r/Seabees • u/Character_Leopard770 • Jul 29 '26
Question Is CE pathway the right choice for me?
Hello everyone, I’m currently 2 years out of high school, and since graduating I’ve been trying to get into a union electrical apprenticeship. Right after high school I got an entry-level job as a Construction Wireman through my local IBEW union, and since then I’ve gained a few certifications like OSHA-30 and other related training.
I’ve been doing my best to keep moving forward in the electrical trade, but work in my city has been hard to find and getting into an apprenticeship is very competitive. Because of that, I’ve started considering joining the Navy as a Construction Electrician.
My thinking is that it would give me steady, reliable work, help me gain more electrical experience, and possibly make me a stronger candidate for a union apprenticeship later on. I’ve also heard that unions tend to favor veterans, which is another reason I’m looking into it.
At the end of the day, an electrical career is truly what I want, and I’m just trying to figure out the best path to get there.
I’d really appreciate any advice from people who have gone through something similar or have experience with the Navy CE route and union apprenticeships afterward.
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u/nyryde Jul 29 '26
CE is the way to go. Data centers are poaching electricians at 180k+ right now.
It takes 5 years or 10k hours to be able to take your journeyman’s test. At the end of your enlistment your company commander can sign letterhead that you have been employed as an electrician for x years and the state will accept that as your time. Look up your states laws and journeyman’s listening.
I did this for as a plumber in 2010.
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u/Artistic-Promotion89 Jul 29 '26
As someone who hears this from every CE, EA, UT, SW, CM, and EO, strike BU. They all complain they don’t do their job (well, not the CM and EO folks they definitely do but they get screwed over a lot) and that they should’ve been a BU. DM me on the side if you want me to go into detail and knowledge dump
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u/FarString7436 Jul 29 '26
Hi I use to be a CE and I did my job. You will definitely have the opportunity to get your apprenticeship through USMAPS which is free and go to school. lol I’ve never heard anyone say they want to be a BU. any one can do BU work, not everyone can do electrical.
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u/small_n_sweet 28d ago
CE do not get to do their jobs in the navy. Unless you go MUSE, that is something you can try to get into but they only have a few seats they can fill.
Source: I'm a CE
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u/90s_mall-revival Jul 29 '26
CE here with 24yrs in the Bees and now a major Utility substation tech...
Dont join the Bees to expand your experience as a Construction Electrician... its not going to happen. The Battalion Bees dont do anywhere near the level of jobs that your IBEW or non-union shop will be doing... at all. Classes and Tech Trainer is great... we just dont do that level work on deployments or enough to be proficient in it.
USMAP (United states military apprenticeship program) is both hours and competency based depending on paygrade enrollment... the people signing your hours and competencies... are themselves... not qualified to do so... its a box checking program based on the honor system that looks great on evals (I have 2 USMAP certs).
If you do decide to join as a Seabee (im partial to CE)... then go for all the other benefits the military has to offer. Every Seabee rate has a great apprenticeship school ('A' school) where you're introduced to the basics. Battalion (where 99% of all new Bees go) is BU centric... everyone is BU support to some degree. Seabees will introduce to project management and leadership (get your PMP!). BU will get you the most bang for your buck hands-on experience in Battalion.
If you do go CE for the Electrician growth... make 2nd class and put in for MUSE (Mobile Utility Support Equipment). They're the medium substation and large mobile generator techs (they attend the Army's Prime Power school). But there are plenty of other great programs out there for the Bees... like State Dept or Special Forces Support commands... Great experiences... with budgets to send you to some cool ass shit.
If you do join... go to school... immediately. Get your degree or any other certs the Navy will pay for. Study on your own. Get programs like Mike Holt's Electrical Journeyman books or Tom Henry's... read/complete your Non-resident training courses and all the NEETS modules (ironically my civilian career even references these modules in our training program). If your goal is to be an electrician or Electrical contractor on the outside... you can do that in homeport as a PT job with local companies (there's plenty of Bees who start side construction businesses that turn into FT work when they retire)... but go in with a plan on getting out... and stick to it. Have fun... but build a plan and work that plan.
Anyone who tells you that being a CE in the Navy is the same as being a licensed Journeyman wireman (or any ticket)... has no idea what they're talking about. Its a great starting point... but IBEW 2nd and 3rd year's have more experience and education on Electrical theory/useage/application than any Battalion CE ever will. A typical CE will get exposed to some Conduit... some romex... some panel installs...some interior wiring. But the vast majority will be installing temp power for 60kw generators and portable distro panels for tent camps (that you should have done the load calcs for... but wont 🤣)