For beginners and career changers
How to get into the trades
You don't need experience to start. Many electricians, plumbers and HVAC technicians begin as paid apprentices or helpers and earn their license as they go. This site walks you through the first steps and shows what your state asks for, in plain English.
How it works, in three steps
-
Pick a trade
Electrician, plumber, HVAC technician or contractor. Each one has its own training and license.
Compare the trades -
Get hired and learn on the job
Apply to an apprenticeship, or start as a helper. Apprentices are paid while they learn, with classes on the side.
How to get an apprenticeship -
Earn your license
After a few years of supervised work and classes, you can qualify as a journeyman: a fully trained tradesperson. In many states that means passing a license exam. Your state's page shows exactly what it takes.
What's a journeyman?
Starting from zero?
What you need before day one: diploma or GED, age, registration, and how people actually get hired.
Leaving an office job?
Whether AI took your role or you want work you can see, here's how adults retrain into a licensed trade.
Choosing a first career?
Apprenticeships pay you while you learn. What they ask for, how to apply and what the tests cover.
Find your trade and state
Every state and DC is covered. Pick a trade to see how it works everywhere, or open the list to jump to your state.
How to become an electrician
Choose your state
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
How to become a plumber
Choose your state
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
How to become an HVAC technician
Choose your state
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
How to become a general contractor
Choose your state
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Each page shows when it was last checked against the licensing office's own sources.
Start here
- How to get an apprenticeship in the trades, starting from zeroRequirements, documents, tests, interviews and ranking lists for union and open-shop trade apprenticeships, plus what to do without a diploma.
- Vocational school and high school trade programsHow high school career and technical education (CTE), youth apprenticeship and vocational school can start a trade career, and what counts toward a license.
- Trade helper jobs: getting hired with no experienceElectrician, plumber and HVAC helper jobs: what helpers do and earn, state registration rules, whether helper hours count toward a license, and moving up.
- Pre-apprenticeship programs: what they are and how to find oneWhat a pre-apprenticeship program is under DOL rules, who it serves, real examples (YouthBuild, Job Corps, MC3, colleges), cost, and whether it gets you in.
- What is a journeyman?What a journeyman is, how journeyman status differs from a journeyman license, the hours, exams and paperwork by trade, and each state's requirements.
Getting started
- Switching to the trades: a guide for career changersChanging careers into electrical, plumbing or HVAC work? Age rules, apprentice pay, physical demands, job outlook and first steps, from DOL and BLS sources.
- How to pay for trade school or an apprenticeshipApprentices are paid to learn. For trade school, look at WIOA training funds, Pell Grants (including new Workforce Pell) and the GI Bill. What each covers.
- Highest-paying trades: pay and training comparedMedian pay, schooling, training and job outlook for 14 skilled trades, from the latest federal data (May 2025 pay, 2025-35 outlook).
- Union vs. non-union trades: how they differUnion and open-shop construction compared from official sources: BLS membership and pay data, hiring halls, apprenticeships and prevailing wage.
Apprenticeships
- Electrician apprenticeships: the routes inHow electrician apprenticeships work: union JATC, IEC and ABC open-shop programs, helper jobs and college classes, with hours, pay and how to apply.
- The electrical apprenticeship aptitude testWhat's on the IBEW/NECA apprenticeship aptitude test: algebra and reading sections, timing, scoring, qualifying scores, retest waits and what to bring.
- Carpenter apprenticeship: how to become a carpenterHow carpenters train: union and open-shop apprenticeships, pay and job outlook from BLS, how to apply, and when you need a contractor license.
Licenses and exams
- Journeyman vs. master electricianJourneyman vs. master electrician: what each license allows, how many hours each takes in Texas, Washington and Colorado, and where the contractor license fits.
- Trade license reciprocity: taking your license to another stateHow reciprocity agreements, license by endorsement and universal recognition laws work for electricians, plumbers and HVAC techs who move, with state examples.
- EPA 608 certification: what it is and how to get itEPA Section 608 certification explained: Types I, II, III and Universal, who needs it, how the test works, passing scores, and how it fits state HVAC licenses.
Pay
More trades
- Roofing contractor licenses: which states require oneWhich states license roofing contractors and how: Florida, California, Arizona, Illinois, Minnesota, Louisiana and more, plus how roofers train.
- How to become a solar installerHow to become a solar PV installer: pay and job outlook, training routes, which state licenses apply, and what NABCEP certification is.
- Mold inspector license: which states require oneTexas, Florida, New York, Louisiana and DC license mold work. See each one's levels, training hours, exams and fees, and what applies in other states.
- Home inspector license requirements by stateHow to become a home inspector: training hours, exams, insurance and fees in 13 states, from Texas's three-step ladder to states with no license at all.
How this site works
- Every hour count, fee and exam detail links to the official source it came from: state laws, licensing boards, the U.S. Department of Labor and the apprenticeship programs' own pages.
- Every page gets a second, independent check before it's published, and shows the date it was last reviewed.
- Apprenticeship programs and schools are listed by type, never ranked. More on how we check facts.