Hello all, I'm new to this board, and am looking into becoming an electrician. I'm checking out an internship through the local IBEW. Some background on me: I graduated last year with a Bachelor's in Information Technology-just in time to watch the job market in that field tank. I got a job in the Network Operations dept. of a local ISP, but I feel my days there may be numbered. And I see few opportunities out there for those in my field, so I feel the wisest move is to change fields. I chose electrician becuase I've always been interested in that kind of work, and have done some of that work in the past.

I was wondering what pay rate can I expect as an apprentice in the Philadelphia, PA area? I'm hoping it'll be a living wage, at least. Any other tips and info/gotchas you can give to a potential newbie in the field would also be helpful.

MacWire

Idon't know what full scale is in Philadelphia, but most locals start their apprentices at 40% of scale. Then every 6 months you get an additional 5% of scale.

First year or two can be tough if you were used to making more money. One point though, unless the local economy tanks, apprentices are always employed.

Tom

It's the same with prevailing wage as Tom states. Works on percentages. Except most P.W. Co.s wont pay for your schooling, I suppose you end up paying for it in the unions too, with the dues. (btw Mass)

I'm not sure what the prevailing scale in PA is for journeymen, but is $10-14/hr a reasonable expectation for apprentices? Or is this too high?

MacWire

Just guessing, you will probably start out in the $8 to $10 range. Like I said, you'll get a raise every 6 months of about $1 an hour. Also, one of your fringe benefits might be vacation pay, which you will receive twice a year, could be a tidy pile of $$$.

APPRENTICES START AT 47.5% OF SCALE, WHICH IS AROUND $25. FULL BENEFITS DON'T KICK IN UNTIL LATER PERIODS(HEALTH,ANNUITY,...) IN AN AREA AS BIG AS PHILLY THE SCALE IS PROBABLY HIGHER.

Macwire,
You are not going to find what you are looking for here. If you are getting into the IBEW apprenticeship call the hall. They will be glad to tell you everything you need to know. A lot of locals have there scale on there web site. I could not find it for Philadelphia. Here is a link to get you started. http://www.ibew98.org/
PS: I hope you get this soon as this thread will probably get deleted.

I'm not sure what the rate for 1st yr. Apprentice is in Philly, I'm sure it's at least $10-12, because I know it's more than in my local.

I don't want to start a big pro/con union argument w/ anyone here, as I respect a lot of the knowledge & input, regardless of union/nonunion philosophy. But I'll say this, Mac: You'll get good training, and in 5 years you'll be a Journeyman making a very good rate. Check out your local union hall, it's worth it.

Thanks for the link, Nick, I was able to get the local union hall's number and found out some info about the training. The starting rate is $10.41 an hour. A little lower than I'd hoped, but not too bad...

Thanks for your replies everyone. I'll be posting another question on apprenticeship experiences.

MacWire