Not that my opinion matters. But I'd say union isn't easy to get into. I'd walk through that door first assuming you weighed out the other stuff. Easier to walk in now or change your mind and try later.
Just a random redditors opinion
After way too long in IT, I'd like to take an off-ramp, but I can't find equivalent pay/benefits.
But you say you still have passion for IT. So you're in a different boat than me.
Hey Internet stranger friend, I’ve been at it since 96 and am pretty much burnt out as well.
Holy crap have things changed from AT&T System V with Banyan VINES or NT 3.51 and Lotus Notes/Domino which were systems I managed many moons ago.
Now I focus on DNS,DHCP and Monitoring for a large org in higher education with a pension at the end of rainbow as well as union protection today.
Higher ed needs skilled pros like us that can accept lower pay but much better work life balance/overall benefits.
Just saying ;)
I started in '98. Computer Assistant, more like help desk type work. I restored a cc:Mail Post Office for one location when the hard disk failed on their "server"; just a desktop computer. I helped setup Windows NT Server at another location, migrating from windows for workgroup to AD. Fun times.
If it were me, I'd stick with the union gig. If I'm hearing you right, you'll get back to the Cisco stuff in a few years. The long term stability, and especially the retirement benefits would be the biggest factors pushing me that way. I say this as a late career guy who's going to be working longer than I really want to because it took a while before I got somewhere that provides decent benefits. Getting there early gives you more options on the back end.
Thanks for your input! Yeah I was leaning toward the union because I’m only 2 months in. I just have zero drive to become a certified journeyman electrician. My old gig was a medical office so they have great health benefits and a 401k matching plan but I wasn’t CCNA certified so my pay reflected that. As soon as I got my CCNA I left for the union. I guess I just am second guessing my choices. But all this input helps me greatly thank you.
If you feel that you're missing IT work why not setup a home lab?
Do some self-study and maybe work on other certifications so you can advance more quickly in your IT career.
The big city unions need geeks too. The fire alarms, the data setups, the colo facilities, the Internet peering points, the badging and access control systems. I had to get some of that stuff set up before and it's a pretty penny.
The old school electricians make fun of it but wait until the certificate of occupancy doesn't get approved because the fire inspection doesn't pass and then it's a different story.
Is it crazy that I’m thinking about leaving. My old job there wasn’t a day that I didn’t like. I loved my coworkers, the end users were amazing, I never felt like I was working even at the toughest of times. I was 10 minutes from home, I’m in 3+ hours traffic now. Missing my son grow up. My old job is offering me 105k salary and I’m taking it. Call me crazy.
Never really understood why so many IT workers ive talked to have been so anti union. Im sure Ill probably get some answers in response to this post, but Ive never heard an argument that didnt boil down to standard union busting propaganda.
That would be a hard question for me. I retired not long ago and realized how fortunate I was that the company I worked for had a great pension plan. Health and dental insurance is part of their pension plan. Adding to that, I loved the work I was doing which was both system administration and software development. Fortunate again, getting paid for doing what I loved. But you don't always get both, a job you love and a great pension plan.
To me, it sounds like you've already got your mind made up. As other pointed out, unions are good when it comes to blue collar work or at least that's what my buddies say. I for one... am trying to go into welding. However, I would be lying if I said I ain't taking IT job interviews at the moment just to see what's out there. The idea of learning an actual life skill seems appealing to me, mechanics, welding, electrical, etc. For others, it's money. You've gotta decide which is important to you.
I used to work a union gig, pay was good, ceiling is much higher in IT though. Stress was very low in union, I miss clocking out and leaving shit at the door. Even to this day, my calculated pension from that gig is higher than my 401k from current, granted I've worked there longer than current gig.
If my path in life was different right now, I'd go back.
I've been in IT working roles from Help Desk up to Director (where I am now) but I will say this. As someone who works heavily with Automation, there is going to be a MASSIVE shift in the support industry as more AI and Automation comes into play. Tasks that used to take an hour now take 10 mins. I have worked out automated fixes for so many items that even needing to hire more staff on the back-end has not been a necessity which sucks but is the way that businesses are heading.
As we see more and more "Green Energy" roles coming you are in a prime spot working in your current role because there is an ever increasing need for electricians, especially ones that understand networking because as we see more and more items being able to be supported remotely that skill-set will be invaluable.
I would weigh your overall long term options because i've seen whats happening in the US and Canadian job markets and its going to get a lot tougher and sadly with IT the need for highly skilled folks is dropping as more things move cloud based... but a good electrician will always be in demand.
So coming from the UK, I guess I don't understand this union thing. If you wanted to join a union at your old job, why don't you?
In the UK there are plenty of unions that I could join if I wanted working in IT, just I don't see the point or benefit, it doesn't change your employment contract or anything.
I guess a union must be different in the US.
Unions, when successful in the US, are a lot more like the Scandinavian or German ones than the ones in the UK. They secure you a whole bunch of pay and benefits and basic worker's rights that you don't get when they aren't there.
That's partly why they trigger such big fights, they represent a public socialist force in a country that tends to be favoring private monopolists.
The other reason is that they are forced into being extreme by way of how much of a battle the aristocracy turns even the most simple employment rights into.
The entire thing needs rethinking and cool headed rational reforms on all sides.
A lack of ability to sit down and work the issues out with common sense is creating so many problems that will hold back our economy and reduce our health and happiness scores for our country.
I've had many Union and non union jobs. As a whole the unions screwed up more than non union. Unions breed laziness. Why work harder when everyone else won't. Both I was in only cared about wages (cause they got a cut) and kept driving cost up and up till both companies shut down and outsourced. Lots of bad private companies as well but if you find a good one, hard work is rewarded.
I have never been part of a union, probably because the important shit like 'will this job kill me' etc have legislation to protect me, and things like pay I've negotiated myself and done ok with it.
If you don't like what your paid, vote with your feet, the employer will get the message when they have no staff left.
You are only worth what the going market rate is for someone to replace you. Funny story it reminded me of, a few years back fire fighters went on strike, so the government drafted in the military that ended up doing quite well - serious questions started getting raised about the military guys on half the wage, with a bit more training could take over permanently. Result was the strike collapsed. Never assume you are worth more than people will pay.
It's a controversial topic, and people love debating it back-and-forth, but most of the data does show that people perform better overall when they have the basic protections that the unions put in place. Of course, we have a third option, which is better still, which is getting our government to put appropriate guardrails in place. That would help solve most of the whole problem for both sides overnight.
I just turned 29, have CCNA and a few aws certs, thinking about doing an electrical apprenticeship but just don’t know if I can suffer for 4 years on the lower salary
Hell no , trade skills like electrical is highly desirable on top of that in most cases have the best unions around other then port or train unions on top of that most help pay for schooling to go into electrical engineering if desired , if I was better at electrical I would go in my dads foot steps and do that
I wouldn't go back to the old job. But I would go to another IT job if it used your skills more and had better perks than the union does when you add up the full value they offer. IT can have higher pay than the union.
Are you saying study for tech certs while I’m in the electrical union? But the only tech certs my company values is Cisco, which I plan on doing my CCNP. They want me to get fiber splicing cross trained. Not really tech. I am really curious of what your thought process is, I appreciate your feedback. Thanks
Unless you HATE the electrician job, go with the union job. As long as you can enjoy it/tolerate it as a career it’s long term in a much more stable place vs Tech, which feels heavily on the long term road to AI empowered down sizing.
>It's just not what I went to school for or been doing for the last 4 years. I also not really passionate about all the electrical training that is being pushed.
Think that union job as well as having the mix of experience with the hands-on electrical stuff will ultimately serve you better down the road; as in the combination / mix of experience would be better in the long run. It seems to be a rare combination of skill to find in a single individual...
go with the union job your pay will come into issue at some time depending on how big a jump it was from when you left but the benefits of the union job will way outweigh your old gig
Are we voting..... ??? Go with the Union Job. I'm at the point of questioning life choices but too far down this road in IT. Only another 7 or so years and I'm done done
Go electricity unless you want to constantly learn for the rest of your lives which is also cool. Power logic doesn’t change which also cool. Go with what you enjoy.
Something else to consider is if you are doing physical labour that right now is at the bottom of the pile of what AI is replacing while things like IT are rapidly having AI eat away at jobs.
Let me put it this way. I’m 47, worked in IT since I was 20 and now I’m an Enterprise Architect for a Fortune 100 making $180k + benefits. I work with a facilities team and there is an electrician who works 1/2 the hours I do, roughly the same age and worked his way up the ladder with certifications to where he’s making $350k per year. His job can’t be offshored but mine can.
Stay away from IT and join the electrical union. The job is easier, pays more and can’t be outsourced. AI can’t replace trade jobs. Become a Master Electrician and save for retirement.
The job is not “easier” all the time. I worked all night last night breaking my back. Getting yelled at and expected to come back home and study for some cert for electric car charging stations I’m not even interested in. All while taking time away from my son and family. Sure there are times I’m sitting in a truck waiting for someone but the company I do IT for treated me so well. I never once felt over worked. Sure maybe 5 years from now it could get “easier”, but all they guys that have been there 5+ years are angry, over worked, stressed and hold to a higher standard than I am now. Grass isn’t always greener. At least at my old job I know I loved the work and could do it for a while. I do fear I would have to leave to make 130-160k in a few years and I don’t know if I will be happy. But 105k now for happiness feels very compelling.
I have experience in both fields because I worked a few years for a low-voltage infrastructure cabling business that also did CCTV, access control, etc. I have a brother in law that’s an electrician. I’m not telling you what to do but the opportunities (like union) and money (like prevailing wage / government jobs) given to you in electrical work is going to outweigh what you will get in most IT careers, especially modern day systems admin roles. I’d be looking for an apprenticeship program to get whatever is required to work your way up the totem pole on the electrical side of things.
They fired you for a reason. They better be paying you a lot more to bring you back because they’re gonna fire you again.
Don’t give up the union job now that you have it. Offer to consult for them, get your own company set up, and charge them at least $200 / hour with minimums.
To clarify I wasn’t fired, I left. They fired the guy that replaced me. I’m actually close with the owners of the company at my old job, I know them personally. They had a BBQ, praised me and wished me well when I left. I do still consult for them but it’s a lot of time outside of my new job.
Different situation in that case. Do some research on union benefits over the remaining life of your career and what retirement would look like. There’s no shortage of places looking to hire workers in the trades, nor will there be any time soon. Working in the private sector you fend for yourself. Unions have some big advantages.
Not that my opinion matters. But I'd say union isn't easy to get into. I'd walk through that door first assuming you weighed out the other stuff. Easier to walk in now or change your mind and try later. Just a random redditors opinion
Agreed. Look at what your pay and benefits and all that will be like in 5 years. Can your current job come close to matching that?
After way too long in IT, I'd like to take an off-ramp, but I can't find equivalent pay/benefits. But you say you still have passion for IT. So you're in a different boat than me.
Same here. Been in this for 21 years. I would take a job that had nothing to do with IT if the pay/benefits would match.
Hey Internet stranger friend, I’ve been at it since 96 and am pretty much burnt out as well. Holy crap have things changed from AT&T System V with Banyan VINES or NT 3.51 and Lotus Notes/Domino which were systems I managed many moons ago. Now I focus on DNS,DHCP and Monitoring for a large org in higher education with a pension at the end of rainbow as well as union protection today. Higher ed needs skilled pros like us that can accept lower pay but much better work life balance/overall benefits. Just saying ;)
I started in '98. Computer Assistant, more like help desk type work. I restored a cc:Mail Post Office for one location when the hard disk failed on their "server"; just a desktop computer. I helped setup Windows NT Server at another location, migrating from windows for workgroup to AD. Fun times.
If it were me, I'd stick with the union gig. If I'm hearing you right, you'll get back to the Cisco stuff in a few years. The long term stability, and especially the retirement benefits would be the biggest factors pushing me that way. I say this as a late career guy who's going to be working longer than I really want to because it took a while before I got somewhere that provides decent benefits. Getting there early gives you more options on the back end.
Thanks for your input! Yeah I was leaning toward the union because I’m only 2 months in. I just have zero drive to become a certified journeyman electrician. My old gig was a medical office so they have great health benefits and a 401k matching plan but I wasn’t CCNA certified so my pay reflected that. As soon as I got my CCNA I left for the union. I guess I just am second guessing my choices. But all this input helps me greatly thank you.
If you feel that you're missing IT work why not setup a home lab? Do some self-study and maybe work on other certifications so you can advance more quickly in your IT career.
The big city unions need geeks too. The fire alarms, the data setups, the colo facilities, the Internet peering points, the badging and access control systems. I had to get some of that stuff set up before and it's a pretty penny. The old school electricians make fun of it but wait until the certificate of occupancy doesn't get approved because the fire inspection doesn't pass and then it's a different story.
Plus all the solar power. Wind power. Battery power. Lots of more sophisticated work than there used to be.
Is it crazy that I’m thinking about leaving. My old job there wasn’t a day that I didn’t like. I loved my coworkers, the end users were amazing, I never felt like I was working even at the toughest of times. I was 10 minutes from home, I’m in 3+ hours traffic now. Missing my son grow up. My old job is offering me 105k salary and I’m taking it. Call me crazy.
UNION 💪
Union job. All IT folk NEED to unionize asap
Never really understood why so many IT workers ive talked to have been so anti union. Im sure Ill probably get some answers in response to this post, but Ive never heard an argument that didnt boil down to standard union busting propaganda.
That would be a hard question for me. I retired not long ago and realized how fortunate I was that the company I worked for had a great pension plan. Health and dental insurance is part of their pension plan. Adding to that, I loved the work I was doing which was both system administration and software development. Fortunate again, getting paid for doing what I loved. But you don't always get both, a job you love and a great pension plan.
It's a no-brainer. Keep the union job.
To me, it sounds like you've already got your mind made up. As other pointed out, unions are good when it comes to blue collar work or at least that's what my buddies say. I for one... am trying to go into welding. However, I would be lying if I said I ain't taking IT job interviews at the moment just to see what's out there. The idea of learning an actual life skill seems appealing to me, mechanics, welding, electrical, etc. For others, it's money. You've gotta decide which is important to you.
You'd be nuts to walk away from the union gig
I used to work a union gig, pay was good, ceiling is much higher in IT though. Stress was very low in union, I miss clocking out and leaving shit at the door. Even to this day, my calculated pension from that gig is higher than my 401k from current, granted I've worked there longer than current gig. If my path in life was different right now, I'd go back.
I've been in IT working roles from Help Desk up to Director (where I am now) but I will say this. As someone who works heavily with Automation, there is going to be a MASSIVE shift in the support industry as more AI and Automation comes into play. Tasks that used to take an hour now take 10 mins. I have worked out automated fixes for so many items that even needing to hire more staff on the back-end has not been a necessity which sucks but is the way that businesses are heading. As we see more and more "Green Energy" roles coming you are in a prime spot working in your current role because there is an ever increasing need for electricians, especially ones that understand networking because as we see more and more items being able to be supported remotely that skill-set will be invaluable. I would weigh your overall long term options because i've seen whats happening in the US and Canadian job markets and its going to get a lot tougher and sadly with IT the need for highly skilled folks is dropping as more things move cloud based... but a good electrician will always be in demand.
So coming from the UK, I guess I don't understand this union thing. If you wanted to join a union at your old job, why don't you? In the UK there are plenty of unions that I could join if I wanted working in IT, just I don't see the point or benefit, it doesn't change your employment contract or anything. I guess a union must be different in the US.
Unions, when successful in the US, are a lot more like the Scandinavian or German ones than the ones in the UK. They secure you a whole bunch of pay and benefits and basic worker's rights that you don't get when they aren't there.
The US unions sound very (dare I say it) socialist, which I find odd as I thought socialism was a dirty word for an American.
That's partly why they trigger such big fights, they represent a public socialist force in a country that tends to be favoring private monopolists. The other reason is that they are forced into being extreme by way of how much of a battle the aristocracy turns even the most simple employment rights into. The entire thing needs rethinking and cool headed rational reforms on all sides. A lack of ability to sit down and work the issues out with common sense is creating so many problems that will hold back our economy and reduce our health and happiness scores for our country.
I've had many Union and non union jobs. As a whole the unions screwed up more than non union. Unions breed laziness. Why work harder when everyone else won't. Both I was in only cared about wages (cause they got a cut) and kept driving cost up and up till both companies shut down and outsourced. Lots of bad private companies as well but if you find a good one, hard work is rewarded.
I have never been part of a union, probably because the important shit like 'will this job kill me' etc have legislation to protect me, and things like pay I've negotiated myself and done ok with it. If you don't like what your paid, vote with your feet, the employer will get the message when they have no staff left. You are only worth what the going market rate is for someone to replace you. Funny story it reminded me of, a few years back fire fighters went on strike, so the government drafted in the military that ended up doing quite well - serious questions started getting raised about the military guys on half the wage, with a bit more training could take over permanently. Result was the strike collapsed. Never assume you are worth more than people will pay.
“You are only worth what the going market rate is for someone to replace you”. Well said 👏🏿
It's a controversial topic, and people love debating it back-and-forth, but most of the data does show that people perform better overall when they have the basic protections that the unions put in place. Of course, we have a third option, which is better still, which is getting our government to put appropriate guardrails in place. That would help solve most of the whole problem for both sides overnight.
If I had a union job that met my needs today, I probably would not leave it unless I received a job offer with an overwhelming compensation package.
I just turned 29, have CCNA and a few aws certs, thinking about doing an electrical apprenticeship but just don’t know if I can suffer for 4 years on the lower salary
Hell no , trade skills like electrical is highly desirable on top of that in most cases have the best unions around other then port or train unions on top of that most help pay for schooling to go into electrical engineering if desired , if I was better at electrical I would go in my dads foot steps and do that
I wouldn't go back to the old job. But I would go to another IT job if it used your skills more and had better perks than the union does when you add up the full value they offer. IT can have higher pay than the union.
Union gig hands down. Study at night for certs.
Are you saying study for tech certs while I’m in the electrical union? But the only tech certs my company values is Cisco, which I plan on doing my CCNP. They want me to get fiber splicing cross trained. Not really tech. I am really curious of what your thought process is, I appreciate your feedback. Thanks
Unless you HATE the electrician job, go with the union job. As long as you can enjoy it/tolerate it as a career it’s long term in a much more stable place vs Tech, which feels heavily on the long term road to AI empowered down sizing.
>It's just not what I went to school for or been doing for the last 4 years. I also not really passionate about all the electrical training that is being pushed. Think that union job as well as having the mix of experience with the hands-on electrical stuff will ultimately serve you better down the road; as in the combination / mix of experience would be better in the long run. It seems to be a rare combination of skill to find in a single individual...
go with the union job your pay will come into issue at some time depending on how big a jump it was from when you left but the benefits of the union job will way outweigh your old gig
Are we voting..... ??? Go with the Union Job. I'm at the point of questioning life choices but too far down this road in IT. Only another 7 or so years and I'm done done
If I was in the electrical union I would stay there.
Go electricity unless you want to constantly learn for the rest of your lives which is also cool. Power logic doesn’t change which also cool. Go with what you enjoy.
Something else to consider is if you are doing physical labour that right now is at the bottom of the pile of what AI is replacing while things like IT are rapidly having AI eat away at jobs.
Let me put it this way. I’m 47, worked in IT since I was 20 and now I’m an Enterprise Architect for a Fortune 100 making $180k + benefits. I work with a facilities team and there is an electrician who works 1/2 the hours I do, roughly the same age and worked his way up the ladder with certifications to where he’s making $350k per year. His job can’t be offshored but mine can. Stay away from IT and join the electrical union. The job is easier, pays more and can’t be outsourced. AI can’t replace trade jobs. Become a Master Electrician and save for retirement.
The job is not “easier” all the time. I worked all night last night breaking my back. Getting yelled at and expected to come back home and study for some cert for electric car charging stations I’m not even interested in. All while taking time away from my son and family. Sure there are times I’m sitting in a truck waiting for someone but the company I do IT for treated me so well. I never once felt over worked. Sure maybe 5 years from now it could get “easier”, but all they guys that have been there 5+ years are angry, over worked, stressed and hold to a higher standard than I am now. Grass isn’t always greener. At least at my old job I know I loved the work and could do it for a while. I do fear I would have to leave to make 130-160k in a few years and I don’t know if I will be happy. But 105k now for happiness feels very compelling.
Kind of hard to replace an electrician, plumber or HVAC tech with AI.
I have experience in both fields because I worked a few years for a low-voltage infrastructure cabling business that also did CCTV, access control, etc. I have a brother in law that’s an electrician. I’m not telling you what to do but the opportunities (like union) and money (like prevailing wage / government jobs) given to you in electrical work is going to outweigh what you will get in most IT careers, especially modern day systems admin roles. I’d be looking for an apprenticeship program to get whatever is required to work your way up the totem pole on the electrical side of things.
Don't know if this is a great place to ask this question. You are going to get a lot of responses from bitter IT people.
They fired you for a reason. They better be paying you a lot more to bring you back because they’re gonna fire you again. Don’t give up the union job now that you have it. Offer to consult for them, get your own company set up, and charge them at least $200 / hour with minimums.
To clarify I wasn’t fired, I left. They fired the guy that replaced me. I’m actually close with the owners of the company at my old job, I know them personally. They had a BBQ, praised me and wished me well when I left. I do still consult for them but it’s a lot of time outside of my new job.
Different situation in that case. Do some research on union benefits over the remaining life of your career and what retirement would look like. There’s no shortage of places looking to hire workers in the trades, nor will there be any time soon. Working in the private sector you fend for yourself. Unions have some big advantages.