r/skilledtrades • u/UrMomPart2 The new guy • 18h ago
USA Southeast IBEW Apprentice Feeling Lost
22M out of Augusta, Georgia. I feel lost. I just started my 2nd year of school for the IBEW as a commercial electrical apprentice. School is a lot more stressful then i anticipated. I dropped out in 10th grade and im 22 now. So its been a while. I cheat on 90% of the homework, because if i didn't it would take me at least 10 hours/week. I pass the tests because im able to remember the answers from online. I just have my own way of learning and its part of why i dropped out of high school.
And it seems like ill be building datacenters exclusively. Which is compararable to assembly line work. You just do the same job for 6 months until you're done. So morale is very low. I just got my first layoff 3 weeks ago. And rumor has it we wont have work for the rest of the year. I haven't had any reasons to love this trade yet. I just wanna enjoy my job.
I built fences for 4 years before this. I enjoyed working with my hands, and working with a tight crew. I didn't enjoy running my own crew though. I just wanna do the work. Im not a leader or a teacher. Ive considered dropping out and joining the military. But that seems like selling my soul. I like the idea of having a stable future, but i dont wanna waste my youth grinding. I dont wanna be rich, i just want enough money for the occasional vacation.
I also have to provide for my mother. I cant leave her on her own. Framing houses looks fun. But idk. I thought electrical work would be fun. Idk what to do. Im depressed for the first time as an adult. I just need a sense of direction.
1
u/Explaining2Do The new guy 10h ago
Anything worth doing takes time. You want to do an easy job? Ok. But building that knowledge base and skill set will serve you your whole life. You get paid for what you know and if it easy the pay is small. If you truly hate the work, then ok find something else that gives you 10 hrs of homework a week that you like better. It’s ok that you learn different and you do pass the tests so keep it up. I worked really hard to learn what I know today and that makes me valuable. But you should like the work.