Being young making decisions would you do it all over again.

[rooster440]

With minimal welding experience I’d stick to getting your journeyman as an electrician. Welding work on the slope pays well if you have the experience and you know someone....
Both trades offer road work, if you hit the right circuit it’s not unheard of to work 6-8 months a year then take the rest off.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SWOHTR]

Join the military. Constantly varied in job and location. Only a matter of time before we kick the shit out of Iran. Maybe then you can go sheep hunting there.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Stick with it for 4 years and save your pennies. At 22 years of age, 4 years may seem like a long time, especially if you really don't like where you're having to live, but it's still only 4 years. There are plenty of jobs up here for electricians and they do pretty well, money wise. Get that education under your belt, then take it and go where you want. You will for sure always be able to put food in your belly and a roof over your head doing electrical work.

 

[mcseal2]

If I didn't have the family ranch keeping me where I'm at I'd likely live in Alaska or Wyoming. I love the ranch and working on it, I'm very fortunate to have it. I love my place and the hills I live in, but I love some of the wilder country too.

I'd decide where you want to be and then decide the best path for you to get there. 4 years isn't that long to stick out the job for the education. That said, if you only last 2 years hating it and quit then you are further from your goals. It comes down to weighing all the options and doing what is right for you. Look at everything too including cost of living, employment opportunity, work schedules. Don't make a decision rashly.

 

[TheShootist]

I can’t recommend strongly enough getting your JW license- no one will ever be able to take that away, and you’ll be able to work just about anywhere.

I work for a large union electrical contractor in the Denver area, and we’re constantly trying to find apprentices. Colorado isn’t Alaska, but it’s got some pretty good hunting and might be a good spot to finish out an apprenticeship.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[WV Mountaineer]

My son is an IBEW member. He started for power companies sub contracting for big utility companies. Servicing lines etc... He started 6 years ago and is now a foreman for one of the subcontactors. He is pulling in $150,000 a year without storm details. He works hard and long if the work is there. But, he gets paid mucho when he does on top of that salary. At 25 he will have a great future getting that kind of start.

Here is the honest truth about the IBEW in my experience. Unions are not my thing most of the time as I feel they sell out the members before it is over. However, from what I have seen concerning the IBEW, they really take care of their people. They do not allow for subpar performance or effort. They expect hard work and results and get the jobs and companies on board that provide the same for their members.

You can always get you license and work for yourself if you decide too. Just invest in your future now. Good luck and God Bless.

 

[arrowjunkie]

Giving yourself a solid base in life can pay huge dividends later on. The grind right now sucks but everyone has to go through it at some point. Sticking with it will allow you to do amazing things and take incredible adventures later.

 

[SPC]

You are young, finish your apprenticeship, find a job that will allow you to move and maybe some day start your own business. Be serious about setting up your life to come. You have lots of time to spend outdoors. Your talents will help you to make a anywhere you please. I will give you the same advice I gave to my kids." Take this time in your life to have some fun and set up your future. Don't get into a serious relationship until you have your own life stable. Find yourself a good stable job, a dependable car and at least a 3 bedroom house that is in good shape. Do this and do it comfortably and you are ready for a family. Moving yourself is easy, moving a family is hard. "
Young man your life is in your hands now, it is the choices you make today that make your future. Take every advantage of every opportunity you have. Thank your friend for helping you find this job. You have a very good opportunity in front of you, what is 4 years compared to the next 40+ years you have left to work.

 

[Marble]

The few things I tell my kids who are in their teens and deciding what they want to do...

Dream big! Fortune favors the bold. Your dreams have a way of leading you into something that may work for you.

Whatever you decide to be, be a good one. You can be very successful in any profession. If you are the best around, you will be rewarded.

The difference between success and failure is hard work. Just know that if you are going the extra step, putting forth the effort, you will out work your competition.

 

[Azone]

Stick with the electrician apprenticeship and learn as much as possible, if guys that know way more than you are willing to teach you everything you will need to know, keep your ears open and your feet moving.
Electricians always seem so much happier than all the welders I know anyways. They seem to always be talking about the latest toy they purchased or the trip they just got back from.
Welders always seem to be bitching about their workload, a-hole safety inspectors and how their wife left em for someone else.
If you were to get your journeymen for electrical then spend a few years learning the ins and outs of welding from an experienced hand, you would be guaranteed to have a shot at jobs just about anywhere with those two trades in your back pocket. Good luck man!

 

[Gerard Marcaurele]

I’m not old enough to have a ton of wise advice, but here is what I’ll say:

1) you need to be some kind of HAPPY doing what you do. Now is your time to take those risks and jumps and go big. Doesn’t sound like you have kids or a serious relationship, so worst case scenario you’re just right back where you started.

2) find the place you want to do it and make every effort to get there as quickly as possible. Don’t waste time dreaming of “what if I lived there”. Just do it. We all get one chance, and every day only happens once. Might as well make them worth it

3) be ready for people to disagree. When you are passionate about something and doing something that may or may not be a bit risky, people who didn’t take those risks at that time in their life will begin to poke holes in your plans and try and prove to you that it’s a bad idea. Don’t get mad about this, just understand that everyone has the opportunity to chase their dreams and take chances and you are simply doing it while the negative folks are the ones sitting wishing they were doing the same.

4) be calculated. Don’t just throw caution to the wind. Keep your long term goals in mind and keep saving money. That fancy truck or house will only deteriorate, so keep it simple to start.


By no means did I follow ANY of this advice at 22, and to be honest a lot of the decisions I made still haunt me. Don’t be shy about your aspirations, and chase it with everything you have

 

[Josh Wright]

I'm 39. I had 2 businesses in 2 different stays until 37. I sold one and got out of the other to start a new career last year to make Colorado my permanent home.

I've taken family vacations, coach my kids, and hunt when I want. I have done this since I was 27.

No regrets here. Always set yourself up for options. If you want to head West, do it now assuming you can be secure financially. It ain't cheap out here!

 

[martensmax]

Thanks for all the words guys !

 

[ODB]

I would have stayed in college the first time studying what I wanted to regardless what others told me, but before that, I would have followed through with the planning of that Zimbabwe leopard hunt in 1996...

 

[16Bore]

Remember two things:

“Your best thinking got you where you are”

“Live in the meantime”

 

[Downeaster]

Play the long game, 4yrs is nothing. Set yourself up for the future and you will make 10X the life for yourself after you pay those dues.
Again...at 22, 4yrs is a drop in the bucket.

 

[204guy]

IMO getting into a skilled trade isn't a bad career path. Lots of need for skilled electricians out there. Not sure why you need to stay in the Twin Cities to do your apprenticeship though? Unless you've been upfront about it contractors don't much like putting apprentices through school only to have them leave once they journey out. Plenty of opportunity to complete your apprenticeship where you want to live. Also if you're single, I'd definitely move now don't want to risk a girl or kid tying you down to MLPS that would suck.

 

[Droppndrakes]

You don’t have to live in Minneapolis it a big city to find a good job. And you don’t have to live in Alaska to have the right dose of outdoors in your life.

My advice would be to think hard about what things you want to do and find a place where all those things exist. Might be Montana or Wyoming, maybe Alaska, maybe Utah. But Alaska is kind of the extreme.

 

[Alchemy]

I’m a commercial developer/GC. All the good older tradesmen are about to retire and there just aren’t many stepping in to take there spots, good help is hard to find. In another 10 years you will be in a very favorable spot, I would suspect making more than an average individual with a bachelors degree pretty easily....

 

[MuleyFever]

I wish I would have done it sooner.

I grew up in WI and was raised to hunt. I always wanted to move west or AK. I dreamed of the mountain, maybe guiding. It's just so easy to not do it. I was 34 when I finally woke up one day and said I have to move. Three month later I quit my job and moved West.