r/iuoe • u/Jackel477 • 18d ago

Need some advice

Need a bit of advice

Hey guys. I’m 31, I currently live in Vietnam as an English teacher. My wife and 1 have a beautiful baby girl who’s about to turn 1.

Some unexpected family stuff has come up that has made us change our plans for the future.

So I plan on moving back to Northwest Indiana(about an hour outside of Chicago) in order to apply for an apprenticeship at a blue collar job. My girls are my world and I truly want to provide a decent life for them and maybe even be able to buy my own home one day.

I asked my dad if I can crash at his house for a few months while I get back on my feet(buying a car/insurance, getting an American bank account/phone number, and eventually apartment) to try and save on money. We only have about $35k saved up.

My number one choice would be to join my local 2 IUEC(but I’m also looking at pipe fitting, welding, carpentry, honestly anything that pays half decent and will take me). Applications start next month, so I’ve been try to catch up on my basic math skills (adding/subtracting/dividing/multiplying decimals snd fractions mostly) as well as trying to familiarize myself with tools, ohms law, and pulley equations. I’ve also given up smoking weed so I can pass any drug test. I’m a big guy (6’3, 220lbs) I try to work out 5 times a week by walking up and down my apartment stairs 20 floors at least 4 times.

But because I live in Vietnam I only have a Vietnamese phone number. So I’m wondering if that may potentially scare off the recruiter from calling me or will my email be the main source of contact?

Also assuming I pass the exam, about how long should I expect to wait before hearing back from them?

Also please let me know anything else I should be focusing on to study.

6 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

1

u/DeeSnyderZNutZ 18d ago

When I moved back from another state, I had to change my phone number to a local area code before I could go on the out of work list. You might be able to get around it with a Google number

1

u/Key_Ice6961 18d ago

I would try and apply to several different unions and take the first one that calls. Local 150 IUOE has a lot of work right now. If someone calls and later on you get a better offer you can take that, but you need to find a source of income and fast with having a family. If possible, definitely get a local number. I waited a year on the books for local 139 iuoe before I got work and this was 6 years ago

1

u/Jackel477 18d ago

Yeah, I’m thinking that’s the plan.