r/ibew_applicants

I know Mo valley also to even apply for the apprenticeship you need a unrestricted class a CDL

and for swlcat you need to get the manual restriction removed 120 days after being indentured

Are all jurisdictions like Mo valley that you need class a Cdl with no manual restriction to even apply for an apprenticeship? Selcat? Neat? Albat? Mslcat? Nwline? Cal/nev? Ajeatt?

How would one even get a manual restriction removed within 120 days while being an indentured apprentice working and going to school?

For the CDL I’m assuming it’s 100% best as a manual CDL so you don’t have any restrictions to trucks you may need to drive. Are there any other good certifications I should get to become a ground man or an apprentice.

Thanks

332 interview 2nd time

I've got my interview coming for 332. This is a tough panel and i am not confident in knowing what they're looking for in answer length. I know the sar and star formats but I'm curious as to how long the answers should be. I feel like last year I talked too long.
Chat gpt is telling me I should be able to deliver an answer in three sentences but that seems short af.
Anyone on here that's in 332 able to give me any insight? The good thing is that I have electrical experience now and have some solid answers this time around

Got my test coming up in about 2 weeks, have work in the way of studying a lot more than I wish but everynight after work I try to dedicate atleast an hour of study time. My question here is do you guys recommend I study mainly the math portion instead of the reading portion? I heard the reading is pretty straightforward.
Thanks!

What to expect on test? Is there paper folding and mechanical this year?

I’m at a crossroads and not sure which route to go.

Hi all. I applied for the Local 11 Inside Wireman apprenticeship in April and unfortunately ended up ranking pretty low due to not having all of my PEF documents in order.

I am wondering if it is possible to apply for the Sound and Communication apprenticeship when applications open up again in October? Or are you not able to apply to another track after being put on the POE for another?

Thanks!

Alright, I just passed the aptitude test today and was told that I’ll receive a call after the first of the year for an interview. I’m curious about what I should prepare for the interview and what types of questions they typically ask. I want to be as well-prepared as possible because I completed the process for the UA last year and felt that I wasn’t prepared for the interview. Additionally, if you’re in 212, I’d love to know your thoughts on the program.

Thank you!

Im wondering how long it usually takes cause I keep thinking maybe they forgot about me

My test is on the 21st which is Friday and i’ve been working at my job nonstop and haven’t had much time to study as well as they told me my test would be in September and then pushed it up to august last minute. i just took a practice test on Iprep and i got a 8/33 for the math portion. i’m only 18 so granted its not like i don’t have the time but i feel like i’m not doing anything with my life and this is a goal of mine that i want to succeed in, when i took the practice exam i didn’t even know 97% of the material on there i’ve been using Iprep and Chatgpt to study because i heard it was good for guidance but it just left me shit out of luck and now i believe im going to have to wait up to 6 month just to retake this test. if anyone has any tips or suggestions please let me know i’m desperate at this point. I’m applying for JATC 24 and i don’t want to reschedule since they told me it wasn’t guaranteed

I recently interviewed at the IBEW Local 5 and got a score of 91. I have heard tons of differnt things on here and from my older friend who is in the union.

I recently got hired at a local electrical contractor to gain experience, but I’m trying to plan my future.
Should I call the JATC and ask about the next wave of apprentices, what I should do to strengthen my case, soemthing along those lines?

I called local 11 to see when next bootcamp they confirmed a bootcamp in September. Inside wiremen currently rank 48 hope I get the call. Trying to see if I will make the list for bootcamp.

I just completed the both mathematics and reading comprehension, wanting to share immediate thoughts and continue them later on here in edits.

​​ I entered the facility with 5 to 10 minutes to spare with others that have been there for almost an hour. Just make sure you're close enough to the facility in case something happens like your car won't start leaving you to walk the quarter mile and have enough time if you encounter traffic or in my case, a road closure.

Completely unnecessary​​ to enter any early than I did as you are placed in a waiting room separate from the test room. As there's other classes likely happening in the facility you're persuaded to keep it to quieter conversations until transfered to the testing room the provided testing computer for silence is required and phones put away until intermission. Testing setup was as described as you were given scrap paper and pencils . On the computer itself you're going to enter your basic info like name social and an email​ to receive your scores. Exam Is the style of ABCD Choices with the provided helpful tips. Those tips legitimately are helpful to people who struggle on tests.

I went into this thinking that I was great at math and got hit hard realizing I don't understand pattern recognition or square roots equations tied to them. Algebraic multiplying and dividing fractions also not my jam. Notably I was able to take advantage of percentiles. Since it's ABCD you can use a process of elimination when they have crazy answers on the list which admittedly was only a handful of questions. Definitely played the game of well it's either one of these two answers 50% better than the 25%.

​​ Let's talk about my academics and where I think the test was in relation to from a decade ago.

75% of the Test covered in length by my public Middle School Math Education without getting to the last few chapters of the book.

25% of the Test questions covered by my High School Freshman Year Algebra class

I can confidently say if I wasn't a decade removed from formal math classes I would have remembered how to solve a lot of these equations quickly or eyeballed ABCD choice elimination as some were very easy. I told myself I would go into this Raw without practice to have a genuine experience as a lot of my peers have in the past who had to retake it after.​

*** We had around a 10-minute intermission where people hit up the vending machine and took a bathroom break. Learned that around half of the​
Test takers did not finish. I would also say around one-third of the people scheduled to test did not show up And no one was late.

​ Reading comprehension I struggle with talking about here as I found it painfully easy. The questions are always in reference to a body of text that you can go back to and review in sequential order. Unlike a lot of my tests in previous Academia there wasn't really any trick questions just pick the answer contained in the text rather than what might be your personal opinion or thoughts.​ I'd say most with a sixth grade reading comprehension should be able to understand the text and pass but I'm not the best judge of that and perhaps some others on here are and can give better advice or knowledge

​​ Whatever may be your reason your local Community College does have refresher courses for any level you may be at. There's also Adult Educational offerings elsewhere that I'm not familiar with. The prices are often very cheap or free as their subsidies to educate folks who want it. Often virtual options are available and those in person classes also primarily happen during non-working hours because the general demographic who attend them. Some local libraries will also offer help as well as light tutoring.

That being said the exams were 33 questions, most Halls require you to get a minimum score of 4 out of 9.

​​ You're only required to get 15 out of the 33 questions correct...

Frankly if you can't do that you don't belong in an apprenticeship until you take the genuine time to work on your academics because you will be expected to use them correctly.

90 Day Cooldown Before Retest or 500 Industry Hours

Long story short I scored a 90% on the GAN Aptitude test, but I ended up getting a 57.54/ 100 on my total application score because I have no experience in the electrical field. Local 292 only took 15 people and unfortunately Im currently ranked 360. In the email they sent me about my score there is a link to take a $500 course on skills prep that only improves my application score by 5pts. I honestly have no clue what to do and im sick of waiting around. I had planned on doing a pre apprenticeship for one of the companies in the union, but because there are apprentices on the books I can’t anymore. I went around to some local non union electrician shops, spoke to them asking if they had any pre apprenticeship/ helper opportunities, and gave them my resume. Its been a little over a week and no response from anyone. I want trade school to be a last resort because most of them near me either don’t have an electrical program, or are pretty booked out. Im just trying to get my foot in the door anywhere. Any suggestions on what to do?!?!?!?!!

I just wanted to let you guys know I got called yesterday for IBEW Local 11 Bootcamp. I applied in January of 2026, submitted my PEF in February, took my aptitude test on March second, got my POE placement exactly one month (30 days) later in April. I originally placed 29th on the list, a couple months later I got bumped down to 82nd, and shortly after the other bootcamps started I got bumped back up to 28th. I stayed there for a while and just got called for bootcamp. I think they had about 2, maybe 3 bootcamps for local 11 before this one I just got called for (August 18th 2026). I had so many questions about the timeline so I wanted to share my experience.. I’m not sure what to expect from here, as far as after bootcamp. Bootcamp starts September 14th. Tell me everything I need to know about the apprenticeship. 😗😗

Got a letter stating I wasn’t accepted at this time but my application will remain on file and I will be notified if a position opens until the application process is reopened again. should I get my hopes up about a position opening or start applying non union? I don’t know if it’s right to wait all year until the opportunity to apply comes back around again.

I'm a JIW, but my brother wants to be in the low voltage program. The apprenticeship program talks about there being a "technician wage" and an "installer wage" after graduation. Wondering if any of you guys can shed some light on what the differences are? Since the tech wage is much higher, is there some sort of additional specialization involved? Thank you for any info.

I got my rank for inside wireman and I believe it's competitive enough, but I'm not sure that necessarily means I'll start with the next group. Anyone know how big the class sizes have been lately and how often they take in new apprentices?

I have my GAN test coming up in September for local 100, does anybody have any study tips they can give me? Anything helps, my GAN profile is pretty weak so I want to ace this test or do super well on it.

edit: spelling

I’m currently in the Ibew Electrical union and debating on leaving for trucking…
I’ve had my license over 2 years I have about 8 months driving experience in total and thinking about going back to trucking since work is slow is it worth getting back into trucking and starting from zero or just stick it out where I’m at?
I’ve only been in the ibew for about 4 months and only worked 3 months I’ve been off since there’s no work and I don’t think I can keep waiting while my bills keep piling up

I applied during the July window and completed my PEF last week one the first day it opened since I already had all my documents in order. I read in other posts that some people were scheduled for their test the next day. It’s been over a week for me and I haven’t heard anything. Has anyone been scheduled yet?