r/ibew_applicants

It’s been sort of a long process but definitely not as long as I see for some people so I’m grateful for how soon I got in. Started the process about a year ago at local 20 while I was completing some college in the area and got waitlisted. Moved back to okc and started work at 1141 as a cw and came back to texas to reinterview with having some experience in the trade. Was pretty nervous in my interview, more so than the first time round, but ended up getting in! Ready to start work and school!

Would like some clarification. I applied to the IBEW apprenticeship program last year as from reading their own words, anyone can apply with zero experience and the make applicants take an aptitude test that will decide if they move further in the hiring phase, then selected for an interview, and then chosen if hired or not. This obviously represents a different way of hiring, as traditionally to apply for a job you hand in your resumé where they look at your work experience. The existence and requirement of an aptitude test indirectly means your criteria on moving forward and being selected has to do with whether or not you pass the test, not strict your work experience, otherwise why even schedule people with zero work experience in the field to take the test? However, you waste everyone's time taking the test only to be told you don't have enough experience lol.

I received a letter last week that I am not on the list for immediate selection but will remain on the list for a full year. If after a full year I was not chosen, I may request for another oral interview provided I submit evidence of 1,000 hours and completed two or more post secondary trade related classes.

I was also told by a fellow applicant on my interview day that it was their second interview and they did not get selected during their first interview because the president, or whoever was doing the interviews in the board room, told them they did not have enough hours. All of us in the room were all confused when he said that and we all literally said "Hold up, I thought you could apply without hours? That's the reason we applied for the apprenticeship". Yeah no kidding. So what's up with this? This is no different than job searching/hunting online, albeit you do at least see one or two people if you get selected to take the test. However, my gripe is, what is the point of taking the test if they're looking for people with hours anyway? Is this yet another institution that has become distorted and lost its initial vision? I also have a master's degree in mathematics. They want people that can study and complete the night classes right???? That doesn't get considered? Guess I should have gotten it in electrical engineering 😂 but I know plenty of engineers not in the trades.

Let me guess. They say they take anyone so they get the $75 application fee, and then only select people with work experience anyway, the exact reason people apply to the apprenticeship. I was first round of the first day of interviews which the guy that was interviewing for his second time interviewing said it means there is semi-high likelihood we scored pretty high, not certain though. Out of the 6 people in the room, one had construction experience, one had hours of electrical, I myself had background in IT and automotive and the remaining had nothing relevant what so ever. So who is the IBEW picking? If we presume we scored the highest as we were first to be interviewed, that means they are picking people that scored less but have more hours of work experience. So what in the world is the point of the aptitude test?? It has to be people already in the field/with hours so let's stop playing games and scrap the whole "no experience is required" and aptitude test shall we?

Was wondering if it’s worth applying. I’m in the middle of the application and there are a lot of questions about previous experience, hours, training etc. I have no experience at all.

I’m a female in my 20s have been working “white collar” only and no construction or electrical experience at all. I want to completely pivot my career to electrical because my job is getting replaced by IA.

I’m confident I’ll do well on the aptitude test as I’ve always taken accelerated math courses and achieved high marks on reading and math exams. But anything actually electrical related I’ll be BRAND NEW

I imagine my area would be in higher demand as my area is getting data centers left and right so IDK! Please reply if you successfully entered the apprenticeship with not even five minutes of experience !!! Thank you

Does the union go easier on younger people for their interview ? I’m 18 and fresh out of high school.

So I have finished my interview process for Local 76 and currently ranked 3rd. I have asked the local if they have any estimate on when they may start pulling new apprentices and they cannot make an estimation. They also said they could not guarantee I would receive a two weeks notice. My current job has me leading a number of projects that my coworkers do not have much info on and are time sensitive, I would be against leaving a position without working a 2 weeks notice regardless but especially here. I have considered quitting my position now so I could leave with notice, but it seems like work is slow in 76 and I do not know how long I’d end up waiting without an income. I also am afraid that if I turned down a call up so I could give my job decent notice I’d end up waiting for a very long time or never get called again. I was hoping somebody may have had a similar experience that can give some advice.

Thanks!

I originally got an email saying I would receive my score within 3 weeks of the test, then got an email after the 3 weeks had passed saying I would get a score by that following Monday. Now my most recent email doesn't even give a time-line, just that I will get my score and rank as soon as they can.

Anyone else applying to 292 also getting these emails? Or has anyone from the April testings gotten their scores already?

What even is the point? I thought there was an employee shortage. I thought they needed more skilled workers. Ive been in the field for 4 years. Fuck the union.

Just got the results back for my second interview and got moved up to 6th from the mid 80’s in resi after my initial placement. I don’t want to oversell this to myself because I understand that the list only moves as apprentices are needed but I should be getting in soon-ish right?

anyone get any acceptance emails or have an idea of how often a "wave" of emails go out? i've heard a couple guys with high 90's got their emails about 2 weeks ago, starting work today.

i know it's a waiting game. i'm so antsy to get in lol

I’ve been trying to figure out how the scoring/ranking system for IBEW Local 134 actually works and after looking through applicant packets, score examples people posted online, and acceptance trends, I have a theory.

From what I’ve seen, I don’t think the final score is just a raw aptitude test percentage. The decimals are what make me think that.

People post scores like:
- 71.25
- 73.43
- 72.83
- 77.88
- 79.86

If it was just a simple test percentage or pass/fail system, I’d expect whole numbers more often. The decimals make me think they’re using some kind of weighted composite/ranking formula.

My current theory is that applicants are ranked against each other rather than needing a fixed “passing score.”

Something like:
- aptitude test (largest weight)
- Jumpstart/recommendation section
- education/math background
- construction experience
- maybe other application categories

Then everything gets combined into one composite ranking score.

Another thing that supports this theory is that people with similar scores sometimes get different outcomes depending on the cycle. I’ve seen people get in around high 70s while others barely miss around similar ranges. Makes me think the cutoff changes depending on:
- strength of applicant pool
- amount of apprenticeship spots available
- how competitive that cycle is

Also, from the application packet, Jumpstart seems to max out the recommendation section entirely, which looks like a pretty significant advantage.

Curious what you guys think, especially anyone who’s gone through the process recently. Does this sound accurate or am I overanalyzing it?

anyone still taking their test or got their test date?

I'm a Latin American immigrant with a technical degree in electrical systems engineering. (That's a rough translation of my degree since I've yet to get it homologated here in the states) I'm not necessarily looking for a "shortcut" to the apprenticeship itself but I do want to know if my degree and (limited) work experience count for anything here in the states and for the apprenticeship especially. How should I go about it?

I’m going to make this short. Has everyone gotten their results back from Mar 14th, Mar 21st & Mar 28th exam? I commented on a lot of post about people results. I still haven’t gotten anything back yet, should I reach out. And to whom! I just wanna prepare if I have to take the next exam.

Wondering if anyone else had this issue? Applied for local 6 last night and everything was submitted. Got an email this morning saying, “One of your required documents is not legible and/or missing. Please log in to your account to see what needs to be fixed. It will be in red font.” But when I got back online it says, “in process”, and won’t let me fix it??

Good afternoon y’all,

Just wanted to make a post here to see if anyone else in here is gonna be going to the VEEP SD07 Cohort from October 2026 to November 2026 in San Diego for the Inside Wireman program? Would love to talk with you and see how your on boarding progress is going and to see if we’re all in the same position. My receiving JATC is going to be the Local 280 in Oregon post VEEP graduation as well! If anyone in here has information on what being an electrician is like at the Local 280, please reach out to me, I would love to hear more from people there! Should be starting an electrician apprenticeship around late November and early December time if everything goes smoothly at the Local 280 JATC

Hey everyone, I'm 31 and seriously considering applying for the Inside Wireman apprenticeship. Currently working full time in IT and looking to make a career change into the trades.

A few things I'm curious about:

What does a typical day/week look like as a first year apprentice? Is it realistic to keep a part time job on the side while in the program, at least early on? How competitive is the application and aptitude test? Anything you wish you knew before starting? How long did it take from the time you applied to actually being placed with a contractor and starting work? I want to know when I'd realistically need to transition away from my current job.

Any advice from people who went through the IBEW apprenticeship would be awesome. Thanks in advance.

Hey all,

I'd love to apply for an apprenticeship with 134, but I understand they do a hair follicle drug test. I fully understand I can and will be tested again in the future when going to different jobs, and that I need to stay clean long term regardless. I am just trying to figure out how long I need to wait before applying to pass the initial test, as I'm coming up on 4 months clean at the moment.

Is the hair pulled from your head, or have those of you with shorter hair had body hair samples taken? If they said/you could eyeball the sample taken, is it a 1.5" (90 day) sample? Smaller, larger? ​And at what point in the application/apprenticeship process is the testing done? If I applied ASAP, was a great candidate, and was accepted into the next class, how long should I expect between turning my application in and being drug tested?

Thanks for reading.

I recently received my ranking, which places me 36th for lineman and 7th for substation. Could you provide insight into the subsequent steps and estimated waiting period for potential job opportunities? Additionally, I would appreciate an evaluation of my ranking, specifically whether being ranked 36th is considered favorable, and the advantages and disadvantages associated with both lineman and substation roles.

Can someone give me the “explain it to me like I’m 5” version of the difference? I just passed my IEC entrance exam and the office wasn’t very clear on what exactly that means. Hopefully this is the right sub to ask.