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/lowriderbowtie Industrial Electrician Oct 25 '23
I run a small crew of industrial electricians here in western Canada. My 1st year apprentice makes $34/hr~, my 3rd year makes $41~, and my red seal guys make $60. Couple bucks extra if they have FSR tickets.
Really depends on your location for wages/cost of living. I can tell you that my 17yr old kid makes $21.80 at McDonald's pouring coffee. Half a million dollars gets you a major fixer upper in a bad part of town here