Apprentice Pay.
By the step.
Apprentices don't make journeyman pay on day one. They earn a percentage that ramps every six months. Pick a trade, pick where you are in the program, and we'll show you the actual scale.
Top-of-scale journeyman: $38–$62/hr. Apprenticeship length: 4–5 years.
Small market = rural / right-to-work non-union. Mid = average US metro. Major metro = NYC, Chicago, SF, Seattle union scale.
| Hourly rate | $20.00 |
| Weekly (40 hr) | $800 |
| Annual (40 hr × 50 wk) | $40,000 |
| With 200 hrs OT @ 1.5× | $46,000 |
Apprentice step rates above are composites of standard union indenture agreements (UA, IBEW, UBC, SMART, IUOE) for typical 4-year and 5-year programs. Your local's actual scale will differ — always check your local's posted wage sheet.
Non-union apprentice rates often start lowerthan the percentages here and ramp slower. Some "helper" jobs are sold as apprenticeships but have no step structure at all — if there's no posted scale, you're not in a real registered apprenticeship.