Trades & Careers

Electrician, lineman, welder, plumber. How to get in, get certified and get paid what the work is worth.

The BRO Code. What to do, what not to do, and a few laughs on the way.

Tools for building your trades

The reading is on BRO. The doing is on az.ai, part of the BRO network: a name, a website, and a check that customers can find you. Prices are shown before anything runs.

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GuideAde FisherNov 7, 20266 min

Your Homeowner's Policy Probably Won't Cover Your Tools

A good lock helps. A written inventory and the right policy are what get you working again after the truck gets hit.

The dream trades all have a paying cousin, so start there

From the Trades archive

Older stories

GuideAde FisherSep 23, 20266 min

Welding Pays Well If You Chase the Right Certifications

GuideAde FisherSep 23, 20266 min

HVAC Work Doesn't Stop When the Economy Does

GuideAde FisherSep 23, 20266 min

How to Land a Trade Apprenticeship and Get Paid to Learn

Trades on video

Worth an hour of your evening

From channels we rate. Plays on YouTube.

Blue Collar EduOct 31

I Wish I Knew These 4 Things Getting Into The Lineman Trade

Blue Collar EduAug 7

How hard is the lineman trade? (Day in the life)

Elite Lineman Training InstituteJun 21

Day in the life at lineman school

Ladder TheoryMay 8

Your Life at Every Level of a Lineman

American ElectricianMay 22

3 Things You NEED To Know BEFORE Becoming An Electrician Apprentice

The Fat FilesJun 20

How To Become An Electrician - Trade School Is A Scam

Charlie ChannelJul 19

How To Become An Electrician In 2026

West Coast Man Oct 12

How to Be a Good Apprentice — No BS Advice from a Journeyman Electrician

Zach of All TradesJun 8

How to Become an Electrician | Step-By-Step Guide

Ultimate Electrician's GuideSep 9

How to Join the IBEW Electrical Apprenticeship

West Coast Man Jun 14

If I Had To Start Over As An Electrician, I'd Do This

American ElectricianApr 13

How to ACTUALLY Get Hired as an Electrician Apprentice (Step-by-Step)

Zach of All TradesDec 29

How To Become An Electrician In 5 Solid Steps In 2026

CINE-SPARKYSep 28

How I Became an Electrician Apprentice (Starting a Career at 30)

Charlie ChannelMar 3

The Truth About Being an Electrical Apprentice

Carl MurawskiSep 25

Is Being an Electrician Worth It in 2026?

Trades quizzes

Quiz yourself, then your friends

All quizzes

GuideRay OkonkwoSep 23, 20266 min

Licensing, Insurance and Your First Ten Customers

You can be running your own trade business a year from now. The order you do things in decides whether you make money or just make noise.

GuideAde FisherSep 23, 20266 min

From the Tools to Foreman to Owner Without Going Broke

The skills that make you the best hand on the crew aren't the skills that run one. What actually changes at each jump, and what it costs you.

Ask BRO

Pressure-test my business idea

Ask it

GuideNina CastellanSep 23, 20266 min

Breaking Into the Trades When You're the Only Woman on the Crew

Harness fit, apprenticeship math, the tools that suit a smaller frame, and how respect actually gets earned on a jobsite.

Dude.com — 16 AI advisers who listen, talk and are here with you

PartnerDude.com

6 min read

Apprentice to Master Electrician and What Each Step Pays

Four to five years of paid work, 8,000 hours on the books, and a code exam that eats people who wing it. The real path, the money, the trade-offs.

Poll

How many days a week are you actually training?

GuideAde FisherSep 23, 20266 min

How to Get an A and P Certificate and Make a Living With It

The FAA license that never expires, the two routes to earning it, what the job actually pays, and the parts of the work nobody warns you about.

GuideCal BrennanSep 23, 20266 min

How to Save Your Knees, Back and Hearing on the Job

Hearing loss is permanent, kneeling on concrete is a slow injury, and the back you wreck at 30 bills you at 50. Here's how to stay in the trade.

Shirts.com — Design it with AI. Wear it this week.

PartnerShirts.com

GuideAde FisherSep 23, 20266 min

Starting a Trade at Thirty or Forty Is Not Too Late

The apprenticeship math, the pay dip you have to survive, and the part nobody tells you about your knees.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next two weeks.

GuideAde FisherSep 23, 20266 min

How Teenagers Get a Head Start in the Trades

Shop class, summer crews, the federal age rules nobody explains, and the four tools a kid should own before graduation.

GuideAde FisherSep 23, 20266 min

Work Forty Years in the Trades Without Wrecking Your Body

The guys still working at sixty aren't lucky. They locked in a handful of habits early and never negotiated with them.

Ask BRO

Rehearse the raise conversation with me

Ask it

GuideWes DunbarSep 23, 20265 min

How to Get Hired Running Heavy Equipment

Excavators, dozers and haul trucks pay a real living without a diploma from anywhere. Here's the license order, the training paths, and what the yard actually looks for.