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how hard is it once you get a journeyman's license in mass to break off and start getting your own work, in terms of advertising and actually aquiring job how do some of you who have been in the field a while do it?
currently a first year apprentive working twords my journeymens and was just wondering how difficult going about getting your own work is
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Liam’s Answer
Its really easy.
I am assuming you mean "break off" as in you own your own company or shop. The different levels are: you work at a contracting company as a journeyman and then do side work for whomever on the weekends (as an individual not as the company), you work for a small company that you own or own with a couple of people, or you own a shop that has 5+ (to hundreds) of employees. Likely you will do side work your entire career. You will have people with houses and businesses that need less than a couple hundreds of dollars of work done regularly. Its also likely at some point you own a small company on your own with possibly a couple of people. You will do some work, probably have some branding, and will be working as or with a master electrician doing work as needed by clients.
Everything runs on electricity these days so there is a need. If you make a small company and advertise you will get called non-stop. I know people who have never advertised and they cannot stop getting called. Its up to you how much you want to work. I see electricians all the time set really high prices just to discourage work (maybe go on vacation or take a break) and the clients are still willing to pay. This will come as you find your specialty or what kind of work you like to do. You may really be good at lighting or really good at primary power, residential, light commercial, controls, etc and you are willing to do it for less than what other electricians do it for. You might really dislike switchgear or bending large conduit and need special equipment to do the job so you avoid doing it.
The next step to working for yourself is a masters license, insurance, and a bond. The masters license is so you can pull permits and work with your county or state when working on projects. You can sometimes work with someone that has a masters and they will help you out, but in order to own a scalable business you will need to be a master. The insurance is for you, liability, property damage, injury, and for your business losses. The bond is in case you go out of business or are unable to complete a job, the bond will cover the work expected, basically hire the next guy to come in and fix it. This is the difficult part, getting your hours to get your masters, passing the test, and getting a business in your name insured and bonded.
If you are in the union and you own your own business you are expected to be a union contractor usually. There are usually clauses that state you cannot operate independent of the union, be aware of that. You can work as a journeyman in most places but you cannot charge above $3000 (the numbers vary all over) for a job unless you have a permit and are bonded etc. Its all up to your local laws that will dictate what you can and cannot do for business. I apologize I don't know any of the regulations in MA, but as an apprentice you should know how to look those kinds of laws up!!
If you take a loan out and buy a truck, tools, advertisements, a website, get licensed/ insured/ bonded, get some basic materials, and make yourself available I am pretty sure you will be busy all the time. If you decide to do side work on the weekends, I am sure you will be busy. If you get a big company with hundreds of people working for you while you go out and bid on work for large projects, you will define busy.
Lastly, don't be afraid to change directions if you are not making the numbers you expected. It may be hard to point to an area and say "I am only going to do residential lighting here" and not get work. Be creative when you seek work. Figure out a way to cover your expenses while you pivot. You may love being an electrician but if you fall into another business, business is about making money and you shouldn't be afraid of figuring out new ways to make money!
I am assuming you mean "break off" as in you own your own company or shop. The different levels are: you work at a contracting company as a journeyman and then do side work for whomever on the weekends (as an individual not as the company), you work for a small company that you own or own with a couple of people, or you own a shop that has 5+ (to hundreds) of employees. Likely you will do side work your entire career. You will have people with houses and businesses that need less than a couple hundreds of dollars of work done regularly. Its also likely at some point you own a small company on your own with possibly a couple of people. You will do some work, probably have some branding, and will be working as or with a master electrician doing work as needed by clients.
Everything runs on electricity these days so there is a need. If you make a small company and advertise you will get called non-stop. I know people who have never advertised and they cannot stop getting called. Its up to you how much you want to work. I see electricians all the time set really high prices just to discourage work (maybe go on vacation or take a break) and the clients are still willing to pay. This will come as you find your specialty or what kind of work you like to do. You may really be good at lighting or really good at primary power, residential, light commercial, controls, etc and you are willing to do it for less than what other electricians do it for. You might really dislike switchgear or bending large conduit and need special equipment to do the job so you avoid doing it.
The next step to working for yourself is a masters license, insurance, and a bond. The masters license is so you can pull permits and work with your county or state when working on projects. You can sometimes work with someone that has a masters and they will help you out, but in order to own a scalable business you will need to be a master. The insurance is for you, liability, property damage, injury, and for your business losses. The bond is in case you go out of business or are unable to complete a job, the bond will cover the work expected, basically hire the next guy to come in and fix it. This is the difficult part, getting your hours to get your masters, passing the test, and getting a business in your name insured and bonded.
If you are in the union and you own your own business you are expected to be a union contractor usually. There are usually clauses that state you cannot operate independent of the union, be aware of that. You can work as a journeyman in most places but you cannot charge above $3000 (the numbers vary all over) for a job unless you have a permit and are bonded etc. Its all up to your local laws that will dictate what you can and cannot do for business. I apologize I don't know any of the regulations in MA, but as an apprentice you should know how to look those kinds of laws up!!
If you take a loan out and buy a truck, tools, advertisements, a website, get licensed/ insured/ bonded, get some basic materials, and make yourself available I am pretty sure you will be busy all the time. If you decide to do side work on the weekends, I am sure you will be busy. If you get a big company with hundreds of people working for you while you go out and bid on work for large projects, you will define busy.
Lastly, don't be afraid to change directions if you are not making the numbers you expected. It may be hard to point to an area and say "I am only going to do residential lighting here" and not get work. Be creative when you seek work. Figure out a way to cover your expenses while you pivot. You may love being an electrician but if you fall into another business, business is about making money and you shouldn't be afraid of figuring out new ways to make money!