Two ways into every trade. One pays you to learn it.
A registered apprenticeship makes you an employee, paid for the hours you work while you train. A trade school charges tuition and can start you sooner. Where a state counts hours worked outside a registered program, its page says so. See the license steps your state requires and, in the states that publish them, the wages each registered program pays.
Journeymanlicensed by your state
License examset by your state
Training hourson-the-job and classroom, logged
Registered apprenticean employee, on a written wage schedule
Apply in a windowprograms open on their own calendar
Know the trade and the state? Go straight to the path.
Trade
Electrician
Plumber
Sprinkler fitter
State
Two routes. One pays you.
Get paid to learnYou’re paid on the jobYou’re an employee from day one, paid for every hour while the program trains you. On Washington’s registry, electrician programs start at $14.60 to $24.75 an hour.
Pay to start soonerYou pay tuitionA school starts you on its own calendar, sometimes within weeks. A school directory for these pages is still being researched.
Application windows open and close.
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Published
What your state puts in writing
Every license the state publishes, and what each one takes
Hours, exams, fees, renewal terms, and the agency that runs them, in the order you’ll meet them. Every figure is linked to the page it was read from, with the day it was read. Where nothing is published, the page says so.
What registered programs pay, day one to journeyman
Three states publish program wages on their own registries so far.
WashingtonElectricianPlumberSprinkler fitter
Every program’s starting rate and journey rate. In Washington, electrician journey rates run $31.48 to $76.95 an hour.
FloridaElectricianPlumberSprinkler fitter
Every program’s starting rate and journey rate. Florida adds what people earned one and five years after finishing, from state wage records.
OregonElectricianPlumber
Every program’s starting rate and journey rate.
ArizonaElectricianPlumber
CaliforniaElectricianPlumber
ColoradoElectricianPlumber
GeorgiaElectricianPlumber
IllinoisElectricianPlumber
MichiganElectricianPlumber
New YorkElectricianPlumber
North CarolinaElectricianPlumber
OregonElectricianPlumber
PennsylvaniaElectricianPlumber
TennesseeElectricianPlumber
TexasElectricianPlumber
VirginiaElectricianPlumber
WashingtonElectricianPlumberSprinkler fitter
Built from: state licensing boards, city and county offices, statutes and exam providers · every figure linked to its source and dated
Still researching
- Which programs are taking applications right now.
- A verified school directory.
- HVAC.
- The states not yet in the list above.
Sprinkler fitter pages cover Florida and Washington so far; the other states in the list above are still being read.
Q&A
What people ask first
Do apprenticeships really pay?
Yes. A registered apprentice is an employee, paid for the hours worked on the job. Federal rules require a written wage schedule that rises as your skills grow. Ask any program to show you that schedule before you sign.
If apprenticeships pay you, why would anyone pay for trade school?
Apprenticeships have limited seats, and many take applications only part of the year. A school can start you on its own calendar, sometimes within weeks. Some programs credit approved trade-school training toward part of the apprenticeship; ask how much before you pay tuition. And apprenticeships are not always free. Some charge for books, tools, or classes. Ask both for the full cost in writing.
How long does it take?
Plan on 4 to 5 years of apprenticeship. That is typical for these trades in the federal Occupational Outlook Handbook. Your state, or sometimes your city, sets the hours, the exam and the fees, so the full timeline depends on where you plan to work. Trade school is shorter, and some of it can count toward your hours. The program and your state decide how much.