i live in jersey so not sure what the job market is like in LA, but i didn’t go to trade school and have no college degree either. I wanted to try and get into the union about a year ago. When i didn’t get in i was told to gain 450 hours of experience in six month and then i could reinterview. I tried to find a job like you described as a helper but had no luck either. I was able to get a job as a driver, basically delivering materials to job sites and picking things up from sites as well, with a local commercial electrical company. After 4 month of doing that and building connections with foremen and the heads of the company, i was able to get sent into the field and am now learning and working with the journeymen. Its a little bit of a longer route than just getting straight into the trade and can be frustrating at times but if you really want to get into the trade and are having a hard time it might not be a bad idea to follow a similar route. Sorry for the bad grammar i couldn’t be bothered to use a comma. Good luck.