# Did your old job know you joined the IBEW?



## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

Let it go, he's your uncle.
Maybe he's proud you joined the union. 

Remember, nothing is a secret if more then one person knows about it.


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## Easy (Oct 18, 2017)

You sound very excited. It's a good thing and I can't see how anyone knowing that would not also be happy for you. 
Good luck with your new job.


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## Electriken01 (Sep 19, 2020)

Easy said:


> You sound very excited. It's a good thing and I can't see how anyone knowing that would not also be happy for you.
> Good luck with your new job.


Man I cried ON the phone when I got the acceptance call. My job was going no where and filled with false hopes and promises. You're right but I've always been a private person. I just feel like not everyone deserves the right to know of this accomplishment but it is what it is.


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## gpop (May 14, 2018)

Why does it matter if it's the ibew or another company. Are you unsure of the move so your hiding it like a dirty little secret.

Most of us have second thoughts just before we jump ship. Good thing it's to late now as everyone knows.


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## Electriken01 (Sep 19, 2020)

gpop said:


> Why does it matter if it's the ibew or another company. Are you unsure of the move so your hiding it like a dirty little secret.
> 
> Most of us have second thoughts just before we jump ship. Good thing it's to late now as everyone knows.


Oh no I didn't mean it like it matters whether its IBEW or another company. I just mean it like them knowing im becoming an electrician. 

I am 100% happy I got in the IBEW its been a 2 year goal.


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## Coppersmith (Aug 11, 2017)

Some hints for your journey:

Do your apprenticeship class reading. It makes doing the homework easy. Do your homework. It makes getting a passing grade on the tests very easy.

Some journeymen will treat you with respect. Others will be assholes. Just do what they ask and eventually you will be a journeyman too. I didn't experience anything I couldn't handle.

Always carry a pen and paper. If a j-man starts giving you a list of tasks or materials, write it all down and then do it all.

Bring all the tools on your list, and none that are not. Some union members will be get angry about non-list tools.

Congrats!


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## Electriken01 (Sep 19, 2020)

Coppersmith said:


> Some hints for your journey:
> 
> Do your apprenticeship class homework. It makes getting a passing grade on the tests very easy.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the advice. Im definitely nervous but excited. Does every IBEW Local take an oath into the brotherhood? Or do they just receive an IBEW membership card?


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## Coppersmith (Aug 11, 2017)

You will be sworn in. Some locals do this right away. Some wait a while. Start attending the meetings as soon as you are allowed. You meet people and learn things.


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## wiz1997 (Mar 30, 2021)

I was working for a non-union electrical contractor when I was accepted into the local.
We were doing meter conversions on apartment buildings.
Each building had one meter and one panel feeding as many as 8 apartments.
When the building was done there were 8 meters and 8 panels.
I was making $4.50 a hour, minimum wage was $1.85.
Told my foreman I had been accepted into the local.
The next week I was making $5.00 per hour.
Two weeks later $5.50 per hour.
I asked what was going on.
He said he didn't want me to leave, so he was going to make it hurt when I did.
By the time I did leave I was up to $6.50 per hour.
When I started with the local, I went in at $4.03 per hour.

If you don't let an employer know why you are leaving, they will never change their ways. 

It almost seems you are embarrassed to tell anyone you're moving forward with your life.

P.S. Don't tell my mother I'm an electrician, she thinks I'm a piano player in a house of ill repute.


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## Coppersmith (Aug 11, 2017)

I was wondering if any employers would immediately get rid of you when they found out you were pursuing a union job. Many are very concerned about organizing activity and might assume you would attempt to organize other electricians there.


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## LGLS (Nov 10, 2007)

Electriken01 said:


> After months and months of dedication and perseverance I finally got in the IBEW. I am super happy and excited. Thank you for everyone who has helped me a long the way to maximize my chances of getting in.
> 
> Now random question but did you guys tell your previous job you are joining the IBEW? So I work with my uncle and I just resigned. However I made it clear to him to not disclose where I am going as I would rather keep it private and its really only my business. But after today it seems like a few people know based on your conversations. This is a potential 6 figure job and I can't feel nothing but infuriated right now. I just wanted to leave that dead end job without people knowing my business. I know some people actually don't care and some even brag they got a better job but I'm somewhat of a private person and the one person who blabs and blabs across the whole company knows.
> 
> In the grand scheme of things it doesn't really affect much but as mentioned I feel like people knowing might give off some bad energy.


The job you're leaving your uncle behind at - is it electrical or in the trades or something else? I'm just confused as to why you wanted your uncle to keep this a secret?


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## just the cowboy (Sep 4, 2013)

Just a word of advice.
You are going in the union, don't worry about what someone else says or thinks.
This field can be rough on your soul if you take words to heart, grow your thick skin NOW before it is too late.

Cowboy


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## Wardenclyffe (Jan 11, 2019)

Remember,


you still have to finish the program,...


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## Quickservice (Apr 23, 2020)

Coppersmith said:


> Some hints for your journey:
> 
> 
> 
> Some journeymen will treat you with respect. *Others will be assholes*. Just do what they ask and eventually you will be a journeyman too. I didn't experience anything I couldn't handle.


Great advice.... There will be times when you will have to have thick skin, just grit you teeth and do your job. Your next exciting day will be when you become a jman.


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## blueheels2 (Apr 22, 2009)

So I organized in and didn’t really understand the rules. But a couple of weekends after I started in the union i worked some OT for the old boss. He found out I was union and I never heard from him again. Didn’t bother me. I was making 10$ an hour more in 4 years plus benefits.


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## Electriken01 (Sep 19, 2020)

just the cowboy said:


> Just a word of advice.
> You are going in the union, don't worry about what someone else says or thinks.
> This field can be rough on your soul if you take words to heart, grow your thick skin NOW before it is too late.
> 
> Cowboy


You're absolutely right. But it's not necessarily an issue of people "saying or thinking". Its more so something I wanted to keep private to those who im never really going to see again.


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## Electriken01 (Sep 19, 2020)

wiz1997 said:


> I was working for a non-union electrical contractor when I was accepted into the local.
> We were doing meter conversions on apartment buildings.
> Each building had one meter and one panel feeding as many as 8 apartments.
> When the building was done there were 8 meters and 8 panels.
> ...


Oh no don't get me wrong im not embarrassed telling people. Im actually very proud to pursue this career. As I said its more so the privacy. I only told people who I hold dear in my life and people I will never see again there didn't seem any point in telling them.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

> Three may keep a Secret, if two of them are dead.


I don't see how you'd expect your family not to mention where you went, I mean it's going to come up isn't it? I don't know. 

If it's any consolation to you, people really exaggerate how much time other people spend thinking about them. I mean you're not the president of the company or a partner leaving with a bunch of customers. The people you're worried about knowing and talking, will probably talk about you much much less and forget about you much much faster than you think. 

Picture if you took a bucket of water out of a lake, you know how long there's a bucket shaped empty spot in the water? That's probably about how long your impression will last in your old company.


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## 211023 (Apr 22, 2021)

Electriken01 said:


> Man I cried ON the phone when I got the acceptance call. My job was going no where and filled with false hopes and promises. You're right but I've always been a private person. I just feel like not everyone deserves the right to know of this accomplishment but it is what it is.


Congrats man, you earn it.


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