Electrical apprenticeship or office job?

[alcoholicToad]

Started a diploma of IT at university and haven’t done shit in 2 weeks, I’m soo fucking lazy and just told myself that “I’d drop out and do an electrical apprenticeship anyway” so why bother doing any work.

I have a legitimate case of ADHD (not the zoomer TikTok-induced type) so my mind trails off very frequently, I have genuinely no idea how I’m gonna keep up with all of the work - if I actually tried, but it’s also possible that I’m just a lazy bastard so I’m biased.

Based on what I’ve heard and read, working as an electrician is brutal. Shitty conditions, stress, toll on your body, etc…

In need of actual advice, only thing I have going for me is that I’m high IQ

 

[Whatever]

I went the trade route in my early 20s and not once for a single second have I ever regretted it and wish I worked in an office instead. I've regretted certain career and location moves I've made, but not that I went the trade route. Right off the bat, there's way less room to fail an apprenticeship program than a university diploma program, it's much easier to put your mind into. And then electrician is an extremely versatile career path, there's a lot of potential for you, I say go for it.

 

[AscensionMan98]

I went the trade route in my early 20s and not once for a single second have I ever regretted it and wish I worked in an office instead. I've regretted certain career and location moves I've made, but not that I went the trade route. Right off the bat, there's way less room to fail an apprenticeship program than a university diploma program, it's much easier to put your mind into. And then electrician is an extremely versatile career path, there's a lot of potential for you, I say go for it.

wish I went that route, but now its pretty late.

Graduated uni. Only those with connections will get the good paying jobs in finance. Accountants get average start salaries but it builds up over time.

Engineers get above average salaries but its kinda capped


Only the medical doctors get the big bucks


Your better of doing a trade like electrician or Hvac in america . 2 year apprenticeship and then you make good money and are employable anywhere in the country.

And if you happen to lose work one place easy to get a job

Meanwhile when a white collar loses a job takes forever to get a new job.

 

[alcoholicToad]

wish I went that route, but now its pretty late.

Graduated uni. Only those with connections will get the good paying jobs in finance. Accountants get average start salaries but it builds up over time.

Engineers get above average salaries but its kinda capped


Only the medical doctors get the big bucks


Your better of doing a trade like electrician or Hvac in america . 2 year apprenticeship and then you make good money and are employable anywhere in the country.

And if you happen to lose work one place easy to get a job

Meanwhile when a white collar loses a job takes forever to get a new job.

I was thinking of AI development as a future career tbh, I just turned 19

Apparently electrical work is hard on the body, and is just a rough job in general (I'm only going off of what I've heard because I have little experience with something like this). Obviously it's hard to imagine what this might be like day-in-day-out till I retire.

It's hard to make a final decision because I've heard a lot of perspectives, some people say office jobs are miserable, other people say they're "comfy" whatever the fuck that means

 

[AscensionMan98]

I was thinking of AI development as a future career tbh, I just turned 19

Apparently electrical work is hard on the body, and is just a rough job in general (I'm only going off of what I've heard because I have little experience with something like this). Obviously it's hard to imagine what this might be like day-in-day-out till I retire.

It's hard to make a final decision because I've heard a lot of perspectives, some people say office jobs are miserable, other people say they're "comfy" whatever the fuck that means

If I could do it all over again, I woudl have just jumped from high school , take a gap of at least 6 months to a year, journaling and writing shit down, figure out a plan . In the meantime workout and do soft maxes, research on other surgeries if you need to , as well as some geo max destinations you have in mind

Then jump into a job in sales , or learn the trades. Your focus should only be how to make as much money in the next 2 years. Sales you can make good money as a account manager or or account executive but can be harder to get into. Usually a car salesman role can be a type of job you can walk in and Get. Granted it woudl take some tries before you land a place walking in but its possible especially in sales roles.

If you can't sell at all and hate people then a trade is good. Get a apprenticeship then join a union

I would work the trades till like 25. Save up a bunch of money and develop a passive income stream that doesn't require you to be present

After you work for 2 years I would recommend to geo max. Try to get your surgeries in before the 2 year mark. Travel around the world. Have fun.

You can also have fun while your working but it feels a endless grind working.

College is a utter scam these days. All your knowledge is online for FREE, and high quality courses or only like a few hundred a year. You can learn all the skills to become some top tier programmer if you really want to but its over saturated now and getting automated like most white collar jobs.

The reality is blue collar jobs are gonna be safer in the long run. White collar is gonna be automate 80% of roles , maybe even 90% in 5-10 years.

 

[mikael]

tl;dr - depends where you're at now and how you want to live life later. also take ADHD meds when you feel like it might help.

I’m high IQ

i wrote this wall of text only because your high IQ should counter the ADHD

-

I was in your position. I previously attempted CS and dropped out after figuring coding as a hobby would be ruined for me if I made it my career. I was already finished with undergrad gen eds and went into business instead. I took a gap year after covid to figure out a new plan (top of high school class but didn't really plan for higher education).

I looked into the trades, primarily plumbing and electrician work. I figured if I'm going to break my back (and suffer after my 40s/50s) I'd go for the riskier and higher paying job of electrician. Concepts are easy enough to understand and legitimate attention to detail gets you paid very well.

-

The two things that turned me away were the long term consequences and potential for electrocution even in residential work.

I cannot trust the current and future cohort of electricians doing work right now. Retards wiring a house? JFL. Having to fix someone else's mistake and not paying attention while working seemed too common a scenario on the job. Electrocution as a job hazard is obvious but ended up being the main reason I didn't want to pursue it further.

The physical stress is something to consider if you'd like to be active in your mid and late life. If you plan on sitting around and drinking on cruise ships, then fuck it ig. Personally, I'd like to be around for a while for my kids.

A financial issue for me is that my state has one of the worst pays for electrician work, even in a union. I would have to move multiple states away and I currently don't have the support for that.

-

I ended up doing online school for accounting. There's multiple accredited, accelerated programs you can do from home. These are valid if I decide to pursue the CPA path in the future. Starting pay is double what I made working fulltime in retail during my gap year. I already have some experience outside of school from doing accounting and tax prep for my own business. Funny enough, I did want to be an insurance actuary at one point, since numbers are my thing, but I put accounting below me.

I'm more conscientious and introverted than anything. I can avoid office politics, hang out with coworkers once in a while just to show face, and keep my head down while I collect a check. However, I'm not interested in climbing a corporate ladder, I'd rather start my own practice in this decade and take on client work (and potentially outsource it once I know what I'm doing).

-

Really, it depends where you're at now and what you want out of life. I'm sure I can get along with the salt of the earth tradesman or the douchey finance bro in the office, but judging outlook, I'm tryna secure a future for me and my family. Trades seem like a good single man lifestyle, but I want to settle down sooner. I already burnt time out of high school.

Idk your age, but I would've done trades right before or straight out of high school for sure. I would do sales but, personally, I'd kill myself after a bad month. Can't deal with that kind of stress.

In either scenario, I know for sure I'll literally break my back working the trades, or AI MAYBE takes over my career. I know the former is certain but the latter not so much. Financial regulations only keep growing and I don't think AI will ever be perfect. The liability is too large to not have humans double check work (see co-pilot for coding).

Imo it's going to become a tool for white collar workers, not take their job. Saying AI will take over jobs is like saying Google replaced doctors. There'll be people that try, very few will make it work, but the majority are too dumb and need an authority to tell them what to do.

-

It's hard to make a final decision

You can always switch. You don't even have to do either. Do what I did and suffer as a wagie for a shit retailer. The PTSD will push you to never go back. It's like that with any poor choice you make.

Give it another good month to consider (or at least right before the add/drop period ends). Spend a week looking into what it's really like working on each job and think if it'll fit your lifestyle and goals. Consider if you had to quit, is there an adjacent field you can apply your skills to switch into?

As for the ADHD, use medication when you have to. I have a few friends with it. One is successful in his career and uses it on weeks he has to lock in. ADHD influences your behavior but you can still overcome it. Just don't go bug mode and use it 24/7, your friends will appreciate it.

 

[alcoholicToad]

tl;dr - depends where you're at now and how you want to live life later. also take ADHD meds when you feel like it might help.


i wrote this wall of text only because your high IQ should counter the ADHD

-

I was in your position. I previously attempted CS and dropped out after figuring coding as a hobby would be ruined for me if I made it my career. I was already finished with undergrad gen eds and went into business instead. I took a gap year after covid to figure out a new plan (top of high school class but didn't really plan for higher education).

I looked into the trades, primarily plumbing and electrician work. I figured if I'm going to break my back (and suffer after my 40s/50s) I'd go for the riskier and higher paying job of electrician. Concepts are easy enough to understand and legitimate attention to detail gets you paid very well.

-

The two things that turned me away were the long term consequences and potential for electrocution even in residential work.

I cannot trust the current and future cohort of electricians doing work right now. Retards wiring a house? JFL. Having to fix someone else's mistake and not paying attention while working seemed too common a scenario on the job. Electrocution as a job hazard is obvious but ended up being the main reason I didn't want to pursue it further.

The physical stress is something to consider if you'd like to be active in your mid and late life. If you plan on sitting around and drinking on cruise ships, then fuck it ig. Personally, I'd like to be around for a while for my kids.

A financial issue for me is that my state has one of the worst pays for electrician work, even in a union. I would have to move multiple states away and I currently don't have the support for that.

-

I ended up doing online school for accounting. There's multiple accredited, accelerated programs you can do from home. These are valid if I decide to pursue the CPA path in the future. Starting pay is double what I made working fulltime in retail during my gap year. I already have some experience outside of school from doing accounting and tax prep for my own business. Funny enough, I did want to be an insurance actuary at one point, since numbers are my thing, but I put accounting below me.

I'm more conscientious and introverted than anything. I can avoid office politics, hang out with coworkers once in a while just to show face, and keep my head down while I collect a check. However, I'm not interested in climbing a corporate ladder, I'd rather start my own practice in this decade and take on client work (and potentially outsource it once I know what I'm doing).

-

Really, it depends where you're at now and what you want out of life. I'm sure I can get along with the salt of the earth tradesman or the douchey finance bro in the office, but judging outlook, I'm tryna secure a future for me and my family. Trades seem like a good single man lifestyle, but I want to settle down sooner. I already burnt time out of high school.

Idk your age, but I would've done trades right before or straight out of high school for sure. I would do sales but, personally, I'd kill myself after a bad month. Can't deal with that kind of stress.

In either scenario, I know for sure I'll literally break my back working the trades, or AI MAYBE takes over my career. I know the former is certain but the latter not so much. Financial regulations only keep growing and I don't think AI will ever be perfect. The liability is too large to not have humans double check work (see co-pilot for coding).

Imo it's going to become a tool for white collar workers, not take their job. Saying AI will take over jobs is like saying Google replaced doctors. There'll be people that try, very few will make it work, but the majority are too dumb and need an authority to tell them what to do.

-



You can always switch. You don't even have to do either. Do what I did and suffer as a wagie for a shit retailer. The PTSD will push you to never go back. It's like that with any poor choice you make.

Give it another good month to consider (or at least right before the add/drop period ends). Spend a week looking into what it's really like working on each job and think if it'll fit your lifestyle and goals. Consider if you had to quit, is there an adjacent field you can apply your skills to switch into?

As for the ADHD, use medication when you have to. I have a few friends with it. One is successful in his career and uses it on weeks he has to lock in. ADHD influences your behavior but you can still overcome it. Just don't go bug mode and use it 24/7, your friends will appreciate it.

high quality response, I read everything.

It’s very hard to trust whatever choice I make because I kind of intuitively know that I’m immature for my age, I grew up with overprotective parents and I’ve always been well-off.

I don’t know at all what I want from life, and I have a habit of isolating myself. Like up until now (I’m 19, just finished highschool), I’ve literally done nothing. I know it’s very hard to take any of this seriously but I was mentally ill during my teen years, so I haven’t learnt anything about myself or made any memories. That’s why I want to invest time into religion, cause at the moment I’m just living to cope and I don’t have any hope for the future.

As for what I’m gonna do for a job, realistically I’m gonna have to start a trade as soon as possible because I’m just soo fucking behind on my class/coursework. I basically avoided it completely for 2 weeks, I also picked up a binge eating problem so I’ve been distracted with that (not that this is an excuse obviously).

 

[Foreverbrad]

Trades make more sense for most incels.

Office work is too political and your salary won’t really take off until it’s rather too late in life to matter. Plus you will spend 4-5 years at university, not earning, and seething that Chad is getting all the JB pussy while you still haven’t afforded your surgeries.