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Some applicants arrived as early as Friday morning outside the offices of the Local 3 Elevator Mechanics Union on 36th Street in Long Island City and brought coolers, barbecues and tents to help the wait.

Only 750 numbered applications were handed out, and between 75 to 150 applicants will be hired for service and repair apprenticeships.

Job hopefuls said they are willing to put in the hard work and patience and are studying for the applicants' test in June.

"Get up, get it done. That is the hard part, just getting here," said applicant Jeremy Fernandez, a Queens resident who has been out of work for six months and who waited first in line for three days.

"Today is my mother's birthday. [I'll] put a smile on her face with this and hopefully start work, study, pass the test and hopefully start working," said applicant Brian Tindley.

Those who do well on the exam will get interviews. From there, each person will be ranked and then hired according to their numbers.

"It is a 10th-grade math and reading comprehension, there's a mechanical aptitude [test]. I tell everybody they can go through a pre-apprenticeship program, there are a lot of programs in the city that are completely free," said Nick LaGuardia, the director of the apprentice program.

"Just hitting the books and studying for the test and hopefully score as high as possible," said Fernandez.

Jobs start at $16.40 an hour, and experienced repairmen can make more than $40 an hour. The union workers also receive medical and dental benefits and two pension plans. So the applicants said the opportunity was worth the wait.