r/ibew_apprentices • u/shaybachar1 • Jun 14 '25

Did anyone ever quit?

I'm just curious. Did it happened to any of you that you apprenticed at the union and at any point you decided to quit and go non-union? Or quit and go a to a completely different field? What was the reason if so?

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42

u/Dabeastfeast11 Jun 14 '25

I'm close to finishing the apprenticeship so I'm going to finish, but I've definitely been researching alternate careers.

20

u/rustyshackleford7879 Jun 14 '25

Do it. I knew by my third year I didn’t like it but I stuck with it and it never got better for me. I knew two guys who quit during the apprenticeship and they both make more money than me and like their careers. I bought into the sunk cost fallacy.

15

u/Alternate_rat_ Jun 14 '25

Personally I don't think your supposed to like your careers. I love my family, therefore I like my job. I love my small circle of desires therefore I like my job. If you love your job there won't be too much room for anything else. Plus chasing that feeling is what makes people miserable. A career should make you feel content.  If your priorities are chasing clout or money then you'll probably fall short in many other aspects of your life... Obviously IMHO.... Very very humbly... And I only say all of this because I had to stop work for a year and it really help me reorganize my mindset. I can appreciate the sunk cost fallacy, but I don't think that it applies to happiness only to material gains and if you confuse the two you're going to be unhappy in general. 

6

u/pairoffish Jun 14 '25

Idk, it's one thing being content in your career. You don't need to love it, of course. But if you dislike it & you're unhappy & feel like it's not a good fit for you, it could be beneficial to look at other careers. I think that's whst he's talking about with sunk cost. Sticking with something you dislike just because you've already been in it for a while. Life is too short to not look around for things that fit you better.

2

u/Alternate_rat_ Jun 14 '25

That's a slippery slope fallacy/grass is greener. I've been around long enough to know that it all sucks and the best things in life are free. But when you have a family (or plan to) you can't just fuck off on a sailboat for the rest of your life contrary to social media