College Alternative: Apprenticeships (Mikey S Interview)

When you hear the word “apprentice” you probably think of a Victorian English blacksmith assistant that would make any proponent of Child Labor Laws cringe… or you’re thinking of Mickey Mouse wearing a magician’s hat and creating a mess. 

I’m hear to tell you that apprenticeships are alive and well, and not only do they pay and train you on the job, but it can lead to a satisfying career. Today I interview a professional who went through both the college and an apprenticeship, and why an apprenticeship might be the right career path for you.

#Apprenticeship #WizardHatNotIncluded

“LoFi Ambiental Music For Study” Music by DailyJourney2023 from Pixabay

“We Were So Young | Lo-fi Music” Music by Kontraa from Pixabay

“Sakura” Music by FASSounds from Pixabay 

“Melodic Type Beat” Music by Tunetank from Pixabay

Sources:

https://www.fldoe.org/academics/career-adult-edu/apprenticeship-programs/ (Specifically Florida)

https://www.apprenticeship.gov/

https://tradeschooldudes.com/apprenticeships-vs-college-lifetime-earnings-comparison/

https://www.ajactraining.org/programs/youth/internship-or-apprenticeship/ (Specifically for Washington State)

Transcript

0:10

Hello and welcome to the Thinking Ahead Podcast. My name is Rinaldo Stephens and I'm your host on this journey to find out more and discover the truth about careers, college, and finance. After taking a summer break and spending some valuable time with my family, I am back for season 2. Since I've been gone, the student loan changes have been implemented, so you can now check out what the RAP plan calculations look like moving forward, and they do have an updated student loan calculator and a few more pages of information that can explain what's happening now. As usual, I will be bringing you more knowledge of not just student loans, but what you'll need to make a worthwhile decision for your future, whether that includes college or not. This year, I am hoping to bring more interviews and deep dives in so we can start some better career and financial exploration. But I appreciate those who have listened over the past year, and even those who are just now joining me in this journey. Thank you for spending this time with me. Have you ever been so caught up in the rush around you, doing what you've been doing and just following along with everyone else until one day you stop and look around and say,"What am I even doing? Is this what I actually want?" This is not my beautiful house. This is not my beautiful wife. Besides the talking heads reference, there are lots of reasons people go off the "normal path" but even more to the point, the normal path is not for everyone. Back in episode 2, I talked about how college is not for everyone. Well in today's episode, I was able to get in touch with one of my longtime friends, Mikey Saras, an electrician, who started on the same path as me, digital media and animation, but ended up finding his own path through an apprenticeship that led to a satisfying career. Apprenticeships aren't as widely discussed as college or even technical schools, but they have a 90% employee retention rate for those who decide to stay on through the program, according to Apprentice.gov. And while not every occupation has an apprenticeship, it may be worthwhile to look adjacent to your desired fill art in a related career to see if there are apprenticeship options available. But without further ado, let's ask Mikey about his apprenticeship experience and see what insights he can pull.[BLANK_AUDIO] All right, so again, thanks for joining me today on the today's thinking ahead podcast episode and we are discussing[BLANK_AUDIO] Alternatives to college because a lot of people you know they go to college and they Think that that's the only way or a lot of people in high school if they're especially if they're academically gifted they think that college is the only way to move forward and We understand that that's not the only way and you're one of my close friends that was very successful[BLANK_AUDIO] Not following this college path. So in my opinion you're very successful. So first tell us a little bit about yourself So like you said, I did go to college and then after college. I did find out that there's alternative ways[BLANK_AUDIO] I'll start with starting with that where I did the apprenticeship because basically out of college[BLANK_AUDIO] I didn't realize how much of a portfolio you needed in order to get a job and so our friend you know[BLANK_AUDIO] Kenny Hayes he was don't actually told me about the apprenticeship and at the time. I was just like you know what? I'll try it. I don't like it. I could say no move on somewhere else if I like it. I stay with it and[BLANK_AUDIO] 15 years later, you know still with the There's the still doing the same stuff electrician But if I had known about it before I probably would have gone[BLANK_AUDIO] done that apprenticeship before college other than that just bought a new house have two kids wife. I'm able to[BLANK_AUDIO] Most of my bills are paid off, you know except for the house loan But a lot of ask you to get paid off with the sell of my old house like I don't have any more student debt I don't have any more[BLANK_AUDIO] car payments or stuff like that and part of it is because of this apprenticeship that I did so Right, being in the position 15 years consistently does help bring balance especially compared to you know[BLANK_AUDIO] What you did go to school for so can you can you tell us what your major was when you did go to college? Yeah, my major was digital media. I wanted to go for a video game design to do background design and[BLANK_AUDIO] I ended up going to UCF because if I didn't like it, I was able to switch[BLANK_AUDIO] And I didn't switch all four years. So I ended up with a digital media degree Just to get out of college. So that's my background is digital media but now you are doing something I would say completely apart from digital media and[BLANK_AUDIO] Do you think that you had an attraction towards digital media because of the video games and because you thought it was[BLANK_AUDIO] Career track that was blowing up or did you just say oh that seems interesting and[BLANK_AUDIO] Kind of have other things you were interested in at the same time. I Did it for the second one. I was like oh video game design. That seems interesting. That'd be a cool career path to do[BLANK_AUDIO] I mean if you go with my five year-old self wanted to be a paleontologist first and then as I went through high school[BLANK_AUDIO] I did a magnet program with animation and So like oh, let me do video game design, you know, I like video games It'd be cool to work on video games because see video games in the future with my name on them and so that's why I chose that path[BLANK_AUDIO] Now I support my current career. It kind of relates a little bit, but I don't know if you want to get into that now or a little bit later[BLANK_AUDIO] Oh, no, I mean your current career because you work, you know, all secrets let out you do work at the largest employer in Florida Disney theme parks, so yeah, that is a pretty, you know[BLANK_AUDIO] Pretty steady job because the parks aren't going anywhere and I would argue that it's a Creative outlet because there's a lot of stuff that goes on there and you can talk a little bit about that job if you'd like to[BLANK_AUDIO] Yeah, so I get to use a little bit of my digital media skill because you have to[BLANK_AUDIO] Fix all the show effects get to fix the animation it to make the rides good for people, right, you know, forget to and so you want to make the best you can so you kind of have to use your creativeness to[BLANK_AUDIO] form everything to the electricity or the wires you run to them or the mechanical stuff that you fix on them[BLANK_AUDIO] So you kind of get to use it especially with animation because you have to set them up to look natural And if you don't set them up to look natural that ruins the effect of it[BLANK_AUDIO] So you kind of have to use your old-school techniques from animation where You're you know, we had to do a flower sack making move Using those same techniques you use on anima on animatronics to make them move[BLANK_AUDIO] Be like oh, can the elbow really bend, you know this way or that way Or if the elbow bends too far back yeah, mechanically could bend far back, but a human never does that so you would never set it up to go too far back like that[BLANK_AUDIO] That's cool. So even though it's not animation per se you're using some of those animation skill sets that you learned in[BLANK_AUDIO] Your high school program and in the college program to do those animatronics things and to make sure they're working correctly[BLANK_AUDIO] Yeah, exactly that's cool. So I know You know, we live together for a short while and[BLANK_AUDIO] One of the things that you do you are very hands-on with a lot of things so even though I know a lot of animation is Now we do computers with everything so hands are on the keyboard all the time[BLANK_AUDIO] But what skill sets besides the animation things do you feel that transfer it over and if not many transfer it over What skill sets do you find most useful in this job?[BLANK_AUDIO] So from the digital media degree not a lot went over I mean we know how to use Microsoft Office, which you'd be surprised how many people don't know how to use that[BLANK_AUDIO] Uh using teams and stuff like that just using communication on the computer[BLANK_AUDIO] But that's pretty basic that people should learn in high school. There's a lot of people out there who don't know how to use but other than that There's skill sets that I learned just from doing like those projects and part of it is[BLANK_AUDIO] You know, how to use a screwdriver? How to use a hammer? How to use basic tools? How to use those tools the right way? Some things that I learn on the job that are useful to know is stuff like[BLANK_AUDIO] Which screws for what application and which bolt you would use and which nut you would use because[BLANK_AUDIO] Uh As much of my surprise people there is the actual use for each nut and bolt and screw and if you use the wrong one It will cause your project to be fail it'll break[BLANK_AUDIO] So that's kind of stuff I learned but Not stuff that I would learn through animation or anything like that just the hands on small projects Me that at home fixing things the TV stand with duct tape[BLANK_AUDIO] You know things like that Uh, yeah, so it's a lot of things that you Most people would say you don't go to college to learn so learn exactly those hands on[BLANK_AUDIO] Like you said using tools because There is not a tool class that I know of anyway that's in college like home improvement 101[BLANK_AUDIO] That would have been pretty useful actually but yeah um[BLANK_AUDIO] That's really cool. So you had a friend find this job for you and Over the course of these past 15 years[BLANK_AUDIO] Was there any point where you're like This is definitely where I need to be or this isn't for me, but it's good enough are how how did you feel[BLANK_AUDIO] About the job going through I so at first right you start with the very actually from the first month. I liked it Right, it was all hands on you got to learn new stuff. They didn't expect you to know anything going into the partnership[BLANK_AUDIO] So you didn't have to know what a black wire or white wire or green wire blue red you didn't have to know any of that[BLANK_AUDIO] They expected you to learn everything on the job. So it's kind of like It was starting over So I would say like before I even started the job. I was like, oh crap now. I'm starting over doing another four-year[BLANK_AUDIO] Kind of schooling But as I did the job Everything I learned was useful skills that can use in the real world and[BLANK_AUDIO] Not to mention like they rotate you every year so you get to learn something new So like the first year was very basic outlets, which is put up a fan[BLANK_AUDIO] Some people plunge toilets just because it's a partnership, but you know nothing to drastic and then as you go through the years the second year I was on lighting crew[BLANK_AUDIO] So I got to do a little lights around a park and I did that the third year too So you get to kind of see different lights different lighting systems school each one's in the bit like you have led[BLANK_AUDIO] You have me on you have high voltage low voltage you have controllers You learn about fire alarm systems[BLANK_AUDIO] And then when you get into like your third and fourth year you start doing attractions So now you learn about PLC's you learn about what e-stops do You learn about animatronics you learn about show effects[BLANK_AUDIO] so Over the course of the years like I liked it more and more because you learned something new each year And each thing was a practical skill you can use like I learned how to put up silly fans[BLANK_AUDIO] That's it someone charges two hundred to two hundred and fifty dollars to do that normally If you hire a handyman. Yes. Yes Our ceiling fans cost that much just because of the wiring. So yes, I[BLANK_AUDIO] Can attest to that But I could do it myself. So I don't need to hire someone or like if I wanted to switch the[BLANK_AUDIO] Ladding in my house. It's just easy. I just go and switch the lighting because I know how to do it right Um, I think the biggest thing you want to do is there is a direct[BLANK_AUDIO] Effect from whatever I did So like if you fix a bunch of lights that were out you turn it on the lights not work the whole area looks better[BLANK_AUDIO] Mm-hmm where we're with animation. Yeah, you can render something but the final product could take months could take weeks Uh, yes, and in front of a computer you weren't really moving around or doing different things[BLANK_AUDIO] Uh, they're good even if you did the construction because there's a construction and then there's a Disney version of the apprenticeship Mm-hmm[BLANK_AUDIO] The the good thing is you do a project you finish projects go on to another project even with construction So you're always doing new things. You're doing something different every couple months[BLANK_AUDIO] You're not stagnating. You're not just sitting in front of a computer all the time doing everything Right and I do like what you said about the instant gratification because one of the things that you know[BLANK_AUDIO] I do with my freelance video editing is I can work on something for a week Because clients don't understand the difference between an incomplete project and a complete project sometimes[BLANK_AUDIO] So you try to show them as finished as you can and sometimes you can show that to them and they're like oh no[BLANK_AUDIO] No, we want to go somewhere completely different So that's you know 40 hours of work. That's either gonna be used later or not use at that time or not used at all It depends on the client of course, but I do think that certain jobs like your job where you're working with your hands[BLANK_AUDIO] And you can instantly see What you're doing and get that instant feedback. It does help with the gratification factor[BLANK_AUDIO] Because that's something that we don't really think about when we're Looking at jobs is the gratification you get from it[BLANK_AUDIO] doing a good job and Having others see a job well done and even getting you know a little pat on the back every once in a while[BLANK_AUDIO] So what did you find most surprising about this job when you got into it? What do you still find most surprising about it?[BLANK_AUDIO] I don't know the really surprising anymore The thing that I found the most surprising is I went into it thinking that The people who have been there for a long time know everything[BLANK_AUDIO] So I thought all the journey I was gonna go in the journeyman. We're gonna be these rough tough maintenance crew members who[BLANK_AUDIO] Instantly do electricity and everything and I was gonna have to try to catch up to them being 25 years behind their experience And so what I found though is that[BLANK_AUDIO] Everyone was at every level There's some people who have to research for three days to change a light bulb and there's other people who can touch a light bulb and make it work[BLANK_AUDIO] And that's not exact and that's literally how it happens sometimes So I would say too if anybody ever is interested in it and not to be afraid of their skill level because you do learn everything on the job[BLANK_AUDIO] You're not gonna they don't expect you to know anything. They expect that as a apprentice you're learning[BLANK_AUDIO] Every year even up to your last year You know they expect you to know certain things as you get to each year But they're not expecting you to go off on your own and too you've graduated the program[BLANK_AUDIO] And at that point you have four or five years under your belt that you know how to do things So Yeah, so with the program how long does it take to quote him quote graduate the program because[BLANK_AUDIO] I from my understanding apprenticeships are kind of just Whenever they feel you're ready to get the next[BLANK_AUDIO] Level they say that you're ready or is there a set Number of years or a set number of hours. How does that work? So it's technically four and a half years. It's two thousand hours a year[BLANK_AUDIO] Um, they're accredited through mid-floor to tech so it is accredited program[BLANK_AUDIO] And that two thousand hours really if you break it down as long as you don't call out every day You make the two thousand hours so it's not it seems like a lot, but it really isn't[BLANK_AUDIO] Because if you you know do 40 hours a week times 52 weeks you get well over the two thousand hours So and then time off[BLANK_AUDIO] Yeah, with time off so yet to make eight thousand hours at the end in order to graduate which is a pretty much Two thousand hours a year then when you get to your four-fear you finish up with hours you have left[BLANK_AUDIO] And then they have certain times they graduate the apprentices. So if you Are done in May with the apprentices aren't graduate until October you stay out of parents just for a little bit longer[BLANK_AUDIO] But then once you're done with the program there's a test that Disney gives in order to make you an RST or CRST or[BLANK_AUDIO] electrician at Disney You take that test you pass it you get to be you get placed somewhere And then you have your full-time job and then you can move around as much as you want after that is a two-year topout[BLANK_AUDIO] But you're not going to get a raise from that pernance wage to First-year electrician raise That's cool and then[BLANK_AUDIO] Well, let's go say in the construction side you take a journeyman's test Uh, you get to do it if you're a Disney also, but that makes you a licensed electrician So if you ever want to do outside work your license that should do outside work you get a journeyman's license[BLANK_AUDIO] So they train you to be that too That's awesome And thank you for stating that those titles meant electrician when you started saying[BLANK_AUDIO] CRST and others. I was like oh that sounds important But basically fancy electrician[BLANK_AUDIO] Yeah, Disney has it words you have Apprentice then you have area mechanical electrician which is your basic electrician Then you are mostly in the resorts[BLANK_AUDIO] Then in order to work on the rides as electrician you need to ride law Under the belt. So that's what a RST is Okay, which is a rider show technician. So there are electricians who have ride law[BLANK_AUDIO] So they know like who can go out on the ride who can lock out on the ride who can't lock out on the ride how the ride supposed to work[BLANK_AUDIO] So they're the electricians for the rides Then CRST just means you know more about computers than the RSTs and he took another test to get to that higher level[BLANK_AUDIO] So it's a higher payrage and then past that is just moving up through the company management or planner whatever you wanted to do Okay, so you could basically stay kind of more in the field or start moving more into the office from there[BLANK_AUDIO] Yes Okay, which track do you see for yourself I want to go towards sustaining[BLANK_AUDIO] Where they're the engineers So like when we run into problems where we get the reprogram of VFD or change stuff to the ride or[BLANK_AUDIO] We have a problem that we can't fix at all and they have to research new parts for it because the parts are obsolete These engineers, they're called staining engineers. They come in and they get all that for us and tell us what we have to do afterwards[BLANK_AUDIO] Oh, that that seems like a pretty cool job. Especially, I mean like I imagine those are the people that keep pirates of the Caribbean running[BLANK_AUDIO] Yeah, so The you can think of it like the RSTs and the CRSTs are the ones who do it day to day[BLANK_AUDIO] And then when the thing goes really crazy and is a big downtime The sustainer's come in to help those guys troubleshoot things that they can't figure out[BLANK_AUDIO] So like if a PLC for example went out and loses all of its memory The sustainer's would be the ones who have the backup to come in reload the PLC[BLANK_AUDIO] To put a new PLC in so the ride gets up and run. Hopefully that yeah, no, I that's pretty cool like I Again, it's interesting hearing about how many layers there are because when you think about[BLANK_AUDIO] The people that fix the ride you just think Person that fixes the ride you don't realize that there's different levels to that and there's like a specialty[BLANK_AUDIO] person that has to come in and[BLANK_AUDIO] Figure out and solve new problems. So it's not like you know an electrician just comes in and connects a wire to the electricity and it's done And it's like there are a lot of different factors in there[BLANK_AUDIO] yet So for people that may be interested or students that may be interested no matter what their age is What route or what educational route do you think would be best for them to get them ready for this job?[BLANK_AUDIO] Are something like trumps. So the only requirements is[BLANK_AUDIO] basic English Map up to geometry they did that pass algebra to in their high school and then that's it There's an entrance exam they do just to make sure that someone's not completely stupid[BLANK_AUDIO] But other than that that's the only requirements. You don't have to know any electricity[BLANK_AUDIO] You don't even have to know what a light bulb is in order to do the job Do they require like a high school diploma or a GED? Yes, you have to have a high school diploma or GED without your virtue[BLANK_AUDIO] Okay, but other than that there's no other requirements in order to get into the program and they'll teach you everything on the job Um, I will say that if someone is really bad at math[BLANK_AUDIO] Right Like can't do two plus two They probably won't be able to do electrician apprenticeship all the way through[BLANK_AUDIO] Um, but there is also HVAC. There's mechanical and there's a plumber Apprenticeship so there's multiple apprenticeships[BLANK_AUDIO] Right, the only reason why I say that is because when you get to your third and fourth year you start doing some Trigonometry in order to figure out circuits and things nothing too hard for[BLANK_AUDIO] I guess for me, but I'm gonna math so I know we had some kids who they had to do we call it a remedial map and for like three months they had to do additions attraction[BLANK_AUDIO] What location? Division and they were having trouble with that. Wow. Yeah. Yeah, so there you go. Math is important kids[BLANK_AUDIO] Yeah, so I imagine that the math comes in handy because it's all about the voltage and wattage and figure that out, right? Yeah, I know in what you're supposed to see on circuits and how to calculate that further down the line[BLANK_AUDIO] So you can actually you know like if you have five ballas in a row Right, and they're in series how to calculate if you can handle five ballas with the circuit you have or if you need to up the circuit[BLANK_AUDIO] And up the amperage Okay, so there you go. It's a perfect answer to where are we going to use this in real life? It's like there it is electricity[BLANK_AUDIO] It's not just the classroom. I would say with this at least all the math relates to everything you would do on the job There's none of this learning calculus that you never use ever in your in your life again, but[BLANK_AUDIO] All the math you learn in the apprenticeship you would use on the job That's pretty awesome. Wow see, but I would say if someone's really interested in it and[BLANK_AUDIO] I would do it right after high school and go right into that[BLANK_AUDIO] Because what you could do is while you're in the apprenticeship if you really are interested in college later on places like Disney pays for your college[BLANK_AUDIO] So that's the less money you have to spend on your college. You can do college very Small do like one or two classes. Why do the apprenticeship they encourage it or you can do classes after your apprenticeship[BLANK_AUDIO] And that way you have less money you're spending for college Still get your college degree later on[BLANK_AUDIO] But the apprenticeship like I make more than have to college people that I encounter at Disney. So Right. I'd say right after high school look into the apprenticeship programs[BLANK_AUDIO] And then you're still debt free and you have a career And there's something I was going to say there's some journeyman they did the apprenticeship program and Their electrician journeyman they're making 120 an hour[BLANK_AUDIO] Because they're doing the pipelines or a new power plant. They do that for two years and then they retire at Disney And they already have everything paid off. They never go get a college degree because they never need it[BLANK_AUDIO] Yeah, that's that's a pretty good track I would say especially the debt free and if the work is gratifying and I know a lot of[BLANK_AUDIO] Journeyman they have to travel to the job site because it is you know specialty jobs So it's not like they're just putting up a Barnes and Noble in your neighborhood[BLANK_AUDIO] It could be there helping to build this hospital that's going to take what they do have years there is options too So that was something I thought too because you could choose a construction route or Disney route[BLANK_AUDIO] And the construction route I thought you were going to have to travel all over the place But some construction companies are actually local[BLANK_AUDIO] And some do travel So there is the opportunity if someone doesn't want to do Disney I chose Disney because I know secure it's not project-based. It's very like[BLANK_AUDIO] You do this this this this you have a job Work construction is very here's a project Okay, it'll be laid off for a week, but then there'll be another project laid off for a week another project[BLANK_AUDIO] But they don't necessarily have to travel if they wanted to do the construction route There's play armcoe and try city. They do stuff all over Orlando and they get hired out[BLANK_AUDIO] So it's something to dig about too because that that can be kind of scary for people getting out high school is[BLANK_AUDIO] Hey, you're not going to leave your friends and family go across the US to go through this power plant And you'll be traveling all the time But that that is a necessary happen if they don't want it to happen they can stay local[BLANK_AUDIO] Right, so there's options. Okay, excellent And you mentioned about promotions to different levels and different routes. How do you feel about the promotions in the company?[BLANK_AUDIO] Are they based solely on your experience in what you've done or do you have to do a little bit of the[BLANK_AUDIO] soft skills and sucking up to people that comes with many promotions Uh both[BLANK_AUDIO] So people will know you through your work So as you're a apprentice as you're able to show shoot as you fix the rides and get things Going they knew who their 18 is they know who their CT is[BLANK_AUDIO] Right, they'll see your skill they'll see your workmanship They'll see how fast you can fix things how smart you are when you fix things How well you can reprints and those people kind of have a easier time getting promoted because everyone knows who they are and what they can do[BLANK_AUDIO] So kind of like mix them together[BLANK_AUDIO] But there is a lot of like, oh this guy stepped up to this guy and now he's promoted to manager So it's kind of like all what you want to do, but who you know Kind of like normal normal workplace[BLANK_AUDIO] Drama that you can't escape no matter where you go. I suppose I would say the good thing about Disney though is the voting to move around[BLANK_AUDIO] So if you get into a location where You are not liked you don't like the work you're just not getting along[BLANK_AUDIO] You can easily put it into transfer somewhere else And they can't stop that Because Disney's so big it's easy to transfer somewhere else on a location you do like and then now you're all good We had a manager do that[BLANK_AUDIO] He pretty much does himself a hole with some of his decisions at one location To a point where he was being blocked he couldn't go anywhere else[BLANK_AUDIO] But he was able to talk to a manager Completely across property And that manager gave him a chance so he was able to go somewhere else[BLANK_AUDIO] Had a new opportunity new chance new way to prove himself Kind of get out of that breath So that's the good that's another reason why I chose Disney also in the beginning was like[BLANK_AUDIO] If I didn't like one area I can go to another area Or I can move up here or I can switch here or transfer here There's options. There's 50,000 people who work for Disney[BLANK_AUDIO] There's four theme parks each theme park is split up four times Not the mission you have facilities, laundry you have central shops where I'm at you know like[BLANK_AUDIO] All these different options to go to if you don't like your location right and the resorts as well So there's oh yeah, all the resorts Many locations there[BLANK_AUDIO] So it's good to have those options Now You've been there for 15 years and of course you you're not at the same level that you have been[BLANK_AUDIO] Without asking you like how much you're making and stuff unless you want to share all that Does the the job support the lifestyle you want not just monetarily but like time you get to spend with family[BLANK_AUDIO] vacations you get the time you get outside of work with friends Yeah, so you have a set it's it's dictated by the union but Disney gives you a set amount of vacation this year[BLANK_AUDIO] set amount of benefits the only thing that you run into is[BLANK_AUDIO] while you're In my level and you're part of the union contract you have to bid for your shift So highly anticipate third shift because all the new people start on third shift and until you get to 10 or 15 years[BLANK_AUDIO] You're most likely won't be on first shift Um, that being said though. That's the only thing that constrains you[BLANK_AUDIO] When I was at 8k the manager was very nice to us. So like if I wanted Friday Saturday off[BLANK_AUDIO] And I had Sunday Monday off he would switch one week and I'll have a 40 weekend and say in my vacation time So basically one week have Friday Saturday and have that roll into the next week where I have Sunday Monday and just be a whole weekend[BLANK_AUDIO] So you have managers who could do that. They'll give you sick time a lot of the managers will work with you You know, there's a lot of freedom in that[BLANK_AUDIO] The shift bit is dictated by the union so they can't control that But like you you have your vacation time you have your sick time you can call out[BLANK_AUDIO] They don't like working you over time unless there's a need to work overtime or they're offered ahead of time If it's forced over time you still technically don't have to work it[BLANK_AUDIO] But usually when it's forced over time like if you're dedicated to the ride you want to stay anyways But there's no like oh this week you work 32 hours next week you work in 60 our hours are dictated 40 hours and that's it[BLANK_AUDIO] So that's all we have to work And depending on which location you're at would depend on if you get overtime from there or have to work more than that[BLANK_AUDIO] So at that point it's on you. It's not on management. It's not Disney forcing me to do that So a person that let's say before your lifestyle of two kids and a wife you could work that over time[BLANK_AUDIO] To get that extra money if you chose to yeah, I did it all the time. Yeah Because you would we would start up the[BLANK_AUDIO] When I was on third shift we would always start up the rides to get them ready for ops in the morning operations Like those are the people you see who tell you which line to go in at the front of the rides[BLANK_AUDIO] Mm-hmm So we would start it up for them And then our management would come in and be like hey, we don't have a nutrition today Anybody want to stay over four hours and no wife no kids at the time. I'd be like yeah[BLANK_AUDIO] I'll stay over four hours already had the ride up and running. Why wouldn't I do that? There's nothing to worry about But yeah, they would offer overtime like that or you know[BLANK_AUDIO] They'll just be like oh here's a project come in two hours early or You know, hey, we need you to stay for a 10-hour shift. Can you do it? They'll tell me ahead of time I'll be like yeah, I can do that or no. I have family coming to town and be like okay cool[BLANK_AUDIO] So yeah, that's a nice flexibility and of course, you know having not just the money because that's a lot of people look at the money of a job[BLANK_AUDIO] And how much they have coming in but also being aware of the time that you have available how easy it is to take time off How easy it is to leave for emergencies those are all things that factor in and it sounds like[BLANK_AUDIO] Just not because of the union But the nature of the job itself. It sounds like they give you all those flexibilities and then some[BLANK_AUDIO] Yeah, and I mean I've been able to leave early to pick up my kids Also because like would take care calls and says they're sick yet to pick them up right away[BLANK_AUDIO] So I just thought my manager know he puts in the sick time for me and then I go pick them up So it's not like I have to wait five hours for the end of my shift or get pointed or something like that[BLANK_AUDIO] and get you know point it is Getting our recommend because you left early. Yeah, I know a lot of companies use the point system to[BLANK_AUDIO] Reprimine their employees. So it's good that you guys have that flexibility Yeah, so what advice do you have for someone that wants to get into this job a career is interested in this job a career[BLANK_AUDIO] Go ahead and apply So you could it could take anywhere from 10 days to two years to get into apprenticeship[BLANK_AUDIO] But the longer you wait to apply the longer you're waiting And I've seen a lot of people too they wait to apply because they're afraid of I don't know what they're afraid of[BLANK_AUDIO] And so my biggest advice is put everything in submit everything pay the fee take the test get on the list[BLANK_AUDIO] Because then now you're not waiting an extra two years because you decided to wait To apply to get in at the beginning And then in the normal time just keep doing what you're doing your life[BLANK_AUDIO] You know if you take some classes you take some classes you're a little bit further ahead If you wait at home and you get a different job you get a different job But don't be stuck or focused on one job. Just try to do what you can[BLANK_AUDIO] And then now but put things in place in order to go to the future I would say that that makes sense[BLANK_AUDIO] No, that does I it makes sense to me So I think that's good and it's kind of interesting that it takes that long to get into apprenticeship[BLANK_AUDIO] So they hold on to the applications for Yeah, so what thing what they do is they get a list So let's say 200 people apply right And they get all their stuff in and they get it all in in August[BLANK_AUDIO] Come February Disney tells the union hey, we need 75 apprentices to fill these slots The union will go down that list of 200 and pick the top 75 people[BLANK_AUDIO] Say hey, you want this job and they say yes good. You start one day Till those all those people[BLANK_AUDIO] Now number 76 onward is that new number one for when they need more people in August So that's why I could take two years to you know it depends on your interview and[BLANK_AUDIO] where you place on that list and everything So That's why I tell people if you do it now you're not waiting two years to wait two years to apply again[BLANK_AUDIO] And I would also say when you apply if you don't know anybody in the apprenticeship[BLANK_AUDIO] It helps to call the school multiple times after you apply and submit everything To check up and see where your application is[BLANK_AUDIO] So there's people who like have no connections to the apprenticeship or anything they just apply They don't call them back So they said a number 200 forever[BLANK_AUDIO] But then there's other people I know who apply and then they haven't heard anything So they call the school back a month later. Hey, I applied. I haven't heard anything. What's going on[BLANK_AUDIO] Imagine those people who called back because they're shown a interest seem to move up to number one spot on that list And they get to be in the next class and they start their apprenticeship[BLANK_AUDIO] So keep on top of it But in the meanwhile those people who applied who are waiting to get a spot or a hear back They're custodial their operations their different positions in Disney. They got a different job[BLANK_AUDIO] You know that I'm not just sitting at home doing nothing. They're doing whatever they can in the meanwhile So yeah doing the daily work and you know being persistent of course is important staying on top things[BLANK_AUDIO] Don't call every day but like every couple weeks be like hey, where's this application Send in a basket of flowers with a wide saying hey, how's that application[BLANK_AUDIO] Some nice cheeses and chocolates and everything Exactly something something. I'm sure all these has a gift basket you can get together on the cheap[BLANK_AUDIO] Send me a new screwdriver client screwdriver and now that's that's a real initiative right there[BLANK_AUDIO] But if anybody's interested they just need to go to the Florida Department of Education website And all the apprenticeships that are available in Florida are listed on their site[BLANK_AUDIO] So they just navigate through there. They're all on there There's a way that it actually like shows you how to apply and which you need to apply to[BLANK_AUDIO] That's awesome I'm gonna be sure to put that in the show notes so people can find it and Click on that link if they're interested in the apprenticeships Yeah, all right. Well[BLANK_AUDIO] Thank you, Mikey for coming on the show. Thank you so much and sharing your life With us and letting us know of how to get to Where you are working and making the magic happen behind the scenes No worries that he can be on[BLANK_AUDIO][BLANK_AUDIO][BLANK_AUDIO][BLANK_AUDIO]