IBEW Electrician Apprenticeship

[bghilliotti]

Can anyone attest to the quality or lack of quality for the electrician apprenticeship program offered by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers?

[Bob]

I know two guys who went through it, and they're pretty good electricians. I know other guys who have went through various other union apprenticeships, and they all seem pretty good at their trade. That doesn't mean to say they all are, but all of the ones that I personally know are pretty good.

[Goedjn]

That would depend mostly on who you're apprenticed TO, wouldn't it?

[SQLit]

Most of the shops turn out construction electricians that can bend pipe and pull wire. Get into communications, or high end stuff and your not going to get much training. I will say you will receive a good foundation in the basic theory of electricity. Some locals have better training than others.

WARNING..... Keeping a job for the first 4 years is pretty easy. After that, well it is all market place and your ability to wait for a job.

I am ex-IBEW, I got an honory "out" of my local. I tried to go back to the fold for a specific contractor that needed specific skills. Like doing harmonic studies and electrical testing. Even though the union could not provide the skills needed. The union flatly refused to let me be hired. I was willing to pay the reinstatement fee and all the dues. They said I would be on book 3, basically I would pay dues for a year before I could move to book one and get hired. I do not want to bend pipe and pull wire as a daily job any more. Needless to say I did not return to the fold.

It is not a bad choice as long as you go into it head up and your paying attention.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

No personal experience, but I do know of a couple of guys that did it and are now full fledged, well paid, electricians. They worked with a commercial contractor.

[Kathy]

wrote in message news: [e-mail]...

quality for the electrician

International Brotherhood of

My son is in his last semester of his last(5th) year of his apprenticeship with IBEW local 352. He has studied long and hard to get where he is at. He has worked on commercial jobs as well as residential settings over the 5 years of his apprenticeship. He had worked for a company that did residential jobs before he went union. The schooling wasn't easy but as long as he studies, he does well. There is a lot of technical information to absorb. You learn all the code stuff too. I guess my son paid attention because he did all the electrical work to the addition I had built last summer and upgraded our service. The electrical work was the only aspect of the work we had done that Never failed an inspection. The inspector knew my son was doing it and even commented on what a nice looking job he did as well as following the code to a T, down to calking around the wires where they went thru the top plate. I felt kind of proud to hear the inspector say good things about him. Back to the apprenticeship.... the only drawback with working for the union is that when the job is done you get laid off and have to go "sign the book" and wait your turn to go to another job. The contractor he is with now kept him from the last job and let him work somewhere else right away. He is trying to keep my son. I guess he likes his work. You can end up working for the same company for years and years. But that doesn't always happen. There have been times where he was laid off for a week or 2 between jobs. For a single guy the time off is welcome but if he had a family to support I'm not sure he would have stayed with it because of the lay-off risk.

You should talk it over with whoever your sponsor is.

[Rusht Limpalless]

"You should talk it over with whoever your sponsor is." What if your not an alcoholic? There are canadians here too and we don't start drinking on waking. You sound kinda dum, maybe you should try for plumber instead, or truck driver?? Just remember, if you fail at all else, you can always be a HVAC tech.

[Kathy]

always be a HVAC tech.

LOL

[Steve Kraus]

Do all locals run a school or do some just put people to work alongside journeymen? In the Chicago area IBEW and the Electrical Contractors' Association run a school in suburban Alsip.