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Comment by chasd00 | Hacker News Reader

Also, an electrician just doesn't pop into existence. You have to go through years of apprenticeship and union dues payments.

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I was in the IBEW when I was doing basic tech support for HawaiianTel 15 years ago... making $15/hr, union dues were nothing even at that wage and they rarely ever go up.

This cry of "OMG dues suck" is so stupid for what you get in return. But go ahead and buy more into republican propaganda.

Lol. IBEW is the best union. THE BEST. My gf worked at macys making $15 an hour and had to pay to a union too. They laid her off, but the union still wanted dues on her way out. No, they are not worth it. If you are making $15 an hour no, no the union is not good for you.

The union negotiated pay schedule is what allowed me to go from $15/hr to $30/hr in 2.5 years... WORTH IT!

Don't listen to this corporate, middle-class hating, shill.

Very true, it is difficult to even find an opening for the training to start the process, the schools are limited and have short enrollment windows that are fiercely competitive (at least in California).

I applied for an apprenticeship several years ago when I was testing the waters to rotate out of tech after covid. Tested into the highest percentile, had previous high voltage experience with OEMs, a mech eng degree, still ended up like 200 people deep in the queue. That was the end of that interest. You basically have to be friends or family with someone to get into IBEW.

this is a bizarre timeline of reality where an ME degree gets you waitlisted for an electrician apprenticeship

"A Soviet engineer needs some plumbing done in his apartment..."

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47487885

In the end I'm happy it turned out the way it did. I've had some great experiences since and stayed in tech. Plus that freed up a slot for one of the many early 20s kids that were trying to get in.

mechanical is pretty famously bad at things that dont include gears

yeah. it's like a guild. hired someone to install my ev charger on an app who had lots of horror stories about apprenticeship.

When my (very smart) brother applied to be an apprentice electrician the waiting list was more than a decade long, lol. He ended up going to college instead (this was like ~15 years ago).

I mean, go to an IBEW hall in a busy area and talk to the shop steward; he can probably start you tomorrow

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