Too old to become and Electrical apprentice?

[jaylectricity]

If you show up everyday on time, without a hangover, and don't go out to lunch to smoke whatever, you're a step ahead of the crowd...

Best of luck...BTW, reading Mike Holt gives you all the advantages.

What constitutes a hangover?

 

[wirenut1972]

why not school and CPA, that way you can work until your 72 years old.....really 46-72=26...uh right.....46 now 72 when you stop that?s 26 years pay into what ever you want 401k whatever?.body don?t count much, don?t have to listen to 20 something?s trying to act like they know whats up?..why electric? Why not NASA? Why not MD? Why not what ever??????? electric?


So thats it WHY electric?

 

[wirenut1972]

E-L-E-C-T-R-I-C !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????? why

 

[celtic]

....maybe you should ask again when the OP is actually logged on

 

[la2151]

apprentice age.

apprentice age.

HI.. Just had to comment on the age worry.. I am 56 yo & as my helper is way over weight.I do all the attic & under the house crawling. wears me out quicker then when I was 46.lol but has to be done to get the work & get paid.Best of luck to you.

 

[jrannis]

My brother did it at 45.
Big advantage is that his back and knees are still good from working in an office for 25 years. He can go up and down a ladder like he was 30.

 

[growler]

I have two fears: Can a 46 year old body handle the Electrical 1st year's apprentice's duties: digging ditches, digging post holes, etc? Will a 46 year old apprentice get laughed off the job site?

Thanks for any insights.

A lot of it will just depend on luck. All electrical work is not the same and all crews are not the same. I was once the oldest guy working on a crew at age 35. I didn't really feel at home working with a bunch of young journeymen. A year later I was working with a different crew and had a 55 year old helper.

You can either end up broiling in the sun or freezing to death on a different job. You may never dig the first hole or that may be all you do.

If you end up training with a company that can find work more suited to your experience you may not have much trouble at all. There are shops that do nothing but communications and data wiring they don't even touch the power side. Another thing to look at is control work and industrial maintenance. The work isn't as hard as rough construction and requires a little more intelligence and training than rough construction.

If I were you I wouldn't be so quick to throw away the the experience and training that you allready have but use what you know to find something comparable in the electrical field. There are plenty of electrical jobs that are not all grunt work but still let you work with your hands. A software engineer shouldn't have any trouble learing to program a PLC. Use what you have, there are lots of strong backs and weak minds outs there so don't try to compete against them. All electrical work doesn't require the use of a shovel.

 

[wawireguy]

I'd advise you to start working out. Also condsider for the most part this is just dirty, hard work with a bunch of numbskulls that you have to put up with while doing repetitive, dangerous tasks. Besides that if you're tough, don't mind a lot of swearing and very insane personalities go for it.