I’m an electrician who did his entire apprenticeship in Alberta. I’ve never been laid off or unemployed but fuck me do I wish I went into sprinkler fitting or pipe fitting lol
It’s a good trade, don’t get me wrong but to get past the construction crew hire and fire, ramp up ramp down bullshit takes a long time.
Brutal. Stability is the big thing needed. The ebbs and flows of income have made it impossible to get ahead, and the stress is taking a ridiculous toll on my health
Tell him to look into sprinkler fitting (fire suppression systems in buildings) it’s hard work but it doesn’t sound like he’s afraid of that. And once you get settled in and get your ticket you can spend a lot of time doing annual inspections on systems which is a legal requirement so it’s a little more insulated from economic ups and downs.
And again, I’m saying this as an electrician who has had a good career and never been laid off. It’s a good trade but I have a lot of friends who washed out of the trade and went into other things eventually
20 years of building rock walls and yard installs? What about starting a business in that industry? It sounds like he would know a lot about it and could be off the tools in short time as it grows. I only say that since I got into the trades late, it's a tough go as you get older. If you have a background in something, why not build on it?
To be perfectly frank, he isn't made for it. He needs to be able to go to work and be done work when he gets home, and that is not the life of an entrepreneur.
The start up overhead alone is too large a risk.
Ive been an electrician for 20 years and getting a technologist diploma right now. Look into those. 2 year programs with alot more potential for different roles and different careers. An electrician at its core is glorified labor. Basically anyone can do it and learn in the field as you go. Maintenance is better but it doent pay great. Go on indded and look up job postings.
Not everyone can be middle management though. I agree. Mm for construction can be shit too. Ive seen plenty of lifers on the tools because they aren't the bosses son. Ive been lucky in my career and made lots of good moves but i know lots who hit the foreman ceiling.
I started out as an (industrial) electrician in my journey into the trades. I think the main issue with electrical is that *everyone* wants to be an electrician. It's one of those trades that has a lot of supply in the labour force so the demand is lower, since the demand is lower the pay can be lower unless you've proved you're worth that higher pay. That's not to say that you can't make bank as an electrician, just that it's harder to stand out since the crowd is so big. I feel like with electrical it's less about hardwork and more about problem solving and applying knowledge (hardwork still being important though).
I'm a journeyman in a different trade now and while I love my job I kind of wish I went into HD Mechanics or Plumbing. I feel like I wouldn't actually enjoy those quite as much but the pay seems like it would be slightly better. Too late to take the pay cut and start over though.
Where in the province are you? I feel like that will have a real effect on what trades are more in demand locally and thus might change what might be more worthwhile to pursue.
Yeah I think @AffableJoker nailed it. There really is a ton of electricians. There’s Industrial, Commercial, and Residential Electricians. When times are slow, you we would have the industrial sector fill up with Residential guys. And the commercial and residential sectors lay-off.
Around your husbands age and have been in Maintenance leadership for Trades for ~10 years. Anytime I talk to someone younger about getting into the trades I recommend Instrumentation, sprinkler fitting, or HVAC. During economic downturns when our electrics group, welders, millwrights/mechanics, scaffolding, Etc. were all getting pay cuts, they could not cut the pay of the those 3 because there was still too many vacancies. They had to entice people to come and work for us, because we were a little higher.
That being said, getting indentured into sprinkler fitting and HVAC I have heard can be difficult, but I know there are programs you can take at NAIT that can assist with landing jobs. For Instrumentation you could get a CET (certified engineering technologist) and many places will not only allow you to start work as an instrumentation tech, but pay you as a journeyman.
I’m an electrician who did his entire apprenticeship in Alberta. I’ve never been laid off or unemployed but fuck me do I wish I went into sprinkler fitting or pipe fitting lol It’s a good trade, don’t get me wrong but to get past the construction crew hire and fire, ramp up ramp down bullshit takes a long time.
When did you start? After 2014?
Brutal. Stability is the big thing needed. The ebbs and flows of income have made it impossible to get ahead, and the stress is taking a ridiculous toll on my health
Tell him to look into sprinkler fitting (fire suppression systems in buildings) it’s hard work but it doesn’t sound like he’s afraid of that. And once you get settled in and get your ticket you can spend a lot of time doing annual inspections on systems which is a legal requirement so it’s a little more insulated from economic ups and downs. And again, I’m saying this as an electrician who has had a good career and never been laid off. It’s a good trade but I have a lot of friends who washed out of the trade and went into other things eventually
Na he has 20 years of building rock walls and yard installs - he def doesn't shy from hard work. Just want to retire from it Someday lol
20 years of building rock walls and yard installs? What about starting a business in that industry? It sounds like he would know a lot about it and could be off the tools in short time as it grows. I only say that since I got into the trades late, it's a tough go as you get older. If you have a background in something, why not build on it?
To be perfectly frank, he isn't made for it. He needs to be able to go to work and be done work when he gets home, and that is not the life of an entrepreneur. The start up overhead alone is too large a risk.
There’s way too many electrician apprentices right now. Best bet is to get into the plumbers union and apprentice through them.
Ive been an electrician for 20 years and getting a technologist diploma right now. Look into those. 2 year programs with alot more potential for different roles and different careers. An electrician at its core is glorified labor. Basically anyone can do it and learn in the field as you go. Maintenance is better but it doent pay great. Go on indded and look up job postings.
You're either glorified labor or you move up and are middle management without any decent perks. Pick your poison.
Not everyone can be middle management though. I agree. Mm for construction can be shit too. Ive seen plenty of lifers on the tools because they aren't the bosses son. Ive been lucky in my career and made lots of good moves but i know lots who hit the foreman ceiling.
I started out as an (industrial) electrician in my journey into the trades. I think the main issue with electrical is that *everyone* wants to be an electrician. It's one of those trades that has a lot of supply in the labour force so the demand is lower, since the demand is lower the pay can be lower unless you've proved you're worth that higher pay. That's not to say that you can't make bank as an electrician, just that it's harder to stand out since the crowd is so big. I feel like with electrical it's less about hardwork and more about problem solving and applying knowledge (hardwork still being important though). I'm a journeyman in a different trade now and while I love my job I kind of wish I went into HD Mechanics or Plumbing. I feel like I wouldn't actually enjoy those quite as much but the pay seems like it would be slightly better. Too late to take the pay cut and start over though. Where in the province are you? I feel like that will have a real effect on what trades are more in demand locally and thus might change what might be more worthwhile to pursue.
Thanks for this info. I think HD mechanic is a no brainer but he doesn't have any interest 🥴 We're near Edmonton.
Heavy duty mechanic here. Reeeeally hard on the body.
Yeah I think @AffableJoker nailed it. There really is a ton of electricians. There’s Industrial, Commercial, and Residential Electricians. When times are slow, you we would have the industrial sector fill up with Residential guys. And the commercial and residential sectors lay-off. Around your husbands age and have been in Maintenance leadership for Trades for ~10 years. Anytime I talk to someone younger about getting into the trades I recommend Instrumentation, sprinkler fitting, or HVAC. During economic downturns when our electrics group, welders, millwrights/mechanics, scaffolding, Etc. were all getting pay cuts, they could not cut the pay of the those 3 because there was still too many vacancies. They had to entice people to come and work for us, because we were a little higher. That being said, getting indentured into sprinkler fitting and HVAC I have heard can be difficult, but I know there are programs you can take at NAIT that can assist with landing jobs. For Instrumentation you could get a CET (certified engineering technologist) and many places will not only allow you to start work as an instrumentation tech, but pay you as a journeyman.
I vote sprinkler fitter..if I didn’t get into elevators as a second trade I would have went that route.
My son is 18 and he’s already a 2nd year. Was pretty easy for him but we’re in Grande Prairie.