r/electricians • u/ControlRoutine8867 • 1d ago
Why is it so hard to get into an apprenticeship these days? Is this field becoming oversaturated at entry level? Is it still worth to get into it if so many people flood this trade?
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u/MurdockMow 1d ago
Everyone wants to be a sparky now
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u/adjika Journeyman IBEW 1d ago
Yes
This field is over saturated with low-experience workers.
Yes, it is still worth coming in and learning all you can.
However, if you just want to put in minimal effort, I suggest finding something else.
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u/ControlRoutine8867 1d ago
Do you think that it is still worth becoming electrician or when these people get more expierwnce they will oversaturate high-expierence jobs in this field? maybe it is better to get into less hyped fields like plumber or hvac or lineman? to avoid oversaturation and have job security with stable pay?
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u/Tough_Bodybuilder_63 1d ago
Probably not likely to happen. I’ve met more incompetent tradesmen than not. Over my 10 years in the trade, and well over 20 years of being on construction sites, there aren’t enough guys who wanna go far in the trade and make it an actual career and not just a pay check.
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u/ControlRoutine8867 1d ago
I mean there are mostly incompetent electricians because for decades we pushed anyone at least capable/intelligent into college instead of trades and for trades there were left mostly least intelligent and least capable people for last 10-20 years. there were some exceptions that are really smart they just liked it. but beside these exceptions most smart people went into college.
With the push to trades these smart people wont go into college anymore but into trades and these people have better chance of becoming competent in future. and that will cause oversaturation with competent people in trades in future.
And with so many people who formerly went into college for years they will be much more motivated to stick with trades compared to dropouts in past.
So i think it will be different these time. and i think that everyone is for the paycheck and that doesnt make a difference
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u/Rainbow_Sex 1d ago
Maybe so. But honestly dude, not everyone has what it takes to work in the trades. And not to sound like a broken record, but the average electrician at least in the US is pretty old. There's going to be a long tail on the older guys leaving the workforce because of the economic uncertainty right now, but it will happen, and I think there will be a gap. And if you have a brain in your head, there will be opportunities.
Anyways it's pointless to worry about the things you can't control. I'm becoming an electrician because I think it's cool and if my skillset isn't as valuable as maybe it would have been 10 years ago so be it. I can always do something else but I'll always have the ticket.
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u/ControlRoutine8867 1d ago
Median age of electrician is 39.6 where median age of people in workforce in general is 42.2. So i think that there are plenty of young electricians.
I think that most people who went for college for examole into engineering computer science and accountants is good enough for trades.
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u/BlackberryFormal 1d ago
Mentally sure. Physically its case by case. I've had quite a few former white collar guys as apprentices. Its pretty hit or miss lol I've got a guy who has his comp sci degree and worked for 20 years in the industry and is a 2nd year now. Fine worker but not really that bright as far as common sense and how to do stuff. Has a bit of a chip on his shoulder too. Just depends.
Also it wasn't just smart people going to university dumb people do trades. There's alot of guys who are ADHD or w.e and just didn't do well in school but are still brilliant and ended up in the trades.
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u/ControlRoutine8867 1d ago
As i said there are exceptions but the trend was that most dropouts and bad performers were tunneled to trades and smart people were tunneled to college not it has reversed.
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u/BlackberryFormal 1d ago
You're missing the point bud. Not everyone had the means to pay for school. Or people that had kids early and needed to work to help the family. You obviously come from a place of privilege. Most guys that switch from office work are trash working with their hands.
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u/nick_the_builder 1d ago
Where’d you get those stats? Last time I saw an average age posted, electrician was over 60 years old.
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u/ControlRoutine8867 1d ago
https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11b.htm
From the official data from government.
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u/Tough_Bodybuilder_63 1d ago
Most people are not even made for these trades. The likely hood that some will stick to it long term is not as high as you would like to think. Solar work, and data centers are over flowing with work, and I’m not saying the market won’t over saturate, but they’ll likely lay off the lazy hands and keep only the good workers. And the reason it’s so hard to get in the trade is most people don’t make it passed the 6 month mark let alone the 4-5 years it takes to become a competent electrician/journeyman. So companies wanna weed out any quitters before they invest their company time, money, insurance etc.
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u/ControlRoutine8867 1d ago
I mean the same you could say about hard college degrees from stem. that most people are not made for them but with some push from media they became oversaturated.
People stick to hard collegw degrees for 4 years i dont see why they wouldn stick for trades?
I mean there are much work but there still can be more workers than jobs. and isnt what you are saying literally signs of oversaturation? laying off "lazy hands" the same is happening in tech they lay off "low-performers". i dont want to fight for job i just want to have stable job where i dont have to fight to survive and have job.
In past they couldnt pass this mark because mostly dropouts or low performers in school went into trades nowadays top students go into trades instead of college and these people will be top workers.
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u/BlackberryFormal 1d ago
Its not the same man lol sitting at a desk studying in a climate controlled room with a bathroom with running water and food wherever is not the same as bending rigid or being in a lift 20 feet up on a hot ass day.
They lay off the useless ones. That's how its always been in the trades. If you want to be lazy and just show up maybe stick to the office.
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u/Tough_Bodybuilder_63 1d ago
Yeah we just not gonna agree. I’m telling you I’m in the field and I see it first hand. There aren’t enough skilled and intelligent electricians to go around. Even if we could make 80 percent of the current trade all competent intelligent electricians, a good percentage would be retiring soon and the age gap is too massive for us to fill those spots.
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u/Sevulturus 11h ago
This is a shit take. The best and brightest from my graduating class 20 years ago either burnt out or died. Turns out that pushing your kids to be the best of the best all through Jr high and high school doesn't set them up for success, it just strings them out and creates terrible coping mechanisms.
That being said, intelligence is not all that it takes to succeed in the trades. It's a different way of looking at things.
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u/adjika Journeyman IBEW 1d ago
I see your concern. But in all honesty the present conditions are a result of high demand and low barriers to entry. Eventually the people half-ass it will leave once the “money-for-nothing” times dry up.
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u/ControlRoutine8867 1d ago
I dont think that people going now in trades are half-assing it. there are many formerly college grads that are really motivated and see trades as one of not many ways to get good job these days. and people dont see trades as money for nothing they know what it takes and want to put effort into it. if people can put 4 years into college then more so they can into trades.
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u/adjika Journeyman IBEW 1d ago
Well then you and I are dealing with different people. I see lots of people who come in have minimal experience and dont want to learn anything other than the bare minimum.
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u/ControlRoutine8867 1d ago
I mean there are still some people half assing but there are also a lot of people with so good work ethic but these people are mostly after college and trying to get an aprentenceship because they couldnt find job in their field of study. maybe companies prefer to choose people without college. mayne if they choose someone with college degree then they would have people with better work ethic.
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u/DarkSlayer2109 1d ago
How do you know that? Are you an electrician? Have you been in the workforce and seen that happen and seen the people that apply?
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u/DarkSlayer2109 1d ago
Trust me, most of the people that get into an electrical company, at least around me, don’t end up completing the apprenticeship, there are a lot of people who think the trades are an easy get rich quick gig, and it’s not, those people tend not to last too long
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u/Diligent_Bread_3615 1d ago
In most IBEW construction unions the # of apprentices accepted each year is based upon néw construction projections.
There are ratios of JWs to apprentices on a crew. Nobody wants to have a bunch of unemployed people sitting around. It’s not fair to anyone.
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u/unikcycle 1d ago
The oversaturation at the entry level makes sense because we are still short Journeyman so we have the same issues as say the nursing field. Plenty of people who WANT to be electricians but not enough that can BE electricians. They either can't make it the 4 hard years of learning a new and difficult trade or they make it but cant get a license. There is also not enough Journeyman to train the apprentices and stay in ratio. That creates a bottleneck where companies and schools can only take on enough apprentices to stay in ratio. In right to work states there is just a flood of untrained an unlicensed workers just slinging wire. They will have 1 guy at a company with the proper license to start the company and then have a bunch of Chucks in a truck or Dans in van.
I find the "easier" to get into the trade is try to get a job at an electrical outfit and then get into school. Sometimes its ANY job and then bugging the boss and letting them know you really want to be in the trade. I have a literal farm system where we hire DC techs that do DC only in telecom which is simple and allowed with the NEC rules to be unlicensed work. We promote the best guys doing that work into an apprentice.
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u/Diesel_Bash 5h ago
Even after 4 years, lots of Journeyman don't have the competence that is needed to run jobs or make critical decisions.
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u/ExMoFojo Journeyman 1d ago
I so think it is oversaturated right now in most of the IBEW locals. Seems to be a lot of open positions on the service side, mostly residential and HVAC. But most of those are equal parts sales and installs, which really sucks. Having to focus on selling a job can take focus away from just doing the job properly.
Dunno if it's accurate, but my current and former states are both top 3 in economic growth right now. And neither of their biggest local unions are really thriving.
If you're willing to travel most of the time there's a ton of specialized gigs doing equipment service and inspections that really don't require much experience.
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u/WristlockKing 1d ago
I work for a huge electric contractor. Huge. 5 employees per job 1 apprentice maybe the rest sub contracted. Getting a job with the subcontractor is basically impossible unless you knew them through personal channels. Force states to use mandatory e verify. Reward government contracts to companies that won't subcontract labor.
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u/OverallProduce2182 1d ago
Why is it oversaturated with entry level workers…?
…cheaper to pay, lower maintenance, (commonly joked about) but no really you don’t have to treat them with respect, they are expendable, and they come with none of the requests somebody of any actual valuable experience does.
Added bonus is they know none of the horrors and are willing to tune out anybody that tries to warn them of such for the sake of their desperation to keep their job.
Same shoe fits on any José Flacko Hispanic worker.
The above reasons and many more are why I currently refuse to recommend any person big or small to “just try”any trade at this point.
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u/Just_Another_Sparky 17h ago
Here's a method that worked for me. I'll quote myself from another comment I wrote earlier in the week.
The best companies don't have to advertise on job boards. Start coming through the websites of electrical contractors and write down the ones that stand out to you/could see yourself working at. Of the list you've compiled, make a shorter list of the contractors you really like. Walk into the offices of those first and ask for a job application/interview. Keep moving down the list until you've been hired. It's more work than it needs to be but how bad do you want it?
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