Tradesman for over 10 years, and I haven't seen a single person mention location yet. This is the single most important factor in deciding if you want to go into the trades, what trade you want to pursue, and if it's even going to be worth it in the long run.

The trades can be good, but they can also be horrible, it depends on where you live and what trade you're interested in. Depending on trade and location, so can be extremely saturated with extreme competition for jobs, while others are begging for experienced guys, but hourly rates can also be drastically different. Some trades can pay substantially more than others. Some trades lead into a specialized field if you want to go that route. Some trades are a dead end. It's very, very important you pick the right trade for your location.

What you need to do if you're interested in getting into the trades is start looking for employment opportunities for JOURNEYMAN, don't look at apprentice opportunities. Everyone wants cheap labor, apprentices are always in demand, journeyman can be hit or miss. If you see lots of employment for journeyman, look at how meany years of experience they want. If they all want 5+ years experience as a journeyman, realize after your apprenticeship getting that kind of experience is going to be insanely difficult to get because you're competing with hundreds of other people who have 10+ years being a journeyman.

The trades aren't for everyone and it can be an extremely cut throat, feast or famine, line of work. It's very important you do your research into the type of work that's in demand for where you live, otherwise you could very well end up jobless after your apprenticeship. It's an ugly field and I can't believe no one has touched on this yet, especially with the seeming years of experience the other posters in this thread have.

Do your homework and make an informed decision.