Mar. 4—KULPMONT — Shamokin High School graduate Scott Simpson, 40, took the route to a good living by becoming an apprentice while he was still in his 30s. Now he is a journeyman electrician, making a good, family-sustaining living, with benefits and pension.
Simpson was interested in electrical work in high school, at Northumberland County Career & Technology Center, he said.
"Right out of high school, I wanted to join the union as an apprentice. But work was slow and they weren't taking apprentices," he said.
Until he was able to get an apprenticeship in his 30s, he had to do a lot of odds-and-end jobs, "and then I got into the union," Simpson said.
By his mid-30s, the local International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) labor union was looking for apprentices.
"I applied, and got in," he said.
Simpson was aware that the apprenticeship program mandated five years of schooling and 8,000 working hours to become a journeyman.
"I knew it would take time to become a journeyman, but I figured the time was a good investment in my future," he said.
Simpson said he was fascinated by electrical work, "I enjoy doing electrical and I knew getting an apprenticeship would be a good career opportunity. There is always work throughout the nation. I can always go to another local and they can put you out to work if they are busy."
As a first-year apprentice, his hourly rate made things kind of tough, but getting incremental raises as he accrued hours and lessons learned "was all well worth it," he said.
His first job was at the Panda Hummel Stateion power plant in Shamokin Dam.
"It was a huge project," he said. "I was there from the ground up. There were no buildings, so we did underground wiring. Sometimes I was inside, sometimes outside. Every job is different."
As an apprentice, they put Simpson with an experienced journeyman "to teach me things and show me little tricks of the trade. Explain why you do things and how things work."
Simpson enjoyed the apprenticeship so much so that now he is an instructor, helping 4th-year student apprentices.
Classes are both in-person and remote, he said. One of the requirements to get into the IBEW apprentice program is to have passed algebra in high school.
It is not a requirement to have experience in electrical work when starting as an apprentice, Simpson said.
"From the very beginning, apprentices start with the very basics of everything," he said. "You are treated like you've never hooked anything up."
Right now, Simpson is teaching four apprentices. But next year's class is at 10.