Hey everyone! I am trying to pivot from a machining background to earning my journeyman electrician card.

I have been working random, short term, warehouse and manufacturing jobs for the past 20 years or so after graduating high school. I have found no great opportunities so far and feel this is my last shot at having a decent job that I can get long-term work and retire from. In the beginning I got some entry level machining jobs and now I am an entry level to mid machinist for both manual and CNC machines. But since 2020, I keep getting laid off. So, now I am old…. older at least, at 46, and really want stability so I can just do my 20 years and retire.

Last month my family had a reunion and I talked with my nephew who is currently a CW and then I talked to my uncle-in-law who is now a retired journeyman, and it seems like this is a decent route to go.
I have never had any luck finding any information about joining the union in the past. I never had time to both work and go to school, but this opportunity allows me to go to school at the same time.
So I used AI to find information on how to get in.

After some research, I found that if I get my math transcripts from high school and my algebra grade was good, I can register at JATC and then fill out the app, and then take the aptitude verification, and then take the oral formal meeting. (Let me know if this doesn’t sound correct so far.)

If I make it through that then I will be a IW apprentice and go to school while I work for five years to get my license. It sounds like I would make about $50/hour plus benefits when I get my cert. For the Midwest, that’s pretty good money. I only make $35/hour as it is now, and that’s at a plateau at this point. The down side is that I will only make $21/hour to start, but I don’t have to pay into insurances. So that’s close to $30/hour in my reality, so not too bad. I figure by my third year, I should be at the same pay I am at now or more. $50/hour 5-6 years from now sounds good to me.
Sorry for the lengthy post, but I have several questions:

What is on this aptitude verification? Why would my nephew want to be a CW versus an IW? What are the differences? Pros and cons? What can I expect on the oral formal meeting part? Like, what questions do they ask? … And, what are good answers? I heard that my “formal meeting” part is the part of the process that places where you are on the hiring list. It seems like this is a lengthy process just to get started. Sounds like I can start the process September 1st when the JATC opens up, and fill out the application and turn in my high school transcript. If accepted then I should be able to take the aptitude verification and formal meeting. If I do well, it sounds like I still would not start working until December/January timeframe. Does this sound accurate to you guys? Also, does my machining background help in this field?
TIA