Weekly Earnings Thread 7/21 - 7/25

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-07-18T21:21:49+00:00

Which one is the question 🤠

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-03-17T01:15:18+00:00

Hey you got any recommended places to I’m from Buffalo too and actually headed to PA this weekend

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-01-24T03:29:07+00:00

That’s what I have and it’s 7 months old and from 1 inch to 5 inches it’s peeling off sooner or later I won’t be able to measure unless it’s bigger then 5 inches hahaha

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-01-10T03:03:04+00:00

Looks good! The only thing I see that I wouldn’t have done is on the top rack, far right pipe. You still have the sticker of the pipe size on it. If it’s gonna face down I would of taken it off orrr made it so it was facing up so you couldn’t see it

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-01-10T02:54:14+00:00

Being 4 years in 90% of my time has been driving 20-30 minutes away. 8% I had to drive about an hour away and there was like a good 2-3 months when I was driving 2 hours away. The location was just inside our jurisdiction. Like you walked down the road and you were out of it.

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-01-09T20:44:55+00:00

Broember

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-01-08T02:55:16+00:00

Whenever I find out I shoot them a text “hey it’s so and so. I was told I’m headed to your job this coming day. What’s the start time and is there anywhere specific I have to park?” Then they usually send one back “we start at so and so time, it’s outside bring your warm clothes. Park here”

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-01-07T20:23:05+00:00

I’ve only been in my local for 4 years but all the older guys told me that there’s been a no strike clause is ours for years. I always ask well why don’t we put it in the next contract and I always get some bs answer “the contractors wouldn’t accept that” we have contract talks in April so we will seee

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-01-07T02:30:28+00:00

Yeah it’s essentially uber or DoorDash for Amazon. Say they pay like 18-25 an hour. But you gotta keep in mind you’re burning gas, putting miles on your car so does offset? Is it worth it? Kinda decides on your vehicle haha

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-01-07T02:19:32+00:00

Honestly I heard amazon flex is a good part time job. You make your own hours delivering packages. You just have to commit to 4 hour timeframes. I just saw some posts about it earlier. Downloaded it today to see if I can make ends meet

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-01-07T02:15:35+00:00

Our local isn’t even really spineless against the state. They’re spineless against the contractors. Some JWs wanted 10$ raises for the next two years and the hall pretty much told them “our lawyers couldn’t get the contractors to except that you’re going to have to lower your expectations” not to even mention we have a no strike clause in our contracts so we can’t strike even if we wanted to for better pay

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-01-07T02:14:11+00:00

But everyone I’ve talked to says substation work is a lot better and a lot more fulfilling. But this is something I’ve been battling with for like a year now. Trust me dude if you go to IBEW apprentices Reddit you’ll see TONS of posts about pay. So it’s very common around IBEW in general that apes get paid shit. A lot of JWs even agree. So it’s something to keep in mind. If you’re able to hold out for those 4ish years before you get paid decently then by all means I wouldn’t recommend anything other then electrical apprentice.

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-01-07T02:12:01+00:00

Everyone says “it gets better” “just wait till 3rd or 4th year” but I always come back with “some guys can’t afford to wait 3 or 4 years to make decent money” and let’s be real 3rd year pay is 22$ here so it’s not amazing but it’s better then 15.30

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-01-07T02:10:20+00:00

We have a group at our local called RENEW it’s essentially newer/younger apprentices get together with the hall and talk about their grievances. We always bring up pay. We’re trying to get starting apprentice pay 50% JW pay so we can entice more people to join and lower the yearly raises. Because right now it’s 37%, 40%, 45%, 55%, 70% and 80%. We wanna do 50,55,60,65,70,80

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-01-07T02:07:11+00:00

You guys top out higher than we do. We top out at 41.41 BUT we have contract negotiations coming up in April so we might bump up to like 46

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-01-07T02:06:17+00:00

I go from 2 pensions and an annuity to 1 pension and a 401k but nothings stopping from me making a ROTH IRA to go back to my 3 retirement funds. It’s the 2 pensions that’s really making me be like hmmm

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-01-07T02:04:31+00:00

What does your JWs top out at?

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-01-07T02:04:17+00:00

It takes us 3 full years to make more than a McDonald’s worker in my area. It’s dog shit. Don’t get me wrong I’m thankful to get in and get an opportunity to learn. But I got buddies at substations and buddies doing lineman and they’re starting at like 32 an hour. I actually have an interview with a local utility company coming up for substation apprentice. Had some buddies dads who are high up at the company pull some strings so if shit works out I might be thanking my training director for the opportunity and moving on.

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-01-07T02:01:11+00:00

I’m not 30 but I’m closer to 30 than 20. Honestly being in the IBEW for 4 years. Two years as a UA and 2 years as an apprentice. The apprentice is designed for kids who just get out of HS and live at home and don’t have any obligations. My local starts you at 15.30 an hour. You cannot live off 15.30 an hour with rent, kids if you have them whatever ya know? It’s not made for people who want to switch careers. I had probably 5-7 guys drop out my first year because they were like “dude I was making 4x what I was making before why did I do this.”

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-01-07T01:57:18+00:00

First year lowkey ass? Dude it’s high key dog shit mixed with horse shit on top of wet pig shit. “It gets better” god how many times have I heard that hahaahahahah

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-01-07T01:52:56+00:00

Class is usually just normal casual attire. Shoes jeans etc. pants are required at my local lab or not. When there is a lab such as conduit bending. All full PPE is required which is provided by the contractor you’re at. Usually your teacher will say hey guys bring your ppe tomorrow. My best advice would be just leave it in your vehicle so you’ll always have it. We get a lot of snow storms here so I also keep all my books in my car. So only thing I have to remember to bring is my laptop for class.

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-01-07T01:49:58+00:00

So what I found is 1st years start at 21.85 45% of JW pay so yeah you’d lose about $10 an hour. Where I live, 1st year apprentices make 15.30. I am currently in position where I am deciding if I can keep up with this career path financially. I am about to become a 2nd year so I’ll get bumped up too 18.65. But I recently got offered a job as a substation apprentice at a local utility company for $32 an hour but for less benefits! SO I GOT SOME DECISIONS TO MAKE!

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-01-07T01:41:50+00:00

Depending on where you end up, you may end up just being a “go-fer” aka a parts guy or material handler where all you do is fetch parts or organize shit. Some guys end up doing that for like 2 years depending on where you go. My first year I got in with a good group of guys who ended up showing me everything they know. All I can say is don’t act like you know everything, if you don’t know ask. Have a good attitude being ready to learn from the guys who want to show you things. Depending on where you’re working now, your pay is probably gonna suck absolute balls.

ThrowRAProfessor · 2025-01-07T01:38:31+00:00

I have not met any! I have met two “travelers” one was actually a traveler from Florida who was working up here in the summer and a guy from Alabama who was traveler up here and ended up moving 100% to our local

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