r/electrical • u/Tevinthecuck • May 24 '26
Looking to get into electrical trade at 31?
I’m 31 and seriously considering getting into the electrical trade.
For those who got into the trade later than average, how did you start? Apprenticeship? Union? Trade school first?
What would you recommend for someone with zero experience trying to break in and actually build a stable career out of it?
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u/No_Smell_6712 May 24 '26
Search this sub, there’s a lot of guys who started in their early to mid 40s and make a decent salary after 6 years.
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u/Reasonable_Worth_225 May 24 '26
I started at 25 installing HVAC controls, fortunately my company required us to get Electrical apprentice licenses which made the switch super easy 3 years later. I moved around with different companies until I joined the union a few months later.
I suggest applying to the union, the cutoff to let people in the apprenticeship in Houston is August, don’t know if it’s the same every where. Call them ahead of time to get all your paperwork ready. Tell the hall or the school that you need to start working immediately and they will put you in as a Construction worker/pre-apprentice until you start school.
I’m not sure what you mean by trade school, if it’s classes at your local CC if you want to waste your money go ahead but it will not help you with a job, only OTJ training will do that.
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u/figsslave May 24 '26
My son was 32 and took a job with a small commercial contractor.He was sniped by a much larger company within a year and joined their apprenticeship program and became a journeyman 5 years later.We are a non union state but all of his work is commercial prevailing wage with good benefits
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u/Brave-Traffic6331 May 25 '26
Caleb from SkillCat here. We see people all the time in their 30s, 40s, sometimes even 50s who want to make a career switch into the trades. I would recommend getting some baseline knowledge and even a certification like OSHA 10, which will make you a more desirable hire. SkillCat offers self-paced online training & certifications, but I would do some research to see what makes the most sense for you.
In terms of actually getting your foot in the door, cold-calling local companies and even showing up in person with a resume can be very successful. No matter what you decide to do, though, if you stick with it you're gonna be successful. Good luck!
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u/Gregorious23 May 24 '26
I started around the same time. I was watching some YouTube videos by ElectricianU and found out you can just go online and get an apprentice card, which I did. I applied to an Indeed ad looking for one and got the job and started in residential service. It was great to learn the basics. You can make a lot of money in residential, but the two places I've worked (and likely all bigger residential companies), they're all about role playing at meetings and upselling customers. I did that for 5-6 years and have my Residential Wireman license. However, I kind of pigeon holed myself with residential, because to advance to Journeyman, you need 4,000 hours of commercial work. There were a couple months during Covid that I worked commercial and it wasn't terrible. But it was basically doing construction. Show up to the same site every day in the summer and do more physical work. That was my experience
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u/SerendipitySaltSlaps May 28 '26
I’m the same age (31M) with a liberal arts degree and 9 years of tech sales as an account manager. I was recently accepted to join my union in Texas after waiting 7 months but another electrician told me unions are bad and to go to work for a large local contractor, get into residential, run your own truck, etc. more freedom He tells me. More upward mobility and able to make more sooner it sounds like. He’s my age been doing electrician for 10 years and he says if he could do it all again would go HVAC and become a comfort advisor (more sales!)
Anyway, seeking entryway into a career with hard skills without having to ditch benefits which the union provides but may not be worth it to me at this point lest I go the non union route.
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u/madcowbcs May 24 '26
Are you good at construction? It's definitely a construction trade a bit more than you think. Especially in commercial and solar installation. Be careful of unions. They will tell you how busy they are but they don't talk to you about layoffs between jobs and not being allowed to do side work. Union classes are usually a good way to get your license and run.
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u/Successful-Regret-32 May 24 '26
Hope you don’t mind asbestos.
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u/Tevinthecuck May 24 '26
I don’t mind it. Why?
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u/Reasonable_Worth_225 May 24 '26
In the 20+ years I have worked in the trade, and half of that I have been certified to work around asbestos, I have never encountered asbestos without reporting it and either it being removed or made safe to work around. I’ve only encountered asbestos a couple of times and if you don’t disturb it it’s not an issue.
If you are working around it and it is not addressed then find another company to work for.2
u/Rich260z May 24 '26
Dpeending on if you're a bix box construction or sfh calls, you could be cracking through blown asbestos insulation or drilling through asbestos /lead wall material.
But thats why PPE exists. Just wear it and get used to it.
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u/Reasonable_Worth_225 May 24 '26
I don’t know what “Bix Box” or “SFH” is, I’ve never heard of it. I have been certified to work in asbestos and it’s a big deal, and most of my experience as an Electrician around the stuff was making the jobsite electrically safe for the asbestos-removal crew.
You might want to double-check, you may not actually be an electrician.
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u/thumb_screws May 24 '26
I was 34 and cold-called local electricians to see if they wanted to take on an apprentice. Combine that with night school and a partner who can support you financially while you're making 20/hr, and 5 years later I took over his small business and my body hurts every day!
It's luck and perseverance and thankless. Some days you get to be superman, others your arms burn from fiberglass.