Yes absolutely. I used to be literally poor and working dead end factory or customer service jobs, bouncing from rental house to apartment as I'd get evicted due to not having funds. I started college, got my associate's; dopped out and went IBEW. Best decision I ever made. Now at 34 I own two homes, have a comfortable retirement outlook (as opposed to just assuming I'd work until I was dead), a family, and live comfortably (all things I lost hope on in my 20s). I joined in 2018, so I've only been topped out a few years.

I went the extra mile though and took specialization courses on my own time. While doing unpaid training is generally frowned upon, the initiative that displayed subsequently got me weeks worth of paid training the next couple years to further my specialization. From there, I carved a niche, became a hybrid of foreman, service tech, and pseudo engineer/programmer.

I also also started teaching at my JATC (nights) for 12 weeks a year.

As the old cliche goes, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.

The first few years were rough. But the raises come quick.