# Advice for Potential Apprentice?



## Mike1249 (Dec 6, 2018)

I was hoping for a bit of advice. After acquiring an Associate's degree in forestry and being unable to find work in arboriculture, I was considering trying to establish a career in electrical. I have a few questions I was hoping someone could answer.

We have a local IBEW 595 that offers an inside wireman apprenticeship. I was wondering if it would be advisable to earn an associate's degree in electrical technology before contacting them or to contact them first and apply for the apprenticeship.

Is electrical work challenging or is it mainly repetition?

Is electrical work very hard on the body? Can I expect long term issues from this type of work if I do get into it?


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## Dennis Alwon (May 9, 2009)

Depending on what you do electrical work can take a toll on your body. If you have a good technical mind I would recommend going to a community college and learning PLC. There is always a demand for that and the pay is great


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## joebanana (Dec 21, 2010)

The apprenticeship earns you an associate degree through your local college. You make it sound like getting accepted in the union is a cake walk. Maybe for some with extensive experience in the field, even then, they may have wrong attitude, and get rejected by the examining board. Yeah, you have to go before the board and plead your case on why you should be accepted into the brotherhood. If you have family in the union, your chances are much better.
It's a challenging career at times, never boring, sometimes repetitive, some day's you bust your ass, some you get a break. Everyday you have to be on your toes. Sometimes you put in 60+ hrs a week, sometimes you're between jobs and get to sleep till noon. We get some real pretty pay checks though.


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## Switched (Dec 23, 2012)

595 is Cali right? My sister in-law works for a arborist company that performs all kinds of work for PGE, Cal Trans, and other Cities. They can't locate qualified help fast enough. 

How long have you been looking for work?

On the electrical front, don't take any classes if the IBEW is your go to. That is part of your apprenticeship, the schooling, so it would be a waste of money.

If you're looking outside of the IBEW, take a look at WECA and ABC as well. I can't speak for ABC, but I have known many sharp guys that came out of the WECA program.


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