I heard there was a tradesmen shortage and i didn't want to go to college and be in debt so i went to trade school (still too expensive but paid it off) and became an electrician. I applied and within a month got hired because the company said they really needed more workers. Great sign, i thought. Well they started me $18 an hour. The city's minimum wage there was $15 an hour. “Whatever, I'll get a pay bump soon” i thought because this is an actual career. Well i quickly learned many of my coworkers who were skilled and been there 2 plus years were either getting paid $22 to $27 range, which was not enough to live on in that area. The only ones making $40 to $60 where the journeymen who held the leverage because of their license.
And here is when i quit after a year. A new 20 year old coworker of mine who had the same experience as me revealed he was getting paid $31 an hour! Why? Because he was in an apprenticeship program which has a long waiting list to get in. I realized working hard, being on time and loyalty didn't mean shit. You had to know how to play this sick game and i quit. My body was sore from the hard labor and so was my spirit of getting paid shit and commuting an hour to the job site.