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About Trades Primer
Trades Primer covers five construction trades (electrician, plumber, HVAC technician, general contractor and roofer) from the first job to running a shop: what the work pays, how to get into an apprenticeship or a school, what each state requires for a license, and the lien, insurance and safety rules that come after.
Pay figures are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025) and the state projections at projectionscentral.org. Schools are from the Department of Education's College Scorecard. Apprenticeship sponsors are from apprenticeship.gov. Licensing rules, fees and lien deadlines are read from each state board's site and the statute text, and each page links the source it used. Contractor records come from state licensing boards' public data files.
Rules change. When a page and the board disagree, the board is right, and we'd like to hear about it: corrections@tradesprimer.com.