Training & Career
Apprenticeships, journeyman-to-master paths, trade schools and building a career in the trades.
5 guides in this section
Guides in this section
Apprentice, journeyman, master: how long does it take to the top?
The trades run on a three-rung ladder. You start as an apprentice learning the trade on a paying job, usually for three to five years. You become a...
How to get into the trades
There are three ways in: a Registered Apprenticeship (you earn a wage while you learn), a trade school certificate, or working your way up on the job. For...
Trade school or apprenticeship: which is worth it?
For most people, a registered apprenticeship is the better deal, because you earn a wage from day one, finish with no tuition debt, and come out with a...
Union or open-shop apprenticeship, and how to get into one
Both are legitimate paid ways into the trades, and neither is automatically better. A union apprenticeship (a JATC) usually gives you standardized wage...
Your rights as an apprentice, and where to complain
As a registered apprentice you have enforceable rights under federal law (29 CFR Parts 29 and 30): a written apprenticeship agreement, wages that step up as...