Trade School General

[Anonymous No.693234]

Right now I work as a loading lead for an major auto service company. It's a pain in the ass, as I spend 10-12 hours/day working for next to nothing. I want to get into a trade school, but I can't seem to find a lot of good information out there about them, so I figure /diy/ is the best place to ask.

>What are some good trades to get into? (in terms of pay, I don't mind working hard)
>Are apprenticeships paid?

Really, any advice is appreciated.

[Anonymous No.693241]

Electrician, cabinetry, power company lineman if you're not afraid of heights and are fit. (Climbing poles is a big pain in the ass if you're out of shape) and the first 5 years you are the bitch around the shop and have to climb everything, even if there's a guy on site with a bucket, he'll just stare at you until you climb the pole.

[Anonymous No.693317]

I'm about a month into Carpentry at my local trade school. Once the class is over my teacher will recommend me into the union where i'm guaranteed 24$ an hour starting. No entry test either. Journeymen make 38$ an hour but need to pass the contractors test

[Anonymous No.693320]

>>693317
How much did it cost you?

[Anonymous No.693343]

>>693320
800$, however it's free for high school students. They even get bused over for free.

[Anonymous No.693391]

>>693234
HVAC/R technician.
Preferably just refrigeration technician, but it is easier to get work as HVAC and switch to refrigeration.

Excellent pay, making electricians and plumbers and other lower tier trades look like walmart employees.

Green techs, straight out of community college make $15 bucks an hour minimum. And that is in NC, not the best paying state for any trade.
With 5 years experience you'll be making 20+ bucks an hour. And an added bonus, once you been at it for couple of years, you will never pay anyone to do anything to repair or maintain or add to your house, unless you just don't want to do it yourself.

At 10 years experience as HVAC/R tech, you should be able to do most, if not all of any other trade with the exception of concrete finishers and good trim guys.

Also the amount of side work as HVAC/.R tech is staggering. 20 years ago I was bringing home 650 bucks a week and making about 1k on the side every week. Unless I did a couple of installs which meant I'd bring home 1500 bucks per install plus the 1k.

And best thing is that it is usually a self-managing trade. Dispatcher gives you the calls, but you go do the work without some dumbass riding your ass on the site.

[Anonymous No.693397]

>>693391
Got any info on schools for this? Doesn't sound too bad...

[Anonymous No.693422]

>>693397
there are trade school, mostly upnorth in USA and out West. Around here it is a one year course if attending at nights at the local community college, and a six month course if going full time, grant and student aid available.

I have been taking care of myself, raising a family and making a good living for 27 years in the trade. And fewer and fewer folks are following the trades any more. So job opportunities are available.

I literally could call my supervisor down in Florida right now and quit, and have a job by 10pm east coast time, making the same or slightly better money, tonight.

[Anonymous No.693460]

>>693391
>HVAC/R technician.
>Excellent pay, making electricians and plumbers and other lower tier trades look like walmart employees.
>electricians and plumbers look like walmart employees

$20+/hr is ~60k/yr tops

My father is a master electrician who works as lead for a large company. He makes ~124k/yr and since he's the top of the food chain he doesn't have to do work if he doesn't want to. Granted that's not typical at all but he made 40+ as a union electrician.

[Anonymous No.693571]

>>693460
your dad is also in management not pulling wire or running conduit. Also, how long has he been in the field. Pretty willing to bet he was not making a union 40k+ a year equivalent wage at five years in, in NC.

With 27 years experience in HVAC/R, working as a branch manager for a multistate company, I make around 80k base, and I negotiated my wages as an hourly worker, not salary, so I also pick up about 20-30 hours a week overtime, plus commissions, plus bonuses if we make sales goals and also if we make inner company time and material goals.

They work the hell out of me, hence up at 4amon a Sunday drinking coffee and trying to get started going over all the assorted paperwork I need to do, review, sign off on and submit by this afternoon. Not to mention having to go over at least 5 of each of my 8 techs tickets from the last week, to verify that everything they did looks kosher, took the appropriate amount of time, and matches up material and time wise to "standard industry" metrics.

[Anonymous No.693730]

>>693571
He's not management. He works at a Fortune 500 company. They require a Bachelors at minimum to enter a management role, which they offered for free but at 56 he doesn't want to spend 4 years going to school for a bachelors when he plans to retire at 65.

As I said he also holds many certificates and a few other licenses. He works a lot with PLC's and automation. He actually is a floor worker he was born and raised on a farm so he really does put in his time every day.

Journeyman wage here for an electrician is currently $36.53/hr so 76k/yr. Obviously inflation is a factor and I live in MN not NC.

[Anonymous No.693739]

>>693391
Solid info here. HVAC-R tech myself. Only you do have some dumbass riding your ass on the site, the customer. Varies with the person, however. Most people are nice and will even offer you water/food/tips for doing an excellent job.

Job security varies with green techs at smaller companies because it's often seasonal work. Larger companies not so much.

-Future business owner

[Anonymous No.693750]

Let's talk about welding. I could earn a basic qualification so that I would be approved under EN 287-1: 311P BW t>1 PA and PF; 'gas welding'.
I'm German so I have no idea whether or not this cryptic code is telling you something but since this is supposed to be an international education program I guess it should.

Can I start earning money with this or not?

[Anonymous No.693765]

>>693750
sure, why not?

Sounds like some bureaucratic bullshit code. Gas welding? I'd suggest learning other welding fields, but every nation and many different industries need people with that skill.

Good luck and enjoy your vision while you can. Those UV visors aren't 100% effective.

[Anonymous No.693773]

>>693730
Fuck MN. I used to spend winters up there during our semester break. Apple Valley and Golden Valley are where my kin live. Fricking colder than a frigid witch's tits and expensive. Pack of smokes were like 5 bucks in a vending machine in 1984 in Mpls/StPaul.

And yes, there is a huge difference in wages between NC and MN. hat would be interesting is to know an HVAC/R tech makes in MN.

[Anonymous No.693778]

>>693739
Been so long since I did any commercial or residential service, I've almost forgot about the customers.

I do national accounts, so my "customers" are the people at EMS, or the facilities management company, and all they do is send the office a work order.

So when I do get dispatched and get to turn wrenches, I diagnose, fix if under the DNE (do not exceed) amount, send in a request for DNE increase if it is over amount, and get someone on the site to sign my tablet.

Good luck with your own business. Ran my own for almost 11 years, then got divorced and shut it down. Best thing I learned doing it was always answer your phone.

[Anonymous No.693791]

>>693778
Looks like you're on easy street now, lol. Wish we had more accounts like that.

Thanks, we are a mom and pop place and I'm the 3rd generation trying to move them out of pen and paper towards the digital age. Sign and pay on a tablet? God, what I'd give to be able to get them to see the light. xD

[Anonymous No.693875]

>>693778
>Ran my own for almost 11 years, then got divorced and shut it down
Shit like this makes me never want to get married.

[Anonymous No.693882]

>>693791
Not easy street. I manage 8 techs that cover about 1/3 of NC, plus do load calculations, site surveys, purchase, and cost out jobs, along with hitting calls when we get swamped or they are near wherever I happen to be.

It is a great field though and one that is wide open for a person who doesn't mind working hard and wants to make some money.

We are starting to have trouble finding techs around here. Workforce is aging out, and the young guys are not coming in, and half the ones that do, don't last. Too hot, too dirty, too many hours are the normal complaints.

I'd like to dress them in arctic suits out in the drive way when it is 95 degrees outside and see what they think about hot, then walk them into a -30 freezer to give them a taste of too cold.

>>693875
It is what it is. No use to get too bitter. She was 10 years younger than me, got her a boyfriend then divorced me. I took off for about three years and did nothing but piddle around, run calls that came my way and went back to college for my MAs.

So one year after my divorce, I was 40, in college, getting laid all the time, and she was 30, knocked up and married to a loser wrench turner at a fucking autolube shop. Now she has had two more brats, still married to the loser and living in a shit part of town, in a shit rental, driving a shit minivan and living the poor white trash lifestyle she comes from.

While I am single, make very good money and ain't married to a cheating whore. Think I got the better of the deal.

[Anonymous No.693888]

>Trade school
>Automotive industry
I swear to god why does everyone do this? There are a million other useful and marketable skills you could be learning and fuckheads like op always gravitate to cars

CARS ARE BORING

You know what's fucking interesting?
>Underwater welding
>Aquatic industry in general
>Submarine maintenance, ship construction
>Metal working, forging, metal crafts
>Machining
>Fabrics and textiles
>Lumber and paper
>Synthetic material production
>Agriculture
>Bicycles

If you ever hear about some kid wanting to get into industry and learn some skills it's a moral imperative to steer them as far away from dead-end shite work like automotives. If are good at what you do and what you do means something to someone it won't matter how much you get paid. There will be a place for you to make your way in the world wherever you go.

Also as far as trade schools go they don't necessarily mean anything on a resume. For instance bartenders and locksmiths don't fucking care if you went to school for it because the schools are all different and ultimately anybody can bullshit their way through those courses.

[Anonymous No.693891]

>>693882
Well that's good. At least you don't have to pay alimony and child support to a ho'.

[Anonymous No.693910]

>>693891
Oh, no way in Hell! We had no children; and alimony when she cheated on me? If she could have come up with the money to hire an attorney and managed to actually win, I would have sent her straight to hell.

[Anonymous No.693926]

>>693234
>safety goggles
kek

[Anonymous No.693999]

>>693343
I must know where plox.

[Anonymous No.694067]

>>693773
>hat would be interesting is to know an HVAC/R tech makes in MN.

Trades in terms of pay are:
1. Electrician
2. Plumber
3. Brick Mason
4. HVAC
5. Drywall
6. Carpet/Flooring
7. Concrete Worker
8. Roofers
9. Framers
10. Painters

According to US Dept of Labor

[Anonymous No.694072]

>>693888
>If you ever hear about some kid wanting to get into industry and learn some skills it's a moral imperative to steer them as far away from dead-end shite work like automotives.

>Bicycles
>Lumber and Paper
>Fabrics and Textiles

I agree with you but those are just as if not much more of a dead end job.

[Anonymous No.694078]

>>694072
You can go a lot of different ways with bikes. And there's definitely money to be had. Bicycles have had a major resurgence in the past few years. And it's fun if you like working with your hands.

[Anonymous No.694081]

Electrician here: The job can be very rewarding and challenging. It can also suck balls. Just imagine the years of digging over top of buried fiber lines because its a $25k fine if you hit and destroy them with a machine. 16 hour shifts because the other trades couldnt keep up with the schedule now its crunch time and you are still trying to get lights up (my jobsite I am hanging lights 4" above the grid because the drywallers and finishers cant get their shit together). If you want to make any decent money in this trade you better be at the top of your game at all times, have esp, willing to be laid off when work slows, and then have fucking tile installers tell you they made $10k more than you last years (they also worked 60-70 hours a week all year while you only worked 45 most weeks). idk what else to say.

[Anonymous No.694092]

>>694078
Yeah there is money but it's not a stable or job with career growth. I have a friend who works at a bike shop. Makes like 15/hr and he's a mechanic there. Sales probably makes more with commission.

[Anonymous No.694125]

I read through this thread and i'm liking what i'm hearing. Sorry for the following blog post

Im 21, finished high school 2 years ago. Got a job with an engineering firm for a year; cool work it was easy and kind of fun, but i didn't like dealing with the stupid people. In general it was fun and i made 13.25$ at 19, so it was good. But after a year and like 8 days i quit and went travelling in central america for half a year. Now i'm back home and not really sure what to do. My dad is a PHD university professor so i feel pressure to at least try college. But idk if its really where i should go. At that job my favorite thing was to do maintenance work on the tools and machinery we used (no one else had even heard of the concept). If there was any lab equipment that needed fixing i was on it, anything and everything got wd-40 and fixed, oils got changed, and parts got replaced.

So should i try trade school? I like to work with my hands, i like electronics and machines (car/racing is my biggest hobby). In school i wanted to be an engineer but from my job i got scared because all they did was sit in offices, make small talk and put up with each others bullshit. I get bored with jobs quickly (have had 3 total). I like working outside but also like office environment and just talking to people. Or should i give univeristy a try first? Money isn't really a problem for one semester of either institution

[Anonymous No.694141]

>>694125
Find the HR contact at a racing team, and send them that.

Go get whatever qualifications they recommend.

[Anonymous No.694146]

>>694141
thanks! I'll give it a try
But I have heard from mechanics that if you like working on cars doing it professionally is a bad idea. Professional mechanics hate doing it for fun after a little while.
I mean i also want to make some money too, i can't support a family with 30k a year.

[Anonymous No.694164]

>>694125
>My dad is a PHD university professor so i feel pressure to at least try college.

If you do, make damn sure you know what you're getting into. The last thing you need to do is make the same mistake I did and waste several years of your life and way too much money only to find out it's not what you wanted to do.

tl;dr: College isn't about education. It's about proving you can jump through hoops and put up with bullshit.
But companies will pay well for that, and THEN you get to learn the stuff that's actually useful.

[Anonymous No.694178]

>>694146
Working in motorsport is kind of an aspirational goal. You probably won't make it. But you've got the advantages of being the right age, not yet having been through higher education, and having some way to pay for it when you do.

[Anonymous No.694180]

>>694146
Oh, and very few people in a racing team work on the cars. Most of them build them or design them or test them. For every guy you see on the TV, there's another twenty at the factory.

More realistically, go get an Electrical Engineering degree from the best college you can afford. It's a lot easier to decide you want to be a plumber after five years of having only been an electrical engineer than it is to decide you want to be an engineer after having only been a plumber.

[Anonymous No.694184]

Not hatin', but 99% of these posts are nearly useless without any mention of where they are, and some discussion regarding union vs private. I knew welders in LA who make $18/hr and I know dumb fuck scaffold erectors who made $50/hr in Casper Wyoming (I was one).

In a state like FL, you will not be working for a union and will make shit money in most trades, unless you go utility and those jobs are rarer than a hens tooth.

I'd seek out people I knew who were doing well in a trade and get my info there. This board will be full of random anecdotes like mine that won't be helpful in your search.
\

[Anonymous No.694185]

>>694164
>My dad is a PHD university professor so i feel pressure to at least try college.

I'll take it a step further. Your college professor father can likely get you into that college for either free or discounted. I'd go for that.

[Anonymous No.694209]

>>693234

i'm seeking any advice applicable in illinois or ontario

or you know if you're in a good state or province that's looking for trainees and apprentices bad enough to entice me there

just real entry level tips, how to apply, where, who to get letters of recommendation/advice from irl. thx

[cakeslob !!fSJYhQ4DEdU No.694573]

>>694209
ok heres some advice in reguards to ontario.
Automotive is a fucking shit career. dont stop learning about cars, but the job is the fucking worst. the customers are awful, and their cars are fucking shit heaps. ontario has the worst cars in the country because of the salt brine they use on the roads. fuck ontario automotive.

you do not apply for anything except for a job.
\
When you do get a job, the employeer will pay for your school. you will go to school one day a week for 40 hours. after youve completed your level (theres like 3 or 4 levels) you will get a raise, and the government will give you $1000. the next level same thing. and the last level is $2000. $4000 in total.

the employer get money or tax shit for you being an apprentice. 8000 hours later, you are king of the fucking world with a red seal , meaning anywhere in canada you get recognition for being the professional you are.

The fuckheads at the Ontario College of trades, which is the governing body for ontario trades, are fucking awful. they took my yearly fee, they sent m,e a gay ass wallet card, and they do nothing else. I asked for some help finding a machinist /tool n die job. They told me to check oput Goodwill or the job bank.

Either way, trades all day. but fuck automotive

[Anonymous No.694575]

>>694184
Most utility workers can't actually help you get a job tough. Our companies are all too big for us to have any impact on hiring, we can only give you advice.

[Anonymous No.695382]

Im from Ontario, any one know any easy way into being a elevating device mechanic? I heard that it is hands down the best apprenticeship in canada.

[Anonymous No.695952]

>>693234
Electricians make pretty nice money depending on what path you choose. You will have to be willing to learn algebra so you can apply ohms law when needed.

That also applies to being a mechanic(At least one that's not a dime a dozen)
I am a Diesel mechanic and I make 35 an hour. I also get overtime quite often when I want it, including Saturday's which is a nice chunk of change.

Marine mechanics down in the bay area make great money, some make 50+ although you will have to have a nice resume and a bit of experience.

Elevator mechanics also make good money down there.

I love my job so money is icing on the cake, sometimes hours can be long but I feel as though it's worth it. I was going to school for mechanical engineering(I still might finish) but I enjoyed hands on a lot more. I enjoy diagnosing problems and fixing them.

We also do a ton of full tear downs of heavy equipment in the winter.

One of the downsides to being a mechanic depending on how you look at it, is tools. I have approximately 30k in tools right now. 8k of that was stuff I purchased at 50% off while in vocational school. Save your receipts, Get insurance if your job does not supply it for you. You can also claim it on taxes which makes it pretty sweet.

[Anonymous No.695957]

>>693888
I'm technically automotive although I am in Heavy equipment. I make 35 an hour.. guys above me make 40. We work on new shit all the time and fix new problems. I enjoy wrenching so it's what I do.

There's not really anything dead end about it.

[Anonymous No.696121]

>>695957
just say diesel mechanic if thats what you mean.
>>693888
bicycles are fairly lame in general. once you get past a 1000$ bike everything else becomes shaving off 200g per extra 1000$ you pour into it.

it's not very interesting as a career either. I just built an ebike and from all the research I had to do, it turns out there's very little to know about bikes beyond purchasing a few specialty tools.

[Anonymous No.696122]

Try to shoot for a community college lots of trade school are more profit school and you have a chance of going to one and getting a cert that is worthless. I did a lot of heavy research into this for when I started becoming a machinist and let me tell you there is real fuckery out there. Lots of community colleges will get you better suited for jobs and usually have a good network of company's they work with that mite be able to help you get an apprenticeship. The problem with most apprenticeship programs is now there offered within company to employees so you just need to find a way to get into the industry and at a small shop that has around 25-100 people working there and if they find you have the aptitude they will apprentice you and its all paid and every 1000 hours you get a pay raise and after around 4000 (depending on the trade your in) you become a journeyman and get a much bigger raise. It all sounds nice but theses days there hard as fuck to get. So you really gotta be good at what you do.

[Anonymous No.696127]

>>694081
I live in NYC and for the past month i've been trying to find a way into the electricians field. I can't find any apprenticeships other than union ones that have now closed and i can't apply until next year.

I read constantly about how the field is growing and there are jobs out there, but if that's true why is it so difficult to even get my foot in the door? I'm in community college and should be out next semester... any ideas on how i can get into the industry?

tl;dr: i need to find out how to get into electricians field in nyc. Please help me out here.

Thanks

[Anonymous No.696285]

>>694067
HVAC #rekt by sparkybros.

[Anonymous No.696286]

>>696127
>NYC
Get out of that shit hole, the democrats have enabled the unions to take over.

[Anonymous No.696304]

>>696286
>implying being in a union isn't amazing

Not that getting into them is usually very easy.

>>696127
Honestly Electricians and Unions both often suffer from Nepotism. I used to work with a guy who was going to school to be an electrician and switched to welding because he couldn't get in anywhere. He got mad when I told him I worked for a couple of years as an apprentice with no experience (father is an electrician).

The way around this is to network. Find someone in the field and buddy up to them. If it's a small enough firm then Joe saying that you're a good worker and know whats up will probably land you a job over the guy you graduated with who didn't get that recommendation. The easiest will be the guys in your class who already have work or a shoe in somewhere.

[Anonymous No.696306]

>>696304
>Not that getting into them is usually very easy.

That's the problem. Unless you know someone who's in a good union, you're not getting in. And this is a problem especially where unions are given free reign like in jew york.

[Anonymous No.696317]

>>696306
>Unless you know someone who's in a good union, you're not getting in.

Have you considered moving to a free state?

[Anonymous No.696329]

>>696127
>>696286
>>696304
>>696306
>>696317

In New York, even illegals get work as an electrician. Thing is I don't know about who governs the trade, the laws around it like do I need to be licensed or work under a licensed electrician. Last thing I want is to get fined or some shit. Finding someone who works in it isn't THAT difficult, it's just that they're usually not down to apprentice people or be helpful at all really.

I guess the only thing i can realistically do is find someone willing to apprentice me here though... schools are shit?

BTW i think the union accepts like a couple thousand people for their apprenticeships in july every year. Apparently on the day they accept the applications over 5 thousand people apply. The odds of then being chosen are pretty slim, but unionized construction in NYC seems to be top dollar.

[Anonymous No.696398]

>>696121
It's all under the umbrella of automotive. I've worked on tractor trailers and regular cars and trucks. You can make pretty decent money doing any of the above. Not right out of the gates, but I know some flat rate guys who absolutely crush it. They bring home more than I do but their hourly is lower. That's because they do a job that takes 1 hour and they get paid for 3.

Obviously you aren't going to make much at some bullshit tire changing, oil change place.

[Anonymous No.696472]

Here's a list of trades from the Trade School I went to for welding.

http://www.nait.ca/search/search.aspx?searchType=program&PCSubject=Trades&PCDelivery=&PCCredential=&PCLocation=&txtSearch=