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Discussion starter · #21 · (Edited)
The problem is that there is no jobs in Cape Breton whatsoever for my trade. If you do manage to get a job, you're lucky to be earning $30,000 a year for a Help Desk job. Besides, I don't want to be stuck at a desk for the rest of my life. :( $50,000 a year is what I would get in Ontario or Halifax. I'm looking at something that can potentially keep me home.

Rollie73,

I'm in the process of checking into a few places. Lynk, NSPower, and Vic Aucoins to name a few but they are all union. I've sent an email to the union asking what I would need to do to become a member, but I'm still waiting a reply. The problem is that everyone I've talked to wants a Pre-apprenticeship as NSCC first. Which I understand, but I can't afford to take a year off for school. I'm willing to do online training, but everyone wants NSCC training.
 
The problem is that everyone I've talked to wants a Pre-apprenticeship as NSCC first. Which I understand, but I can't afford to take a year off for school. I'm willing to do online training, but everyone wants NSCC training.
I changed careers at 35 going from Business, specifically sales and marketing to electrical. I would say that I am still in the midst of my change as I currently working in a job that seemingly straddles the 2 fields.

For me I went back to school for 2 years for an electrical engineering technician diploma. My reasoning was that I wanted to show a potential employeer that I had invested in myself before asking them to invest in me.

Going back to school was a challenge as my wife went back the year before I did. It also meant some sacrifice but I was going from a career that I didnt like to a career that I was very interested in. For me that was worth the setback and the rewards outweighed the risk.

With a background in IT I would look at SCADA, As-I, instrumentation and control and other avenues that might take advantage of your IT savy. Specifically I would check into some continuing education courses if you cant go full time - I think something is always better than nothing.

Good luck
 
Discussion starter · #23 ·
With a background in IT I would look at SCADA, As-I, instrumentation and control and other avenues that might take advantage of your IT savy. Specifically I would check into some continuing education courses if you cant go full time - I think something is always better than nothing.

Good luck
Thanks Dave L, I'll check that out!
 
Rollie73,

I'm in the process of checking into a few places. Lynk, NSPower, and Vic Aucoins to name a few but they are all union. I've sent an email to the union asking what I would need to do to become a member, but I'm still waiting a reply.
Vic Aucoin Electric =:no::no: for a green apprentice. Not a good idea.

I sent you a PM with contact numbers and info for the union hall. I have some contacts in the Halifax area as well since you have a background in IT. Possibly some HVAC controls work....some programming and installations. I also have some info on union contractors that are good to work for. If you are interested....send me back a PM:thumbsup:

We are pretty much all unionized here on the Island so you almost have to join up.
 
I've recently been laid off from work, I am a network administrator. I figured it would not be hard to find another job in computers, but unfortunately, that is not the case. I am considering switching careers to take a trade. The only issue is that I cannot go to school, I need to work to support my family. From what I have read here on previous posts, it is very hard to get a starter job as an industrial electrician in the oil fields. It was suggested to get a construction apprenticeship first. My question on that is: do you still get the same style of work hours (12 hour days, 2 or 3 weeks on) I don't think I could afford to live in Alberta if it was 40 hour work weeks with no overtime.

My other question is: is it something I can do? I am not real young, I'm 30 and I'm female. While I am in good shape and strong for my size, I am only 5'3 and can only lift about 60 lbs. Do you think a job as an industrial electrician would be too much for me? How physical is it? I've done a search on here, but the answers are all over the board, some say it's not as hard as residential (which I have helped out on, and do not find that difficult) and others make it sound like you need to be superman to do it.
Next year you will be 31. You are not old or too old. Yes it can be a little harder to adapt to the physical side of the job at 31 but you will adapt.
Apprentices tend to get more labouring sort of jobs so your size will be a small disadvantage but I like to say work smarter and your size will matter less. I certainly know a few diminutive electricians both male and female. At 56 I won't even try to lift 60 pounds anymore that is for apprentices:rolleyes:

Actually about the hardest thing for smaller electricians is bending 1 1/4" pipe on a foot bender. Even when I was 180 pounds it was hard. Wire comes on reels and they roll on the floor very well so only carrying a roll of BX up 10 flights of stairs is brutal and on a good job the crane made the lift for you.

As an apprentice you earn a percentage of the journeyman rate so obviously Union pays best. I suspect you are leaving an $80+K salary so what ever you do now will be a lot less.
Fortunately you can earn upwards of $130 k as a journey-person in fort mac but most foreman level electricians probably earn under $80 in Calgary or Edmonton.

You will encounter a certain sexism and some women use OT to their advantage and some resent it. Mostly I would say most men are accepting women in construction and I welcome some of them. This might be a big deal or no deal as it is largely how capable are you in dealing with being the new person. Most guys will accept you and some will try too hard and some will resist.

Certainly without going to university, trades are one way to take a mechanical aptitude and turn it into good earnings.

With your computer background you might find data and communications companies are a cross fit. IE you probably know more about the network than many of the guys that are now installing them. This work is very clean relative to construction as you generally get in the buildings well after the heaviest work is done.

You might find you are a potential contractor and then your earnings are more open.

Good luck.
 
Discussion starter · #29 ·
I suspect you are leaving an $80+K salary so what ever you do now will be a lot less.
Fortunately you can earn upwards of $130 k as a journey-person in fort mac but most foreman level electricians probably earn under $80 in Calgary or Edmonton.
I wish! Right now I'm only earning around 45k...such is the economics of our region. :(

Anything 50 and over would be great for me in this area, but not easy to get.
 
I wish! Right now I'm only earning around 45k...such is the economics of our region. :(

Anything 50 and over would be great for me in this area, but not easy to get.
I know I've commented a bit on this thread already, but I think it really comes down to what you want for a lifestyle.

Some guys move here and love it and some hate it. I think if you are someone with strong doubts about it then maybe I wouldn't.

The bottoms line is you will be making less money when you start out when you factor in cost of living and slightly more as a jman if you stay in the city.

If you can find work outside of the city you can expect to do better then that.

I know it some people think I'm condescending when I say it, but almost everyone is looking for good electricians. Keyword here is good. Nobody expects a starter to know it all, but work ethic and being able to support your journeyman, and just being able to get along with who you work with will go a long way. The majority of companies won't lay off good people. As an apprentice not that long ago I worked with probably about 50 other people, with maybe only 1 or 2 who in my opinion didn't deserve to be laid off. Even the bad ones found work again pretty quickly.

If you think you have plateaued in your career so to speak then I would for sure take the chance and come out here.
 
So Rollie what's all going on in Cape Breton? What kind of work do you do? I know there's some talk here about all the electrical work in the ship yards and a boom in residential/commercial construction in Halifax, is that true?
 
So Rollie what's all going on in Cape Breton? What kind of work do you do? I know there's some talk here about all the electrical work in the ship yards and a boom in residential/commercial construction in Halifax, is that true?
Not much going in the Cape right now but we have picked a few good jobs. Starting to pick up again. We do commercial construction and service work.
The so-called boom in Halifax is the same as it has been for years now.....lots of condo's and apartment buildings. My brother is in the Navy and he has assured me that there is no major activity going on around the shipyards yet. They'll be starting up there very soon though. It's going to be a lucrative contract at the Irving shipyard though.
 
yeah it's quite the contract i heard. I don't know if i can handle wiring ships all day, doing the same thing day in day out over and over, but who knows.

I think it would be ok for a while but Irving isn't paying that well. I'm hearing they are paying $26 to $28/hr for JM electricians. Union rate in Halifax is in the $36.00 range
 
I thought this shipyard work was IBEW Union work?
Not as far as I know. CAW has pretty much full control in the shipyards. The only IBEW gets in there is construction of buildings......the ships all get done with Canadian Auto Worker union members.

Last big retrofit in there we had many guys who were threatened by the I.O with fairly stiff fines even as far as expulsion from the IBEW if they didn't stop working on the CAW crews because CAW refused to co-operate with IBEW and pay comparable wages and benefits.

There should be much co-operation there now as our local and the mainland local (625) have been in talks with CAW about putting as many of our guys to work as possible and we are all affiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress now.:thumbsup:

Wow this was post 1000 for me
 
Not as far as I know. CAW has pretty much full control in the shipyards. The only IBEW gets in there is construction of buildings......the ships all get done with Canadian Auto Worker union members.

Last big retrofit in there we had many guys who were threatened by the I.O with fairly stiff fines even as far as expulsion from the IBEW if they didn't stop working on the CAW crews because CAW refused to co-operate with IBEW and pay comparable wages and benefits.

There should be much co-operation there now as our local and the mainland local (625) have been in talks with CAW about putting as many of our guys to work as possible and we are all affiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress now.:thumbsup:

Wow this was post 1000 for me
How do the unions have so much control?
 
Its just the way things have been here in the Maritimes as long as I can remember and as far back as my Dad can remember and his Dad before him. We've all been long standing union members.

The unions are incredibly strong here in the Atlantic provinces......mostly because in this area we are the only ones who can provide the manpower to do the few big jobs we do get here. We have about 90% market share in Nova Scotia if you don't count residential ( it does not fall under the collective agreement in the building trades council).

We are usually (not always) the better trained guys here simply because the non-union shops are usually the epitome of the "scab" shop who will put anybody who can spell electrician (or any other trade for that matter) out to work. The owners normally pay their people a pittance....JM electricians getting 12 and 14 bucks an hour:no: while charging them out at rates that are close to the union rate.... no benefits, straight time pay for OT work, no continuing education, no safety etc etc etc.......I could go on and on.

That sure makes us (union) the better option for a tradesperson here in the Maritimes who wants a half decent standard of living.

With all that going on......you would have a very hard time to find an open shop with the qualified people to man up a job......never mind do it right, on time and on budget.
 
Being a network admin I'd look for work with system integration firms and automation companies. Playing with cisco routers and Ethernet switches is on the other end of the spectrum from being an electrical construction apprentice.
 
Being a network admin I'd look for work with system integration firms and automation companies. Playing with cisco routers and Ethernet switches is on the other end of the spectrum from being an electrical construction apprentice.

The chances of her finding anything like that here on Cape Breton Island are exactly slim to none:no:
 
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