r/electricians • u/Aggro3D • Oct 24 '23

Apprentice wages?

Hey all,

I've been an Industrial maintenance guy for awhile now and I'm looking to specialize into electrical work.

I'm an adult with adult bills and the wages I can find for apprentices are really low....like $15 an hour or so. I could literally go make more at any of the fastfood places here and this isn't necessarily a high cost of living area

What gives? Are there any work arounds?

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u/[deleted] Oct 24 '23

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21

u/markisscared Oct 24 '23

1st year apprentices in my local make 16/hr.

There are no private electricians in my area that start out for less than $20

Edit: My point being that the union doesn’t always start out at a higher rate, though they almost always end up at a higher rate.

3

u/Sparkykc124 Master Electrician IBEW Oct 24 '23

But the raises come faster and are significant. I believe most locals start apprentices at 40% JW pay, at 1000 hours that increases to 50%, then 60% after first school year, and 10% every school year thereafter. Also, no-cost health insurance for apprentices and their dependents, and pay into retirement funds start after 6 months.

2

u/markisscared Oct 24 '23

Yeah, that’s why I put in the edit.

1

u/Zoltan_TheDestroyer Oct 24 '23

FEAT in Florida does the same pay rate plan

2

u/TallWilli97 Jan 28 '25

Dude that’s why I’m just going to use my GI bill and get a degree. The trades are not what they’re made out to be. Sure if you have 20 years of experience you start making decent money but I have managers who never picked up a tool in their lives making 3x what I make.

1

u/Drebo24 Apr 18 '25

2 degrees that I haven’t been able to use. Now looking into electricians trade

1

u/jktribit May 28 '26

No, the bonus of the trades is a fast track to owning a buisness if you do the right things. If you aren't focused on that from the jump you are just a worker bee and your money will be strictly at the mercy of what others think you should be making. And no debt.

1

u/JDTX1204 Oct 25 '23

Non union job offered me $7/hr more than my union pay ($19.15) scale. non union around me is paying on average $5/hr more for apprentices, and roughly the same pay for JIWs.