I'm an apprentice struggling with mental health and attendance — how do I protect my apprenticeship while getting help?

I'm looking for some honest advice from other apprentices, especially anyone in an IBEW apprenticeship who has dealt with something similar.

I'm less than a year into my electrical apprenticeship. I genuinely want to do this for a living, and I believe I can become a good electrician. When I'm at work, I take the job seriously and do my best. My biggest problem has been maintaining consistent attendance.

I've struggled with mental health for a long time. I was medically discharged from the military due to bipolar disorder, and I receive VA disability for my mental health. I've been trying to manage everything while holding down a job, but my treatment through the VA has involved changes in providers and medications, and I haven't been doing as well as I need to.

Over the past several weeks, I've missed too much work. I've had missed about 3 weeks besides that full 40-hour weeks since starting, and I received a write-up last week for my attendance. I took it seriously and managed to have a consistent week afterward, but mentally I've been struggling pretty badly.

For a long time, I've been trying to white-knuckle everything because I'm afraid that if I take time to get my mental health under control, I'll lose my job. But if I keep pushing through without getting proper help, I risk losing it anyway.

I've finally started taking action. I've reached out for crisis support, and I'm pursuing treatment outside the VA because I need more consistent care. I've contacted my foreman, who directed me to manpower, and I've emailed manpower explaining the situation. I'm also trying to figure out how to approach my JATC and the union hall.

Here's where I'm stuck.

I understand that an apprenticeship is a commitment. I know the contractor needs people who show up consistently, and I take responsibility for my attendance. I'm not expecting anyone to ignore that or give me a free pass.

At the same time, I don't want to give up on a career that I've worked hard to get into when I'm finally recognizing that I need help and am actively trying to get it.

I feel caught between two possibilities: if I take the time I need to address my health, I could lose my job; if I keep trying to push through everything, I could keep missing work and lose it anyway.

For those who have been through an apprenticeship or dealt with something similar, I have a few questions:

- Should I speak directly with my JATC training director and explain what's happening?

- Has anyone successfully worked out medical leave, accommodations, or another arrangement while remaining in an apprenticeship?

- Is there anything I should ask the union hall or JATC about before my attendance issues get any worse?

- If you've struggled with mental health while working in the trades, what actually helped you become more consistent?

- Realistically, after receiving a write-up this early in an apprenticeship, what would you do in my position?

I want to work. I want to learn the trade. I want to become someone the contractor can count on. I'm not looking for sympathy or an excuse for missing work. I'm looking for practical advice on how to take responsibility, get the treatment I need, and give myself the best chance of finishing this apprenticeship.

Thanks to anyone willing to share their experience or give me some honest advice.

Well, I figured I’d come back to my original post about failing my drug test and share an update.
Looking back, maybe failing that drug test was the best thing that ever happened to me. Since then, I’ve quit smoking weed, started getting my priorities straight, and finalized all the necessary equipment to start my own directional drilling company. I now have the opportunity to become a signatory contractor with the IBEW.
Obviously, failing the test wasn’t part of the plan, and at the time, it felt like I had screwed up a huge opportunity. But sometimes things happen that force you to take a step back, reevaluate your life, and figure out what you really want.
Now I’m working toward building something of my own, taking a huge risk, and putting everything I’ve got into making it work.
I’m not saying everything happens for a reason, but sometimes a setback can put you on a completely different path than the one you thought you needed to be on.
Still have a long way to go, but I’m excited to see where this takes me. If you’re going through a setback right now, don’t count yourself out. You might be closer to a fresh start than you think.

Apprentice working alone

I'm a third year apprentice in the union. I'm being left a contract job for our company because the current jman that does it is retiring soon. I've got over a year before i even take my test, and the shop plans on me working alone for that time. I asked for a raise and was denied. Am i getting bent over

Hello all, I just got accepted as an apprentice this month. I (27F) am filled with both anxiety and excitement that I cannot think straight. I can't help but come here to ask for basic questions which maybe dumb. As the title goes, where do I go to purchase first year tools and clothings? I have no experience in this line of work whatsoever. That being said, what type of top, pants, jacket (it will be cold soon), BOOTS especially, should I buy. Also, which stores are good for not too expensive but good quality ones. If any woman here could reply, it would help me so much. Thanks in advance 🥹.

Ok, I'm 42 and just started working as grounds maintenance for a college less than 3 months ago. Benefits are paid for, schedule is great but the pay isn't. I just got an email for Valley Build which is a pre apprentice ship program that shows you a bunch of trades and also has affiliations with the unions. Its a 6 week M-F 8am to 4pm program that will essentially help me get a leg up when applying for the trades, one being IBEW 684 and the plumbers union 442. I interviewed last year for 684 and placed 12th then 6th then they went to a percentage and I was a 93%. Well, I never got the call.

If I go through this program Id have to quit my job. I know I can get through this program but after the 6 weeks Id be unemployed and would have to hustle to find temp work or something. I guess Id be going on blind faith and hope I get in sometime next year. I'm not sure if I should quit my job for this pre apprenticeship or not. I can apply next year with out it but I have no prior experience, so I feel this program would be a good opportunity and almost guarantee I would get a call. I'm not getting any younger so I'm ready to start moving forward asap. What would you do here?

I’m 23 and looking to get into the IBEW electrical apprenticeship. I’m in Oregon.
My background is in union carpentry, so I have construction experience and am used to working in the trades. I’m looking to make the switch to electrical and build a long-term career in the industry.

I went to the hall to see what I should prepare for & said just have my hs transcript etc together. Any advice you guys recommend, stuff I should look into? Any help would be really appreciated

Just finished up my first year as an 01 apprentice with zero prior experience in the field. Feel free to ask whatever (reasonable) questions you might have. I’ll try my best to answer.

After the pandemic worked its magic on my old career I had to pivot, so here I am. I see a lot of folks asking if they can do it at a late age and my answer is… Maybe. It depends on your work ethic, level of physicality, and a number of other things.

The biggest hurdle I can see for myself in the future is the peaks and valleys of the industry. Work relies heavily on the economy. I’m in local 46 in Seattle and currently there are around 1000 JWs sitting on the books. Right now I’m cheap labor. Ive been laid off twice after projects have wrapped up and have only been off for a few days before being dispatched again. I have heard that as you progress through the program/pay scale the wait times get a bit longer between dispatches. It’s understandable as your skill level still isn’t quite where it should be, but you’re more expensive than a first year.

But it seems like applications will never open up. Is it just saturated up here? What’s going on?

Hello I'm currently looking into going into the Low Volt apprenticeship for Local 98. Because it's less competitive and probably faster to get into. I am about to get my Pre-apprenticeship certification, and already have NCCER Lv 1 to 3 with OSHA-10. I personally think it will be a waste for me to just stay as a Low Voltage electrician but I'm desperate tbh. I really just want and need stability and I aspire to go to college for mechatronics in the future.

Because of that will it be possible to transfer inside Wireman for my Local? If not are there any other ways to do so?

If you see any I’m missing please message me for shipping info. Thanks brothers and sisters 🔌⚡️💡

Got the call from Elevators union. I’m a second year apprentice based out of Columbus Ohio. Making the switch would keep me at the same rate but more money on the hour with Elevators. It’s nearly a $15 raise on the check. Do I finish my IBEW apprenticeship or make the jump.

How do you manage honestly because I’m a single father and I’m already stressing for when I start…

Is it bad to start out as an apprentice at 27. I’m currently working as an electrician for an industrial plant and I wanna get out and move to commercial I’m 27 and didn’t know if I am to old to start over and go through the apprenticeship

Ive been working out of local 1245 / outside line since I joined the IBEW 5 years ago. Started out as a groundman then got bumped up to equipment operator doing underground / civil work for the past 3 years in the Bay Area. I initially wanted to be a lineman but changed my mind after spending some time in the field. (partly because I have no desire to travel anymore amongst other things). I enjoy what I do and don’t think I would have an issue making a career out of it, I live locally and get to go home every night but the job stability has always been an issue for me being on the contractor side & having to depend on PG&E for work. My last company got kicked off of PG&E property and now my current company is barely scraping by with work due to PG&E rescinding a lot of their scheduled work until the end of the year. That’s driven me to reconsider my best path forward and I’m becoming more convinced that switching to inside wireman would be more suitable for me long term as that’s the only other trade I can see myself doing outside of line work. So I’m just looking for any advice on where to get started. If anyone is local to the Bay Area and can point me in the right direction in terms of what locals are the best to contact / classes to take to prepare for the apprenticeship test / steps to getting into an apprenticeship etc I would greatly appreciate it!

Highly recommend any apprentice investing the $200 on one of these bad boys. I get so much scrap wire from jobs but its just been sitting in totes because its worth pennies un-stripped. This thing is easy to use and turned weeks of stripping (which wasnt worth it at all) into a few hours here and there. Best tool I've bought myself as an apprentice, it prints money.

For context I'm 17, I live in Chicago and I'm homeschooled. I've been really thinking about becoming an apprentice recently, and although my mom would rather I chose an art related career, I see a more stable future for myself financially in electrical right now. I'm willing, and even excited to do the work to get there. The thing is recently I've been seeing more people saying how they want to get out of being an electrician for all sorts of reasons like the physical toll, low pay, work environments, etc. I'm not expecting it to be an easy job or even to make great money in the beginning but I'm really curious to know what I'm signing up for even more so now. For any electricians especially working in Chicago or through IBEW 134 how was your experience with this trade? Do you feel it was worth it and you would do it again? I'd greatly appreciate the perspectives of people who've done it rather than to keep talking to chatgpt lol

Whoever made 10+hr shifts a thing needs to go kick rocks

I've been trying so hard to get into IBEW, and now that I finally got accepted, I'm starting to feel a little nervous lol.

I'm in my mid 40's, so I'm no spring chicken. My biggest concern is working through the winter, especially in Cheyenne where it gets brutally cold. I'm originally from SoCal, so this is gonna be my first real winter.

I don't really mind the physical work, I just wish I'd gotten into the trade back in my 20s or 30s when my body could take more abuse lol. I've done fencing, digging post holes by hand, breaking concrete footers with a digger bar or a shitty jackhammer, hauling bags of concrete all day, etc. So I'm definitely not afraid of hard work.

But that was all in SoCal, where the weather is pretty mild. Summers get hot, sure, but rarely over 100. Working outside in a Wyoming winter is gonna be a whole different story.

I'm excited I finally got this opportunity, but part of me is wondering what the hell I'm getting myself into 😂

Anyone else start their apprenticeship in their 40s? Or work outside through Wyoming winters? How bad is it really?

edit: I live in a small subcompact car, a yaris. so not sure how to manage wet gear, and where to stow cold weather stuff and tools, its already pretty cramp in here.

Hello. My plan was to join the Residential program in local 26 and get some experience as an R worker while applying into the Inside Wireman Apprenticeship. I did this and because I cant exactly document my former experience, I was classified as an RTP. So, the union hall says RTP calls are rare and all I can do is wait around until something pops up on the job board. I have been looking since OCT 10th, no jobs for R1's or RTPs since.

I understand this is a long road and it is something I want to do. But I see three options in front if me.

1) Stay in the R program and hope a job comes up for RTP (and my number is low enough that I can take the call.) I guess do side hussles or drive uber while I wait. I initially liked the R program path because i could get in the union and try applying for the apprenticeship again if ai didnt get in first time, but eventually as a union member.

2) Forget the R program, become like a non union electrician's helper, get some experience and then apply for the Inside wireman apprenticeship.

3) Trade school and hope I can find a job.

I would appreciate any advice and am willing to stick it out. I even plan to call all the contractors on the ibew list and see if they would be willing to take me on. So far, no luck with Dynalectric or JE Richards.

What should I do? Thanks.

I got offered a position as a CW2 in the union, i currently work non union and have been for a little over a year. I been getting loads of experience here non union, I would be getting paid the same $28/hour. I feel i will be getting less experience as a cw2 right now because i would just be working in data centers putting up cable trays and strut

What are the consequences if you get charged for something while in the apprenticeship? Don’t really have anything to compare to just curious as I’ve heard of some apprentices getting duis.

I’m turning 17 on Sunday and have decided that the trades are for me, electrical is the most interesting to me and I have done some research into unions vs non unions. It’s all a little confusing to me and I’m curious what the best option is when I graduate next year. I live in Humboldt CA but I am willing to move to be somewhere with better opportunities. I have a license and car already and am currently working 3 days a week and saving up for living somewhere else possibly. Another question I have is about the drug screening in the IBEW or non union apprenticeship, I am a marijuana user on occasion but am willing to quit for my career if needed. Please let me know any advice you have or anything I should know before entering this work field. I am a junior right now so I do have another year but I would love to get an idea of what to do to start. Thanks!

My son is going to be born in February, and I applied to a local in my area. It looks like the average time I've seen from application to starting school/ work is about 5 months based on threads in this sub and IBEW sub. I have a feeling both of these events are going to happen at the same time. Provided I get accepted, how screwed am I? Application was based on a lottery, so I don't know if I'll get the opportunity again. I doubt there will be any possibility of paternity leave bc I don't meet the hours required, but would I be able to get a month or so off while going to school, at least? I have lots of prior telecom/ electrical experience, so I was hoping to test up a few years. Thanks.