A first-year apprentice has stunned Aussies online after revealing his impressive salary. Tradies often have to slog it out with low wages when starting out their career, but there are some jobs that offer apprentices more lucrative opportunities.

The Brisbane man was stopped in the street and shared he was earning $50 an hour as an apprentice electrician. He explained he was working on the Queen’s Wharf, which is the largest construction project in Queensland, and found the job offered more money than his previous gig.

“I used to work on the Sunshine Coast. I’ve been doing my apprenticeship for about a year,” he told jobs app Getahead.

“I’m getting like triple what I was.”

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While the man didn’t disclose his exact yearly salary, assuming he was working 40-hour weeks full-time that would work out to about $104,000 a year. And that’s not including overtime.

Another second-year electrician working on Queen’s Wharf previously shared he was earning $150,000 a year for the job.

He agreed the job was “a lot better” than previous work he’d done and said the “pay makes everything pretty good”.

The first-year apprentice said the best thing about his job was the people and the pay.

"The boys are really nice at the job and then the money is pretty good as well," he said.

Aussies shocked by apprentice's salary

Many Aussies online were shocked that the first-year apprentice was already earning $50 an hour.

“$50 an hour as first year? Bruh I’m third year apprenticeship plumber on $25,” one wrote.

“I’m a third year on less then 20…,” another added.

“Huh? I made $6.30 first year in 2006. Why are people complaining about cost of living?” a third tradie said.

The tradies working at Queen’s Wharf, which is a union site, are on high salaries compared to other electrician apprentices.

First-year sparkies earn between $14.62 and $23.05 an hour, depending on their level of high school education and age, according to the Electrical Tradies Union (ESU).

This is based on minimum wage rates, not union rates. Pay rates for apprentices on union enterprise bargaining agreements are much higher than the award.

Low wages pushing some out of industry

With the cost-of-living crisis putting pressure on many Aussies, these low pay rates mean some apprentice tradies are considering dropping out of the industry altogether.