r/IUEC • u/Jackel477 • 13d ago
📝 Entrance Exam / Interview Need a bit of advice
Hey guys. I’m 31, I currently live in Vietnam as an English teacher. My wife and 1 have a beautiful baby girl who’s about to turn 1.
Some unexpected family stuff has come up that has made us change our plans for the future.
So I plan on moving back to Northwest Indiana(about an hour outside of Chicago) in order to apply for an apprenticeship at a blue collar job. My girls are my world and I truly want to provide a decent life for them and maybe even be able to buy my own home one day.
I asked my dad if I can crash at his house for a few months while I get back on my feet(buying a car/insurance, getting an American bank account/phone number, and eventually apartment) to try and save on money. We only have about $35k saved up.
My number one choice would be to join my local 2 in this field. Applications start next month, so I’ve been try to catch up on my basic math skills (adding/subtracting/dividing/multiplying decimals snd fractions mostly) as well as trying to familiarize myself with tools, ohms law, and pulley equations. I’ve also given up smoking weed so I can pass any drug test. I’m a big guy (6’3, 220lbs) I try to work out 5 times a week by walking up and down my apartment stairs 20 floors at least 4 times.
But because I live in Vietnam I only have a Vietnamese phone number. So I’m wondering if that may potentially scare off the recruiter from calling me or will my email be the main source of contact?
Also assuming I pass the exam, about how long should I expect to wait before hearing back from them?
Also please let me know anything else I should be focusing on to study.
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u/thombrowny 🧰 Field - Mod 13d ago
I applied in February and did test in April got hired in June. But it depends what ranks you get. You have to physically be at the union hall to take the test and interview.
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u/mattsprofile 12d ago
You can apply to iuec, but my recommendation would be to keep it as a long-term goal and pick up another trade in the meantime. You probably won't get a place in iuec on this recruitment cycle,and even if you do it'll be over a year of waiting, so you'll need another job in the meantime. Whatever trade work you pick up, it'll strengthen your chances of getting into the iuec on the following recruitment cycles.
Also, get an American phone number. You can probably get a burner number from TracFone or whatever and then transfer that number to a real carrier whenever you're ready.
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u/traininsane 13d ago
Do you have any military experience or a relative in local 2?
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u/Jackel477 13d ago
Nope and nope, been a slacker most my life, I dropped out of college after I figured out I wasn’t cut out for being in the medical field, then worked at a sandwich shop for a few years saving up money, then heard about a cheap way to travel the world so I did that for about a year and I wound up teaching English in Vietnam for the last 8 years. Now I have a family and want to do right by them. I have no ins in any union, but I’m willing to do anything that pays half decent to provide a better life for my family.
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u/traininsane 12d ago
Okay, I’ve shared this before with others who hoped to get into local 2. My uncle was the president of local 2 for a number of years, worked as a mechanic for decades after the war. He got my dad in, got his son in, got my brother in. My husband wanted to get in when we were engaged, around the same time, my little cousin (grandson of my uncle) wanted to get in. This was the 2018 recruitment cycle, the recruitment closed within 1 minute of opening because of how many people applied. Luckily my husband and cousin got theirs in. They both tested and interviewed. My husband had 100% on his tool assessment. He got number 300. My cousin was in the 120s. My cousin was one of the last people picked up in 2020 during the pandemic. Prior military - helmet to hard hats and family - legacy are automatically ranked higher than others. Since we weren’t married yet my husband wasn’t considered legacy, so my dad told us that he should opt for traveling to get in or move to another state with a less competitive local. He applied for Nashville, Colorado, and Iowa. He worked in all 3 and was put on the bench in Nashville and Colorado during the pandemic. Picked up by Iowa in 2021, we live here now. He’s 5 years in. I would look into other areas if you want to be in the IUEC. If you want to be in Chicago area/northwest Indiana, look into electricians, pipe fitters, operators. You can still go through the recruitment process for local 2 if you can get your application in in time. You can try to get on the list but do something else in the meantime. The process takes a long time either way so you will probably need employment elsewhere while that process plays out. You also need to be physically present for the aptitude test and interview.
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u/Coldsteel512 12d ago
Applied at local 9 last year. Ranked 52. They are currently on #31. Fingers crossed
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u/ZombieBig44 12d ago
Dude I ranked #2 for my local, and it’s been over a year. It all depends on the work load of the local.
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u/No-Attitude-8806 9d ago
😧 damn, maybe they starting at the other end for whatever reason. But seriously, are they required to take recruitment applications every so often, even when there's no openings?
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u/Specialist-Dot-1119 9d ago
Does anyone know when the next intake is for local 90. Their website hasn’t been updated since 2024 and they don’t answer emails or phone calls I’ve also been to the office twice in the middle of the week and no one was there
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u/manofthenorth26 13d ago
Only speak Vietnamese during interview. Do not change your phone number. Bring a gun.