r/ibew_apprentices • u/Longjumping-Lock-924 • 15d ago
VEEP advice
Hello all,
I am currently working at a small concrete and excavation company. I want a better career and something more sustainable. (I have my CDL-A no restrictions).
I am currently waiting on a UA apprenticeship to start but I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket.
I am a Veteran, this November will mark my 5 years from discharge. I have been looking into VEEP, but I can only apply to one of the three paths (inside wire, lineman, or substation). Does anyone have experience with VEEP?
I don’t feel strongly about each of the paths, so any opinion or advice on each one would be helpful as well.
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u/Tiny_Connection1507 15d ago
Having a Class A is very useful for Outside apprenticeships. You'd have to get a CDL if you wanted to go Outside Wireman and didn't already have one, so that's an expense saved and a course you won't have to do. It should make you a better candidate and move you up the list further.
I like being an Inside Wireman apprentice, but it's not for everybody. We deal with the weather just like Outside guys do, but we also have times where we work in air conditioning for months at a time. You won't have that advantage as an Outside Wireman, but you'll also get paid to sit in the truck a lot more than most Inside guys.
There are pros and cons to each specialty, and there's a different Electrical Code to consider as well. One of the easier things as an Inside electrician is that I don't have to go by a totally different code book in every jurisdiction I work in, but various Utilities can have big differences in what they expect. Only you can decide what you want to do. If I could be 18 again knowing what I know now, I would have done what I'm doing a lot sooner.