It depends on where you live. If you live in an area where the unions are strong, it's a pretty good way to start out. They have some good training programs, great benefits, and they'll try to get work for you. The downside is that you have to pay union dues, you miss out on most of the work where you already have skills (single family homes) and you're in an environment where your co-workers will encourage you to work as slowly as possible. To be honest, I like most of the union guys as individuals. Their work is usually top notch, they pay attention to safety rules, and they want to build a good product. Collectively, though, they're a pain in the butt. Union jobs are always over budget and not completed on schedule, and the strong union guys on a job are usually lazy and troublemakers.
