I never went to college but did the military after high school then just did construction to support my taste in guitars and musical equipment.
I started with various jobs then did scaffolding for awhile and for about the last 2 years I’ve been doing commercial electrical.
I feel like I’ve been robbed the last 3 years or so in particular of my life. I barely make more than I did doing scaffolding and my pay has barely gone up in the 2 years I’ve done electrical.
I’ve worked both non union and IBEW and both are terrible with a slight upside to working non union in my area due to how horrible the local hall is run here (SoCal).
I’ve worked my ass off trying to build a “career” for myself because I like some of the work I do and thought I’d be able to escape my generational “poverty” trap by “growing up and buckling down.”Lmao. No. I’m still broke , homeless again and just scraping by living out of a old Ford pickup. I also thought I’d be able to juggle music and work. Nah. Burnt out way too much after I get off even when I’ve had a roof over my head.
Everyone I know from work who’s younger is barely getting by with a spouse that works or lives at home with family.
The pay is low everywhere so it isn’t just CA but yes , I did apply to cheaper states and kept getting hit with the “ if you where here we’d extended an offer” and “we don’t really know what you can do” hiring tactics.
I have nothing to show for all my hard work and feel such a deep depressing regret of not just focusing most of my life efforts towards music and just having a mindless job that supports the bare essentials of existence because I’m broke either way. Atleast I’d be happy and content.
I only came back to electrical after a short hiatus because I thought with OT I could atleast save up quickly for some MTF operations and because i could get a job quickly.
I’ll be quitting pretty soon because there’s no OT at this company and I got offered more to work at Home Depot full time lol. My industry is just extremely demoralizing.
Don’t waste your life away slaving for a “career” and follow your dreams. Don’t let them be dreams. Tell everyone else to fuck right off. You’re not a “loser” if you prioritize happiness and passions over a stick and a carrot….
….Especially in this economy…..
I’m glad I’m realizing this at 25 instead of 35. I’m still young and got some time left to actually enjoy my life , broke or not.