# Residential to Commercial to Industrial



## gpop (May 14, 2018)

Most of us do not have all 3 trades and most of us didn't choose the one that we are in. 

Depending where you are planning to work you may not need a licence for industrial but that also means you can not work residential or commercial later in your career. 

some industrial places will pay for you to gain a journeyman's certificate even though its not required which means im probably going to be spending a lot of unpaid hours gaining a certificate that i have no intention of using. 

The best way in is going to be a residential apprenticeship then let life deiced where you are going unless your end ambition is to go industrial.


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## joebanana (Dec 21, 2010)

How about filling out your profile? Give us a better idea of what you do, what you know, and where you are, how long you've been in the trade, etc. Then maybe we can work with you.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

2WiredUp said:


> I want to be able to do residential, then commercial, then industrial electrical work because I'd like to learn it all. Well almost all, I know there's telecommunications and outside lineman. But anyways, once I become a licensed residential electrician, and after however many years, how can I become a commercial electrician and then industrial? I would assume I wouldn't have to do a 5 year apprenticeship. Would I just have to do 1 year of training for commercial or something like that?


The best route is to get into a good JATC. They will rotate you through several types of work.
I started in commercial construction, then small jobs and then service work.
We have very little industrial work in our jurisdiction except for a nuke plant and we don’t put apprentices on that site.
Residential work here is very difficult with the tight margins and having to work for GCs so, we avoid that work altogether.


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## Dan the electricman (Jan 2, 2011)

Southeast Power said:


> The best route is to get into a good JATC. They will rotate you through several types of work.


I agree with this concept. The union (IBEW-JATC) usually has residential, commercial, industrial, and low voltage contractors. If you are in long enough, you usually end up doing each, long enough to learn most things. :thumbup:


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## paulengr (Oct 8, 2017)

There is not much overlap between the three. So it’s not really a progression. I mean it’s pretty unlikely you’ll do 3 phase in residential and you won’t be doing much if any BX or drilling wood and drywall in industrial.

When you are just starting out you can start anywhere. But as you progress it becomes much harder to switch paths because when you switch, you go back to almost rookie status. I mean you know some basics but everything else is new and most people aren’t willing to go back to apprentice pay once they’re established.


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

Go for commercial training. You will get residential training and time in once your J-man starts liking the way you handle yourself. Then he will be calling on you to help him with rewiring his Aunt Martha's house on weekends. And the other apprentice with two more years than you will be doing house additions and basement refinishing jobs on weekends and he needs help also. 

You will gain industrial training because of your own sisters, brothers, moms , dads, aunts, uncles, cousins, and especially in laws. They all are certain you can repair their broken televisions and microwaves.


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## 2WiredUp (Nov 29, 2019)

Ok, so I am going union. My union apprenticeship programs are residential, commercial, telecommunications, and outside lineman. Basically in the end I want to be my own contractor. And would it be better to be certified to do both or should I just stick with commercial? I'm 18 so I got plenty of time to get experience.


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## MikeFL (Apr 16, 2016)

2WiredUp said:


> Ok, so I am going union. My union apprenticeship programs are residential, commercial, telecommunications, and outside lineman. Basically in the end I want to be my own contractor. And would it be better to be certified to do both or should I just stick with commercial? I'm 18 so I got plenty of time to get experience.


Your aspirations are to be commended young man!

Just don't let your employer know you want to hang around long enough to learn his gig, then run off to learn something else, and eventually be his competitor! 

It's in your interest for every employer to believe you want to work for them until retirement, and those are the questions to ask during an interview - questions which imply longevity and commitment to the organization (company). 

There really is no model. Much of it will be hit and miss. Sounds like you have a well rounded opportunity and you should stick with that.

Stay safe & good luck with your ambitions!


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## 2WiredUp (Nov 29, 2019)

Thanks


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## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

Take care of you. If you want to be an employee, that’s ok, find someone that you like working for. If you want to do your own thing, that’s ok too.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

2WiredUp said:


> Ok, so I am going union. My union apprenticeship programs are residential, commercial, telecommunications, and outside lineman. Basically in the end I want to be my own contractor. And would it be better to be certified to do both or should I just stick with commercial? I'm 18 so I got plenty of time to get experience.


* Basically in the end I want to be my own contractor.*:vs_OMG:
Go out in the back yard and shoot yourself in the foot first. That is way less painful. :vs_laugh:


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## jarrydee (Aug 24, 2019)

In Michigan, you get a Jman license, and you can do any job. That does not mean you know anything about it, but you can legally do it. I am so happy we don't have multiple licenses for electrical (outside of lineman)


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## 2WiredUp (Nov 29, 2019)

Ok, so I called my union chapel (local 375) and they told me in order to go from a residential wireman to a commercial wireman, I will need to do a 3 year apprenticeship on top of the 3 year residential apprenticeship. So 6 years of apprenticeship total to be able to do both. So just one extra year as an apprentice will allow me to do residential and commercial than just being able to do commercial. Sounds reasonable.


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## brian john (Mar 11, 2007)

2WiredUp said:


> I want to be able to do residential, then commercial, then industrial electrical work because I'd like to learn it all. Well almost all, I know there's telecommunications and outside lineman. But anyways, once I become a licensed residential electrician, and after however many years, how can I become a commercial electrician and then industrial? I would assume I wouldn't have to do a 5 year apprenticeship. Would I just have to do 1 year of training for commercial or something like that?


At the most, you should spend 12 months as a residential apprentice then get into commercial. If you spend 4-5 years in residential no one will want to pay you commercial rates with only residential knowledge.


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## 2WiredUp (Nov 29, 2019)

*At the most, you should spend 12 months as a residential apprentice then get into com*

Wouldn't I have to complete the 3 year residential apprenticeship though?


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## brian john (Mar 11, 2007)

2WiredUp said:


> Wouldn't I have to complete the 3 year residential apprenticeship though?


2 - 2.5 of those years are a waste of time if you want to make the bigger bucks as a commercial electrician. Unless you are getting into residential service the basics of residential can be learned in 6-9 months if you can't wire a basic house by yourself after that period you need to look for another trade. Now if you can get into residential service you will learn troubleshooting that will help you in all aspects of our trade.


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## phamousgrey (Mar 22, 2018)

in the usa, they have their own stuff, as they do in canada. the union equivalent roughly is the ibew, and up here they offer a sh/t tonne of classes to improve upon what you know. although i dont know the specifics, any electrician going thru them is required to get a 309A licence, which means 3 levels of school at least.


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## phamousgrey (Mar 22, 2018)

which "up here" the 309a covers everything, ie, industrial, commercial and residential.


Of course, you will never be any damn good at any of those areas Unless you get/have experience. which gives all the more credence to the 309a licence when you do pass that test [c of q].


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