Back to College . Looking for people in certain careers!

[Quad18star]

So here's the deal , I'm gunna be 24 soon and I've decided to go back to school. I've already taken a 2 year Civil Engineering program and it just wasn't for me . I have to apply for College within the next couple of months and was looking for people that are in certain careers to see what they have to say about how they like their job and such .

Here's what I'm contemplating and would like some input from those in these trades .

- Heavy Duty Equipment Mechanic program (2yrs)
- Industrial Mechanical Millwright program (2yrs)
- Electrical , residential or industrial , (1 to 3 yrs)
- Plumbing (1 yr)

I'm a hands-on type worker and learn the best by doing the work rather than reading out of a book , and all of these are mostly hands-on learning .

Now I've chosen these schooling and career options , because where I live , there is a need for people in each of these trades . I live in a mining community , so everywhere you look , there's shops that either sell or service pieces of mining equipment ( great for heavy duty mechanics and millwrights) , plus the mines employ many of these types of workers including Electricians.

Now with plumbing , I added that one into the mix because there is a shortage of them in the area . I know people that had to wait months for a plumber and when the guy did come , he had been contracted out by the company ... he was a retired plumber but demand was so high that he decided to go to work and make a few extra dollars .

All of these trades require apprenticeship training to become fully certified as a journeysman , and it's something I'm commited to doing . All pay excellent ( $20+ per hour to start with benefits and job security) .

Now I'm just looking for people that are in these professions to see what they have to say . Thanks for any input !!!

[CDCHONDAS]

Not to insult you, just check this out: I have alot of friends that have went to college for trades and its interesting, on does Ford cars and trucks, spent a good time in school, now graduated in a dealership and doesnt make that great of money, I am curious to see how he moves up the ladder. I have another friend that went to school for motorcycle mechanics, they are sitting at $7 an hour now. so just be carefull you get your return on investment. i have an associates in business administration that i wonder why i did sometimes. as i work a mechanic type job, which does entail running my own business. I know if i was to do it over I would spent my time and money doing thing like ase certification. food for thought, no more no less

If you are into the self-employment thing, I'd go with the plumbing or electrical, cuz you'll have opportunity to make really good $$$ that way.

If you don't want to be your own boss, I'd go with the other two.

[PismoLocal]

If you want to move to the States look into PG&E they have awesome Job opportunities.

[AtvMxRider]

Originally posted by Quad18star
- Heavy Duty Equipment Mechanic program (2yrs)



Go to a heavy equipment shop and look at the mechanics and see how many of them are missing fingers. It's a rough job and the pay sucks. I am a deisel mechanic and if I had to do it again I would do something else. I have a friend that is a plumber and owns his own buisness. The money is out there for plumbers. You could do very well finacially. EDIT-

[honda250xrider]

around here Ohio at least plumbers do not the best it seems out of all the places i have worked for and the people i have known plumbing only one guy made right at 50,000 a year and this was after working at the company for 10 years. I would have to say the work is hard and sometimes to me the pay is not worth working my *** off for nothing. Around here its not uncommon to be offered 13 or so. average i would say 15-16. high is 20 an hour. I've already received my journymens license and am still not making Chit. That is why im going to college to become something other than working my *** off for nothing in return. Unless you are going to own your own business i wouldnt recommened plumbing. I did somewhat enjoy it but other times i hated it with a passion. I dunno i was never a person that likes to work outside in freezing weather with concrete flooring just sitting there like an ice cube. Alot of the plumbers i have known have knee problems simply because of working on your knees while trying to soder and other things. I would recommend being an electriction before a plumber. O and don't go off the charts that people will show you that the average person makes for something i think half of that is BS. Average plumber should make i think around 65,000 a year....... i'd love to see how they got these numbers.... If I were you i would make sure what the company has to offer i just looked back at your post and saw that they are paying 20+ an hour i dunno where you live but i would say that is pretty good for a plumber depending on the region on where you live. As long as they offer GOOD! insurance. I worked at a company that put 60 dollars into your insurance account a month so pretty much you have to pay your co-pay and everything with that 60 they give you a month if you have a family you are screwed.

[jrm03]

I'm a Distribution Lineman Apprentice (electric) and I really enjoy it. There is a future to be made in the utility/electric industry, and also great pay. I'm not sure if you have any union halls around you but if you were able to get an apprenticeship through them that is the way to go. Good luck bro.

[Quad18star]

Thanks for the replies so far .

The main reason I have been looking at these careers , is because 3 out of the 4 are and will be in high demand in my area in the near future . We have new mines opening up and old mines going back into production because the price of metals is sky high right now . It's expect that there will be work in the area for atleast another 50 years ( or else the company wouldn't have spent 120 million on a new Oxygen Plant for smelting) . The pay for these careers is above average in this area because of the demand for skilled people . I would become a Miner , but I don't meet the weight requirements , so that is out of the question ( my buddy made over $90 000 last year as a miner plus benefits and 4 weeks paid vacation) .

Jerry , other than the poor pay , what don't you like about being a diesel mechanic ? And if you were to start over , what would you get into instead ? How physically demanding is your current job ?

Keep the replies comming !!!!

[Quad18star]

honda250xrider ... A plumbing Apprentice starts at $18 an hour in my area , when you have your journeysman papers , you can make upwards of $35 an hour and that is with complete medical, dental and vision benefits .... also it's Unionized . Training would be provided through the Union Hall .


jrm03 ... Thanks for your input . There is a local Union Hall in the area that would help train and takes on people for apprenticeships . So what exactly do you do in a days work? Also I've heard from a few people that there is a lot of math involved in the Electrical fields ... is this true ?

[jrm03]

We work 4Kv,12Kv, and 34Kv voltages in our area. All the power lines you see in your backyards, and along the roadways, that is what we maintain and construct. It ranges from troubleshooting and patrolling circuits for problems, to climbing a pole and spending half the day on the pole building a new span of wire and transformer setting for a customer.
In this particular line of work, you need to know theory on transformers and electricity, but mathematics isn't a big thing for us. You just need a strong back and be willing to work long hours if a problem arises. Its not a backbreaker day in and day out, but it has its moments.

[Doak450r]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by AtvMxRider
Go to a heavy equipment shop and look at the mechanics and see how many of them are missing fingers. It's a rough job and the pay sucks. I am a deisel mechanic and if I had to do it again I would do something else. I have a friend that is a plumber and owns his own buisness. The money is out there for plumbers. You could do very well finacially. EDIT- [/

i really dont agree with this im also a deisel mechanic im 20 years old make very good money for my age 60-70k this year and work on heavy equiptment on the side, i take apart front end loaders, dozers and thing like that load them into shipping containers and ship them overseas we have two people doing them takes about 6-14 hours to tear it down and load it and we get anywhere from 500-1250$ to do it so the moneys there. i think if you interested then go for it. it can take a toll on your body though.

[firefighterjosh]

A apprectiship is good to get into. My friend is a electrician and is 22 years old making $20 hr:huh

[Architects]

I'll put my 2 cents in. Currently Im in an auto tech program. Basically your an auto mechanic. Its a 2 year program and I am almost done. The first year was majority classroom with some hands on. 2nd year hands on. A lot of live work on customers cars that come into the shop. Its honeslty the biggest headache for me. I hate getting ****ty jobs to do and almost nothing goes according to plan on cars. Its definately a tough career. The starting pay sucks and you usually get ****ty jobs no one wants and you really struggle. Im probably going to finish becuase I will have an associates but I will never become a mechanic. The amount of money you have to have wrapped up in tools is also another thing to think about. Most mechanics have 25-30k in tools alone. Take it for what its worth

[Quad18star]

Thanks again for the replies ... I appreciate everyones thoughts about their careers.

I know the electrical field is booming ... it's one of the trades in the most demand right now , and it's got awesome starting pay rates .

Plumbing is right below the electrical trade . Again , huge demand and great pay . I've been researching the career outlook for different jobs and these two careers are #1 and #2 in the trades sector here in Canada . It's expected that within the next few years , if you are in these trades , you can earn a wage well above most doctors . Now I know , money isn't everything ... but these are 2 careers that have caught my attention . Also plumbing isn't just unclogging someone else's backed up toilet .... there's jobs with gas companies , oil companies , new building projects etc.

Heavy equipment mechanic was in the list because I enjoy wrenching . I've always wrenched on stuff be it cars, trucks , sleds , quads , etc . ANything that could be taken apart and fixed I got my hands into it .

Millwright , well basically the same concept .... Jack of all trades .

The only thing worrying me about some of these careers is that a lot of it involves a LOT of standing . Since I had my leg busted up , things just haven't been the same ... standing long hours can really get me into a lot of pain . But then again , I don't want to be stuck behind a desk pushing paper and punching numbers ... just not for me .

If I could I'd get my helicopter license , but that's $60 000 and no guarantee of a job ... especially not with 200hrs of flying ... most places want atleast 2000+ hours . :ermm:

[honda250xrider]

from my experience i always enjoyed custom houses better than just those wam bam home builders. Plumbing really is a fun trade, now i never did do any service work such as unclogging toilets or anything like that all i did was the new construction work 1st and 2nd rough then finish, You will be standing alot or on your knees alot even crawling around on your back in the crawspace to try and fix a problem. I just never liked the winters im just not a cold person. Commercial plumbing is one of my fav. to do I first started doing commercial and wish i could stay on that. If i were you i may just go up to a company and ask if you can apprentice for a day no pay or anything just to see what this job is like. This would be your best bet as you do not want a job for so many odd years that you hate. I found that i just can't stand plumbing anymore so im done and moved on. I always thought a heavy equipment operator would be a fun job though, I know around here though they work hella hours.

i have a friend whom has worked in a dealership for about 6-7 years now. he makes ok money, yet you never know when something is going to happen to the dealership or other employees there. lots of firing and hiring. he took all these classes, and gets dvd updating him on the models coming in, gets sent to classes for free and is all kinds of certified..
with all that he pretty much still makes the same amount of money, sure he makes a little more money and is living a bit better..yet what if something happens as in the dealership suddenly stop making money, or someone they really need is hired, fired, or quits...you just never know.

i have another friend whom works for/with his parents and has his whole life. they own a car lot, furniture store, rent houses, fields (farm). needless to say they have the money to do pretty much whatever they want to and be their own boss.

my point is simply this; investment. if you invest into something your sure to make money, given you do it right. make sure whatever it is you chose is something you like and see yourself doing for years. invest your money into something and make more. alot of people like to think they can just save and save. well sure you can but what happens if you do it right and invest into something you like and triple or even double your money.

if your not doing it yourself or telling others what to do, someone will be telling you what to do....think about it, thats all im saying.

[Quad18star]

Bump .

Still looking for opinions from Heavy Equipment Mechanics and Industrial Millwrights .

College application deadline is only a few weeks away . :ermm:

[Mxjunkie]

My dad was a heavy equitment mechanic for 6-7 years, the pay is decent if you find a good place but your allways under the gun because they need that loader tomorrow or they need the generator up and running by the end of the day. It also sucks when its about 20 degrees out and your out there trying to replace hydrulic lines on a volvo l120c lol... Once something breaks everyone allway's gives you a song and dance and doesnt tell you exactly what happened, Hitting piles wfo then slamming it in reverse put it to the floor, yet they tell you they just drove it into the pile..

If you can find a school in your area, autobody pays very well. If you work at a larger shop it's all frame machines and putting new parts on etc.. smaller shops like the one I work at we tend to fix smaller dents, save fenders and such. I'm 16 without a cercificate from wyotech or anything and I bring home 400 bucks a week sometimes more :D

[JJs450r]

Originally posted by Quad18star
So here's the deal , I'm gunna be 24 soon and I've decided to go back to school. I've already taken a 2 year Civil Engineering program and it just wasn't for me . I have to apply for College within the next couple of months and was looking for people that are in certain careers to see what they have to say about how they like their job and such .

Here's what I'm contemplating and would like some input from those in these trades .

- Heavy Duty Equipment Mechanic program (2yrs)
- Industrial Mechanical Millwright program (2yrs)
- Electrical , residential or industrial , (1 to 3 yrs)
- Plumbing (1 yr)

I'm a hands-on type worker and learn the best by doing the work rather than reading out of a book , and all of these are mostly hands-on learning .

Now I've chosen these schooling and career options , because where I live , there is a need for people in each of these trades . I live in a mining community , so everywhere you look , there's shops that either sell or service pieces of mining equipment ( great for heavy duty mechanics and millwrights) , plus the mines employ many of these types of workers including Electricians.

Now with plumbing , I added that one into the mix because there is a shortage of them in the area . I know people that had to wait months for a plumber and when the guy did come , he had been contracted out by the company ... he was a retired plumber but demand was so high that he decided to go to work and make a few extra dollars .

All of these trades require apprenticeship training to become fully certified as a journeysman , and it's something I'm commited to doing . All pay excellent ( $20+ per hour to start with benefits and job security) .

Now I'm just looking for people that are in these professions to see what they have to say . Thanks for any input !!!

ive been plumbing for 2 year well 1 year working with someone but now 1 year on my own moneys decent nothing big alot of aggravation crawling under houses smaller space then you alot of digging exact measurements are just some of the cons one pretty good thing is you dont go 2 the same person all the time but its not all bad people make it 2 be my dads been plumbing for over 30 years so you know business is good but has it lows and highs


edit but around here you dont go 2 school for it though it more of an apprentices for 2 years before you get your licenses or you can just work under a licensed plumber

[Woodsrider]

- Industrial Mechanical Millwright program (2yrs)

I work for Boeing, and I know that the guys who maintain our GEMCOR riveters and our CNC machines are making some real coin, and the demand for industrial machine mechanics is a growing feild.

I have fifteen years experience in the automotive trade, mostly on hondas and acuras, the money is not that great as a mechanic when you factor in the cost of tools, and the toll it takes on your body. Its been a good trade to fall back on when I had to but you don't meet many mechanics working in the trade past the age of 50 that arent beat to piss. Unless you want to run a shop of your own or as a service director for some one else, theres not much of a future in it.

Pick a trade that you will enjoy, AND will get you working for a company that has unlimited growth potential.
Look at each choice you have listed, and ask yourself where will that choice put you in 10, 15 and 20 years.