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It's been on the back burner for awhile now, but given the events of the past few weeks I'm ready to never set foot in a call center again. I'm sick of the whiney customers, the strange, over-restrictive corporate policies, "teamwork" translating into "the strong carry the incompetent", and all the other general hassles of the job.
I've been passively looking for a new job, and for the past 4 months or so I've had an interest in the skilled trade unions (carpenters, plumbers, welders, etc). My dad was a carpenter for 30+ years, my brothers and I were hanging drywall and roofing from the age of 10 or so with him on home remodeling and weekend side jobs, I'm not afraid of working in the elements, and an apprenticeship sounds much more appealing than college.
Then there's the money; my dad has only gotten excited about any of my ever-changing career goals twice, once was when I told him I was considering enlisting in the Navy (he's a Vietnam vet), and the other was when I told him I was looking at the skilled trade unions. Now he told me that it was a good life and that he averaged about $55k a year while he was a journeyman, but he didn't tell me the averages of what the other trades make! I found out this week from a welder that apprentices in the Steamfitters union make about $100k a year, then the girl I'm dating told me that on the LOW end apprentices make $85k (her brother is in the same union).
For those of you not familiar with union customs, this pretty much means I would be getting paid $85,000-$100,000 a year to go to college. During an apprenticeship you work 40 hours a week on the job and have classes in the evenings to teach you the trade.
I can't logically explain this, but have you ever felt like the powers that be are nudging you in a certain direction? Last winter there was a dive bar I went to after work because it was open early and close to my house, thyere were days where it was packed with electrical workers who just got off work from the power plant. I got to talking to them and that's what got me thinking about the unions in the first place. A few months later I was talking to a co-worker about how sick we were of our jobs and I mentioned that my father had told me he could get me sponsored into two of the unions, he looked at me like I was crazy for not doing so and has been hounding me to do it ever since. A few weeks ago I went to a friend's wedding and got to talking to several union workers there and was again encouraged to join. A few days ago I randomly met a couple in a bar, the guy was a welder in the local union, after about 6 hours of BSing he gave me his number, offered to teach me to weld at his house so that I could potentially test out of apprenticeship to journeyman. I doubt I'll be able to test out right away, but it would be nice to try it to see if I like it or am any good at it before jumping into it with both feet. Either way, I think you see where I'm going with this???
From what I can tell most of the apprentice classes start up in september or october, so I want to get my application in soon. Something my dad suggested was to join the laborer's union first. They basically go to the job sites and assist wherever needed, this gives you the chance to see what the different trades do before you decide which one to go with. Alot of people do this for a few years before choosing a profession, I think it pays $15+ an hour which is more than what I'm making now.
This isn't just about the money, allot of my childhood memories are of my father bringing his work home with him and passing it down to my brothers and I. That and just about anywhere you go in town he can point out something that he built or re-modeled, my grandfathers were the same way.
Now all I need to do is pick a trade or go for the laborer's union. Any insight would be appreciated whether it's from experience or hear-say.
I've been passively looking for a new job, and for the past 4 months or so I've had an interest in the skilled trade unions (carpenters, plumbers, welders, etc). My dad was a carpenter for 30+ years, my brothers and I were hanging drywall and roofing from the age of 10 or so with him on home remodeling and weekend side jobs, I'm not afraid of working in the elements, and an apprenticeship sounds much more appealing than college.
Then there's the money; my dad has only gotten excited about any of my ever-changing career goals twice, once was when I told him I was considering enlisting in the Navy (he's a Vietnam vet), and the other was when I told him I was looking at the skilled trade unions. Now he told me that it was a good life and that he averaged about $55k a year while he was a journeyman, but he didn't tell me the averages of what the other trades make! I found out this week from a welder that apprentices in the Steamfitters union make about $100k a year, then the girl I'm dating told me that on the LOW end apprentices make $85k (her brother is in the same union).
For those of you not familiar with union customs, this pretty much means I would be getting paid $85,000-$100,000 a year to go to college. During an apprenticeship you work 40 hours a week on the job and have classes in the evenings to teach you the trade.
I can't logically explain this, but have you ever felt like the powers that be are nudging you in a certain direction? Last winter there was a dive bar I went to after work because it was open early and close to my house, thyere were days where it was packed with electrical workers who just got off work from the power plant. I got to talking to them and that's what got me thinking about the unions in the first place. A few months later I was talking to a co-worker about how sick we were of our jobs and I mentioned that my father had told me he could get me sponsored into two of the unions, he looked at me like I was crazy for not doing so and has been hounding me to do it ever since. A few weeks ago I went to a friend's wedding and got to talking to several union workers there and was again encouraged to join. A few days ago I randomly met a couple in a bar, the guy was a welder in the local union, after about 6 hours of BSing he gave me his number, offered to teach me to weld at his house so that I could potentially test out of apprenticeship to journeyman. I doubt I'll be able to test out right away, but it would be nice to try it to see if I like it or am any good at it before jumping into it with both feet. Either way, I think you see where I'm going with this???
From what I can tell most of the apprentice classes start up in september or october, so I want to get my application in soon. Something my dad suggested was to join the laborer's union first. They basically go to the job sites and assist wherever needed, this gives you the chance to see what the different trades do before you decide which one to go with. Alot of people do this for a few years before choosing a profession, I think it pays $15+ an hour which is more than what I'm making now.
This isn't just about the money, allot of my childhood memories are of my father bringing his work home with him and passing it down to my brothers and I. That and just about anywhere you go in town he can point out something that he built or re-modeled, my grandfathers were the same way.
Now all I need to do is pick a trade or go for the laborer's union. Any insight would be appreciated whether it's from experience or hear-say.
Eric the Grey
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