What to expect

[Ridgeway]

Hi. New to the forum and the profession. I'm currently 12th on the waitlist for an apprenticeship through Missouri Valley JATC. If I'm not mistaken, there's another round of interviews coming up and I'm expecting to be bumped back some, but am still hopeful to be going out to work sometime soon. So, I've got a few questions. Maybe I should've asked them at the interview, but I didn't and am hoping that the good people here might be able to help me out with some answers. I guess what I'm really wondering about is what to expect to be doing in the way of traveling. I know that there's a lot involved, but is it pretty much exclusively travel work? I've been living out of an RV for about a year and a half now and am comfortable doing so. But it comes with its challenges, and if I knew that I'd be coming home to the same place most nights, I might look into renting a place. On the other hand, if work is going to involve traveling throughout the state and staying near the jobsite for a week or two (or more) most of the time, then I won't even bother entertaining the idea. If it is mostly traveling for extended periods, my doing so in my RV wouldn't be an issue, would it? I don't see why it would, but I figured I'd ask. Also, is there any reason why bringing my dog along would be a bad idea? Again, I don't see why it would, but figured I'd ask.
I know that there are aspects to all of this that I should probably be more focused on, but I've found that if I'm able to get my ducks in a row before heading into a situation, it makes it easier to focus on the task at hand, since I won't be running around trying to hash out other details.
Any advice or insight on what to generally expect on a day to day basis would really be appreciated.
Thank you.

[Pootnaigle]

Ummm if yer stayin inna Rv then you must have one and I suspect that you can save sum bgux by stayin closer to the jobsite and stay away frum the gas stations. Prolly be able to find anudder prentice that wud be wllin to split expenses wif you fora place to stay. Prolly gonna be some travellin involved and yer ahead of the game with that. Yer dawggy dawg mite not fit in well on the jobsite when he chews a hunk outta sumbodys hind end.wifes are bout the only hind end chunckers allowed

[Rob]

Poot... He has no choice, he has to take the dog! Not like it's his wife. He'd be smart leaving her behind but the dog won't understand. He'll just have to make the most of his time off with the dog.

[Ridgeway]

Thanks for the input. Yeah, my pup would be left in my rig when I'm working as long as I had it with me. I suppose what I'm wondering is whether typical work is travel work where we'll be going out for any period of time and staying by the jobsite in hotels or whatever, in which case I guess it's safe to assume that bringing my RV wouldn't be a problem (?), or is it mostly a matter of meeting up at the yard at some given time, going out to work, and coming back at the end of the day, with some longer trips mixed in? I'm fine with either, but if it's the latter, I might look into finding a house to rent. Again, these are all things that I'll play by ear as they come. It would just be nice to have a better idea of what to expect when I get started. Speaking of which, is this just the time of year when nothing is happening in the way of hiring? In the two weeks following my interview, I advanced 13 spots on the list. In the month and a half since then, I've gone up 2. I had chalked it up to it being the holidays and that things were just being put on hold for that and that come the turn of the year things might pick back up. That hasn't seemed to be the case. Now I'm hoping that it's just due to the unusually cold weather that we're dealing with (born and raised midwest, so I'm not phased). Should I be hopeful that when the worst of it passes things will pick back up, or were those first couple of weeks just unusually busy? I don't mean to sound over-eager, but I've been doing too much sitting around and am ready to get to work.

[Rob]

Tough to answer those questions because things are different all over the Country. I'd say your best bet would probably be the Local Union and the JATC. They can give you an idea of how steady the work is and where it is.

On the east coast apprentice's do get moved around a bit based on what type of work they require. So, as an example.. If you were working in NY doing distribution for 2 years and a Transmission job started up in Jersey you may be moved there for 6 months to get that training. Make sense?

[Ridgeway]

Yeah, that makes sense. And I understand that the construction end of things usually involves lengthy travel work. I just wasn't sure if that was what was in store for an indentured apprentice.
The JATC is very hesitant to give any idea of how long it'll be before I get sent out. I get that they don't want people hounding them about it and that there really isn't any way to know for sure. I just wasn't sure if it was pretty much normal for hiring to slow to a snail's pace in the coldest part of winter. I'm going to be working through Local 55 in Iowa, by the way, so it is very cold right now and I can see why the work might have slowed down.

[sigpower226]

Keep the RV, you will save money on hotels that way, if you can find somewhere to park it. I know MO Valley sends apprentices anywhere in their 7 state area. All depends on where the work is when your number comes around. You could live next door to a huge project but if they need bodies in NW North Dakota when your numbers up, off you go! Might last a month, might last years. I know there are some multi year jobs going on up here in MN right now, so if you land one of those renting a place might make sence. I wouldn't worry about it much till you get the call to head to boot camp in Indianola. The "life" of an apprentice is full of unknowns and changing plans and tons of other BS. Good luck and play safe!

[Ridgeway]

Thanks for the insight. Yeah, I was kind of thinking/hoping that would be how it goes. I think I'll do well with it. I've been bouncing around the country for a while now. It'll be nice to make some money doing it. I'm looking forward to the work, itself, too. I've been doing outdoor labor work for a long time and it's where I belong. I've just been getting squirrely and ready to get at it. They just did another round of interviews and I got bumped back from #12 to #19, so I figure it'll still be a while. Hopefully, just not too long. Spring is around the corner (let's hope so, anyway) and I have to imagine there'll be some hiring going on.

[golk75]

Out here in California sometimes i work near camping parks - so i just pitch a tent

[smoke_eater]

Thanks for the insight. Yeah, I was kind of thinking/hoping that would be how it goes. I think I'll do well with it. I've been bouncing around the country for a while now. It'll be nice to make some money doing it. I'm looking forward to the work, itself, too. I've been doing outdoor labor work for a long time and it's where I belong. I've just been getting squirrely and ready to get at it. They just did another round of interviews and I got bumped back from #12 to #19, so I figure it'll still be a while. Hopefully, just not too long. Spring is around the corner (let's hope so, anyway) and I have to imagine there'll be some hiring going on.

Hey Ridgeway, I've been "preparing myself" for a while to try and be ready when the time comes I get that phonecall, and I too have highly considered the RV route. I definitely have truck to pull it so thats not an issue. I have a few questions for you though about doing this...

-How do you keep **** from freezing up in the ridiculously cold weather underneath, like the pipes since it sounds like you live in the thing year round?

-How big is your camper? What size would you reccommend for living out of comfortably?

-Where have you parked for the past year or so that you've been living out of it the majority of the time?

Thanks in advance for the help man, as I'm definitely looking forward to all of this that comes with the apprenticeship.