---
title: "Apprentice Pay Calculator: Your Wage at Every Step"
description: "Free apprentice pay calculator. Enter the journeyworker rate and your hours to see pay at each six-month step and total earnings over the apprenticeship."
url: https://shapemycareer.com/apprenticeships/apprentice-pay-calculator/
updated: 2026-10-11
site: ShapeMyCareer
---

Tool · Apprentice pay

# Apprentice pay calculator

Type in the full rate, see every step of the ladder.

Free calculator

Enter your local journeyworker hourly rate and how many hours a year you expect to work. The table shows your hourly pay and yearly pace for each six-month period of a typical five-year ladder.

In short

This calculator multiplies a journeyworker hourly rate by a typical apprentice ladder that starts at 50 percent and rises five points every six months to 95 percent in the final period. It shows the hourly rate and yearly pace for each step and the total you would earn over five years. Change the rate to match your local wage sheet for a closer estimate.

**Sources checked October 11, 2026** Pay, training and outlook come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Pay is the middle (median) figure nationally; your first paycheck in the trade will usually be lower.

## Where to find your journey rate

Union locals publish their wage scales, and many post them online or will tell you over the phone. For a rough national number, the median electrician earned $63,190 a year in May 2025, which is about $30 an hour, and plumbers about $31.

## Why your real numbers may differ

- Some programs start at 40 percent, some at 60
- Some raise pay every 1,000 hours instead of every six months
- Overtime and per diem on travel jobs can add a lot
- Union benefits are paid on top and do not show here

### Ready to look at training?

Tell us your trade and ZIP and we will send training options nearby.

[Find training near me](#smc-form)

## Straight answers

### What journeyworker rate should I use?

Use the rate from the program you are applying to. If you do not know it, $30 is close to the national median for electricians and plumbers.

### Does the calculator include benefits?

No. It shows wages only.

### Why does it assume 2,000 hours a year?

That is about 40 hours a week for 50 weeks. Change it if your trade has more overtime or seasonal slowdowns.

## Where this comes from

- [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/)
- [29 CFR Part 29: Labor Standards for the Registration of Apprenticeship Programs](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-A/part-29)

## Keep looking

- [Apprentice pay](https://shapemycareer.com/apprenticeships/apprentice-pay/)
- [Trade pay](https://shapemycareer.com/salary/)
- [Electrician apprenticeship](https://shapemycareer.com/apprenticeships/electrician/)
- [Apprenticeships](https://shapemycareer.com/apprenticeships/)
- [Boilermaker apprenticeship](https://shapemycareer.com/apprenticeships/boilermaker/)
- [Carpenter apprenticeship](https://shapemycareer.com/apprenticeships/carpenter/)
- [Elevator apprenticeship](https://shapemycareer.com/apprenticeships/elevator/)
- [How to get in](https://shapemycareer.com/apprenticeships/how-to-get-an-apprenticeship/)

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Canonical page: https://shapemycareer.com/apprenticeships/apprentice-pay-calculator/