thanks for the advice
A little more backstory -- I went to a private high school where it was basically drilled into your head that the only acceptable thing to do after graduation was to chase down a bachelor's degree (or higher). So I started off at community college, where I took the EE tech classes ... I still regret not continuing with them, but oh well. I eventually went on to a four-year school with the intent of doing engineering, changed majors, changed schools, and ended up with a degree that's kind of useless unless I move or go to grad school, neither of which I can afford (or really want to do).
School and I never really got along in the first place, which is why I've been considering picking up a trade. I love learning, but I also love being able to take what I learn and apply it to things other than writing papers.
There's only one open apprenticeship program in the area for electricians (the one I mentioned above), but according to the Dept. of Labor site it runs till March 2010 and is going to recruit 25 apprentices. A friend's father is an electrician in the area, so I might pay him a visit sometime and see what he has to say.
