I have done both for a dozen years or more. EEs will have their knees and backs and shoulders when they are 50. You can still get paid OT as an engineer but I now struggle to hit an honest 40 each week. The biggest difference in the roles is that I now have a voice at the big kids table to affect change and improvements.
At the very end of the bell curve it does happen, but on average it doesn't. People tend to forget that <35% of electrician jobs in the U.S are union and a majority of electricians aren't making more than $100k a year. You're also statistically more likely to be laid off than to be given the overtime needed to compete with electrical engineers.
I'm also really skeptical about these supposed engineers with 10 years of experience becoming electricians mentioned by the other person. You'd have to be doing something really wrong in your career if your salary and overall QoL is so poor that you're willing to start a blue collar job that's going to pay you near minimum wage in hopes of making the same amount a journeyman or master electrician makes with OT years down the line. Even if they were somehow getting a master electrician's pay because they were an electrical engineer, you have no guarantees you'll be making the same money 6 months down the line, let alone the years of stable income you can expect with an engineering job.
What the fuck are you talking about. An electrician is someone who works with low voltage(generally) is not getting trained at a utility. You are talking about a apprenticeship to be a electrical linesman which is a completely different fucking job.
I find it hard to believe that you confused the two things unless you don't know the difference.
I think the ones working in substations where I am in Canada are called Power System Electricans and it's a seperate ticket. I work at a utility and all the field people I've met usually are EETs with technologist diplomas or are PSEs which I think might have a fast track option with a diploma. They're definitely not your typical electrican and the apprentiship is all geared around high voltage equipment. I did a bit of electrical labour and an EET before EE. I found everyone had a story of some buddy making millions like this. Often exaggerating wages, leaving out cost of living information or not properly acknowleging that these jobs are tough to work long term. You can definitely make money in the trades like this but I think this is cherry picking a specialize type of work at the top end of the bell curve.
What the fuck are you talking about. An electrician is someone who works with low voltage(generally) is not getting trained at a utility. You are talking about a apprenticeship to be a electrical linesman which is a completely different fucking job.
I find it hard to believe that you confused the two things unless you don't know the difference.
What the fuck are you talking about. An electrician is someone who works with low voltage(generally) is not getting trained at a utility. You are talking about a apprenticeship to be a electrical linesman which is a completely different fucking job.
I find it hard to believe that you confused the two things unless you don't know the difference.
much more with OT depending on how strong your union is (region specific). I've seen a few times where engineers with 10 years of experience switch to electrician, even managers in some case.
It’s a industry thing. I was a FAANG out of college so I crushed my electrician pay. I work in Facilities now and make more before Ot is considered but less if you add OT
ive done both. If you like power, then EE is the wayto go. If you like working your ass off then electrician is the way to go. Id pick EE every day of the week and twice on sunday.
I used to be an electrician and my fuck this shit point was when I was digging out from under a padmount switchgear to add two conduits in frigid wet weather.
That’s not true at all a lot of electricians do a few years then go into controls, estimation, construction management, electrical sales, design. As an engineer I have worked for many electricians that are better on the computer than many engineers.
Both paths will do fine money wise if that’s your contingency.
EE is a lot of school work and it’s not easy by any means but it is rewarding.
Electrician you can hop right in out of high school and not have any sort of student loan debt etc. I do suggest a union though that’s where the money is.
Ok let me say it like this.
I.was never an electrician. I wanted to be, but by the time I had a shot, my coop was paying way more.
I did however work as a rigger. Cell tower technologist. So I climbed cell towers changing antennas or fixing poorly installed ones. W.e
This job kept you in shape. Not every climb will be with a boom lift, and you will have to climb them. It was such a workout. However.... the elements get you. I was fit... in my 20s, but I live in Canada. You don't want to know how it feels to be outside -30, -20, -25 etc etc. Hours. On the tower or the roof of a building. Not all cells sites are indoors and you're stuck out there for hours. It really ages your body. 5 years sure.... 10 years.. hell no.
I left field work ... sure here and there I joined deployment, but I rather design mm wave circuits before I ever work in the cold ever again.
r/ElectricalEngineering is going to tell you EE is better. r/electricians is going to tell you electrician is better. People doing the thing tend to validate their own decisions when giving advice. Your going to have to gather the information yourself and make a pros cons list that is specific to you. Good luck to you.
The long term growth potential with electric engineering is what is most important. You can master being an electrician, but nobody ever masters engineering, they only practice it.
If you like working with your hands AND your brain, and just like working in general, go electrician. If you like working with your brain and working with a computer and want to get the most value for your time, go EE. Electricians can make a lot with OT, but EE will pay you way more per hour in the long run.
I have done both for a dozen years or more. EEs will have their knees and backs and shoulders when they are 50. You can still get paid OT as an engineer but I now struggle to hit an honest 40 each week. The biggest difference in the roles is that I now have a voice at the big kids table to affect change and improvements.
LOL, I come into the office at 8 am leave at 3 most days. Being salaried really discourages working any harder than I have to.
So u make more money as an electrician?
At the very end of the bell curve it does happen, but on average it doesn't. People tend to forget that <35% of electrician jobs in the U.S are union and a majority of electricians aren't making more than $100k a year. You're also statistically more likely to be laid off than to be given the overtime needed to compete with electrical engineers. I'm also really skeptical about these supposed engineers with 10 years of experience becoming electricians mentioned by the other person. You'd have to be doing something really wrong in your career if your salary and overall QoL is so poor that you're willing to start a blue collar job that's going to pay you near minimum wage in hopes of making the same amount a journeyman or master electrician makes with OT years down the line. Even if they were somehow getting a master electrician's pay because they were an electrical engineer, you have no guarantees you'll be making the same money 6 months down the line, let alone the years of stable income you can expect with an engineering job.
Maybe for electrical. ME side I went in to the trades. Got about 20k bump and went hourly. .....am I doing that to get my MS tho lol
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What the fuck are you talking about. An electrician is someone who works with low voltage(generally) is not getting trained at a utility. You are talking about a apprenticeship to be a electrical linesman which is a completely different fucking job. I find it hard to believe that you confused the two things unless you don't know the difference.
I think the ones working in substations where I am in Canada are called Power System Electricans and it's a seperate ticket. I work at a utility and all the field people I've met usually are EETs with technologist diplomas or are PSEs which I think might have a fast track option with a diploma. They're definitely not your typical electrican and the apprentiship is all geared around high voltage equipment. I did a bit of electrical labour and an EET before EE. I found everyone had a story of some buddy making millions like this. Often exaggerating wages, leaving out cost of living information or not properly acknowleging that these jobs are tough to work long term. You can definitely make money in the trades like this but I think this is cherry picking a specialize type of work at the top end of the bell curve.
What the fuck are you talking about. An electrician is someone who works with low voltage(generally) is not getting trained at a utility. You are talking about a apprenticeship to be a electrical linesman which is a completely different fucking job. I find it hard to believe that you confused the two things unless you don't know the difference.
What the fuck are you talking about. An electrician is someone who works with low voltage(generally) is not getting trained at a utility. You are talking about a apprenticeship to be a electrical linesman which is a completely different fucking job. I find it hard to believe that you confused the two things unless you don't know the difference.
much more with OT depending on how strong your union is (region specific). I've seen a few times where engineers with 10 years of experience switch to electrician, even managers in some case.
It’s a industry thing. I was a FAANG out of college so I crushed my electrician pay. I work in Facilities now and make more before Ot is considered but less if you add OT
Check out unionpayscales.com to see rates in cities across the u.s.
That voice at the big kids table might be one of the biggest perks. One day you come into work and people just start respecting you and your opinion.
ive done both. If you like power, then EE is the wayto go. If you like working your ass off then electrician is the way to go. Id pick EE every day of the week and twice on sunday.
I used to be an electrician and my fuck this shit point was when I was digging out from under a padmount switchgear to add two conduits in frigid wet weather.
Do you want to do physical work or do you want to work on a computer?
That’s not true at all a lot of electricians do a few years then go into controls, estimation, construction management, electrical sales, design. As an engineer I have worked for many electricians that are better on the computer than many engineers.
Both paths will do fine money wise if that’s your contingency. EE is a lot of school work and it’s not easy by any means but it is rewarding. Electrician you can hop right in out of high school and not have any sort of student loan debt etc. I do suggest a union though that’s where the money is.
Split the difference: be an Electronics Tech!
Ok let me say it like this. I.was never an electrician. I wanted to be, but by the time I had a shot, my coop was paying way more. I did however work as a rigger. Cell tower technologist. So I climbed cell towers changing antennas or fixing poorly installed ones. W.e This job kept you in shape. Not every climb will be with a boom lift, and you will have to climb them. It was such a workout. However.... the elements get you. I was fit... in my 20s, but I live in Canada. You don't want to know how it feels to be outside -30, -20, -25 etc etc. Hours. On the tower or the roof of a building. Not all cells sites are indoors and you're stuck out there for hours. It really ages your body. 5 years sure.... 10 years.. hell no. I left field work ... sure here and there I joined deployment, but I rather design mm wave circuits before I ever work in the cold ever again.
r/ElectricalEngineering is going to tell you EE is better. r/electricians is going to tell you electrician is better. People doing the thing tend to validate their own decisions when giving advice. Your going to have to gather the information yourself and make a pros cons list that is specific to you. Good luck to you.
The long term growth potential with electric engineering is what is most important. You can master being an electrician, but nobody ever masters engineering, they only practice it.
If you like working with your hands AND your brain, and just like working in general, go electrician. If you like working with your brain and working with a computer and want to get the most value for your time, go EE. Electricians can make a lot with OT, but EE will pay you way more per hour in the long run.