Hey guys so i hear many people complaining about the trades being hard and what not, but if you get to go home every day at the end of your shift, you’re winning honestly.

I’m in school for I.T and i found out about on-call rotations for this field for system administrators and network administrators and i’m feeling defeated. Sure there are roles that don’t require on call but they’re slightly harder to come across.

This will become an issue when i’m married with kids. I don’t want to miss my kids’ games or anything important going on in my life.

I’ve done trade work and while yes is physically taxing, i feel really good at the end of the day knowing i did something physical with tangible results.

My brother is an aircraft mechanic and his work is physically hard but he has never had to be on-call in his 14 years as an A&P mechanic.

Also your first job in IT is probably gonna be Help desk or end user support which is unpleasant for most people. Its a phone job and you’re dealing with impatient people most of the day. Ive noticed in most trades people leave you alone to do your job.

Hey anyone know the top 5 technical training schools in Canada?

My son's HET program for the Fall was just cancelled so now we are scrambling to try to find a replacement program.

Any HETs in Ontario that can recommend a good program or two to look into? I have heard good things about Centennial but good luck finding a place to live in Toronto.

Thinking maybe Cambrian but to be honest at this point I am just too flustered to do proper research so thought I would reach out to others on here for advice.

Hello everyone if this is wrong sub point me in right direction please! I got my plumbing red seal this past year and I’m curious what other jmen are making around the province. I work for a non union commercial plumbing company on Vancouver island and currently make $40/h. Did my whole apprenticeship with this company and coming up on 5 years with them and I’m just curious what else is out there in this area.

Hey I am 23, finished my 4 year contract here in Tampa, Florida in the air force, I really didn't enjoy being in the military at all, it just seemed like work politics, then hard fucking work when I was in the plane, which is all fine but the pay is absolutely atrocious, I am E-4 with 4 years time in service and get flight pay for being aircrew and I still only make $36k a year + a bit of extra money only enough to afford a 1 bedroom apartment.

I hated sitting at a desk watching the hours go by and I enjoy working with my hands. I have read that Florida cost of living is high and the trades don't pay well here...is that true?

What trades did you guys go into?

How many times have you heard an old timer say “Stay in school so you don’t end up like me”. But what if i like physical work? What if i hate office work? What if i want to work with my hands instead of doing computer work? Are you seriously going to take that away from me?

I am 18 and planning to go to Canada on a study visa next year. Which skills would help me to get a part time job so that I can work and earn something alongside my studies? thank you!

Reached out to Helmets to Hardhats and was put in touch with the IBEW in Edmonton. Got an email back talking about a 12 week pre-apprenticeship program, states you can challenge the first year exam and be placed with a contractor. Any ideas, worth it or not?

I originally went to college for construction management,I had a few internships and worked for a GC afterwards, all went ok, but I've had my eyes on being a lineman for a while now. I like the idea of working outside and working on power lines sounds fun, CM has been office based and alot of admin work, I don't know if I enjoy it that much.

I'm still fairly young, being 23 years old. I can't decide if I should make the leap to an apprenticeship or stick with construction management, I'm torn on what to do.

Anyone ever make a transition to the trades from a CM career? I'm seriously considering it. I'd rather be in the field than do admin work/managing the subcontractors on the project.

https://youtube.com/@bcmetalworx?si=7TT2uerkWfiQmFVg

Figured this would be the best place to ask.

I’m 26, have my business degree in real estate and construction management currently working in a government office job doing valuation work. Currently make $60k gross for 36.25 hours per week / 1% raises annually plus benefits and DB pension. I could stick it out here for a career and be “comfortable” per se, but salary wise I’ll never make more than $90k or so. If I’m lucky I could get a management role in 15-20 years or so that pays $120k max for similar hours.

Dilemma here is I see the money that can be made in the trades. I used to do landscaping /basic maintenance work through university full time and was always happy doing it and working with my hands more. I’ve got lineman friends, plumber friends, and sheet metal friends who are all making significantly more than I am, however I get they also work more, which I’m not opposed to at all. I’ve got a call from my local sheet metal union for an aptitude test and am seriously considering it. Figured it’d also help me get into estimating / project management in the future having years of trade experience while I’m young if I decide the physical work isn’t my thing anymore in my 40s.

Would you guys encourage me to pursue this? Or am I being an idiot. I’ve had people tell me to go through with it and the same number of people tell me I’m wasting my time. For reference I’m located in northern Ontario, Canada.

Any advice is appreciated!

Hey everyone, I just took the welding red seal exam yesterday and just looking to see if anyone who recently wrote it had any feedback they want to share. Could be questions they remember or wording they came across that they didn’t recognize. Thanks in advance

Hi—college student here, wasting my time staring at computer screens. I wanna get paid to learn how to be useful. I'm in Texas, 20 years old.

1. what skill would y'all recommend?
2. how could I start?

Thanks, y'all.

Best union to get into and why?

Seriously considering getting into the trades. Heavy Duty seems the most appealing to me by far. But I want to hear more from people who are in the heavy equipment trade.

What are some things you didn't expect?

What are some things you wish you knew before you started?

If you could go back in time, would you change anything? Do anything different?

Any tips for someone transitioning into the trades?

Bit of background: I'm 28, live in British Columbia, Canada. Been working as a wilderness guide/boat captain for the last 6 years. It's been an amazing time but I've hit the ceiling in terms of pay/opportunity and the guiding industry just doesn't have the consistency/pay/benefits. I'm mechanically inclined and genuinely enjoy that type of work. I do my own vehicle and boat maintenance, but obviously have no idea what doing it on big equipment for 10 hours a day is like.

I would be planning to go to BCIT for the Heavy Duty Mechanic 8 month Foundation program this fall likely.

Anyway, would love to hear from some seasoned Heavy Duty guys, and if you're from BC, or anywhere in Canada even better!

Has anyone here tried Bark.com? if so, what did you think?

im a 20 year old looking to get a job in the trades in Toronto. what would be the best one to get into ?

I’m an IT/FX TD building tools for artists and I’m looking to pivot into a career in the trades.

I have been researching Instrumentation and controls as it sounds the most interesting to me, but I can’t seem to figure out how to get my foot in the door.

I live in Ontario, and when googling trade schools eg Mohawk College, they say they offer instrumentation classes but you need a sponsor? How does one get a sponsor?

There’s not many straight up instrumentation courses around.

Can anyone offer some insight for how to get into a career with Instrumentation?

I just finished a 24 week welding course and I have no idea what to do next. I’ve tried looking for welding jobs but they all say 1+ year of on the job welding experience (I have none obviously). There’s union welding apprenticeships but the ones I’ve seen have their intakes closed and I probably need more practice before I can pass their entry welding tests. Is there any welding jobs or apprenticeships that pay that’ll take novice welders?

Hello. I’ve been thinking about joining a trade of some sorts. I’m really new to trades and I’m not entirely sure how it all works. Even so, Im very interested in learning about trades and what’s a good field to get into. I’m in California, 19, and female. I was wondering what would be a good trade to get into? I was really debating on learning plumbing, but then I was also curious about electrical work. I would greatly appreciate any advice on getting started, or insight on the two I was interested in. Thank you for reading.

I’ve been interested the field of instrumentation and control tech, but I lack experience, and finding an apprenticeship/foundations program seems challenging. I'm considering pipefitting/steamfitting or millwright. I would love to work on big projects on rigs or refineries.

What are people's thoughts on millwright or pipefitting? Any personal experiences to share?

I'm currently a 309a electrician working in 353 low rise residential.

I've honestly been bored in low rise for a while and am looking to make a shift into something 1) more mentally interesting and 2) with better pay ideally 3) hopefully with less "push" and destroying my body for the job.

I remember in trade school doing well in PLCs and hearing good things about automation work from teachers, but have no idea where to start to get into this kind of stuff.

Can anyone give me any tips/pointers on requirements or where to start? What kind of training/schooling do I need?

Alternatively - does anyone have any other suggestions on other career paths that my license/knowledge may help translate into?

How do people living far away from any trade schools get into trades or union training programs? I’m like 110 miles away from any and want to get into a trade but every local contractor wants 2-3 years experience. Can’t afford to move my family for me to start a program where I won’t be making a good wage for a few years.

I am considering pivoting to the skilled trades. I'm looking at apprenticeship programs and having difficulty choosing. Say I completed an apprenticeship, how then could I branch out to other trades within the same union? Just independent learning and lincensure? Or how does that work?

Hello, I (20) been trying to look on what to study and I want to get onto trades. From Canada Bc but want to move to Ab, do i go to trade school? Should i join a union i dont have expierience so I am kinda lost, Where do i start?

My local community college has a welding program as well as a precision machining program. From what I’ve heard online machining is severely underpaid and the work could get outsourced to other countries or automated. Main reason I was considering machining over welding is it seems more sustainable on your body and I am not a fan of heights. Any advice?

I'm a 22 year old guy who's looking to get into the trades. I've done a ton of research and have settled on either getting into carpentry or, most likely, ironworking. l've been looking into what an apprenticeship entails and from what l've gathered it makes the most sense to go the union route. It looks like there are a couple different unions in Chicago and I'm not sure what I should be looking for when differentiating between them. I've also been thinking about architectural vs. structural vs. ornamental vs. fence. I'm looking for work that encompasses the widest variety of skills, and work that has a level of craftsmanship/artistry to it. Also it anyone has done carpentry and ironwork I would love to hear about your experience in both, pros and cons, takeaways, similarities, differences, application, all that good stuff. I know that was a lot, but I wanted to give as much information as possible. I'm excited and eager to hear about people's thoughts, advice and experiences!

I work an office job. Make 23.5 an hour. I hate the office culture. I want something fast and around the same pay. My dad was a plumber and I did side jobs with him growing up so I’m not that bother by poop. My uncle was a steam fitter but I never talked to him about it. I’m looking something that will hire fast and Make good money.

Hi I’m a certified electrician in Canada, I was wondering if anybody know if it’s possible for me to get a fifo opportunity in Australia or they only pick Australians first ?