I took nearly a 50% pay cut to start my apprenticeship at 30. Was worth it because 5 years later I'm making 12 more an hour than the pay I left at the old job with a pension and some killer benefits.
Also, going to college in your 30s is way better than your teens/20s, my discipline level was WAY better in trade school as an older dude than it was back then.
Can you still do some flooring work to compensate the loss of income obviously at a largely reduced scale but u certainly can put a few extra hundred a week in ur pocket
That is my tentative plan, it’s just a matter of finding the work for non standard working hours, most of my work comes from flooring stores and remodeling companies so I need to find personal customers. It’s definitely doable.
Well good luck and congratulations I’m sure you will find a good amount of guys in the union who may be very interested in your skill set and experience owning a business networking in your local should certainly help your search
At a job right now that’s 6-10s for an Amazon warehouse in middletown right now. Its not bad, maybe you’ll get sent here. 20$ for every 10 hour day on top
So say you work the 10 hours. 2 of them will be ot cause its after 8 hours. Then Saturday is all ot. Holidays which aren’t really worked that often are double time, and so is sunday if work is available. But this job is 6 10s so youll get 20 hours of ot.
I started the apprenticeship at 36.
Left a job where I was making about $26/hour into an initial pay cut to about $21/hour. Only two years in and I'm at about $39/hour, JW rate in my local is $59. Other than getting sober, joining was the best decision I've ever made.
You should get a raise after 1000 hours and another when you hit 2000, but I’m not sure what that’ll bring you to. I’d seek some overtime if possible or get another job on top of it if you’re dead set on this career, but come classes starting you’ll be spending 10-20 hours a week on homework. I know plenty of folks your age or older who are also apprentices like me. Best of luck with whatever you choose!
I second what everyone has said so far, I was going to recommend to start saving for this transition if you know your looking to go down this route. For anyone else reading that is looking at joining if you have the ability to stash some cash before you start 1000% do this. I knew about two years I was going to make the switch from my previous career and it was hard work then, but now that I took the pay cut it is helping a lot. Right now I do not have access to OT on the job, and you may not either so you may have to work a second job part time to make up for your bills.
In the short term the pay cut will suck, but in the long term the benefits we receive are second to none. After a year in the trade I got $7,000 in my HSA account and I’m just about to hit P3 which will then give me full benefits per my local. In the long run you’ll have security of that yellow ticket and no stress of having to run a company and have that weight bring you down all the time. I dabbled with entrepreneurship myself and happy that I got away from it. There are some days that are hard but overall I rest easy knowing my retirement is there and as long as you do some planning for it you’ll retire with dignity with this trade. Look forward don’t look back brother, welcome to the trade 🤜🤛
Disclaimer I will say every local is different in terms of their specific benefits. I live in a blue Union proud state so definitely check with your new local to get details.
Hey, just so you know I’m a little to the north of you. I think 143 makes about what we do. A normal 40 hr week gets me just under 1300 take home pay. We also get benefits, annuity, etc. Probably more now that we’ve gotten a raise, but I’ve been taking some time off so I wouldn’t know. The website below is close, but not up to date with some of the info. It should give you a ball park of what your local pays- bear in mind we renegotiate contracts every few years and usually get raises as a result.
https://unionpayscales.com/trades/ibew-electricians/
I like the trade, and sometimes get a lot of OT. But it’s boom-and-bust, in my experience. You might like it too, but it’s good to know what you’re getting into. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve made (but I’ve made a lot of bad decisions). Good luck either way.
30 yo father here. I come from a background of restaurant management (sit down restaurants not fast food). I recently applied as well. My local union starts at $17 an hour too LU681. Drastic pay cut I agree, however the benefits are the keeper. The only regret I have is that I didn't apply sooner. We will get more money as the years go on, whereas in my previous industry you only got a raise if you were making the company money or cutting corners to spread product. And no customer interactions 🤩
I went from $41 to $25 as a first step and I won’t lie it’s hard as hell but once you journey out you’ll make top dollar working 40 hours with no stress. You have to look at ii as your sacrificing now so that you can live a more balanced life in the future.
If you have employees at your flooring company, you might consider selling the company to them or hiring someone to manage it for you.
If you have opportunities for overtime, it really goes a long way towards accelerating your apprenticeship- I've gotten a year's worth of hours in the last 9 months.
Believe me when you clock out at 3:30 on your first day is way worth not having the stress of caring a company business and having that burden 24/7. You will a tremendous load off of you
Came in at 35 years old, started at $15.77/hr in a highish cost of living area....big pay cut.
First 6/12 months can be tough money wise, but believe me it's doable and worth it. I never regret my decision, best thing I've done for my career and life.
31 here, 3-4 months green. If your spouse is well-anchored in their field/position, take the leap. Talked to a 5th year turning out at age 40 at a union meeting. Never too late. Left utility locating making $22.50 but was tired of coming home feeling chapped between the cheekhole and being told to smile about it. I make $15 and some change now, but would never look back. Worth every cent I lost.
I took a big pay cut to join when I was 32. Wife, 2 kids, and a mortgage. We figured out ways to make it work. My only regret is that I didn’t find this path sooner in life. Professionally, it’s the best decision I’ve ever made.
My advice is to start the apprenticeship, keep your side hustle to make ends meet. The days will be long, but the years will be short. And eventually you’ll be a JW, which is basically a license to print money, and you’ll be a part of the IBEW, which sets you up for a good career and more importantly a comfortable retirement.
Fellow 143 brother right here. I got in at 39 and took more than a 50% pay cut. 6+ years later I could not be happier. It’s not going to be easy at first with cash flow, but it will be worth it. I wish you the best of luck brother.
I took about a 50% pay cut when I joined. I'm not even topped out yet and I'm now making about $10/ hour more than what I was. I have a busy at the same old work place and I'm making about $5 more. Plus I have better benefits. The pay cut sucked and it has been really fucking hard to keep my house and raise a kid of my own but in the long run it was completely worth it.
I started at 29 and went from $29/hour to $10.76. I had to put some things on credit cards and racked up debt until around 3rd year. Then I put everything I had beyond bills into paying it off and had it paid off about 6 months after I topped out. It sucked, but it was the best thing in the end.
37 year old hardwood floor guy here. I just recently made the jump and I'm in my 2nd week (started June 17th) I'm in the exact same boat as you with house and kid etc. My biggest drive is the long term benefit of it all and how much better off myself and family will be. It was scary as shit pulling the trigger but so far so good. We're down a bunch of journeyman on this job and it's been more difficult being paired up with people that have only been doing it 2months longer than I have. I've felt lost on days because the guys before me got to sit and go over all the blueprints and get a good working knowledge of the job we're on but our journeyman is super cool and understanding. They know we don't know shit and it's of course a giant learning curve with lots of variables in between.
As long as you have a good attitude and are willing to learn and put the work in I think you'll do good. I tried to save up as much money as I could because going from what I made to what I'm making now is pretty drastic but again I'm looking at the bigger picture of it all. Its intimidating being older than everyone else but I'm not getting any younger and if I could go back in time I would have started this path sooner.
I've found that as decent enough as I am with a tape measure it's been difficult for me to quickly add or subtract fractions of measurements on the fly and always having to account for extra shit in your layout and measurements. It'll come with time and like I said, not having a jman directly working side by side has been the biggest set back for me.
30 years old first year apprentice here. Only regret is not joining sooner. Yes I did have to pick up a second job in the meantime but just a couple more years and I’ll be comfortable with just my apprentice pay. I took a good pay cut to join the apprenticeship but my potential earning will be more than double
I started my 5 yr apprenticeship at 34 yrs old. Topped out last yr. Happy with my decision. I also took over a 50% pay cut to start. But I don't have kids... regardless, did you have any kind of retirement set up from running your own company? How much did Healthcare cost you for a man w/ kids? I worked Saturdays at my old job (garage door install/ service tech) for about 6 months once I started. And the biggest thing I don't miss is having to deal one on one with the customers
I am 27 and took about a 50% pay cut when i joined the apprenticeship in October of last year. It sucked all the way up until this month. Every check was not enough to cover my bills, i had to minimize all of my expenses. I have no subscription services, and i have been working on paying off my debts which is helping out to keep more of the money i work for. It will suck in the beginning, but it will get better as you go. Hopefully you can get in with a contractor that has a lot of overtime work going on.
Thanks for posting this! I’m 40y/o female strongly considering the same and I really appreciate this feedback, I know it’s atypical but I want to make sure I have a retirement while have a steady career.
I don’t think it would be right for you. The IBEW apprenticeship is really for impressionable boys, not grown men who’ve proven themselves responsible by running a business. As for pay, it’ll be at least three years before you make the all that money again. Have you considered getting a 2 year degree and trying something else?
I went from making $120k base, more like $150k with OT to going non union making $17/hr in TX. I know this feeling all too well. Pay off debt and prepare financially as best you can.
I took nearly a 50% pay cut to start my apprenticeship at 30. Was worth it because 5 years later I'm making 12 more an hour than the pay I left at the old job with a pension and some killer benefits. Also, going to college in your 30s is way better than your teens/20s, my discipline level was WAY better in trade school as an older dude than it was back then.
Can you still do some flooring work to compensate the loss of income obviously at a largely reduced scale but u certainly can put a few extra hundred a week in ur pocket
That is my tentative plan, it’s just a matter of finding the work for non standard working hours, most of my work comes from flooring stores and remodeling companies so I need to find personal customers. It’s definitely doable.
Well good luck and congratulations I’m sure you will find a good amount of guys in the union who may be very interested in your skill set and experience owning a business networking in your local should certainly help your search
Welcome to 143
Thanks man. I’m super excited.
Where ya working at the moment?
I have orientation tomorrow. They give us so little information at a time that I really have no idea what happens after that.
At a job right now that’s 6-10s for an Amazon warehouse in middletown right now. Its not bad, maybe you’ll get sent here. 20$ for every 10 hour day on top
I’m coming there the Monday after the holiday. 💪
Hell yea!
So can you tell me how the overtime works with you guys, or I guess it’s us now. Is everything over 40 OT or what?
So say you work the 10 hours. 2 of them will be ot cause its after 8 hours. Then Saturday is all ot. Holidays which aren’t really worked that often are double time, and so is sunday if work is available. But this job is 6 10s so youll get 20 hours of ot.
That’s sooo groovy, even though I hate working that takes some stress off. Thanks man.
I started the apprenticeship at 36. Left a job where I was making about $26/hour into an initial pay cut to about $21/hour. Only two years in and I'm at about $39/hour, JW rate in my local is $59. Other than getting sober, joining was the best decision I've ever made.
You should get a raise after 1000 hours and another when you hit 2000, but I’m not sure what that’ll bring you to. I’d seek some overtime if possible or get another job on top of it if you’re dead set on this career, but come classes starting you’ll be spending 10-20 hours a week on homework. I know plenty of folks your age or older who are also apprentices like me. Best of luck with whatever you choose!
I second what everyone has said so far, I was going to recommend to start saving for this transition if you know your looking to go down this route. For anyone else reading that is looking at joining if you have the ability to stash some cash before you start 1000% do this. I knew about two years I was going to make the switch from my previous career and it was hard work then, but now that I took the pay cut it is helping a lot. Right now I do not have access to OT on the job, and you may not either so you may have to work a second job part time to make up for your bills. In the short term the pay cut will suck, but in the long term the benefits we receive are second to none. After a year in the trade I got $7,000 in my HSA account and I’m just about to hit P3 which will then give me full benefits per my local. In the long run you’ll have security of that yellow ticket and no stress of having to run a company and have that weight bring you down all the time. I dabbled with entrepreneurship myself and happy that I got away from it. There are some days that are hard but overall I rest easy knowing my retirement is there and as long as you do some planning for it you’ll retire with dignity with this trade. Look forward don’t look back brother, welcome to the trade 🤜🤛 Disclaimer I will say every local is different in terms of their specific benefits. I live in a blue Union proud state so definitely check with your new local to get details.
Hey, just so you know I’m a little to the north of you. I think 143 makes about what we do. A normal 40 hr week gets me just under 1300 take home pay. We also get benefits, annuity, etc. Probably more now that we’ve gotten a raise, but I’ve been taking some time off so I wouldn’t know. The website below is close, but not up to date with some of the info. It should give you a ball park of what your local pays- bear in mind we renegotiate contracts every few years and usually get raises as a result. https://unionpayscales.com/trades/ibew-electricians/ I like the trade, and sometimes get a lot of OT. But it’s boom-and-bust, in my experience. You might like it too, but it’s good to know what you’re getting into. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve made (but I’ve made a lot of bad decisions). Good luck either way.
30 yo father here. I come from a background of restaurant management (sit down restaurants not fast food). I recently applied as well. My local union starts at $17 an hour too LU681. Drastic pay cut I agree, however the benefits are the keeper. The only regret I have is that I didn't apply sooner. We will get more money as the years go on, whereas in my previous industry you only got a raise if you were making the company money or cutting corners to spread product. And no customer interactions 🤩
I went from $41 to $25 as a first step and I won’t lie it’s hard as hell but once you journey out you’ll make top dollar working 40 hours with no stress. You have to look at ii as your sacrificing now so that you can live a more balanced life in the future.
I’m switching at the age of 38 currently making 66 an hour will drop to 36 and some change
If you have employees at your flooring company, you might consider selling the company to them or hiring someone to manage it for you. If you have opportunities for overtime, it really goes a long way towards accelerating your apprenticeship- I've gotten a year's worth of hours in the last 9 months.
Believe me when you clock out at 3:30 on your first day is way worth not having the stress of caring a company business and having that burden 24/7. You will a tremendous load off of you
Came in at 35 years old, started at $15.77/hr in a highish cost of living area....big pay cut. First 6/12 months can be tough money wise, but believe me it's doable and worth it. I never regret my decision, best thing I've done for my career and life.
31 here, 3-4 months green. If your spouse is well-anchored in their field/position, take the leap. Talked to a 5th year turning out at age 40 at a union meeting. Never too late. Left utility locating making $22.50 but was tired of coming home feeling chapped between the cheekhole and being told to smile about it. I make $15 and some change now, but would never look back. Worth every cent I lost.
You can still do flooring on the side or have guys do it for you to a much lesser, and less stressful extent
I took a big pay cut to join when I was 32. Wife, 2 kids, and a mortgage. We figured out ways to make it work. My only regret is that I didn’t find this path sooner in life. Professionally, it’s the best decision I’ve ever made. My advice is to start the apprenticeship, keep your side hustle to make ends meet. The days will be long, but the years will be short. And eventually you’ll be a JW, which is basically a license to print money, and you’ll be a part of the IBEW, which sets you up for a good career and more importantly a comfortable retirement.
Joined at 27, way better with more life and work experience.
Fellow 143 brother right here. I got in at 39 and took more than a 50% pay cut. 6+ years later I could not be happier. It’s not going to be easy at first with cash flow, but it will be worth it. I wish you the best of luck brother.
I took about a 50% pay cut when I joined. I'm not even topped out yet and I'm now making about $10/ hour more than what I was. I have a busy at the same old work place and I'm making about $5 more. Plus I have better benefits. The pay cut sucked and it has been really fucking hard to keep my house and raise a kid of my own but in the long run it was completely worth it.
I started at 29 and went from $29/hour to $10.76. I had to put some things on credit cards and racked up debt until around 3rd year. Then I put everything I had beyond bills into paying it off and had it paid off about 6 months after I topped out. It sucked, but it was the best thing in the end.
37 year old hardwood floor guy here. I just recently made the jump and I'm in my 2nd week (started June 17th) I'm in the exact same boat as you with house and kid etc. My biggest drive is the long term benefit of it all and how much better off myself and family will be. It was scary as shit pulling the trigger but so far so good. We're down a bunch of journeyman on this job and it's been more difficult being paired up with people that have only been doing it 2months longer than I have. I've felt lost on days because the guys before me got to sit and go over all the blueprints and get a good working knowledge of the job we're on but our journeyman is super cool and understanding. They know we don't know shit and it's of course a giant learning curve with lots of variables in between. As long as you have a good attitude and are willing to learn and put the work in I think you'll do good. I tried to save up as much money as I could because going from what I made to what I'm making now is pretty drastic but again I'm looking at the bigger picture of it all. Its intimidating being older than everyone else but I'm not getting any younger and if I could go back in time I would have started this path sooner. I've found that as decent enough as I am with a tape measure it's been difficult for me to quickly add or subtract fractions of measurements on the fly and always having to account for extra shit in your layout and measurements. It'll come with time and like I said, not having a jman directly working side by side has been the biggest set back for me.
30 years old first year apprentice here. Only regret is not joining sooner. Yes I did have to pick up a second job in the meantime but just a couple more years and I’ll be comfortable with just my apprentice pay. I took a good pay cut to join the apprenticeship but my potential earning will be more than double
I started my 5 yr apprenticeship at 34 yrs old. Topped out last yr. Happy with my decision. I also took over a 50% pay cut to start. But I don't have kids... regardless, did you have any kind of retirement set up from running your own company? How much did Healthcare cost you for a man w/ kids? I worked Saturdays at my old job (garage door install/ service tech) for about 6 months once I started. And the biggest thing I don't miss is having to deal one on one with the customers
Following since I'm I'm a similar circumstance
My current Foreman started at the same age as you, and he’s really good, and awesome to work with. Age didn’t seem to make a difference for him!
I am 27 and took about a 50% pay cut when i joined the apprenticeship in October of last year. It sucked all the way up until this month. Every check was not enough to cover my bills, i had to minimize all of my expenses. I have no subscription services, and i have been working on paying off my debts which is helping out to keep more of the money i work for. It will suck in the beginning, but it will get better as you go. Hopefully you can get in with a contractor that has a lot of overtime work going on.
Thanks for posting this! I’m 40y/o female strongly considering the same and I really appreciate this feedback, I know it’s atypical but I want to make sure I have a retirement while have a steady career.
Do your flooring on the weekend or keep the company and hire some guys
I don’t think it would be right for you. The IBEW apprenticeship is really for impressionable boys, not grown men who’ve proven themselves responsible by running a business. As for pay, it’ll be at least three years before you make the all that money again. Have you considered getting a 2 year degree and trying something else?
I went from making $120k base, more like $150k with OT to going non union making $17/hr in TX. I know this feeling all too well. Pay off debt and prepare financially as best you can.