SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA JOB MARKET : REPORTS FORM THE FIELD : Building a Career in Construction

Southern California’s booming construction industry has made it a magnet for workers in the building trades. Those who can perform expert plumbing, carpentry and electrical work are in demand and can carve out secure, lucrative careers for themselves.

In all three fields, unions have helped wages and benefits keep pace with inflation. Annual salaries for journeymen range from $30,000 to $60,000. Those with no experience can advance rapidly through union apprenticeship programs, starting at $6 to $8 an hour and reaching journeyman’s level in four to five years.

Joining a union can have advantages--including health benefits and grievance procedures in the event of a dispute--but it is not necessary. Many shops and construction sites offer on-the-job training, and some pay at union levels. Others pay less and may offer fewer benefits. (Nationally, more than three-fourths of construction work is non-union, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.)

In all three trades, dedication can pay off. Go-getters willing to acquire extra schooling and work long hours can become foremen and supervisors. Such jobs can carry six-figure salaries.

A brisk expansion of the plumbing industry in Southern California has made it easier for aspiring plumbers to land spots as apprentices, said John Hall, a business representative for the Plumbers Union Local 78 in Los Angeles.

While learning the trade, a man or woman with a high school education and no experience can start off at about $6 an hour. Apprentices who are willing to attend school two nights a week on top of their full-time jobs can build the expertise that leads to a journeyman’s license after five years and a guaranteed wage of about $22 an hour.

Journeyman plumbers may choose to develop more expertise, which can carry even higher wages. After Hall got his journeyman’s license, he worked for 13 years as a plumber and continued to attend classes, learning to do specialized work in laboratories.

Along the way, Hall became a certified stainless steel welder and an expert in computerized welding. Eventually, he became a general foreman. Working seven days a week, 12 hours a day for a year and a half, Hall said he was making $120,000 a year.

A career can also be built from on-the-job training without membership in a union. Buddy Gohn, general manager of Jack Stephan Plumbing in Los Angeles, said his company is “always looking for apprentices. We advertise in newspapers for guys with mechanical ability to come in and start with us at $275 a week. After 10 years they can be making $60,000 a year.”

Wayne Murphy, 26, of El Segundo responded to one of those ads six months ago and is happy with his progress. In his previous job as a technical illustrator for Hughes Aircraft, Murphy made about $20,000 and felt he had no chance for career advancement. In his new job, he sees a future.

“There’s room for growth based on drive and willingness to work,” he said.

Southern California’s lively building industry also offers many job opportunities to aspiring electricians, said Harvey Bachand, an organizer at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. And a shortage of skilled electricians has made union membership easier to obtain, he said.

The electricians’ union offers a five-year apprenticeship program with starting wages of more than $8 an hour. It is open to high school graduates who are at least 18 years old and who completed a year of algebra with at least a C average. Apprentices work 40-hour weeks and attend school two nights a week. After six months, their pay rises to more than $9 an hour. Annual increments after that lead to journeyman’s wages of about $24 an hour--about $47,500 annually, based on a 40-hour-a-week, 50-week year.

But those wages are not guaranteed throughout the industry. Construction sites usually pay more because most are controlled by union wage rules, but repair shops are largely non-union. Repair shops pay a percentage of what the shop charges the customer. Hourly wages average $14 to $18, considerably below union scale.

Tony Fulton, an electrician with nine years experience, recently began work at Ranier Electric & Service Co. in Los Angeles for $30,000 a year. Fulton, who is completing a two-year degree in electrical engineering, was unable to rise above that ceiling, so he took a job calculating estimates for electrical work instead. He expects to make $40,000 in his first year.

Although work on construction sites may pay more, it is not as steady, because it is seasonal.

“The truth is that the average plumber or electrician makes closer to $35,000 a year, even working union rates,” Hall said.

As in plumbing added expertise in electrician work can pad a paycheck. There are many areas of specialization, particularly in the computer and telecommunications fields.

“Even if construction slows down, there will always be a demand for the highly skilled people,” Bachand said.

Carpenters also are enjoying big demand. The field is divided into two areas: carpenters, who construct the buildings, and cabinetmakers, who do the finishing work inside. Each field has its own union and apprenticeship programs.

The two carpenters’ unions offer four-year programs with hourly pay starting at $8 and rising to nearly $22 for journeymen. The cabinetmakers’ union offers a four-year program, too, with entry level pay at about $5.50 an hour. Six-month increments lead to a top rate of about $14 an hour. Rates are generally a little lower in counties south of Los Angeles.

Those considering careers in the building trades must also consider, however, that if the pace of construction slows, the fields could become glutted with workers.

But Hall predicted that demand for manpower locally could double by the mid-1990s and will provide many opportunities for plumbers, electricians and carpenters willing to “keep ahead of the pack” with extra schooling, especially women and minorities.

“It’s a good time to break in,” he said.