Any experience with apprenticeships/unions?

Don't become a boilermaker...

They can force the vax on you, so there’s that.

Excuse my naivety, but what's a boilermaker? lol

I saw that welding is part of the same union as the plumping/HVAC is nearby. Is it related to welding?

I'm a 30 year member of the UBC, United Brotherhood of Carpenters.

I would recommend seriously considering it. Good wages, pension, and health insurance.

I will say this, it heavily depends on where you live as to how predominant trade unions are. Down in the southern US, not so much, NE, and Midwest US good. Western US mostly bigger cities only.

Carpentry is the one I know probably the least about just because it's easy to see pipes and wires around you, but the union does have a group nearby and I certainly don't want to limit options. If you want to, It would be really cool to get non-politicalized /conspiracy answers on it...

What would you do at an average job? Is it really as simple as going in and talking to them? Who should I ask for? 30 years is really impressive. What would I be learning with carpentry? I've done apprenticeship based work before but these are a little different and the idea is encouraging but I want to be educated and ready.

Don't join local88 sheetmetal they sell out local Las Vegas natives and allow Cali and Arizona more work. It's a shitty tri state combo that screws people who have true seniority. People who were raised in Las Vegas.

Going into the trades while you're still relatively young is the smartest thing you'll ever do.

I started an apprenticeship at 53 (Instrument Tech) but sadly it didn't work out (long story short a building that was critical to the oil refining process got destroyed in an explosion. As a result all contractors on site were sent home.) I live in Ontario and worked in Alberta on a fly in fly out deal (super rare for an apprentice). After we all got let go I couldn't get anyone to take me on under similar terms so that was the end of that. Still pisses me off to this day as I really loved the job.

22 years in the CWA here. I'm in the southeast. You're right. What I've learned is that at least down here, the union is more of a private club. I actually heard our shop steward say they wouldn't help people they didn't like. Down here the union is pretty much useless.

Right now, yes, it's as simple as going in and taking to them.

Carpentry,at least what we do, can be easy to extremely hard. We do trim work, and we also do the concrete form work for bridges, to the scaffolding like that which was around the statue of liberty years ago.

If you're seriously interested in the UBC, I would need to know where you are, and I assure you I can put you in touch with the proper people.

Just do it

Softball...