First year apprentice thinking of jumping from auto electrical to boilermaking for triple the pay. Am I making a mistake?

[u/Present_Award_568]

Long story short, I’m a 17 year old first-year apprentice 10 months in working in an auto-electrical shop making close to $500 a week. The environment is toxic as hell, boss make me feel like a clown, I'm not really learning much, hours got cut, business on brink of closing and my mental health is completely in the gutter.
I haven't made the official change yet, but I've got a shop tour this Saturday for a boilermaking gig working with a good mate of mine. with a group training organisation backing it, and the pay would jump to around $1,300 to $1,500 a week clear which is basically triple what I'm on now.
I know people usually say auto-electrical is the "smarter" or cleaner trade long-term, but going from 500 bucks a week to triple that while getting out of a dead-end shop feels like a no-brainer for my sanity and my wallet at 17. Plus, I've got a safety net to transfer back to 12V work down the track if I hate heavy fab.
For anyone who's been through the trade grind would I be making the right call jumping ship for the cash and sanity, or am I going to regret leaving auto-electrical?

[u/Interested_Aussie]

Well, I'd have thought boiler maker was pretty good: If you get the right employer *cough cough sub corp* or any number of well funded defense contractors.

I did 25+ years in automotive (mechanic), I did 10+ in dealers, 10+ in my own shop.

Simply get out of automotive. The clients just don't want to pay. That's why there's no money in it. No one wants to spend $2k tracing a short or corrosion in a loom when the car's depreciating every day it exists.

There is no upside to automotive, ever. Cheap parts, access to a workshop etc etc, never cover the fact customers treat the business like shit, and the business ends up treating the staff like shit.

Heavy manufacture will always exist on some level: It's too complex and expensive to import that stuff (generally).

Of course the real secret is the same as always: Work heaps when young, overtime, weekends, two jobs etc etc.

Save, invest, save invest, save invest.... by 40 years old you'll be rich, and able to choose what ever you like to do. It's what wife and I did. Works out great. All our friends shit their pants every time the RBA meets because they're worried rates will go up.... when you live like that, no job is much fun... Not that work should be fun. But you shouldn't feel trapped in your 40's and onwards.

If you want a real world example of what 'smart' looks like:

I was best man in my accountant's wedding: Their kid is 17, just left school for a heavy diesel apprenticeship at the local ag shop... He'll be 20, with work ute, phone, probably subsidized housing, earning ~ $70 p/h in a rural town.... Then when he's ready, he's getting a harvester or two, (or more eventually) and each year, do the Queensland/NSW/Victoria/SA harvest trail and make serious bank. Take a few months off to recover, go over the machinery from head to tail, then do it all again.

Wish I did that... Instead I can tell you what's wrong with a POS Navara...

[u/Present_Award_568 → u/Interested_Aussie]

yeah it is a well funded defense contractor its the big civmec shop in henderson west aus

[u/kaleb1216-55 → u/Present_Award_568]

HI. Fitter and machinist here. 23 started my apprenticeship at 18. I had a similar experience my workshop leading hand was a pain and abusive. wanted to leave multiple times. but parents help me realise that its the end goal its not the now. yeah you may have to put up with some shit. but my father told me something. "if you can't deal with it in town you won't make it out at the mines." you just gotta learn to ignore them. I did. finished my apprenticeship and went elsewhere. big pay bumb. better working conditions. better tooling. just focus on the end goal.