I am interested in becoming an electrician, whats the best route for this?

[Killer Whale]

All trades hate the engineers who design how things are supposed to go. Most engineers have never worked in the field so the things they ask for sometimes is really annoying

We had a rebel engineer who actually came out of his office to help install a set of steel stairs that he designed, he had 7 of 8 bolts in that secured it and on the last one he went to Pre drill and hit a sprinkler line! I don’t think he’s going to leave the office again haha

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

I do communication work and not exactly electrical work (more DC than AC) but we have a massive feud with our engineers as well.

Basically they copy and paste from old jobs that were set up from other sites. So lets say we go to install a rack of radios and antennas.....we drive 2 hours to the site and realize that almost none of the hardware fits because it was copied and pasted from a site that was built completely different. The DC connectors are too small and we cant get the screws through them to attach to the equipment. Then we realize the screws have the wrong threads so they won't thread in anyway. We go to hang the antenna and the mountain hardware is for a different type of tower.

The instructions have us bouncing from building and installing the equipment to getting on the computer and setting things up, then back to building and back to the computer over and over. For no apparent reason. Massive mistakes like "Connect the 1/O ground wire to the positive bus bar" are common. You call them and they say it won't hurt anything because the bus bar is so isolated that it wont cause a short. So wtf is the point of connecting the bus bar if it's isolated? It's because they copied and pasted off of someone else's mistake. Writing up circuit breakers to break the ground instead of the positive. Again, zero reason for it other than to confuse the hell out of everyone.

Then to top it all off, there are 6 jobs that are exactly the same as this one all coming down the line for work for the next couple of months and every single one of them has the exact same problems as the first one did because they never corrected any of the mistakes.

This is why a lot of us hate engineers. It's not about intelligence or penis envy.

Ha ha, not shocked to hear stories like that. The point is it's basically impossible to design something on a computer that will 100% work no worries on site with no issues, and of course some of this is down to lazy designers.

There's always something unforeseen that eventuates, and this is when really good sparkies are worth their weight in gold, they're good enough to recognise when there's an issue and either figure a work around or involve the right people to sort out a solution.

So I now am in sales now, one of my recent roles was working with engineering consultancies to get our products specified. The amount of copy and pasting of tenders and designs is a disgrace, though it means if you get written in the spec you should get business for many years to come.

 

[TheOneAboveAll3]

they usually start you off by having you stick a wet finger in a live electric socket...

LMAO at this guy taking the Warroom discussions so seriously. Get a grip on life

 

[Mr. Shickadance]

We had a rebel engineer who actually came out of his office to help install a set of steel stairs that he designed, he had 7 of 8 bolts in that secured it and on the last one he went to Pre drill and hit a sprinkler line! I don’t think he’s going to leave the office again haha

 

[Bornstarch]

I'm already vetted in for union pension. I can retire at this very moment and not have to go to work anymore.

 

[Shael]

being an electrician requires some math skills I know a few people who flunked out there are actually easier trades out there to go to school for. it isn't something you can half ass on youtube because it is also a job that will get you killed because they send you places that have some ridiculous voltage.

Most of the time these guys are running conduit/pulling wore and installing supports for electrical equipment.

 

[Snackbar]

All trades hate the engineers who design how things are supposed to go. Most engineers have never worked in the field so the things they ask for sometimes is really annoying

I don't know how many times I have been working on equipment and thought to myself, "whoever designed this must have caught their wife In bed with a mechanic"

 

[eighterumg5]

How old are you? Go to school to be an Electrical lineman. Apparently they can make bank. But it’s also pretty dangerous.

Like

 

[Merlotte's]

Tradeschool

electricians are probably the best of the trade opportunities but also, IMO, the least lucrative.

what I mean is that, it’s definitely not the hardest but because of that, you’re going to be undercut by less experienced guys.

I suppose you’re the least experienced guy out there though.

Plus electricians are known by other tradesmen as the biggest pussies out there. And it’s true.

 

[kahiljabroni]

No offense but aren't you the ultra lefty malcontent? That type of attitude will not help you in the trades...if thats you. If not then go get em

 

[Amerikuracana]

being an electrician requires some math skills I know a few people who flunked out there are actually easier trades out there to go to school for. it isn't something you can half ass on youtube because it is also a job that will get you killed because they send you places that have some ridiculous voltage.

Isn’t there an option to just shut it off usually? I mean, I’ve acquired some electrician skills by just cutting off the power to the entire house and fixing whatever needed to be fixed lol.. Does that make me a bad person?

 

[rj144]

being an electrician requires some math skills I know a few people who flunked out there are actually easier trades out there to go to school for. it isn't something you can half ass on youtube because it is also a job that will get you killed because they send you places that have some ridiculous voltage.

It's not the voltage that kills you.

Lesson #1, by the way.

 

[Mr. Shickadance]

No offense but aren't you the ultra lefty malcontent? That type of attitude will not help you in the trades...if thats you. If not then go get em

Fuck that shit there is room for everyone in the trades as long as you work hard and do good work no one can say shit about your soy-boy-beta-cuck ass.
But everyone knows sparkies are kind of pussies anyways

 

[horc00]

Tradeschool

electricians are probably the best of the trade opportunities but also, IMO, the least lucrative.

what I mean is that, it’s definitely not the hardest but because of that, you’re going to be undercut by less experienced guys.

I suppose you’re the least experienced guy out there though.

@TheOneAboveAll3 time to undercut those mf'ers!

 

[lsa]

Didn't a handful of us try explaining to you how to wire up a ceiling fan or something like that and you came off as half retarded like you didn't even know how to hold a screwdriver?

I could have sworn you posted a thread like that 6 months to a year ago.

LOL I remember that thread.
It was funny as hell.

IIRC he also had problems with washer or a dryer and asked for help and hilarity happened.

 

[TheOneAboveAll3]

@TheOneAboveAll3 time to undercut those mf'ers!

LOL, I wouldnt mind doing that

 

[TheOneAboveAll3]

No offense but aren't you the ultra lefty malcontent? That type of attitude will not help you in the trades...if thats you. If not then go get em

I wouldnt say I am ultra lefty but yes I side mostly on the left and I loathe trump for the criminal he is. I also wouldnt bring up politics when on the job since I know it can be an issue with some who are right wingers.

 

[TheOneAboveAll3]

Plus electricians are known by other tradesmen as the biggest pussies out there. And it’s true.

I think you mean they are known to get the most pussy, right?

 

[Rented Gucci Mink]

I'll give you the real drop on getting apprenticeships if your city is anything like New York. Look for programs that get you a "direct entry" like Helmets to Hardhats. They're a few weeks long, full time, do some math, do some hands on, and they'll try to get you an interview to become an apprentice in whatever union you want given they have the affiliation with them and of course only if that union is currently recruiting, or you can wait until the opportunity comes. Direct entry lets you cut the line from the people who already applied possibly years ago still on the waiting list hoping to win that lottery.

I don't know about other states but if they're similar to NYC which would be IBEW Local 3, you're looking at 5 1/2 years of being an apprentice, going to school, going to work, getting an Associates Degree, making chump change through out the apprenticeship starting at like $16.50 with a $1-2 raises every 6 months to end up topping out at $30.50 on your last term. From there though it's a different ball game.

 

[Piewarrior]

Electrician here. Was an armed carrier before (armored trucks etc) into my early 30s and wanted a career change.

I started as a "helper" in a small electrical company of like 8 employees. It is in my opinion the Best way to get into the trade. I have friends that started with the union with more years in the trade but I surpassed them in knowledge and experience in a much shorter amount of time.

Starting in a union as a new guy you are usually put in a position where you are doing the same basic things over and over.

I started in residential, but then left the company to learn the commercial and industrial side of the electrical trade. In commercial and industrial you are dealing with voltages/amps where death is everywhere and painful. I am talking unable to let go and just cook you alive. A leading number of death in our trade is new guys not respecting electricity enough.

In residential you will be forced to troubleshoot problems alot but will learn alot about electricity. You will also be dealing with volts/amps less likely to kill you but you will also make less. I run my own crew and it's not for everyone, I see guys coming and going all the time thinking it's an easy trade.

It can be pretty diverse, I have done electrical on hot summer days on rooftops, to digging up yards or channeling concrete. I have done electrical on huge cranes. I have done electrical on cold winter months in freezing empty buildings/houses. I regularly drive scissor and boom lifts in warehouses and outdoor areas from parking lots to 40-60ft up on sides of buildings.

It is not as simple as wiring a receptacle or installing a fixture. I regularly work alongside other trades and depending on the job I am exposed to everything they are dealing with as well as the added fun of an invisible force that can and will kill you.