>>512922303You want to actually get your certification. You can pay for trade school, or go to community college, i personally went with the community college route, as you can combine it with an associates degree and is way less expensive. 60k for a 8 month program vs 250$/ class 8 classes required. Most company's will usually hire you if you're already in a program, some will even pay for your schooling provided you work for them for 2-5 years
A trade union is tough to get into (as a newbooty who doesn't know shit) unless you have connections, much easier once you're already in the field
you can work for a residential company for a few years just to get your feet wet, BUT DO NOT STAY THERE. you want to move onto commercial as fast as possible, as that's where tradesmen get paid the most.
and finally SPECIALIZE
if you're an electrician, you can specialize in solar, EV charging, back up power systems (GENERAC) , You can apply to be a LINEMAN, airborne lineman, power grid maintenance etc etc
if youre a plumber you can work on RAYPAKS and commercial boilers, FLS (commercial fire suppression systems) , agriculture water, distribution systems, you can become a pipe fitter
HVAC, you can do Chiller systems, refrigeration, ice machines, industrial ammonia applications, WEED FARMS. you'd be surprised what ice cream machine repairmen make
and if you're a techie, there are a bunch of work where the majority of your work is done with a laptop. like IT people who work with tradesmen to set up BAS systems or network and monitor systems and communication.