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Yeah, the age is almost never a huge issue unless your back is already broken, and you can't or won't lift 30 lbs.
The key is to stay humble with your past to start, be open, and demonstrate a willingness to learn and desire to understand, and you'll go far as hell!
As you remember from working around the wall-walkers, shitbags, and truly awesome people, find a sense of purpose, and maintain an effective sense of urgency!
"Attitude = Altitude," said one of my Kool-aid drinking commanders, as he checked his flat-top and judged us all inferior... dick
Unpopular opinion: You're too old for the majority of commercial and residential field work. You'll have a hard time maintaining the speed necessary for profitable labor. Also, most companies bring on apprentices to develop a future work force, and at your age, you are not really a viable choice to build a foundation on.
That being said, you may find a company that is willing to take you on and train you, so it's up to you to do the research. I think you might be a good fit in low voltage or fire alarm niches with your background. You're still in the field, but the pace and physical stress is much lower.
I agree with u/MrAmazing011 for other aspects of the field. I am a high rise engineer and I deal with all the trades doing work in my building.
Fire Alarm is definitely a great direction. The best part of this is, electricians run the conduit to devices like tamper and flow switches, the FA guys wire up the modules from there. Even fire alarm control panel programming, like EST3 or even the new EST4 panels coming out there will be high demand for those. Upgrades and such.
Another field I see a lot of work in is access controls. Everyone has key fobs, physical keys are getting rare in a high rise. Low voltage electric strikes and latches. We have Salto and ICT in my building and there is more work than labor at the moment. We just replaced a salto reader and it was two weeks just for install because they were busy.
If you are looks by to be full blown electrician like you see on TV, working commercial seems easier to me than residential. Pulling romex through wood holes and attics, 5 days a week at your age seems rough. Commercial is pulling wire through conduit and steel studs, but not always small wire for outlets and lights. Big wire and big conduit exist in commercial.I would leave that answer up to the professionals here.
I would see them Fire Alarm and access controls as low voltage. Still deals with pulling wire, less demanding physically, big money, especially if you get your own company going.
That being said, I would also be curious to see how the electricians here feel about the field of motor controls and VFD's. Everything is going high tech but in large percent of high rises there are old relays and contactors that need brains to install and fix. Those are typical 120v - 480v. Wiring up compressors start/stop on pressure controls, lead lag for motors, mag starters and relays for 75hp fan motors, domestic water pump wiring and controls. Those are high voltage.
I would say anything that is a specialty niche of the electrical trade is a good idea to move into. General electricians, either commercial or residential, have a much higher labor load, but also have the highest diversity of work. A specialist electrician has a narrower focus, but with today's environment, there won't be a shortage in any aspect of electrical work.
He’d be a perfect panel builder and programmer if he’s already in IT. I’d suggest controls. It’s treated me well and it’s not physically intensive. VFDs and motor controls isn’t too difficult once you have a strong background in understanding 3 phase.
Don’t listen to either of these guys plenty of dudes in their 50’s running circles around young guys. Age doesn’t matter more than being a good hand and picking things up quickly. You go to any major union job and you’ll see dozens of guys in their mid 40’s. The financial and retirement aspect only you can decide. But age is not a limiting factor in itself.
It is a electrical license, called a limited energy electrician, an 06 license here in WA state. Less hours for testing requirements, but honestly, you make as much or more as a general inside electrician. At this point in my career, I'm considering starting a small low voltage company because the profit to work ratio is getting wider, and I like the idea of more money for less work.
LOL!!! That's total bullshit!! I've never heard someone so wrong in my life! I'm 48, 49 in October. I'm a 4th year commercial/industrial apprentice as of the end of this month. I currently have 5,000 hrs of experience. I take care of myself, eat right, exercise, and study my ass off. My amount of life experience is a key factor that sets me apart from my peers. I was a chef for 30 years before I decided to leave the industry. I had achieved everything I wanted to when I started. I started out as a dishwasher, worked my way up through the kitchen to executive chef, and eventually business owner of a 10,000 sq ft banquet facility. After COVID, I decided I was ready to move on to a new challenge. I went to a 6 month program and received a certificate for Construction/Electrical. I spent the 1st 3 years non-union and recently joined the union. I guarantee if I can do it, then so can you. Don't listen to some nitwit with a keyboard. If you want it, go out and get it. I'm fortunate that my wife is the breadwinner in our family, but I would have sacrificed everything I own to improve the future. I discovered that I was good at it and really liked doing the work. I'm not going to sit here and say it's not dirty work, because it is. Pulling wire and terminating devices doesn't come right away. You're going to spend the 1st year digging ditches. I can almost guarantee it. If you can get past that, and still see the forest for the trees. The field is vast and filled with reward.
This is my story as well. I'm a 45 year old 3rd yr and I may not be the first up 6 flights of stairs, but nobody is running circles around me and my work. I see a lot of young apprentices who are clueless and have no idea what to do with their tools. A lot of smart kids too don't get me wrong, but lots of stunned and lazy young guys and I've never felt like I can't keep up with either group. Your age and experience is a value. Resetting my paycheck by 20 years has been the hardest part but my wife makes good money and pushed me to go for it. Ive never been happier and more satisfied with my job. If you want it go for it. Just take care of your knees lol
I hear that. I get to work early and do a full 30 minutes of calisthenics for that little bit of extra stretch and flex. My wife and I do a lot of hiking here in Minnesota on the trails and state parks that are literally everywhere. I think that definitely helps keep me rather spry. Same here, never been happier, more fulfilled, and satisfied with my work.
Could I not hire the guy who is already the master? Maybe even a retired dude? Pay him purely for his ticket holding if he’s not able to sign off on my hours?
That is an interesting question. Not sure how it works in Canada.
But unless you know a guy willing to utilize his license on a brand new company with no experience and training the boss at the same time, good luck. He would be using his master's license for your shop and that means you would be paying him more, as well as him being unfireable or you will no longer be able to work until you find a new license to use. That type of person would more thab likely rather just start their own company. You would be relying on him for understanding order or operations for what materials to order as well, because you wouldn't know and otherwise be taking a lot of trips to supply houses on the job. You also would need to find enough work to keep them going 5 days a week and probably offer better benefits just so they would ever risk the chance to partner up with someone with no experience.
They would also have personal leverage over your business. It's just not at all a good idea unless you were a project manager before and already understood every aspect of the business side of things. You would be learning how to run your business and do the job, and I assume do the schoolwork as well (I assume that's a requirement there?). Unless you have a personal friend who is also a master electrician you want to go 50/50 on, I just don't see how you find the right guy.
Yes, you can. A lot of people invest in businesses that they don't even actively participate in. It would probably be more of a partnership in that regard. Their sweat equity and your money.
That’s a dick move what about the electricians who actually had to work for they’re hours ? .so you want to be a electrician but you don’t want to pay you’re dues ?have you gone thru a apprenticeship do you have your hours it’s not just pulling wires .have you any experience troubleshooting doing service work? Gtfo you clown.
You’d need your master’s license for that unfortunately. Master Electricians own and operate companies, Journeymen are the crew leaders under them, and Apprentices are under them.
Only way to get to Master is work your way up the ladder. In theory, you can do all the schooling and be knowledgeable enough to pass the master’s exam, but in most places to get your license you need the education AND X amount of logged work-hours under a Master’s supervision. Here in Florida for me it was 8,000 OTJ hours, meaning 4 years of 40 hour weeks
I suppose you could start a business with or invest in an established Master’s company. Partner with somebody you trust and be an owner/apprentice with profit share lol. Never heard of anyone doing that but I don’t see why not if you really want to learn the trade and be making good money
Edit: the more profitable route if you’re planning on going back to school IMO would be becoming an Electrical Engineer, but that’s another office job. If you wanna be doing the work, becoming an apprentice is the way. I don’t see why you couldn’t invest in a company AND enroll in the apprenticeship tho if you want to be working in the field
Oh brother, do I understand that. I left my 60+hr a week job to become an electrician, and all I can say is, I wish I had done it 20 years sooner. But, oh well, now is now.
I think you have a good idea in hiring a master or journeyman and apprenticing under them. Stick with a modest business plan, don't do any job over $50K, and you'll be able to learn and make money at the same time without burning out your jman. The other avenue is to pursue a low voltage career, always diverse and fluid work, definitely has a positive long-term outlook, and there are many, many different avenues to pursue within that niche. Security, controls, lighting, camera, integration, fire alarm, etc, etc.
That would be expensive and begging to be taken advantage of, though not the worst idea if you find the right journeyman.
Also I know where I live, getting a contractors license requires some experience and some trade knowledge but not much.
There's a dead horse of a beaten answer here but the union usually LOVES to take the extra time out to teach someone new, though really if you can afford the pay cut for a few years. Truth is, with most companies, union or otherwise, you could end up being very skilled and useful in 5 years time. When you're 20 that sounds like forever but you've spent over a decade doing gov work so I'd guess you know the price of a couple years of grind
You'll probably never be that God level master builder, "I can see electricity in the wires", electrical-engineer-minus-student-debt kinda electrician, but fuck you'll probably take the job more seriously than 90% of the workers I've met.
Edit:sober spelling
That’s going to be way more difficult than you realize lol, you’re better off trying to find a company to join if you’re really dead set on it, like the other guy said fire alarms and low voltage are great options, I work with a lot of older contractors in that field and they don’t really complain about the physical work, just the hours
If you go this route find a partner instead who just wants nothing to do with business or people. Because you will still need his help quoting jobs until you get the hang of time and material.
An employee may be reluctant to take on that kind of responsibility unless your paying him really well
I don’t think you understood. I’d be paying you. I’d be the company owner. You’d be an employee. So to your point, yes I could let you off early and pay you for 8 if that’s what the situation called for. My father in law is HVAC, did it later in life. This is how he got his hours. He started a business, hired a journeyman and paid the guy handsomely, all the while the guy signed off on his hours for all the years it took.
I understood perfectly. If I know my crew got done what I wanted for the day and there's hours in the budget, I make the decision to let them go early and put them down for 8 hours worked. The owner of the company doesn't tell me when I can sneak off early. I was just making fun of the situation.
Which is funny because I am telling the owner of the company that he can go home early, and i will even put him down for a full 8 hours worked.
You have now wasted both my time and my joke. I retract my original statement. Goodday to you, sir.
I think a decent option would be to find someone you want to start a company with. Maybe a 60/40 or 50/50 but if you can bank roll a vehicle and tools to make it worth it for him in exchange for his license and training basically. Then you could maybe do your current job while transitioning into the new company. Just off the basis of not expecting to pay yourself a proper wage for at least 5 years. I think it’s a bit ambitious to change careers at 47 but 100% possible especially if you can check your ego at the door. Buy a code book, start reading through it. You may not be the fastest but you can always be knowledgeable which can help a tonne.
Don’t encourage others to do that it hurts fellow electricians who have legit business who own and earned they’re masters .if you ever get to own you’re own business you will understand how detrimental it is for those who have put in the time and effort .
Not all paths look the same for everyone. You make do with the opportunities you get/create.
But with a comment like that, I would hope you’re At least union. Every business undermines the work they have done to keep wages high and the safety standards we have today.
You need a masters electricians license in Canada to own a business which you need to have a completed an apprenticeship and been a journeyman for 3 years to be eligible to take the masters exam. Or you can hire a master electrician who is willing to let you use his license, but good luck the financial cost of running a business is a lot more than you think.
I left engineering (laid off, 55 people that day from shipping /IT/ engineering) when I was 43
Basically to lazy to do job interviews/resume work
Bought a nail bag, some new tools, and became a carpenter.
Love the job,
But should have taken a couple of interviews
I was in really good shape, old farm boy so hard work was beaten into me
It's getting harder every morning
Yeah, that’s an unpopular, and close-minded, opinion.
How old are you? How’s your physical ability? I work with plenty of guys 50+, some are agile, some are damn near broken. Their experience doesn’t really matter at that point. This is a grown man, already knows how to apply himself, learn on his own, work hard. Not some child you have to follow around and make sure he’s not in TikTok in some corner instead of working.
Well, I'm 45, I joined the trade at 37, and I can tell you, the numbers are not in favor of someone over 45. We just can't keep the pace of a 20-25yo. There is a natural progression, and if you're still pulling feeders and digging ditches at 45, you need a hard evaluation of your career.
Yes, there are some guys who can do the work at that age, but it's not realistic to say a 45yo with no field experience can produce at that level. Maybe he can do it, but as a supervisor, I wouldn't want him on my job for purely pragmatic reasons. Higher likelyhood of injury, slower production, more difficulty absorbing concepts and methods, etc.
This is the trades, it's not your mom's house over spaghetti dinner. Reality is different than feelings.
I’m 34, just about done my first year as an apprentice and it has kicked my ass. I got hired doing primarily residential rough in’s in apartment buildings, and the amount of labour I do destroys me.
9 hour days, $20 an hour in one of the most expensive cities in Canada, non union.
Imagine this. It’s November and -20 cold, and the windows aren’t up on a 6 floor apartment building. The wind cuts you to the bone when you are above the first floor. You get a wire delivery. You and maybe 2 other apprentices have to manually walk 100 spools of wire from the parking garage to the 6th floor. Each spool weighs a minimum of 20 lbs. some weigh 40 lbs.
Now imagine on top of that you make so little money you can’t afford to take your partner out for lunch, can’t afford vehicle fixes, or emergency bills.
It’s pretty bleak at the start, which is why the trade
Is having trouble keeping apprentices.
To comment about moving material. Obviously, cost is important. Therefore, the appentices get all the grunt work. That being said, a good foreman or boss should be looking for the most most effective way to do things. High rise buildings have construction elevators which the GC back charges whoever uses it. Cheaper and faster to use that, than to have x# of apprentices shlep the material.
It's amazing how many contractors do things the hard(ultimately expensive) way, thinking they are saving money.
On the subject of trade (pre-apprenticeship) school. While it gives you 1st year schooling and 900hrs, it doesn't make sense economically. You will earn roughly $18k working instead of being in school, of which you have to pay for. And, there is no guarantee you will find a position once you get out.
Ha yea say that after you've been in a tight attic or have had to contort your body thru a small crawl space. Or been up and down a ladder for 10 hrs. Dudes got ambition but the fact of the matter is something's are just left to the younger guys in this field. Plus how can anyone pay him top dollar when he doesnt have the field experience. Scratch that no one in their right mind could make a change like that so late you're gonna take a pay cut big-time. It's not like he leaving the cooperate world to follow his passion of cooking or owning a store. He's thinking of getting into construction, yea we might not work as hard as concrete hands or roofers, but electrical comes with it's own unique brand of hard work.
Someone has to employ you, pay you and make a profit from your labor. Some people are too old, out of shape, unable to do this work, so it's a reasonable question. We lose physical ability as we age, very fast after 30-40++ especially if sedentary and overweight. So it's an often asked question (one could just search and see the hundreds of Reddit discussions on this) but it's reasonable to ask. The job is physical, involves heights, raw strength at times, grip, endurance, climbing, etc.
I started as an apprentice at 40. Now 18 years later I am happy with my choice. I cannot and do not keep up with the twenty something lads who do indeed run circles around me. However, I do have a place and their respect by working as hard as I can and keeping the job and the paperwork in order. You are never too old until you are. Only you can make that determination. It will be a much more physical job than you have had (probably), but not unmanageable. As a result you will achieve a higher level of physical conditioning without having to visit the gym. Although if you are already in that habit keep it up and your conditioning will be much better overall.
No, you’re not too old. I started older than you and I’m still able to keep up with kids half my age.
A friend of ours has another friend who owns a small business in construction. He, my friend, said his friend refuses to hire anyone under 45 years old. Says the younger generation is just a waste of time. I find that mentality quite extreme, but I think he’s not alone.
You can do this. Just DIVE into it.
- Get the NEC code Handbook. It’s hard cover, more expensive but has extra notes to help explain the code.
- Subscribe to as many electrical videos & podcasts as you can.
- Create Google docs to write your notes in.
- There are online test resources you can take advantage of to train on.
- Learn electrical theory. Many guys don’t understand it and say “it’s just a theory,” which shows they literally don’t know what they’re talking about.
- Be prepared to be paid shit while as an apprentice. So learn as much as you can as fast as you can to get ahead of the curve.
- Ask a lot of questions.
You can do it. Good luck.
I'll say in Canada, electricians in MY opinion are a dime a dozen (I'm one), wages are nothing special in Ontario/AB/BC, have been stagnant for 15 years. It's a crappy pay to be a 50 year old first year apprentice making 18 bucks Canadian or whatever the rate is. You cap out, spend 8 years getting your Masters in Ontario to run a business one day (5 year apprenticeship in Ontario then an additional 3 years working as a JM to be eligible to write your masters). Now you're 55-56 looking to start a contracting business. Electrical is pretty flooded here. There is zero shortage of master electricians/contractors as well as unlicensed handymen, journeymen and apprentices and general contractors willing to shop at home depot and undercut you on price, not to mention DIYers and people youtubing everything. Its hard to make a good living as an electrical contractor.
Why not skip all that and go start contracting in something less competitive right now, without an 8 year wait ti get your credentials to be contracting, only to realize how flooded it is? Trim and finish carpentry, windows and doors installation, concrete patios, there are so many more profitable options with less competition AND rules.
These inspectors eat you alive. Do a job 45 minutes from the house. Inspector doesn't show up past timeframe, so you leave, they inspect a trench when you're not there. Nitpick trench depth claiming 17.5" instead of 18" even though you're 20 at points. They always want to find something for a callback. Drive back on your fuel to fix a stupid deficiency.
The wise electrician always leaves a very visible, easy to fix issue for an inspector to find. My favorites are a missing bonding conductor or box on strut too high for ADA. They have to find something, and I’d prefer they find what I want them to find.
There is no one over here on Vancouver Island to hire. It's crazy. I've had $10hr in raises over the last year because the boss doesn't want to lose me. The Union increased their rate as well, and they are taking all the guys.
What is the rate? What are they paying you over a regular journeyman and what do you do? Nobody wants to live on Vancouver Island because of cost of living. In my mind getting $40 per hour in Edmonton oe Calgary is a better life then getting $50-55 per hour on Vancouver Island but curious what they are paying there if "nobody wants to work"
How much do you make a year? Is that considered a decent, living wage where you live? Does your current job offer benefits that would be tough to lose? Retirement?
Please don’t take this too harshly but I see posts like this almost every day on this sub and they usually amount to:
“I have a cushy white collar job where I make close to six figures. I have health benefits and my life is going more or less smoothly. But I’m so *bored* sitting at a desk all day and I’ve swapped a light fixture or two in my day so I really want to give it all up to be an electrician so I can feel like I do something with my time”
Many of us would kill to have a government job with pay and benefits that probably exceed private sector contractor pay. Even if you joined the union I’m sure you would take a big financial hit until you put your time and and then what, you’re in your 50’s just starting to make the same pay you’re already making? Again, sorry if this reply is prickly I’m just kind of sick of these posts
Yeah dude, like as a result of being an electrician my back always hurts and my mental health sucks. Im out of a job rn and I really dont think I’ll be going back.
Have to agree. I’m a younger guy, and guys my age are getting into their careers in offices and feeling like they aren’t doing anything cool or locked in a cubical cell. Then they think because I work with my hands and have practical skills that they should hop on it.
In reality, they’re just seeing the grass on the other side of the fence. Had one guy start the apprenticeship and got sent out in late May to a big job just starting underground. He quit by Wednesday. As it turns out, lugging 4 inch to a trench in the sun wasn’t as comfortable as the AC office.
I love doing electrical work, even when it sucks. But that’s not everyone. Seeing someone that loves their work may make it look more appealing than it actually is.
Here’s a thought from my observations as a 56y/o.
Construction is not a trade you really want to get into at your age. HOWEVER!!! The Electrical Generation Industry is hurting. They have employees who are retiring with as much as 46 years with the company and they are hiring ANYONE. I say this because, at least in my region, my current employer has had management that has moved up and out, yet they were behind on bringing on experienced help or building experienced employees over the years. So they went on a hiring spree, replacing retired workers, one for one. Now they’re coming down to the last two employees with decades of experience. Most of the new hires are motivated, but only a few have excelled and will be on track to fill in the shoes of the person they replaced. This includes I.T. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a position within the local/regional Utility Company, but we are beginning to rely more heavily on outside vendors and pairing up employees as on-site “liaisons” to learn along with them.
These vendors range from HVAC, Generator Technicians and I.T.
The I.T. Vendors pull the cables, terminate, test, troubleshoot, calibrate and maintain/replace equipment.
I doubt we are the only company in this unique position, but the vendors are sometimes hiring our retired employees to come back on a part-time or job-related basis.
It’s an easy job they’re performing that’s not far from your field, yet the pay/benefits would far exceed starting from scratch as an Apprentice with a residential/commercial electrical contractor.
Your skills may fit better in an industrial environment or heavy commercial installing CAT6/fiber, routers, etc. and dealing with the HMI communications of the equipment.
Just a thought I’d put in your head from a former commercial/industrial electrician that’s moved on to a familiar environment in maintaining, troubleshooting calibrating and installing Instrumentation, Controls and Electrical.
Unpopular opinion, fuck no. Why would you do that to yourself? It’s cool to take a few classes and learn to wire stuff but dude. You have a govt job, work IT. Get a better IT job and a gym membership. Take a couple classes at community college. Imagine working in 10 degree weather in a house with no walls or windows, all your wire is breaking so you gotta pull every damn thing, all the while your pm is saying hey bro we need this done faster. In fact, you could be the fastest in your company and your boss will still say hey man youre not fast enough. If anything dealing with office beauracrats is worse because they always bid and estimate the dumbest fucking shit, YET NEVER TAKE THE TIME TO GO OUT IN THE FIELD AND LOOK AT WHAT THEY ACTUALLY BID. Fuck
At 41, I quit my job as an executive chef, being in the restaurant industry for 25 years, making 65k/yr.
At 45, I’ll be close to finishing my apprenticeship (need them hours), working for a large regional non-union commercial company, in a vehicle running service work, making close to 80k/yr. And that’s working only 40 hours/wk. not the 60+ in the restaurant.
Don’t wait. There’s no time like the present
Restaurant and food service work can be and IS very demanding based upon the time of day more that anything. I too worked food service for 12 plus years before switching over to the trade at 42. Still bake and cook at home, but just the freedom of moving about daily, different job sites etc is worth the change for me.
Ive worked with a number of 50+ yr old 1st year apprentices. None of them washed out and 1 has his own business now. With your IT background, you could potentially get into one of the low voltage divisions if you're into that. Controls, security, fire alarm or structured cabling. They all have a bit more technical networking/programming aspect to it.
One piece of advice i got from my first employer was to work Resi for your first 2 years. Thats enough to learn 90% of that job. Then move on to commercial or industrial work.
Once you start, you're green. When I was in my early 20s i had to train 50 year career changers like yourself. They had no intention of learning and no patience. Its a hard job and you need to put your time in it and your ego at the door. It's a hard trade and you will need to respect those who have more experience than yourself. Even if they are younger than you. Dude it sounds like you made a good living with your career. Just find more to do in your free time. I'm sick of hearing "I make a lot of money but work is borrring!". Get creative outside of work. Work sucks! Doing this for a living sucks! Keep DIyying if you want. As for the politics and bureaucracy, it's the same shit in the trade. A lot of white collar people think that this work is just physical. We have to know a lot just like you do with your job, while physically being worked to extremes. If I could do it all over again I would have taken school to the office jobs. My office counterparts having more free time, more money, and more energy to do what they want. Ive spent almost my whole career on electrical working like a dog and feeling worn out and unhappy that i havent grown outside of my career. I'm sure that your job sucks but you will find that the grass is not greener on the other side. It's dead. But yes, if you want to throw all that away, you can do this in your 50s. Id rather travel or pick up a hobby though instead.
I am 30 and want out of the trade...too tired to pursue my interests, brain is worn out when i am home and dealing with assholes puts me in a bad mood for my wife . The trade is extremely overated
It feels like a pyramid scheme. You invest a shit load of time and money into doing hard work both mentally and physically while buying hundreds to thousands of dollars worth of tools and equipment. You work 50 to 60 hours a week doing grueling work, just to have it all add up to an entry level college grad job. Now its even more insulting to have college grads work at home while I wear down my car in mostly two hour commutes back and forth every day to some shitty construction site that is filthy and dangerous. Usually I am told to park a mile a way and drag 3 cases of tools to get to started working at 6 or 7am sharp. And yes the people are the worst assholes ever. I grew up learning to be polite and respectful to others regardless. That being said, 7 years of working for and with absolute scum has made me bitter and more resentful. When you switch to freelance and try to start your own business, your wages go down because customers are cheap and think of you as a servant bitch. At first, you think your can just stand your ground on prices. But then they'll just call some illegal laborers or redneck "handyman" to do a shitty bootleg job. You end up having to takes shit pay just to get ANY pay any all. It's an important trade that is treated like shit. You will only make 6 figures if your divorce your wife and dedicate your life to work. The most successful and best electricians I know and have worked for are one-note and live to work. They have no personal lives outside of work and worked their lives away. If you are one of those, power to you. I want enjoy myself and have a girlfriend for once.
i am on my way out as well. Some niche union guys do well but at the end of the day the highest paid guy at my company makes 80-100 k which doesnt mean much these days.... the only people who think the money is good are single guys and the 20 yesr olds livinng with mom an dad. like you said its a huge commitment, essentially a 4 year degeee just to make below poverty money. I always wonder if i dedicated my time in the 4 yesr apprenticeship studying medicine, finance or engineering where i would be. Work from home is where its at
If it’s something that’s been on your mind that long I’d jump right in! I know guys 60+ that are still rocking the trade. It puts a toll on your body but I believe a body in motion stays in motion!
Not too old at all. I just started in my 40s after 18 years of an office IT job.
The hard part was starting out with the pay super low for a first year apprentice. But after a few years it's more comfortable now.
I don't miss the office drama at all, and I'm stronger now and I am better with the tools so i can fix stuff around my house now!
One good thing about being a 40 year old first year is the foreman appreciated my life experience to knkw how to behave and show up at work ready and on time compared to some younger guys still partying.
Do you have a pension from your government job? I’d honestly get to whatever amount of years’ service you need to be entitled to a nice little income, and then jump. I’d imagine you have 20+ years already, no?
I personally don’t think you’re ever too old to start something new, I think the question is more a matter of Can you handle the physical toll of labor associated with a trade. It sounds like you’re in decent shape and I don’t think it’s unheard of for people to transition trades later in life. Honestly considering this myself after software engineering. I’m 30 years old and while engineering doesn’t make me depressed it’s starting to lose its luster. Conversely I’ve started enjoying doing DIY stuff around our new house. I’ve found it to be pretty rewarding and interesting. For now I’m trying to make some more money, invest, etc. and then reassess in the next 10 years or so.
It sounds like you got 2 more years until you can get a pension. Then it’s just a matter of you deciding for yourself if that pension is enough to sustain you reasonably while you go on to learn and become an electrician and beyond and if it’s worth putting up with a job you hate for another two years. Realistically, the difference between 47-49 isn’t that stark in terms of health/aging—especially if you’re already in good shape. But again, if you really, really hate your job, like it genuinely makes you depressed it might be worth to make the jump.
Best of luck to ya!
I'm hoping you get helpful answers, because I'm very much in the same boat. Same age, looking to make a change from a career I don't like. But I'm in BC, not Ontario.
I dont know where you from but try to get into a school that gets you into union right after.
I'm from Canada and there's a great demand for trade workers whether you are women, natives or older people. I've got a couple guys that are 40 and 50.
You will have less chances with private companies for sure, but don't let that stop you because when you are about to leave this world you don't want to regret 20 years ago you didn't make the switch.
I'm 45 myself and just recently put in an application to join with IBEW 613. I was all gung ho about the prospect until I saw the practice assessment test. I haven't done Algebra in over 28 years and I could barely do it as an honors student in HS. I realized I was in way over my head and withdrew my application. I would need to study Algebra for months to even have a shot at passing that assessment yet they wanted me to come test in one month. My reasoning is that my chances of being selected for an apprenticeship at age 45 was already pretty low, so I would probably need to score at least an 8 out of 9 on the assessment. Not happening with only 30 days of prep time.
Where can I see this test? I am decent at math. Am curious how hard it is. Have kept up with a lot of math due to my job and my teenage kids in high school. My gut tells me I’d pass without study, but I’d like to look. Suspect ibew613 must be my local union too.
IBEW 613, as in Atlanta? There is no "selection" for an apprenticeship, you just need to have a pulse and - last I heard - a 4/9 score on the test. Resubmit that application!
Now... despite stereotypes of construction workers, it does help to be smart to do this job. If you bring a lot to the table from a mental and maturity standpoint, you can make up for (a modest amount of) physical limitation.
I applied for inside wireman and I was under the impression that spots were more scarce than applicants and that the worst scores would get pushed to the bottom of the stack. I might could have done well on the reading comprehension and then guessed my way through the multiple choice on the Algebra for a score of 4 but I hated Algebra as a student in high school so if the field is as math intensive as that assessment leads me to believe then it's not for me.
I've seen guys your age start an apprenticeship, it's not unheard of.
Just keep in mind, this is a physical job, especially for apprentices. Going from an indoor IT culture to construction may be a bit of a shock as well.
Not sure if the US compares to Canada in this way, but if you have a government job, look into maintenance electrical work in the government sector. I am a federal employee in the US but I do maintenance electrical work at a federal hospital. They typically don't hire older people with lack of experience, but it's worth a shot. We've had a couple people work for us with limited electrical experience but did an apprenticeship program through our union.
There are 2 guys in my 4th year class in their mid 50’s. If you want it and your body is in good enough condition to do the work, go get it man.
Physical labor and this job CAN be rough on the back and knees, but that’s a non-factor if you don’t already have chronic pain and work carefully.
Lots of ladder climbing and working down low can be hard on the knees, and depending on the job a heavy tools belt may be necessary but if you can hack that, you can do it
Honestly 47 is too old. You will start as an apprentice and they wont be easy on you because you are older. You will carry stuff, clean, be on your knees and yea fish alot of wires. It's fun. But to start at 47... some guys retire at 47.
I was a counselor for 13 years, and at the age of 40 started an apprenticeship with IBEW. They will take people of all ages! It's hard work, dirty, sometimes hot or freezing cold! But I love not having to worry about desk life and phone calls.
Construction is fast paced and hard work especially residential. You can do maintenance electrician work in industrial more relaxed but still requires alot of knowledge and skill. Some companies don't even require a journeyman license for maintenance.
I have a somewhat similar background to you, and decided that an apprenticeship was not a good plan for me given my age and some physical limitations, so I ended up starting a handyman business.
A lot of this will depend in your local jurisdiction, but in mine (Alaska), a licensed handyman can run low voltage wire and remove and replace devices.
My second biggest customer is an IT company that hires me as a subcontractor to run their network cables, install cameras, etc.
If I were you, I would become a utility lineman instead.
You'll lack the speed and endurance required to keep up with an apprentice in their 20s, and they'll easily out-pace you, might even lap you twice in a round structure.
Electricians need to work fast so the next specialist can come do their job right behind you on the same day.
Dumb question, how much longer do you plan on working? At 47, you're probably looking at being 51 at the soonest when you've completed your apprenticeship, and it'll be 4 years of relatively low pay until then. Depending on how your saving has been going, it might hurt your retirement plans.
I don’t think you’re too old to be an electrician. Start with residential and work your way from there. You could leverage your it experience and possibly get into a programming / maint gig. Have you ever thought about instrumentation ?
47 is not too old, but yo you have to be in shape.
47 You have to humble yourself , you will get yelled at by a 23 year old when you mess up.
47, you must must have some money saved. If you want to start from the beginning, you will be making scraps until the 3rd 4th and 5th year, depending on the company.
But uea 47 is actually a great time if you don't mind what I mentioned above
Most of the people 26 and under I've worked with only complain , call in sick , cry when they get a cut. Always crying when they have to work long hours.
47 stop procrastinating.. you could have already had 4 years under you
As mentioned by several people already; your NOT TOO old to learn anything new. With that said is it more difficult to learn new things at mid forties that teen and twenties. Absolutely. We generally have more life matters that creep into our conscious thought the older we become. Not to mention children are used to the learning process and it's normal for them at that age.
Now physically you say that you are still in good shape. And you very well may be. But I can personally tell you that I never really felt my age until I hit 51 or so. I have always been in above average physical condition from weight training/cardiovascular training, and am still in ok shape at 56. But I can tell you that I am definitely not in the shape I was running kids half my age into the dirt during my 40's.
One respondent said to get into resi work for first couple of years; to learn the fundamentals etc. And regardless of resi, commercial, industrial work the theory of running circuits is essentially the same. Different means of achieving the runs, Romex, MC, EMT Conduit , Ridgid Conduit, Troughs, Trays, Buss etc. But it's still the same; moving electrical potential from said disconnect, panel enclosure, switch gear etc to the end point of use.. Receptacle outlets, hard wired machinery, lights, switches etc. Which all are governed by the specific items and equipment used.
So unless it a new service, you probably won't be fishing much more than 12AWG through, walks, attics, crawl spaces; with your occasional 6, 8,10 AWG for heaters, stoves, etc. But trust me even though it may only be 12-10 gauge wire, pulling and dressing it correctly is a pain in the ass mid 50's. I've mostly worked commercial.. Love it opposed to industrial and resi. Industrial is more Ridgid Conduit, hazardous location, control work etc. Great work and I enjoy it to a degree. Don't enjoy getting my tools all greasy and oily from cutting and threading pipe but the work is rewarding. Resi work has been very minimal for me through actual employment. Mostly friends, family, personal, side work; but I have replaced several services and complete rewire from scratch. The worst being a manufactured home built in very early 50's when the big build boom was taking place in USA.. 2 x 2 walks that has a chase bored into actual wood members to an opening milled out where outlet was to be placed, switch, receptacle. How do you maintain your 1 1/4" from edge of framing???
Anyway, you will feel the aches and pains crawling around an attic with microfibers if insulation floating around the air as you move about. Hope it isn't asbestos in older remodels. Not to mention the running up and down ladders all day, or working with your hand stretched out overhead for four plus hours a day depending upon what work you are doing.
Then there is the aspect of financial compensation. First two years you will scrape and scrounge to make bills timely etc as your current bills are based upon a different aspects and ability to pay them..
A few people mentioned low voltage, fire alarm, comm work. Which is another aspect of electrical work, but more generally less physically demanding, more technically inclined compared to general comm work. Yes there is control work, lighting, automated shutters and blinds etc and occasionally some FA work that which always needs to be relearned between the 12-16 months you did last FA work. But for the most part, tele tubbies use their grey matter slightly more than others.
The speed at which resi work is done really isn't set for older individuals. Too much throat cutting on bids and cost to leave much wiggle room for profit. Have to rewire one circuit, home run, poof there goes any profit And time IS MONEY so no lolly gagging or slow rolling some work.
It all sounds nice to get your own gig going, to work for yourself, be your own boss...... But reality of it is that you must carry masters license, bonding, insurance, purchasing large amount of tools necessary to accomplish said work. Someone has to bid the work, maintain materials as needed to said jobs, physically man the work, all at the same time facilitating work schedules and flow with other trades, home owners, GC if one exists, supply warehouses etc... Not to mention your 40-45 hour climate controlled job that was way less physically demanding, just became and 80 plus hours a week love, (no more hobby and cheerful glee from running a few circiuts) to braving the elements outdoors. All the while you eat, sleep, make phone calls and other office work in your new mobile office. Your truck or Van. And the restroom amenities are lovely. Especially in a -20 degree morning when the coffee has kicked in and you need to take a dump. The kybo is busy and when you do finally get in it's after a drywaller done left a nice splatter of the previous days beans and burritos all over the seat as the steam billows up from a nice cone shaped soft serve turd that he left the lud up for all to see his master work.
Who am I to discourage someone from getting into the trade. Great opportunities for someone willing to put forth the effort with a wide range of specific work, from FA, Low Voltage to Line Work, Transmission and or Sub Station work. Great pay and retirement opportunity as well Union and sometimes non union. Hey but at least you will get to be your own boss and choose when to go to work, take days off when you please, vacations at will. Not sure how you will fit all that in when your working 75 plus hours a week. If you do seven days a week it's only slightly more than 10 hour days.
Hey whatever you choose to do, good luck.
OP: I have been contemplating this myself recently. Mid 40's. 15 years into a software development career, recently laid off. I love doing my own residential electric (I've fully wired 3 buildings and recently did a new electric service rack). I don't know how I could swing the apprenticeship wages for 4 -5 years, but its an interesting thought experiment. Ideally I would want to run my own business doing small electrical jobs if I could get licensed. I've run my own business before in the trades so I'm aware of some of the pitfalls etc.
No u are not too old. And that bullshit about someone saying ur old and not productive and that the company won't make money is also shit. Pure union mentality. They must not have been on a job recently. Here is my opinion. Kids on the job these days spend more time on their phones on snapchat and other garage then working and guys like me that should be enjoying their careers now are doing most of the work because these young apprentices lack work ethic and respect. Im 33 yrs old electrical contractor and business owner when I can up it was considered shameful to let an older person outwork ,out wire someone older. I currently employ a 55yr old and made him a managing partner because he gets it. Comes to work on time, works hard , makes great money, doesn't mess around, says what he's going to do and does it. Young apprentices think that they deserve to work. So they milk my profits. And want 50 an hour. When I first hired him he was 47 and I didn't need to train him how to hold a hammer and explain to him tasks 100 times over I told him that if he didn't understand something that I was explaining to him he needed to stop me so that we can go over it so he understood and if you still didn't get it I would show him three times do it while he's watching me three times and that's how he learned. Apprentices these days can't take a simple task and complete it with no issues you give them a task they turn around and they forgot what they were doing
With the knowledge you have, you could start a business as a Telus or Shaw cable tech. You're a contractor and don't need an electrician's license
My question is, having a lifelong gov't job, can you afford the massive paycut?
The only real downside to getting in later in life is that you won’t have the time to build up your retirement.
That’s not to say there aren’t other negatives. For one, you’ll be an apprentice likely working for a fresh 25 year old JW. You may have to leave your pride at the door for awhile, if that kind of shit matters to you. It’s also physically demanding, both in work and time. I got in when I was 34 with young twins and it was brutal. Also apprentices are expected to do some of the more grunt work, and if you get a pass because of age, it may rub some guys the wrong way.
In reality, assuming you take care of yourself and have the right attitude, it is still worth it. Good luck.
Never too old.
I had a guy in my team still working at 72. His own choice, they tried to make him retire but he wasn't having a bar of it. Good worker too, one of the better out of the team
I'm curious how you'll deal with the ability of the private sector to get needed tools, materials and clarification/answers in days/hours vs the fraud/waste/abuse method of countless meetings for 1 request.
Everything before the "vs" is about the private sector.
Everything after the "vs" is about the public sector (aka "the useless federal public service.")
I see, well, being nearly 50, and working in the govt for only 8 years, I have nearly 20 in private for large corporations (such as Lockheed). The private sector is driven on revenues and I got very used to the speed and such. Hence, even after 8 years as a civil servant, I still struggle with the fraud and delays and other garbage the guy asked about. I am not sure I will ever get used to the lazy stupid stuff I see every day in club fed. Hence why am seeking career change and pointing out the affinity I have for wiring and cabling and stuff. Some posters have been helpful, but it’s also clear there’s a bunch of electricians who hate their jobs too!
Well, the good news is that it took me 30 years to tear myself up to the point I can't physically do the work anymore, so at your age you should be retired before everything goes to shit.
I'm 49. Been doing electrical for only 16 years and I'm tired. I want to do something different. I'd say it's not what you want to hear, but yes. You're probably too old.. It's a lot of climbing ladders and crawling in tight spaces.
I remember a guy that was 75 worked for my company when I started 25 years ago, so I don't think you're too old. Just remember there's way more to it than pulling wires and fishing, I've been through it all, residential, commercial, industrial, and after 25 years you realize that there are so many specialized fields within this field. Between hospitals, motor control, data and fiber optics, explosion proof classified areas, fire alarm, nurses call systems, security systems, camera systems, ansul systems, PLC's, the list goes on and on. If I could do it all over again, I would of just focused on motor control and PLC's which is one of the things I got into recently when I was chosen to do work for this one factory that makes all the reinforced paper backing for fiberglass insulation. It's so much easier than pulling and terminating 600mcm copper conductors in a Squared D switch gear with 2 feet of wire bending space, lmao. It's just more fascinating to me, when you know how circuitry works going through relays, and proxy sensors, limit switches, and so on. Then you have your bigger feeds controlling the motors from the VFD's. It's cool knowing how to make a machine work, and all the little devices that go along with it. Just make sure you learn how to bend conduit, thread conduit, heat PVC conduit, etc. That's something you'll need in every aspect of being an electrician. If you advance at it well you could still be in a position to become a foreman, and do what I do, then physical labor goes down, and you instruct others what to do. Not saying I don't work with my tools anymore, but I have been less and less as I'm more involved with the planning aspect. I'm a 40yo male btw, and 4 years ago I got my older brother who is 42 into the field as my helper, because he was sick and tired of doing landscaping. If he can do it and Larry Lipensberger could (the 75yo I was talking about when I started 25 years ago, God rest his soul) than so can you!
If you want to get into the industry and make some good money without breaking your back, check out PLC programming and Crestron or Control 4 programming.
My jman rn is like 70 years old. He just tells me what to do and how to do it. Nobody cares about age unless you look too young to have your hands in the panel.
No. To be honest. Age only hurts if you let it.
But... My advice. Don't do it with a big company. The trades are filled with nepotism, sour & abusive attitudes, sarcasam, corruption, impressively frusting levels of incompetence and discrimination. If you can live with that. OK. Have fun. Do it.
There is more of this at larger companies where guys become entrenched and cannot survive outside of the company they work at.
At your age; you try to protect your heart and body. Not stress them and expose them to cancerous, dangerous, and downright and deadly environment.
You can definitely do it. But if you do. I advise you to do it in your retirement or spare time. Restarting a career will be frustrating and being an Electrician will require adjusting to a whole new culture of work.
Get in with a small established contractor and don't try to work in larger companies. Unions an option. But that's another can of worms. Either start union or go union as a licensed electrician.
Good luck. I started at 29. I still feel too old for this shit. Most guys try to head into the office towards their 40s. Some are forever field fellows. But most aren't.
Well you’re not getting any younger. I started at 35 and am finally seeing the benefit after 5 years. You can do it. It’s a difficult road but it is worth it
How much do you have in ya? I own a small electrical company in nc. Turning 50 this year and have been a single person show with 1 helper at any given time for 15 years. The jobs are getting too big and I'm getting too old to wrestle 600mcm cable, crawlspaces, and overhead work (incl bucket/basket)
Not too old. I used to make way more money in a high stress sales job. Worked all the time and hated it almost every day. Brief moments of false happiness when I got the sales, fueled greed and just wanted more toys and consequently spent most of the money. Now I make less but appreciate and enjoy my time and my family. I’m not sure if this relevant you but I’d say follow your gut and instincts. Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.
Thanks for all the support fellas. I agree that the physical labour is hard, but I also agree that keeping moving keeps you moving. Surviving a dramatic pay cut would be hard for my family. I also can understand the idea that journeymen want a reliable person who has integrity and responsibility to show up on time and not be hungover or whatever… this is a common complaint it seems. So it’s less risk taking an older guy from that perspective. The other things that perplexed me are: do I need to go take some courses at the local trade school? It’s not clear. Is that just an on-ramp to getting paired up with a journeyman to get your years? Also, I recall I called the local union 2 years ago to ask “how to get started”. I was put off by their lack of interests, given the constant belly aching of “we need more people”. I recall I had cold called a small electrical company in my neighbourhood, the dudes wife answered, she was his office person. She said they always are taking on apprentices but it must be done via local union. And that was a dead end for me after 2 calls and 3 emails… they just weren’t taking me seriously. Perhaps this is why people say to go do the courses at community college? I am damn positive I can learn any theory and ace those tests. Not that it’s practically useful on the job, but, if it’s an important step that’s the least of my concerns. Now that you guys have piqued my interest again, how would u suggest I investigate? Call the local union again? Go over in person?
I would look into government maintenance jobs. You'd probably have to go to trade school and start in a junior position, but the work is physically much easier than construction and you could probably keep accruing your current pension and seniority.
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Out of probably ~200 there were probably 10 or so guys in my apprentice class that were over 40 and one over 50.
Yeah, the age is almost never a huge issue unless your back is already broken, and you can't or won't lift 30 lbs. The key is to stay humble with your past to start, be open, and demonstrate a willingness to learn and desire to understand, and you'll go far as hell! As you remember from working around the wall-walkers, shitbags, and truly awesome people, find a sense of purpose, and maintain an effective sense of urgency! "Attitude = Altitude," said one of my Kool-aid drinking commanders, as he checked his flat-top and judged us all inferior... dick
Unpopular opinion: You're too old for the majority of commercial and residential field work. You'll have a hard time maintaining the speed necessary for profitable labor. Also, most companies bring on apprentices to develop a future work force, and at your age, you are not really a viable choice to build a foundation on. That being said, you may find a company that is willing to take you on and train you, so it's up to you to do the research. I think you might be a good fit in low voltage or fire alarm niches with your background. You're still in the field, but the pace and physical stress is much lower.
Indeed, and I can understand these sentiments totally. One idea I had was to start my own company, hire a journeyman and pay him to apprentice me.
I agree with u/MrAmazing011 for other aspects of the field. I am a high rise engineer and I deal with all the trades doing work in my building. Fire Alarm is definitely a great direction. The best part of this is, electricians run the conduit to devices like tamper and flow switches, the FA guys wire up the modules from there. Even fire alarm control panel programming, like EST3 or even the new EST4 panels coming out there will be high demand for those. Upgrades and such. Another field I see a lot of work in is access controls. Everyone has key fobs, physical keys are getting rare in a high rise. Low voltage electric strikes and latches. We have Salto and ICT in my building and there is more work than labor at the moment. We just replaced a salto reader and it was two weeks just for install because they were busy.
Is that still under the umbrella of “electrician”? Or is this kind of low voltage/safety/controls another trade?
Where I am in the states it is called a Limited Energy Electrician
If you are looks by to be full blown electrician like you see on TV, working commercial seems easier to me than residential. Pulling romex through wood holes and attics, 5 days a week at your age seems rough. Commercial is pulling wire through conduit and steel studs, but not always small wire for outlets and lights. Big wire and big conduit exist in commercial.I would leave that answer up to the professionals here. I would see them Fire Alarm and access controls as low voltage. Still deals with pulling wire, less demanding physically, big money, especially if you get your own company going. That being said, I would also be curious to see how the electricians here feel about the field of motor controls and VFD's. Everything is going high tech but in large percent of high rises there are old relays and contactors that need brains to install and fix. Those are typical 120v - 480v. Wiring up compressors start/stop on pressure controls, lead lag for motors, mag starters and relays for 75hp fan motors, domestic water pump wiring and controls. Those are high voltage.
I would say anything that is a specialty niche of the electrical trade is a good idea to move into. General electricians, either commercial or residential, have a much higher labor load, but also have the highest diversity of work. A specialist electrician has a narrower focus, but with today's environment, there won't be a shortage in any aspect of electrical work.
Controls is by far more lucrative compared to being an inside wireman. Probably more along the lines of what you currently do
He’d be a perfect panel builder and programmer if he’s already in IT. I’d suggest controls. It’s treated me well and it’s not physically intensive. VFDs and motor controls isn’t too difficult once you have a strong background in understanding 3 phase.
Don’t listen to either of these guys plenty of dudes in their 50’s running circles around young guys. Age doesn’t matter more than being a good hand and picking things up quickly. You go to any major union job and you’ll see dozens of guys in their mid 40’s. The financial and retirement aspect only you can decide. But age is not a limiting factor in itself.
Exactly. As long as you're in decent shape and maintain your flexibility and lift correctly, you should be fine.
It is a electrical license, called a limited energy electrician, an 06 license here in WA state. Less hours for testing requirements, but honestly, you make as much or more as a general inside electrician. At this point in my career, I'm considering starting a small low voltage company because the profit to work ratio is getting wider, and I like the idea of more money for less work.
Below 48 V does not require an electrician It's control voltage
It's low pay and shit work
LOL!!! That's total bullshit!! I've never heard someone so wrong in my life! I'm 48, 49 in October. I'm a 4th year commercial/industrial apprentice as of the end of this month. I currently have 5,000 hrs of experience. I take care of myself, eat right, exercise, and study my ass off. My amount of life experience is a key factor that sets me apart from my peers. I was a chef for 30 years before I decided to leave the industry. I had achieved everything I wanted to when I started. I started out as a dishwasher, worked my way up through the kitchen to executive chef, and eventually business owner of a 10,000 sq ft banquet facility. After COVID, I decided I was ready to move on to a new challenge. I went to a 6 month program and received a certificate for Construction/Electrical. I spent the 1st 3 years non-union and recently joined the union. I guarantee if I can do it, then so can you. Don't listen to some nitwit with a keyboard. If you want it, go out and get it. I'm fortunate that my wife is the breadwinner in our family, but I would have sacrificed everything I own to improve the future. I discovered that I was good at it and really liked doing the work. I'm not going to sit here and say it's not dirty work, because it is. Pulling wire and terminating devices doesn't come right away. You're going to spend the 1st year digging ditches. I can almost guarantee it. If you can get past that, and still see the forest for the trees. The field is vast and filled with reward.
This is my story as well. I'm a 45 year old 3rd yr and I may not be the first up 6 flights of stairs, but nobody is running circles around me and my work. I see a lot of young apprentices who are clueless and have no idea what to do with their tools. A lot of smart kids too don't get me wrong, but lots of stunned and lazy young guys and I've never felt like I can't keep up with either group. Your age and experience is a value. Resetting my paycheck by 20 years has been the hardest part but my wife makes good money and pushed me to go for it. Ive never been happier and more satisfied with my job. If you want it go for it. Just take care of your knees lol
I hear that. I get to work early and do a full 30 minutes of calisthenics for that little bit of extra stretch and flex. My wife and I do a lot of hiking here in Minnesota on the trails and state parks that are literally everywhere. I think that definitely helps keep me rather spry. Same here, never been happier, more fulfilled, and satisfied with my work.
You would need a contractors license in Ontario and for that you would need to be a master electrician.
Could I not hire the guy who is already the master? Maybe even a retired dude? Pay him purely for his ticket holding if he’s not able to sign off on my hours?
That is an interesting question. Not sure how it works in Canada. But unless you know a guy willing to utilize his license on a brand new company with no experience and training the boss at the same time, good luck. He would be using his master's license for your shop and that means you would be paying him more, as well as him being unfireable or you will no longer be able to work until you find a new license to use. That type of person would more thab likely rather just start their own company. You would be relying on him for understanding order or operations for what materials to order as well, because you wouldn't know and otherwise be taking a lot of trips to supply houses on the job. You also would need to find enough work to keep them going 5 days a week and probably offer better benefits just so they would ever risk the chance to partner up with someone with no experience. They would also have personal leverage over your business. It's just not at all a good idea unless you were a project manager before and already understood every aspect of the business side of things. You would be learning how to run your business and do the job, and I assume do the schoolwork as well (I assume that's a requirement there?). Unless you have a personal friend who is also a master electrician you want to go 50/50 on, I just don't see how you find the right guy.
Yes, you can. A lot of people invest in businesses that they don't even actively participate in. It would probably be more of a partnership in that regard. Their sweat equity and your money.
That’s a dick move what about the electricians who actually had to work for they’re hours ? .so you want to be a electrician but you don’t want to pay you’re dues ?have you gone thru a apprenticeship do you have your hours it’s not just pulling wires .have you any experience troubleshooting doing service work? Gtfo you clown.
You’d need your master’s license for that unfortunately. Master Electricians own and operate companies, Journeymen are the crew leaders under them, and Apprentices are under them. Only way to get to Master is work your way up the ladder. In theory, you can do all the schooling and be knowledgeable enough to pass the master’s exam, but in most places to get your license you need the education AND X amount of logged work-hours under a Master’s supervision. Here in Florida for me it was 8,000 OTJ hours, meaning 4 years of 40 hour weeks I suppose you could start a business with or invest in an established Master’s company. Partner with somebody you trust and be an owner/apprentice with profit share lol. Never heard of anyone doing that but I don’t see why not if you really want to learn the trade and be making good money Edit: the more profitable route if you’re planning on going back to school IMO would be becoming an Electrical Engineer, but that’s another office job. If you wanna be doing the work, becoming an apprentice is the way. I don’t see why you couldn’t invest in a company AND enroll in the apprenticeship tho if you want to be working in the field
That's a good idea if you stay a 2 man crew. Have you ever run a small business?
Yes I do right now… very small though. Hobby business… made 17k last year. Peanuts. My 9-5 pays me good but it’s effing awful
Oh brother, do I understand that. I left my 60+hr a week job to become an electrician, and all I can say is, I wish I had done it 20 years sooner. But, oh well, now is now. I think you have a good idea in hiring a master or journeyman and apprenticing under them. Stick with a modest business plan, don't do any job over $50K, and you'll be able to learn and make money at the same time without burning out your jman. The other avenue is to pursue a low voltage career, always diverse and fluid work, definitely has a positive long-term outlook, and there are many, many different avenues to pursue within that niche. Security, controls, lighting, camera, integration, fire alarm, etc, etc.
That would be expensive and begging to be taken advantage of, though not the worst idea if you find the right journeyman. Also I know where I live, getting a contractors license requires some experience and some trade knowledge but not much. There's a dead horse of a beaten answer here but the union usually LOVES to take the extra time out to teach someone new, though really if you can afford the pay cut for a few years. Truth is, with most companies, union or otherwise, you could end up being very skilled and useful in 5 years time. When you're 20 that sounds like forever but you've spent over a decade doing gov work so I'd guess you know the price of a couple years of grind You'll probably never be that God level master builder, "I can see electricity in the wires", electrical-engineer-minus-student-debt kinda electrician, but fuck you'll probably take the job more seriously than 90% of the workers I've met. Edit:sober spelling
💯💯💯☝️
I signed up with IEC and started my apprenticeship at age 49. I am 2.5 years in and I am happy.
That’s going to be way more difficult than you realize lol, you’re better off trying to find a company to join if you’re really dead set on it, like the other guy said fire alarms and low voltage are great options, I work with a lot of older contractors in that field and they don’t really complain about the physical work, just the hours
If you go this route find a partner instead who just wants nothing to do with business or people. Because you will still need his help quoting jobs until you get the hang of time and material. An employee may be reluctant to take on that kind of responsibility unless your paying him really well
That's awesome I would jump on that for sure. I'll even let you off early sometimes but pay you for a full 8
I don’t think you understood. I’d be paying you. I’d be the company owner. You’d be an employee. So to your point, yes I could let you off early and pay you for 8 if that’s what the situation called for. My father in law is HVAC, did it later in life. This is how he got his hours. He started a business, hired a journeyman and paid the guy handsomely, all the while the guy signed off on his hours for all the years it took.
I understood perfectly. If I know my crew got done what I wanted for the day and there's hours in the budget, I make the decision to let them go early and put them down for 8 hours worked. The owner of the company doesn't tell me when I can sneak off early. I was just making fun of the situation.
Ok, but in the scenario I’d be both the crew (the apprentice) and the company owner.
Which is funny because I am telling the owner of the company that he can go home early, and i will even put him down for a full 8 hours worked. You have now wasted both my time and my joke. I retract my original statement. Goodday to you, sir.
Manufacture is where old sparkies seem to land at least around me. If there anything in instrumentation and controls you'd be setup for that.
I think a decent option would be to find someone you want to start a company with. Maybe a 60/40 or 50/50 but if you can bank roll a vehicle and tools to make it worth it for him in exchange for his license and training basically. Then you could maybe do your current job while transitioning into the new company. Just off the basis of not expecting to pay yourself a proper wage for at least 5 years. I think it’s a bit ambitious to change careers at 47 but 100% possible especially if you can check your ego at the door. Buy a code book, start reading through it. You may not be the fastest but you can always be knowledgeable which can help a tonne.
Don’t encourage others to do that it hurts fellow electricians who have legit business who own and earned they’re masters .if you ever get to own you’re own business you will understand how detrimental it is for those who have put in the time and effort .
Not all paths look the same for everyone. You make do with the opportunities you get/create. But with a comment like that, I would hope you’re At least union. Every business undermines the work they have done to keep wages high and the safety standards we have today.
You need a masters electricians license in Canada to own a business which you need to have a completed an apprenticeship and been a journeyman for 3 years to be eligible to take the masters exam. Or you can hire a master electrician who is willing to let you use his license, but good luck the financial cost of running a business is a lot more than you think.
What about a guy already retired. Wouldn’t he still be “licensed”? I know this is a common trick in other trades.
He still needs to have his masters license paid and not expired
I’m 47 and work circles around 25 year olds where I work. Working fast and efficient is a mindset, precluding physical limitations.
Good for you.
Thanks.
I left engineering (laid off, 55 people that day from shipping /IT/ engineering) when I was 43 Basically to lazy to do job interviews/resume work Bought a nail bag, some new tools, and became a carpenter. Love the job, But should have taken a couple of interviews I was in really good shape, old farm boy so hard work was beaten into me It's getting harder every morning
Yeah, that’s an unpopular, and close-minded, opinion. How old are you? How’s your physical ability? I work with plenty of guys 50+, some are agile, some are damn near broken. Their experience doesn’t really matter at that point. This is a grown man, already knows how to apply himself, learn on his own, work hard. Not some child you have to follow around and make sure he’s not in TikTok in some corner instead of working.
Well, I'm 45, I joined the trade at 37, and I can tell you, the numbers are not in favor of someone over 45. We just can't keep the pace of a 20-25yo. There is a natural progression, and if you're still pulling feeders and digging ditches at 45, you need a hard evaluation of your career. Yes, there are some guys who can do the work at that age, but it's not realistic to say a 45yo with no field experience can produce at that level. Maybe he can do it, but as a supervisor, I wouldn't want him on my job for purely pragmatic reasons. Higher likelyhood of injury, slower production, more difficulty absorbing concepts and methods, etc. This is the trades, it's not your mom's house over spaghetti dinner. Reality is different than feelings.
I’m 34, just about done my first year as an apprentice and it has kicked my ass. I got hired doing primarily residential rough in’s in apartment buildings, and the amount of labour I do destroys me. 9 hour days, $20 an hour in one of the most expensive cities in Canada, non union. Imagine this. It’s November and -20 cold, and the windows aren’t up on a 6 floor apartment building. The wind cuts you to the bone when you are above the first floor. You get a wire delivery. You and maybe 2 other apprentices have to manually walk 100 spools of wire from the parking garage to the 6th floor. Each spool weighs a minimum of 20 lbs. some weigh 40 lbs. Now imagine on top of that you make so little money you can’t afford to take your partner out for lunch, can’t afford vehicle fixes, or emergency bills. It’s pretty bleak at the start, which is why the trade Is having trouble keeping apprentices.
To comment about moving material. Obviously, cost is important. Therefore, the appentices get all the grunt work. That being said, a good foreman or boss should be looking for the most most effective way to do things. High rise buildings have construction elevators which the GC back charges whoever uses it. Cheaper and faster to use that, than to have x# of apprentices shlep the material. It's amazing how many contractors do things the hard(ultimately expensive) way, thinking they are saving money. On the subject of trade (pre-apprenticeship) school. While it gives you 1st year schooling and 900hrs, it doesn't make sense economically. You will earn roughly $18k working instead of being in school, of which you have to pay for. And, there is no guarantee you will find a position once you get out.
I have never seen a construction elevator since I began. The best I’ve seen are extendable booms that can occasionally get up to mid building
Gotta get the hell out of non union area. I don’t get out of bed unless I’m making $500 USD/day
Ah yes, but moving costs money, and money is not a thing I have thanks to my wage
Real talk! I’ve walked in those shoes.
I hate the "Am I too old" BS. If you're still living, you can do whatever you want.
I agree, but, some people genuinely don't know the toll it is on the body. Also, wether a company hire a 50 year old apprentice.
No ones stopping him from trying, but he's probably not going to like the work a starter gets as a 47 year old man.
Ha yea say that after you've been in a tight attic or have had to contort your body thru a small crawl space. Or been up and down a ladder for 10 hrs. Dudes got ambition but the fact of the matter is something's are just left to the younger guys in this field. Plus how can anyone pay him top dollar when he doesnt have the field experience. Scratch that no one in their right mind could make a change like that so late you're gonna take a pay cut big-time. It's not like he leaving the cooperate world to follow his passion of cooking or owning a store. He's thinking of getting into construction, yea we might not work as hard as concrete hands or roofers, but electrical comes with it's own unique brand of hard work.
He’d be much better off getting into controls and finding a county or factory job. Both are relatively easy physically.
Someone has to employ you, pay you and make a profit from your labor. Some people are too old, out of shape, unable to do this work, so it's a reasonable question. We lose physical ability as we age, very fast after 30-40++ especially if sedentary and overweight. So it's an often asked question (one could just search and see the hundreds of Reddit discussions on this) but it's reasonable to ask. The job is physical, involves heights, raw strength at times, grip, endurance, climbing, etc.
You wouldn't be the first apprentisaurus
That’s a great word!! Haha
I started as an apprentice at 40. Now 18 years later I am happy with my choice. I cannot and do not keep up with the twenty something lads who do indeed run circles around me. However, I do have a place and their respect by working as hard as I can and keeping the job and the paperwork in order. You are never too old until you are. Only you can make that determination. It will be a much more physical job than you have had (probably), but not unmanageable. As a result you will achieve a higher level of physical conditioning without having to visit the gym. Although if you are already in that habit keep it up and your conditioning will be much better overall.
No, you’re not too old. I started older than you and I’m still able to keep up with kids half my age. A friend of ours has another friend who owns a small business in construction. He, my friend, said his friend refuses to hire anyone under 45 years old. Says the younger generation is just a waste of time. I find that mentality quite extreme, but I think he’s not alone. You can do this. Just DIVE into it. - Get the NEC code Handbook. It’s hard cover, more expensive but has extra notes to help explain the code. - Subscribe to as many electrical videos & podcasts as you can. - Create Google docs to write your notes in. - There are online test resources you can take advantage of to train on. - Learn electrical theory. Many guys don’t understand it and say “it’s just a theory,” which shows they literally don’t know what they’re talking about. - Be prepared to be paid shit while as an apprentice. So learn as much as you can as fast as you can to get ahead of the curve. - Ask a lot of questions. You can do it. Good luck.
I'll say in Canada, electricians in MY opinion are a dime a dozen (I'm one), wages are nothing special in Ontario/AB/BC, have been stagnant for 15 years. It's a crappy pay to be a 50 year old first year apprentice making 18 bucks Canadian or whatever the rate is. You cap out, spend 8 years getting your Masters in Ontario to run a business one day (5 year apprenticeship in Ontario then an additional 3 years working as a JM to be eligible to write your masters). Now you're 55-56 looking to start a contracting business. Electrical is pretty flooded here. There is zero shortage of master electricians/contractors as well as unlicensed handymen, journeymen and apprentices and general contractors willing to shop at home depot and undercut you on price, not to mention DIYers and people youtubing everything. Its hard to make a good living as an electrical contractor. Why not skip all that and go start contracting in something less competitive right now, without an 8 year wait ti get your credentials to be contracting, only to realize how flooded it is? Trim and finish carpentry, windows and doors installation, concrete patios, there are so many more profitable options with less competition AND rules. These inspectors eat you alive. Do a job 45 minutes from the house. Inspector doesn't show up past timeframe, so you leave, they inspect a trench when you're not there. Nitpick trench depth claiming 17.5" instead of 18" even though you're 20 at points. They always want to find something for a callback. Drive back on your fuel to fix a stupid deficiency.
The wise electrician always leaves a very visible, easy to fix issue for an inspector to find. My favorites are a missing bonding conductor or box on strut too high for ADA. They have to find something, and I’d prefer they find what I want them to find.
There is no one over here on Vancouver Island to hire. It's crazy. I've had $10hr in raises over the last year because the boss doesn't want to lose me. The Union increased their rate as well, and they are taking all the guys.
What is the rate? What are they paying you over a regular journeyman and what do you do? Nobody wants to live on Vancouver Island because of cost of living. In my mind getting $40 per hour in Edmonton oe Calgary is a better life then getting $50-55 per hour on Vancouver Island but curious what they are paying there if "nobody wants to work"
How much do you make a year? Is that considered a decent, living wage where you live? Does your current job offer benefits that would be tough to lose? Retirement? Please don’t take this too harshly but I see posts like this almost every day on this sub and they usually amount to: “I have a cushy white collar job where I make close to six figures. I have health benefits and my life is going more or less smoothly. But I’m so *bored* sitting at a desk all day and I’ve swapped a light fixture or two in my day so I really want to give it all up to be an electrician so I can feel like I do something with my time” Many of us would kill to have a government job with pay and benefits that probably exceed private sector contractor pay. Even if you joined the union I’m sure you would take a big financial hit until you put your time and and then what, you’re in your 50’s just starting to make the same pay you’re already making? Again, sorry if this reply is prickly I’m just kind of sick of these posts
Yeah dude, like as a result of being an electrician my back always hurts and my mental health sucks. Im out of a job rn and I really dont think I’ll be going back.
Have to agree. I’m a younger guy, and guys my age are getting into their careers in offices and feeling like they aren’t doing anything cool or locked in a cubical cell. Then they think because I work with my hands and have practical skills that they should hop on it. In reality, they’re just seeing the grass on the other side of the fence. Had one guy start the apprenticeship and got sent out in late May to a big job just starting underground. He quit by Wednesday. As it turns out, lugging 4 inch to a trench in the sun wasn’t as comfortable as the AC office. I love doing electrical work, even when it sucks. But that’s not everyone. Seeing someone that loves their work may make it look more appealing than it actually is.
Yea what most people need is a hobby and they mistake this job or any physical job as something that’s gonna fill that void
this trade really is glorified wage slaving. Unless youre in a niche union or friends with the owners som or sething it sucks
Here’s a thought from my observations as a 56y/o. Construction is not a trade you really want to get into at your age. HOWEVER!!! The Electrical Generation Industry is hurting. They have employees who are retiring with as much as 46 years with the company and they are hiring ANYONE. I say this because, at least in my region, my current employer has had management that has moved up and out, yet they were behind on bringing on experienced help or building experienced employees over the years. So they went on a hiring spree, replacing retired workers, one for one. Now they’re coming down to the last two employees with decades of experience. Most of the new hires are motivated, but only a few have excelled and will be on track to fill in the shoes of the person they replaced. This includes I.T. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a position within the local/regional Utility Company, but we are beginning to rely more heavily on outside vendors and pairing up employees as on-site “liaisons” to learn along with them. These vendors range from HVAC, Generator Technicians and I.T. The I.T. Vendors pull the cables, terminate, test, troubleshoot, calibrate and maintain/replace equipment. I doubt we are the only company in this unique position, but the vendors are sometimes hiring our retired employees to come back on a part-time or job-related basis. It’s an easy job they’re performing that’s not far from your field, yet the pay/benefits would far exceed starting from scratch as an Apprentice with a residential/commercial electrical contractor. Your skills may fit better in an industrial environment or heavy commercial installing CAT6/fiber, routers, etc. and dealing with the HMI communications of the equipment. Just a thought I’d put in your head from a former commercial/industrial electrician that’s moved on to a familiar environment in maintaining, troubleshooting calibrating and installing Instrumentation, Controls and Electrical.
Unpopular opinion, fuck no. Why would you do that to yourself? It’s cool to take a few classes and learn to wire stuff but dude. You have a govt job, work IT. Get a better IT job and a gym membership. Take a couple classes at community college. Imagine working in 10 degree weather in a house with no walls or windows, all your wire is breaking so you gotta pull every damn thing, all the while your pm is saying hey bro we need this done faster. In fact, you could be the fastest in your company and your boss will still say hey man youre not fast enough. If anything dealing with office beauracrats is worse because they always bid and estimate the dumbest fucking shit, YET NEVER TAKE THE TIME TO GO OUT IN THE FIELD AND LOOK AT WHAT THEY ACTUALLY BID. Fuck
Forgot to mention, your first couple years you will likely get paid less than fast food workers
At 41, I quit my job as an executive chef, being in the restaurant industry for 25 years, making 65k/yr. At 45, I’ll be close to finishing my apprenticeship (need them hours), working for a large regional non-union commercial company, in a vehicle running service work, making close to 80k/yr. And that’s working only 40 hours/wk. not the 60+ in the restaurant. Don’t wait. There’s no time like the present
Restaurant and food service work can be and IS very demanding based upon the time of day more that anything. I too worked food service for 12 plus years before switching over to the trade at 42. Still bake and cook at home, but just the freedom of moving about daily, different job sites etc is worth the change for me.
Ive worked with a number of 50+ yr old 1st year apprentices. None of them washed out and 1 has his own business now. With your IT background, you could potentially get into one of the low voltage divisions if you're into that. Controls, security, fire alarm or structured cabling. They all have a bit more technical networking/programming aspect to it. One piece of advice i got from my first employer was to work Resi for your first 2 years. Thats enough to learn 90% of that job. Then move on to commercial or industrial work.
Once you start, you're green. When I was in my early 20s i had to train 50 year career changers like yourself. They had no intention of learning and no patience. Its a hard job and you need to put your time in it and your ego at the door. It's a hard trade and you will need to respect those who have more experience than yourself. Even if they are younger than you. Dude it sounds like you made a good living with your career. Just find more to do in your free time. I'm sick of hearing "I make a lot of money but work is borrring!". Get creative outside of work. Work sucks! Doing this for a living sucks! Keep DIyying if you want. As for the politics and bureaucracy, it's the same shit in the trade. A lot of white collar people think that this work is just physical. We have to know a lot just like you do with your job, while physically being worked to extremes. If I could do it all over again I would have taken school to the office jobs. My office counterparts having more free time, more money, and more energy to do what they want. Ive spent almost my whole career on electrical working like a dog and feeling worn out and unhappy that i havent grown outside of my career. I'm sure that your job sucks but you will find that the grass is not greener on the other side. It's dead. But yes, if you want to throw all that away, you can do this in your 50s. Id rather travel or pick up a hobby though instead.
I am 30 and want out of the trade...too tired to pursue my interests, brain is worn out when i am home and dealing with assholes puts me in a bad mood for my wife . The trade is extremely overated
It feels like a pyramid scheme. You invest a shit load of time and money into doing hard work both mentally and physically while buying hundreds to thousands of dollars worth of tools and equipment. You work 50 to 60 hours a week doing grueling work, just to have it all add up to an entry level college grad job. Now its even more insulting to have college grads work at home while I wear down my car in mostly two hour commutes back and forth every day to some shitty construction site that is filthy and dangerous. Usually I am told to park a mile a way and drag 3 cases of tools to get to started working at 6 or 7am sharp. And yes the people are the worst assholes ever. I grew up learning to be polite and respectful to others regardless. That being said, 7 years of working for and with absolute scum has made me bitter and more resentful. When you switch to freelance and try to start your own business, your wages go down because customers are cheap and think of you as a servant bitch. At first, you think your can just stand your ground on prices. But then they'll just call some illegal laborers or redneck "handyman" to do a shitty bootleg job. You end up having to takes shit pay just to get ANY pay any all. It's an important trade that is treated like shit. You will only make 6 figures if your divorce your wife and dedicate your life to work. The most successful and best electricians I know and have worked for are one-note and live to work. They have no personal lives outside of work and worked their lives away. If you are one of those, power to you. I want enjoy myself and have a girlfriend for once.
i am on my way out as well. Some niche union guys do well but at the end of the day the highest paid guy at my company makes 80-100 k which doesnt mean much these days.... the only people who think the money is good are single guys and the 20 yesr olds livinng with mom an dad. like you said its a huge commitment, essentially a 4 year degeee just to make below poverty money. I always wonder if i dedicated my time in the 4 yesr apprenticeship studying medicine, finance or engineering where i would be. Work from home is where its at
If it’s something that’s been on your mind that long I’d jump right in! I know guys 60+ that are still rocking the trade. It puts a toll on your body but I believe a body in motion stays in motion!
Not too old at all. I just started in my 40s after 18 years of an office IT job. The hard part was starting out with the pay super low for a first year apprentice. But after a few years it's more comfortable now. I don't miss the office drama at all, and I'm stronger now and I am better with the tools so i can fix stuff around my house now! One good thing about being a 40 year old first year is the foreman appreciated my life experience to knkw how to behave and show up at work ready and on time compared to some younger guys still partying.
Do you have a pension from your government job? I’d honestly get to whatever amount of years’ service you need to be entitled to a nice little income, and then jump. I’d imagine you have 20+ years already, no?
I joined the fed in 2016, was in the defense industry, private sector for 20 yrs. So I have not yet hit even my 10yrs anniversary in the federal govt.
I personally don’t think you’re ever too old to start something new, I think the question is more a matter of Can you handle the physical toll of labor associated with a trade. It sounds like you’re in decent shape and I don’t think it’s unheard of for people to transition trades later in life. Honestly considering this myself after software engineering. I’m 30 years old and while engineering doesn’t make me depressed it’s starting to lose its luster. Conversely I’ve started enjoying doing DIY stuff around our new house. I’ve found it to be pretty rewarding and interesting. For now I’m trying to make some more money, invest, etc. and then reassess in the next 10 years or so. It sounds like you got 2 more years until you can get a pension. Then it’s just a matter of you deciding for yourself if that pension is enough to sustain you reasonably while you go on to learn and become an electrician and beyond and if it’s worth putting up with a job you hate for another two years. Realistically, the difference between 47-49 isn’t that stark in terms of health/aging—especially if you’re already in good shape. But again, if you really, really hate your job, like it genuinely makes you depressed it might be worth to make the jump. Best of luck to ya!
I'm hoping you get helpful answers, because I'm very much in the same boat. Same age, looking to make a change from a career I don't like. But I'm in BC, not Ontario.
I dont know where you from but try to get into a school that gets you into union right after. I'm from Canada and there's a great demand for trade workers whether you are women, natives or older people. I've got a couple guys that are 40 and 50. You will have less chances with private companies for sure, but don't let that stop you because when you are about to leave this world you don't want to regret 20 years ago you didn't make the switch.
Ottawa
that's even better, I'm from BC and recently heard that East union pays even more, probably because it's cold and all that. Yeah tough work.
I'm 45 myself and just recently put in an application to join with IBEW 613. I was all gung ho about the prospect until I saw the practice assessment test. I haven't done Algebra in over 28 years and I could barely do it as an honors student in HS. I realized I was in way over my head and withdrew my application. I would need to study Algebra for months to even have a shot at passing that assessment yet they wanted me to come test in one month. My reasoning is that my chances of being selected for an apprenticeship at age 45 was already pretty low, so I would probably need to score at least an 8 out of 9 on the assessment. Not happening with only 30 days of prep time.
Where can I see this test? I am decent at math. Am curious how hard it is. Have kept up with a lot of math due to my job and my teenage kids in high school. My gut tells me I’d pass without study, but I’d like to look. Suspect ibew613 must be my local union too.
IBEW 613, as in Atlanta? There is no "selection" for an apprenticeship, you just need to have a pulse and - last I heard - a 4/9 score on the test. Resubmit that application! Now... despite stereotypes of construction workers, it does help to be smart to do this job. If you bring a lot to the table from a mental and maturity standpoint, you can make up for (a modest amount of) physical limitation.
I applied for inside wireman and I was under the impression that spots were more scarce than applicants and that the worst scores would get pushed to the bottom of the stack. I might could have done well on the reading comprehension and then guessed my way through the multiple choice on the Algebra for a score of 4 but I hated Algebra as a student in high school so if the field is as math intensive as that assessment leads me to believe then it's not for me.
I've seen guys your age start an apprenticeship, it's not unheard of. Just keep in mind, this is a physical job, especially for apprentices. Going from an indoor IT culture to construction may be a bit of a shock as well.
Not sure if the US compares to Canada in this way, but if you have a government job, look into maintenance electrical work in the government sector. I am a federal employee in the US but I do maintenance electrical work at a federal hospital. They typically don't hire older people with lack of experience, but it's worth a shot. We've had a couple people work for us with limited electrical experience but did an apprenticeship program through our union.
There are 2 guys in my 4th year class in their mid 50’s. If you want it and your body is in good enough condition to do the work, go get it man. Physical labor and this job CAN be rough on the back and knees, but that’s a non-factor if you don’t already have chronic pain and work carefully. Lots of ladder climbing and working down low can be hard on the knees, and depending on the job a heavy tools belt may be necessary but if you can hack that, you can do it
Honestly 47 is too old. You will start as an apprentice and they wont be easy on you because you are older. You will carry stuff, clean, be on your knees and yea fish alot of wires. It's fun. But to start at 47... some guys retire at 47.
Too old. Move along
I was a counselor for 13 years, and at the age of 40 started an apprenticeship with IBEW. They will take people of all ages! It's hard work, dirty, sometimes hot or freezing cold! But I love not having to worry about desk life and phone calls.
Construction is fast paced and hard work especially residential. You can do maintenance electrician work in industrial more relaxed but still requires alot of knowledge and skill. Some companies don't even require a journeyman license for maintenance.
I have a somewhat similar background to you, and decided that an apprenticeship was not a good plan for me given my age and some physical limitations, so I ended up starting a handyman business. A lot of this will depend in your local jurisdiction, but in mine (Alaska), a licensed handyman can run low voltage wire and remove and replace devices. My second biggest customer is an IT company that hires me as a subcontractor to run their network cables, install cameras, etc.
I was 42 when I started my apprenticeship. Finishing up my 4th year in a few weeks and turning 46 in June.
If I were you, I would become a utility lineman instead. You'll lack the speed and endurance required to keep up with an apprentice in their 20s, and they'll easily out-pace you, might even lap you twice in a round structure. Electricians need to work fast so the next specialist can come do their job right behind you on the same day.
Dumb question, how much longer do you plan on working? At 47, you're probably looking at being 51 at the soonest when you've completed your apprenticeship, and it'll be 4 years of relatively low pay until then. Depending on how your saving has been going, it might hurt your retirement plans.
I don’t think you’re too old to be an electrician. Start with residential and work your way from there. You could leverage your it experience and possibly get into a programming / maint gig. Have you ever thought about instrumentation ?
Never too old to yearn and learn. Go for it and make us and yourself proud.
47 is not too old, but yo you have to be in shape. 47 You have to humble yourself , you will get yelled at by a 23 year old when you mess up. 47, you must must have some money saved. If you want to start from the beginning, you will be making scraps until the 3rd 4th and 5th year, depending on the company. But uea 47 is actually a great time if you don't mind what I mentioned above Most of the people 26 and under I've worked with only complain , call in sick , cry when they get a cut. Always crying when they have to work long hours. 47 stop procrastinating.. you could have already had 4 years under you
As mentioned by several people already; your NOT TOO old to learn anything new. With that said is it more difficult to learn new things at mid forties that teen and twenties. Absolutely. We generally have more life matters that creep into our conscious thought the older we become. Not to mention children are used to the learning process and it's normal for them at that age. Now physically you say that you are still in good shape. And you very well may be. But I can personally tell you that I never really felt my age until I hit 51 or so. I have always been in above average physical condition from weight training/cardiovascular training, and am still in ok shape at 56. But I can tell you that I am definitely not in the shape I was running kids half my age into the dirt during my 40's. One respondent said to get into resi work for first couple of years; to learn the fundamentals etc. And regardless of resi, commercial, industrial work the theory of running circuits is essentially the same. Different means of achieving the runs, Romex, MC, EMT Conduit , Ridgid Conduit, Troughs, Trays, Buss etc. But it's still the same; moving electrical potential from said disconnect, panel enclosure, switch gear etc to the end point of use.. Receptacle outlets, hard wired machinery, lights, switches etc. Which all are governed by the specific items and equipment used. So unless it a new service, you probably won't be fishing much more than 12AWG through, walks, attics, crawl spaces; with your occasional 6, 8,10 AWG for heaters, stoves, etc. But trust me even though it may only be 12-10 gauge wire, pulling and dressing it correctly is a pain in the ass mid 50's. I've mostly worked commercial.. Love it opposed to industrial and resi. Industrial is more Ridgid Conduit, hazardous location, control work etc. Great work and I enjoy it to a degree. Don't enjoy getting my tools all greasy and oily from cutting and threading pipe but the work is rewarding. Resi work has been very minimal for me through actual employment. Mostly friends, family, personal, side work; but I have replaced several services and complete rewire from scratch. The worst being a manufactured home built in very early 50's when the big build boom was taking place in USA.. 2 x 2 walks that has a chase bored into actual wood members to an opening milled out where outlet was to be placed, switch, receptacle. How do you maintain your 1 1/4" from edge of framing??? Anyway, you will feel the aches and pains crawling around an attic with microfibers if insulation floating around the air as you move about. Hope it isn't asbestos in older remodels. Not to mention the running up and down ladders all day, or working with your hand stretched out overhead for four plus hours a day depending upon what work you are doing. Then there is the aspect of financial compensation. First two years you will scrape and scrounge to make bills timely etc as your current bills are based upon a different aspects and ability to pay them.. A few people mentioned low voltage, fire alarm, comm work. Which is another aspect of electrical work, but more generally less physically demanding, more technically inclined compared to general comm work. Yes there is control work, lighting, automated shutters and blinds etc and occasionally some FA work that which always needs to be relearned between the 12-16 months you did last FA work. But for the most part, tele tubbies use their grey matter slightly more than others. The speed at which resi work is done really isn't set for older individuals. Too much throat cutting on bids and cost to leave much wiggle room for profit. Have to rewire one circuit, home run, poof there goes any profit And time IS MONEY so no lolly gagging or slow rolling some work. It all sounds nice to get your own gig going, to work for yourself, be your own boss...... But reality of it is that you must carry masters license, bonding, insurance, purchasing large amount of tools necessary to accomplish said work. Someone has to bid the work, maintain materials as needed to said jobs, physically man the work, all at the same time facilitating work schedules and flow with other trades, home owners, GC if one exists, supply warehouses etc... Not to mention your 40-45 hour climate controlled job that was way less physically demanding, just became and 80 plus hours a week love, (no more hobby and cheerful glee from running a few circiuts) to braving the elements outdoors. All the while you eat, sleep, make phone calls and other office work in your new mobile office. Your truck or Van. And the restroom amenities are lovely. Especially in a -20 degree morning when the coffee has kicked in and you need to take a dump. The kybo is busy and when you do finally get in it's after a drywaller done left a nice splatter of the previous days beans and burritos all over the seat as the steam billows up from a nice cone shaped soft serve turd that he left the lud up for all to see his master work. Who am I to discourage someone from getting into the trade. Great opportunities for someone willing to put forth the effort with a wide range of specific work, from FA, Low Voltage to Line Work, Transmission and or Sub Station work. Great pay and retirement opportunity as well Union and sometimes non union. Hey but at least you will get to be your own boss and choose when to go to work, take days off when you please, vacations at will. Not sure how you will fit all that in when your working 75 plus hours a week. If you do seven days a week it's only slightly more than 10 hour days. Hey whatever you choose to do, good luck.
If you really like to nerd out, maybe try to get into power testing with a NETA-accredited contractor.
OP: I have been contemplating this myself recently. Mid 40's. 15 years into a software development career, recently laid off. I love doing my own residential electric (I've fully wired 3 buildings and recently did a new electric service rack). I don't know how I could swing the apprenticeship wages for 4 -5 years, but its an interesting thought experiment. Ideally I would want to run my own business doing small electrical jobs if I could get licensed. I've run my own business before in the trades so I'm aware of some of the pitfalls etc.
Wires? I did 6 months of manufacturing aerospace and military cables.
You have another 20 years till you retire and prob another 40 years left. You’re not too old ☺️
No u are not too old. And that bullshit about someone saying ur old and not productive and that the company won't make money is also shit. Pure union mentality. They must not have been on a job recently. Here is my opinion. Kids on the job these days spend more time on their phones on snapchat and other garage then working and guys like me that should be enjoying their careers now are doing most of the work because these young apprentices lack work ethic and respect. Im 33 yrs old electrical contractor and business owner when I can up it was considered shameful to let an older person outwork ,out wire someone older. I currently employ a 55yr old and made him a managing partner because he gets it. Comes to work on time, works hard , makes great money, doesn't mess around, says what he's going to do and does it. Young apprentices think that they deserve to work. So they milk my profits. And want 50 an hour. When I first hired him he was 47 and I didn't need to train him how to hold a hammer and explain to him tasks 100 times over I told him that if he didn't understand something that I was explaining to him he needed to stop me so that we can go over it so he understood and if you still didn't get it I would show him three times do it while he's watching me three times and that's how he learned. Apprentices these days can't take a simple task and complete it with no issues you give them a task they turn around and they forgot what they were doing
Never too late!
With the knowledge you have, you could start a business as a Telus or Shaw cable tech. You're a contractor and don't need an electrician's license My question is, having a lifelong gov't job, can you afford the massive paycut?
The only real downside to getting in later in life is that you won’t have the time to build up your retirement. That’s not to say there aren’t other negatives. For one, you’ll be an apprentice likely working for a fresh 25 year old JW. You may have to leave your pride at the door for awhile, if that kind of shit matters to you. It’s also physically demanding, both in work and time. I got in when I was 34 with young twins and it was brutal. Also apprentices are expected to do some of the more grunt work, and if you get a pass because of age, it may rub some guys the wrong way. In reality, assuming you take care of yourself and have the right attitude, it is still worth it. Good luck.
Never too old. I had a guy in my team still working at 72. His own choice, they tried to make him retire but he wasn't having a bar of it. Good worker too, one of the better out of the team
I'm curious how you'll deal with the ability of the private sector to get needed tools, materials and clarification/answers in days/hours vs the fraud/waste/abuse method of countless meetings for 1 request.
Is this in regards to the union? Or just how utterly useless the federal public service is in Canada?
It's a commentary on both. In exactly the order of your two questions.
Hmm, I guess I am too stupid because I don’t get it. Perhaps I should give up now.
Everything before the "vs" is about the private sector. Everything after the "vs" is about the public sector (aka "the useless federal public service.")
I see, well, being nearly 50, and working in the govt for only 8 years, I have nearly 20 in private for large corporations (such as Lockheed). The private sector is driven on revenues and I got very used to the speed and such. Hence, even after 8 years as a civil servant, I still struggle with the fraud and delays and other garbage the guy asked about. I am not sure I will ever get used to the lazy stupid stuff I see every day in club fed. Hence why am seeking career change and pointing out the affinity I have for wiring and cabling and stuff. Some posters have been helpful, but it’s also clear there’s a bunch of electricians who hate their jobs too!
Well, the good news is that it took me 30 years to tear myself up to the point I can't physically do the work anymore, so at your age you should be retired before everything goes to shit.
I'm 49. Been doing electrical for only 16 years and I'm tired. I want to do something different. I'd say it's not what you want to hear, but yes. You're probably too old.. It's a lot of climbing ladders and crawling in tight spaces.
I remember a guy that was 75 worked for my company when I started 25 years ago, so I don't think you're too old. Just remember there's way more to it than pulling wires and fishing, I've been through it all, residential, commercial, industrial, and after 25 years you realize that there are so many specialized fields within this field. Between hospitals, motor control, data and fiber optics, explosion proof classified areas, fire alarm, nurses call systems, security systems, camera systems, ansul systems, PLC's, the list goes on and on. If I could do it all over again, I would of just focused on motor control and PLC's which is one of the things I got into recently when I was chosen to do work for this one factory that makes all the reinforced paper backing for fiberglass insulation. It's so much easier than pulling and terminating 600mcm copper conductors in a Squared D switch gear with 2 feet of wire bending space, lmao. It's just more fascinating to me, when you know how circuitry works going through relays, and proxy sensors, limit switches, and so on. Then you have your bigger feeds controlling the motors from the VFD's. It's cool knowing how to make a machine work, and all the little devices that go along with it. Just make sure you learn how to bend conduit, thread conduit, heat PVC conduit, etc. That's something you'll need in every aspect of being an electrician. If you advance at it well you could still be in a position to become a foreman, and do what I do, then physical labor goes down, and you instruct others what to do. Not saying I don't work with my tools anymore, but I have been less and less as I'm more involved with the planning aspect. I'm a 40yo male btw, and 4 years ago I got my older brother who is 42 into the field as my helper, because he was sick and tired of doing landscaping. If he can do it and Larry Lipensberger could (the 75yo I was talking about when I started 25 years ago, God rest his soul) than so can you!
If you want to get into the industry and make some good money without breaking your back, check out PLC programming and Crestron or Control 4 programming.
My jman rn is like 70 years old. He just tells me what to do and how to do it. Nobody cares about age unless you look too young to have your hands in the panel.
No. To be honest. Age only hurts if you let it. But... My advice. Don't do it with a big company. The trades are filled with nepotism, sour & abusive attitudes, sarcasam, corruption, impressively frusting levels of incompetence and discrimination. If you can live with that. OK. Have fun. Do it. There is more of this at larger companies where guys become entrenched and cannot survive outside of the company they work at. At your age; you try to protect your heart and body. Not stress them and expose them to cancerous, dangerous, and downright and deadly environment. You can definitely do it. But if you do. I advise you to do it in your retirement or spare time. Restarting a career will be frustrating and being an Electrician will require adjusting to a whole new culture of work. Get in with a small established contractor and don't try to work in larger companies. Unions an option. But that's another can of worms. Either start union or go union as a licensed electrician. Good luck. I started at 29. I still feel too old for this shit. Most guys try to head into the office towards their 40s. Some are forever field fellows. But most aren't.
Well you’re not getting any younger. I started at 35 and am finally seeing the benefit after 5 years. You can do it. It’s a difficult road but it is worth it
How much do you have in ya? I own a small electrical company in nc. Turning 50 this year and have been a single person show with 1 helper at any given time for 15 years. The jobs are getting too big and I'm getting too old to wrestle 600mcm cable, crawlspaces, and overhead work (incl bucket/basket)
As long as he has his masters license paid and not expired.
Not too old. I used to make way more money in a high stress sales job. Worked all the time and hated it almost every day. Brief moments of false happiness when I got the sales, fueled greed and just wanted more toys and consequently spent most of the money. Now I make less but appreciate and enjoy my time and my family. I’m not sure if this relevant you but I’d say follow your gut and instincts. Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.
We have 63 yo 6th year apprentice. He does like stuff that people don’t want to do- excavating, towing stuff, delivering parts etc
Thanks for all the support fellas. I agree that the physical labour is hard, but I also agree that keeping moving keeps you moving. Surviving a dramatic pay cut would be hard for my family. I also can understand the idea that journeymen want a reliable person who has integrity and responsibility to show up on time and not be hungover or whatever… this is a common complaint it seems. So it’s less risk taking an older guy from that perspective. The other things that perplexed me are: do I need to go take some courses at the local trade school? It’s not clear. Is that just an on-ramp to getting paired up with a journeyman to get your years? Also, I recall I called the local union 2 years ago to ask “how to get started”. I was put off by their lack of interests, given the constant belly aching of “we need more people”. I recall I had cold called a small electrical company in my neighbourhood, the dudes wife answered, she was his office person. She said they always are taking on apprentices but it must be done via local union. And that was a dead end for me after 2 calls and 3 emails… they just weren’t taking me seriously. Perhaps this is why people say to go do the courses at community college? I am damn positive I can learn any theory and ace those tests. Not that it’s practically useful on the job, but, if it’s an important step that’s the least of my concerns. Now that you guys have piqued my interest again, how would u suggest I investigate? Call the local union again? Go over in person?
I would look into government maintenance jobs. You'd probably have to go to trade school and start in a junior position, but the work is physically much easier than construction and you could probably keep accruing your current pension and seniority.
You are never to old to do something for you to make yourself happy. The best ROI is investing in yourself
Nah man give it a shot