thats more affordable. Youll pay it off in 3-5 years. Plus experience equals better perks. Either more $ or more OT.

>>745015606
Not every single person on /b/ is NEET, that's just a meme.

>>745014815
It's also for making occasional Bane quotes.

>>745015100
youtube will teach you 95% of things

>>745012499
Holy shit is that house done by AS Systems???????

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>>745015924
>>745015884
>>745015790
Is being an electrician really that repetitive?

>>745010929
Have two bros who are electricians. Both make great money

>>745016118
Sorry but no. It was a little house in florsville texas

>>745016158
Well I mean it is all wire and conduit basically. But shit is different from week to week usually.

Red Seal Steamfitter / Natural Gas Technician here .

What's the hardest part about being an electrician ?
... telling your parents your gay .

Union Electrician. 5 years training 2 nights a week. Journeyman Wireman. Made a little over 100 last year.

somebody post the wire stealing burned nig

>>745016387
Dam someone couldn't pass his journeyman test

>>745016406
Los Angeles?

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>>745016463
This one?

>>745016486
Well if he has his redseal he is higher than a journeyman.

New York

I&C tech with medium voltage line work and testing background. 13 years in. 140k last year. No shit made $1309 today. 48k/year pension and annuity.

>>745016387
Whats a steamfitter?

knew a guy who was my uncles friend who might have wanted to make me his helper when i was like 15-17 pulling wire, kind of kicking myself now after doing low-volt for a year+ and working with the trades. 31 Now, spent 9 years doing security with no raise. I install security systems and everything else now (low-volt)

>>745016486
You mean my certification of qualifications ? Been licensed for a little over two years now . Union , make more money than an electrician and have the respect of my fellow tradesmen ... life is good . Now quickly , don't strain your limp Little wire pulling wrists and type up a good comeback ;)

>>745016732
Hydronics my friend. Basically moving heat through a building via a boiler and pumps using some kind of heating medium such as steam or hot water or a mix of water and glycol. Shit is cash .

steam fitters deal with sprinkler systems or do welding for buildings using steam. Another good trade.

>>745016899
i have a boiler and had to become one of these kind of

>>745016556
yes thanks

>>745016899
Do you go to school for that?

>>745017027
Dont welders earn like 15 an hour and inhale toxic shit al day?

>>745017037
my safety valve is at like 150psi, some people are saying it should be 30. im sure the 30psi are right, right?

>>745017027
Maybe in America but in Canada a sprinkler fitter is a separate trade all together . They deal with schedule.10 pipe , meaning very light walls so it's light and easy to install. Steamfitting is much larger pipe sizes and gauges min sch40 , anything from a boiler room in a commercial building to supplying dry non saturated steam to wind turbines in nucular plants .

Not like it used to be. Osha has very set restrictions on air movement in an enclosed area... such as mechanical rooms and shit.

>>745017213
Yeah man what the fuck. If your talking a residential boiler your relief pressure should be no more than 15 . If your reading is that high either your reading it incorrectly or you should have someone with a HVAC license look at it ASAP, most likely going to shut it down and clear the room immediately if it's reading what you claim it is

steam fitters here in NY do very well. and probably the hardest trade to get into.

>>745017164
Welders earn often earn more than a steamfitter or electrician , especially if he has his own rig . As for the toxic fumes you use a device called a smoke eater while welding and you use respirators or even some more expensive welding helmets come with little fans built in that push the smoke away . Still ... a lot of guys are still old school and just open a door or set up a fan and burn rod.

>>745011263
Electrician here. No you fucking don't. You get SOME of the training we get, some. If you think you know what we know then you have little to no idea of what we train for.

>>745011639
20 buck an hour is right near the very bottom of the scale. Where do you live?

>>745017714
That's minimum like new construction homes with a journeyman lisc. I make way more when doing oil field stuff and way way more on side jobs. Pay often depends on what I'm doing at the moment

And south texas

>>745017930
Like I said, way low end of the scale.