As an aspiring trades worker, I feel like all the jobs are being gatekept from me. How can I possibly find a job that doesn’t have an experience requirement? How can I get experience if every job requires experience? And yes, I’ve contacted my local union, they don’t have any work available at the moment.

I’m just wondering if any union trade workers are actively working on a data center site and what was required of them like drug tests and background checks

Looking to get some ideas on what to pack to make camp life easier. Anything helps!

I’ve been working 60-65 hours a week for the majority of the summer. Don’t get me wrong, I love the money. But working 6 days a week leaves me with Sunday which I’m too tired to do anything. The whole summer is gone and I haven’t done anything but work and sleep.

We are currently working at a data center and this will be the norm through winter and until the project is complete (7+ years).

I’m not trying to complain just looking for similar experiences and how you handled it. I don’t want to work my life away.

I’ve worked in customer service and hospitality ever since I was a teenager mostly because I don’t know what to do. I’m 33 now and getting tired of it. I love sharpening and restoring knives on the side and would love to be a blacksmith some day, but I’m getting discouraged by everyone around me and being pointed toward other trades or schooling. Can anyone tell me where to start? Should I find a union? Should I look for something more practical? I’m willing to keep it on the side for a few years until my business grows, so other trades are appealing too. Pipe fitting/ steam fitting, iron work, CNC, plumbing, HVAC, fiber technicians, scaffolding, mining, these all interest me as well. What is your experience in these fields and where do I start? Any other schooling you think I’d be interested in? Why should or shouldn’t I consider these options? Are you happy? Do you get enough down time? Do you have energy for the gym?

I’m 20 and live in Nc I’ve decided I want to go into the trades instead of college. The problem is I have zero experience and no idea where to actually begin.
I don’t know which trade would be a good fit, how to find apprenticeships or entry-level jobs, whether I should look at union vs non-union, or what steps most people take when they’re starting from scratch like me.
Any advice on how to get my foot in the door, what to look for, or common mistakes to avoid would be really appreciated.

I am working with this "person" for over 2 years. Unfortunately as a helper i do 90% of the work while he "fits".

And yet I'm going too slow.

Is it normal that I want to go April 26, 1986 1:23:48 on him?

And this has been happening for a numerous of times well past 10 times his verbal remarks.

I highly recommend you to not come work for this company if you are serious about your trade: Plumbing, HVAC, Electrician. The management will treat you more like an immigrant handyman more than a professional. They would rather send you to go clean mechanical curtain doors ( that opens so dork lifts can take out/ put in pallets of stuff in truck trailers) than having you go fix a leak, a outage or a unit that not running right unless United supervisors complains about it. On top of that you will feel more like a janitor more than a professional. Cleaning is important but the way these people nick picks things is ridiculous. Wanting you to have a whole dusty caster deck spotless clean that within 3 minutes will be filthy due to pallets going on them continuously which will dirty them up again. Management also stated having certifications working at this company does not matter. So basically your knowledge don’t matter at all. This company is also very cheap as well, they will not give u raises that you deserve, I worked over my probation period and asked for a raise and they denied me. They also are very stingy with OT, OT is a privilege they say to have here. Also you will be working on weekends as well. If nice enough they will have u have one weekend day off. Having Saturday and Sunday off is also a privilege (only licensed tradesmen got weekends off). The benefits as well are below average if you’re a single person with no kids. But awful if you have a family, the health benefits will for real take majority of your paycheck away and you’d be having to pay $60 to see a specialist every visit. Dental insurance is actually really good and vision as well. Also the other pros is the sighting, being in the airplane hangers and seeing airplanes up close and the the sighting of the runway how airplanes take off. Beautiful work area for sure. Also if you’re in school this is a good place to be in. This job is better short term to get your feet over a step to get your life together more than long term.

So, according to Skilledtradesbc, my current work experience is good enough that I'm allowed to directly challenge the red seal exam as a millwright. After studying for a couple months, I wrote the exam the other day. In the studying, I learned a lot about new things that I have no experience with, and the exam covered a lot of things that I have no actual experience with. I feel like, even if I passed, I don't have the experience to perform at the level that paper says I should.

Am I allowed to start an apprenticeship as a first year, even though I already wrote the red seal exam? Did I potentially just ruin future career prospects by skipping that apprenticeship?

Thanks all

Probably the most asked question ever. I'm 23 years old and just a normal ass dude who got rejected from uni when I transferred from community to uni and I'm from San Diego, Cali. I have a bit of experience welding from a program at a shipyard here.

I've been seeing a ton of videos of oil and different positions such as roustabout and so on. I know it's more about who u know rather than what u know. I know the main locations are in Texas.

I know there's some oil work near L.A or up there. Anybody know any companies in Texas or here in California, I'm willing to take a flight to Texas and work. I'm just tryna make some money, I can't survive off the minimum anymore. I'll do what I must. I have no family so I got nothing holding me back.

Are there any certs I gotta have or I gotta get?

What are entry level positions?

What are the chances I actually get an opportunity despite not knowing anyone?

21/m

Hello, I'm a 21M in NC. I've recently completed an 8 week "Basic Residential Wiring" course at Nash Community College...I was looking to become an electrician but no luck landing a job. The other day I somehow started looking into fire alarm and security technician and was wondering if what i learned at NCC could transfer or would it be best to take up more schooling in that specific field? If so what would be some good programs near Rocky Mount i should look into thats may be worth giving a shot?

If possible, I'd like to hear any suggestions of other fields i could look into that may not be as known in electrical if none doesn't work out. Thanks!

Hey, I’m 26 and I’ve been a painter for 2 years, I’m looking to transition as I’ve been becoming disoriented with the dangers and lack of safeties companies seem to have. Ideally I’d like another job within the trades or something where I can put the skills I’ve learned to good use.

I’ve been looking into cabinet making as that’s always been a dream of mine but found getting into it ( finding a job) especially apprentice level near impossible. I’ve also looked at lumber sales having worked at the lumber section at Home Depot so maybe there’s some experience there.

I don’t really have an education besides graduating high school. Both my college experience ended badly as I just didn’t end up clicking with the program or getting screwed over by the school.

I also just moved to another province, so I’m not sure if I have it in my budget to start a new job at a lower salary, can anyone give me advice, point me in the right subreddit or just anything at all would really help.

Thanks

I’m a union member but currently work for the state rn bc i live the work life valence but the pay isn’t great.I plan on joining the marine reserves and my only concern is when I wanna get a different job if it will be difficult and if there’s a stigma against hiring reservists or am I just overthinking
(Also I’m in the stationary engineering field hvac)

Right now I'm in automotive, I'm in the management side of a corporate aftermarket shop in NC. We are planning a move to Utah in probably a few years, and looking for a switch. Switch may come sooner depending on what's available, training/certs needs, etc.

While im in the management side, as far as working on cars itself I'm probably a mid to high B tech. Have some diagnostics experience, wiring diagrams, but have yet to dig into deep automotive electrical. Have a good grasp on 12V systems, and a decent grasp on the 5V reference side, especially with help of the scanner to communicate back and forth.

I'm looking for something that can carry over the skills I already have, still be challenging/puzzle work, and still have room to grow my skill set.

I have looked into PLC/automation, but I don't feel that's a good fit for me. Have thought about industrial maintenance, millwright, or even staying automotive going into fleet side of things, but fleet work doesn't really wet my whistle after 20+ years of working on cars.

I know there may be more/different options in Utah than there is in NC, and vice versa.

My questions are what other options, outside of the obvious, that are out there? What certs may be required for those options, if any? I know this one is field dependent, but is union membership required/worth it?

This is not a job search post, but a information gathering post.

I’m in Ontario, Canada, and I’m looking for honest opinions from other plumbers or people who have faced something similar.
I’m a late-term plumbing apprentice with roughly two years remaining before I can get licensed. I’ve worked in high-rise, low rise and commercial construction and have since built a small plumbing and drain business. I own the truck, tools, drain machines, camera, jetter, etc., and I’ve developed a decent customer base and contractor relationships.
One contractor alone gives me approximately $70k gross/$50k profit per year, about two months of full-time work. I also have around $10k in billable work coming over the next few weeks. I’m on track to gross over 100k this year. The business gives me decent money, considerable free time and control over my schedule.
The problem is that being unlicensed creates major stress when larger jobs come up. I’m concerned about liability, permits and whether insurance would actually respond if something serious went wrong. I know I need to finish my licence, but returning to employment feels like going backward in almost every other way.
I was recently offered approximately $42/hour at a mechanical/HVAC company building a new 8–10-person plumbing crew for modular construction. After tax and commuting, I estimate I’d keep roughly $1,150 per week.
The company appears to be building its plumbing operation from scratch. My friend is the general manager and really wants me there, but they’re already talking about me teaching apprentices. My concern is that I’ll receive little training myself while providing setup, production, problem-solving and instruction to others at apprentice wages. I’d also likely leave when my contractor’s annual projects return, because I’m not willing to give up approximately $50k profit from two months of work.
The union is another option, but it’s slow and barely returning my calls. If I sign with a non-union company, I may lose my place/status with the union. Even if I return to employment for two years and get licensed, I could lose my contractor relationships and business pipeline, then emerge licensed but needing a job because I have no work built up.
My friend thinks I should forget employment for now, focus more heavily on drain cleaning/rooter work and start running ads. I already have most of the equipment, so that could preserve my freedom and income, but it still doesn’t solve the licensing issue.
My long-term goal is to buy a house within four years, so giving up the business income would materially affect that plan. At the same time, the anxiety of taking larger jobs without the licence is getting difficult to live with.
It feels like every direction involves a major loss:
● Stay in business: keep the money, freedom and contractor, but remain unlicensed and anxious about liability.
● Return to employment: obtain recognized hours, but lose income potential, freedom and possibly the business.
● Wait for the union: potentially the best employment route, but with no clear timeline.
● Focus on drain cleaning: potentially safer and profitable, but the licensing problem remains.
What would you do in my position? Would you sacrifice two years and business momentum to finish the licence, continue building the business while limiting the scope of work, or take another approach?
All amounts are CAD.

The leather on my old belt is getting beyond repair. I'm not really looking forward to change. As my tools have always been in the same spot for three decades.

Had this on 3 different trousers now. What actually causes the crotch to rip?
Is it:
insufficient fabric stretch?
poor pattern/cut?
stitching?
abrasion?
too-tight trousers?
repeated squatting?
cheap fabric?
combination of these?

I promise you i’m not a bot. Genuinely just wanna know like after i turned 18. I just haven’t really progressed in life at all it’s been stagnant. Wasted almost 3 years of my life just always having nothing to my name. My previous job had me pay taxes since not enough federal was being taken out so i had to owe the irs like almost 2 grand. It’s like everyday I wake it just not wanting to work because of the fact i just go to work end exhausted come home sleep and then just don’t really accomplish anything it’s just really depressing when i see other people just making it while i’m still just trying to figure it out. Like i have options issue i’m scared of taking them i have the opportunity to become a correction officer through my cousin i just don’t have the mental capacity to deal with crazy things like that and stuff

Found these boots size 10 wide that ill never use but are supposed to be pretty nice for iron workers, demo guys or welders maybe. Theyre 300$ new and theyre 60 on ebay

https://ebay.io/m/qPnWkV

Just wondering for the people that passed their exam as a trade qualifier what was the best study material you found to be the most helpful.

I am looking at lunch box sessions and using sean Bennetts text books at the moment.

I’m a licensed electrician. I build/ fix wind turbines. What I can’t understand is why as an electrician, you have all of these skills and knowledge… and you choose to use it to build data centers. “They’re gonna get built anyway” “you’re missing out on money” “stop denying the future”… I can go on.

YOU ARE THE PROBLEM. You are the one building them. You use your skills for evil to make money.

I’m old enough to remember hearing about how much of a surveillance state China is and now your worthless ass is doing it to America.

EDIT: The amount of people that have shown up to defend their job is the point of my post. If you have been upset and hurt enough by this post then…

EDIT EDIT: I thought this was skilled trades where we use our skills to make real money, unfortunately all I’m hearing from is people making $1800 a week and shitting on everything around them acting like they arnt working 80 hours a week.

FINAL EDIT: there are true blooded patriots out cutting flock out of your community and you sissys do the opposite. Why would you argue or be proud of sissy work?

Also, what do you tell your son/ daughter as you drive by these places? I get happy and proud of projects I’ve built. Do you look at these jobs and speak proudly of them to your children? How?

Currently bored see people asking about wanting info on welding or getting into trades worked 4yrs non union 8 years union now

What usually causes your work trousers to fail/rip?

Is it the crotch, knees, pockets, seams, etc.? And what were you doing when it happened?