Bet you do!!
OH this is truely helpful!!
I remember starting out in chickens a few years ago--- I'm lightyears ahead now. Still climbing the mountain, but I can ID a decently bred bird now and pretty much know the breed, too. Other than asking for a license, one electrician is just like another to me.
You mentioned a number of interesting types of jobs-- something I need a better understanding of as my boys are getting to the age where they/we need to decide if they should go to the local tech school instead of HS. Not like it used to be-- most of the kids graduate and then go on to college.( 50% are A students in the 8th grade) And with the economy-- those that don't go onto college need to apprentise and those jobs are hard to find despite the headstart at a 4 year high school. So thank you for the clarification of all those postions.
BIL is an electrical engineer-- ONLY does security installations for US military bases.
Many of the trades are disappearing and the ones left are being consolidated. A long time ago, when I went through an electrical apprenticeship, all new trades persons had to also become welders because that is a trade they were phasing out. Now days most trades people being hired need to be multi-taskers. They want any maintenance person to also know HVAC. Just when technology is at a point that skills need to be more specialized, they want a one size fits all employee. Then, when the person they hire needs to know something, they farm the task out to a company that specializes in just that. When I started in the auto industry, there were over 15 apprentice-able trades within the company. When I left, there were less than 10 and most of those only existed till the people performing them retired. The only new people hired were electricians, pipefitters, toolmakers (machinists) and millwrights. There are some like GM and some of the Right to Work state foreign car companies that only have a single trade. GM actually started this practice 20 years ago. They called them WEMRS. Weld equipment, maintenance and repair. At Ford and Chrysler that work was done by 3 trades. Electricians, pipefitters and toolmakers.
There's been a war against unions for decades. Unions are responsible for collective bargaining. At least one TV station I know thinks CB is a bad thing. People that don't know history don't know that unions/collective bargaining are responsible for weekends, vacations, pensions, the 40 hour work week, overtime, sick days, child labor laws, minimum wage, company paid health care and even things like water fountains in the workplace.
Even my family members that were never union members know they make the money they do because unions have brought millions out of poverty through collective bargaining. Strong unions set a pay standard that nonunion employers follow. For example, a high school graduate whose workplace is not unionized but whose industry is 25% unionized is paid 5% more than similar workers in less unionized industries.
I've been a union member and in management. I know there are slackers and malingerers in unions and I know there are unions that give others a bad name. The same holds true for corporations. Needless to say, I'll always support unions because of what they've done for society at large.
ETA
Your city or county should have a list of all the licensed electricians in their jurisdiction since they administer the test.
