Which should I become? A Carpenter or Electrician?

Question

So I'm tired of office work, and want to start a fresh new career. It seems like some of the best opportunities I've found so far, is to join an apprenticeship in the construction trade.

The two that I'm considering most are Electrician and Carpenter, but I'm having a tough time deciding which to do.

Some people have recommended electrician over carpenter in the past, because it is less physical. But I'm worried that an electrician could become a boring job. Running wires all day, and hooking up electrical connections seems like it would be repetitive and boring. (I've been a cable guy for 6 months, and I'm already tired of running cable wire, and installing cable jacks.

To me a carpenter sounds more fun. Being able to stand back and say "I built this house", rather than "I put the wires in that house". But I'm worried that there might be alot more grunt work. I'm in great shape, I can do grunt work, I just don't want my main job to revolve around it.

Any advice would help.

Another thing that makes a difference. The carpenters apprenticeship starts me at around $17 an hour and ends at around $30 an hour after 8k hours. Which is enough to live off of.

The Electrician apprenticeship starts me at around $13 an hour, and ends around $34 after 8k hours. So the pay is more in the end, but I'll go in debt in the beginning working for $13 an hour, since thats much less than my bills.

I'd like to keep my eye open for which has the best advancement opportunity after I've reached the max, it would be nice to be able to move on to self employment, or an even higher paying position.

Or perhaps theres some completely different construction trade I should look into that's better than both?

Thanks for the advice.

Answer 1

im a carpenter and my father is one and my uncles and grandfather and so on,the point is that were all carpenters, electricians,plumbers,you can do it all. start with carpentry and it will take you to any of these jobs.if you want to work for yourself you will need to learn all of them anyhow.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Which should I become? A Carpenter or Electrician?
So I'm tired of office work, and want to start a fresh new career. It seems like some of the best opportunities I've found so far, is to join an apprenticeship in the construction trade.

The two that I'm considering most are Electrician and Carpenter, but I'm having a tough time...

Answer 4

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Answer 5

If you become a carpenter you have a greater likelihood of being able to move into a supervisory role in later years, as carpenters are on a job from start to finish and gain vast experience of the whole construction process, however the work is physically demanding and if you go into home maintenance there might be less opportunities as a lot of people would chance doing a bit of carpentry around the house, but not to many would mess about with there electrics .
Also people don't seem to mind paying high prices to have a few sockets or lights added, which is bread and butter to any sparks.

Answer 6

Becoming A Carpenter

Answer 7

hello there, well i was at the same level you are at right now i went to a training school for both, and at the end i had to pick one, out of the 10 guys in the class i was the only one who went with electrical, now days i'm the one who makes the most. you can choose whatever trade you want to choose whats really going to make the difference on pay and how high you get is how much effort you put into it, i had only been in the trade for less than three years and i already had a company truck,phone, and gas card, now with only 4 years of experience im in charge of guys with double and even tripple the years experience. And by the way i dont think that being a cable man is anything like an electrician, theres more than just running wires. You should also consider the company you are working for, i have worked for two and if i had to rate them from 1-10 on pay an benefits the first one would be a 5 and the one i work for now a 10. Tip if you are not a lazy person you could also make a lot of money on the side with electrical. Electricity is one of the trades that a lot of people are afraid of doing because of shocks and fires, carpentry a lot of people do it themselves so theres not as much work as electricians, theres been weeks that i get anywhere from 500-1000+ a week on side jobs on top of my regular pay,, of course theres time involved, anyway man i hope you make the right decision feel free to email me if you have any questions,,,the first and most important fact: "Go for whatever is going to make you happy, not so much the money""""

Answer 8

i am an industrial maintenance electrician and i used work carpentry in my younger days. i love being an electrician, but i don't run wires, i troubleshoot machines that breakdown. i have noticed that upon learning my trade i have a much greater understanding of how things work (a bit of mechanical ability helps too). but i loved carpentry too... if you work outside... its great in the summer but cold in the winter. also as an electrician your field is so broad, there are specifics from electronics all the way to high voltage. if i had to wire houses all day i think i would rather be a carpenter... but doing the troubleshooting and reading prints, diagnosing servo motors, relays, switches etc. keeps my mind sharp and it is different everyday...only bad part is working in a factory, but its real easy to find a job just about anywhere.

Answer 9

Electrical trade includes power lines, residential wiring, commercial and industrial wiring, computer systems, radio and television broadcast facilities, cable and intrusion systems. Also elevators and motors for just about anything in North America. The industry is changing but the work is challenging and the can be rewarding if you gain the needed skills through good training. When you finish your apprenticeship you have a 2-5 year education depending on the branch you enter. During this time you both learn on the job and attend school and earn a wage that improves as you gain experience. As to the carpenter group IDK.

Answer 10

I think carpentry is much more interesting. It also involves a lot of other trades. You can more easily transition into being a general contractor or site supervisor. Electricians tend to work alone so that is something else to take into consideration