As someone who has done what you are thinking I can pass on my experience.
I served a 4 year apprenticeship, with 5 years college parallel. I was 5 years out of my apprenticeship when I left the UK. I saved money and got a tourist visa which allowed me to stay 6 months. When I got here I started looking for jobs and finally got my current job. Before I got it though, I had to go through immigration to change my visa. Do not over stay your welcome like I did, I got an official certificate from the US Immigration, but was told I had to go to the US Embassy in London to change my status. When I got there they refused my visa saying I had been working. Luckily I had bank statements showing I had money transferred over by my parents from my UK account. My company was my sponsor and I got a 3 year working visa. We had to prove there was no-one in the area to do my job, which my boss had interviewed and advertised the position. My qualifications translated over here to 3 years of a degree and then 3 years work experience amounted to 1 year of a degree. After 2 years of working I applied for my Green Card. The company had to advertise my Job again and go through the same procedure of showing nobody in the area could do my job. I am still on my Green Card and have worked here for 10 years. The pay scale cannot be compared to the UK easily as it does differ greatly from area to area.
Good Luck on your adventure.
