Short answer: Count the days from your last old paycheck to your first new one, then add the bills due in between and your start-up costs. Texas Payday Law says an employer must pay employees who are not exempt from overtime at least twice a month, and if you quit, your old employer must pay you in full by the next regularly scheduled payday. That still leaves a gap if your new job pays on a cycle that ends after your first week or two. Use the calculator to estimate the cash you need between jobs, and confirm your actual pay dates and bill due dates before deciding when to give notice.
Starting your first year as a Texas apprentice? The US$19 Texas First-Year Electrical Apprentice Kit gives you printable pages for the first months on the job: a tool-check card, a who-to-ask list with a short stop-and-ask script, emergency-contact and heat-and-rest cards, plus a Tool budget sheet and a Tool inventory sheet (CSV).
Log your Texas Journeyman hours free. A free Tsai Electro account keeps your supervised hours, your online practice scores and your exam date in one place. Start with a five-question check to see which topic to practice next.
Tsai Electro is an independent learning site. Not affiliated with the Texas Workforce Commission, TDLR or any apprenticeship program. This is general information, not legal or financial advice.
Cash runway calculator
Cash gap planner
Use your own dates and amounts. The defaults are only an example. Write down each bill’s due date and each paycheck’s date first, then enter the totals below. Count each bill once.
- Cash you have on hand today
- Final old-job paycheck that arrives before your first apprentice paycheck (enter 0 if it arrives later)
- Bills due before that final paycheck arrives
- Bills due after the final paycheck but before your first apprentice paycheck
- One-time start-up costs you pay before your first apprentice paycheck: license, boots, tools, fees
The dates that set your gap
| Date | What to find out |
|---|---|
| Your old job’s last payday | If you quit, Texas law says your final pay is due by the next regularly scheduled payday. If you are discharged, it is due by the sixth day after discharge. |
| Your new job’s pay schedule | Ask the employer how often it pays and when the first pay period closes. Hourly workers who are not exempt from overtime must be paid at least twice a month in Texas. |
| Your first new paycheck | If the employer pays a few days after each pay period closes, your first check comes later than your first week of work. Ask for the exact date. |
| Bills due inside the gap | Rent, car payment, insurance, phone. Write down each due date. |
Ways to close the gap
- Confirm both paydays first. Find out your final payday at the old job and your first apprentice payday before you choose your last day. If you can, avoid leaving a long stretch with no paycheck.
- Keep start-up costs small. The TDLR apprentice license fee is $20. Buy only what the employer or program tells you to bring on day one; see first-year costs for Texas apprentices.
- Call before a bill is due. If a bill comes due before your first apprentice paycheck, contact the landlord, lender or provider before the due date. Ask whether a one-time extension or payment arrangement is available, and get any fees or changes in writing.
- Check help you may qualify for. See help paying for training, tools and transport.
- Plan for slow weeks too. A cushion helps later as well; see the layoff and short hours plan.
Not hired yet? The Texas Electrical Apprenticeship Entry Kit does not cover the cash gap; it helps you get in. It lists 13 Texas apprenticeship programs checked on their own websites and has 1,366 math and 288 reading aptitude-test questions with worked answers, 8 timed simulations, 20 interview questions with a weak and a strong answer for each, an 8-question mock interview and a 7-day start plan. Launch price US$49 through November 30, 2026, one payment, instant download.
How soon will I get my first paycheck as an apprentice electrician?
It depends on the employer’s pay schedule. In Texas, employees who are not exempt from overtime must be paid at least twice a month. Ask the employer for the date of your first check.
When does my old employer have to pay my final check in Texas?
If you quit, by the next regularly scheduled payday. If you are discharged, within six days after discharge, under the Texas Payday Law.
How much money should I save before switching to an apprenticeship?
Add up every bill due before your first apprentice paycheck, plus food, transportation and required start-up costs. Subtract only money you expect to receive before those bills are due. Keep an extra cushion if you can, since the first paycheck may cover only part of a pay period.
