ECN Electrical Forum - Discussion Forums for Electricians, Inspectors and Related Professionals
ECN Shout Chat
ShoutChat
Recent Posts
UL 508A SPACING
by ale348 - 03/29/24 01:09 AM
Increasing demand factors in residential
by tortuga - 03/28/24 05:57 PM
Portable generator question
by Steve Miller - 03/19/24 08:50 PM
Do we need grounding?
by NORCAL - 03/19/24 05:11 PM
240V only in a home and NEC?
by dsk - 03/19/24 06:33 AM
New in the Gallery:
This is a new one
This is a new one
by timmp, September 24
Few pics I found
Few pics I found
by timmp, August 15
Who's Online Now
1 members (ale348), 302 guests, and 14 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Rate Thread
Page 2 of 2 1 2
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 169
S
Member
Im 48 now with almost 6000 hours in and 2000 to go includeing my code class hours. Was it easy no. Was there a problem doing the work no. One problem I hadd was sometimes the EC went to fast over looking things. Box fill calculation,Putting 2 wires under the regular romex staple, things like that. People my age know what it is to show up every day, do what we have to and keep our mouth shut.One guy recentley told me i was too old to apprentice. Although I do not do much resi work he can to our job site he was a friend of my boss and said if i knew you could do work like this I would have hired you. Im really looking forward to being a fully licenced electrician in the state of mass.

Last edited by steve ancient apprentice; 07/23/07 07:26 AM. Reason: Lousy keyboard skills
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 745
E
Member
This is an amazing topic. I am sorry that I didn't tag on sooner. Part of the problem is that the white collar guys go to home improvement stores and see all of the "you can do it" presentations. Then, there are the home improvement shows on TV, where once again they hear the "you can do it" catch phrase.

Yes, it's true, you can "do it", but each project shouldn't involve learning a new task. This task should be able to be performed without Web searches, books and trial and error. Performing a task should be something that you can just go in and "do".

I was a very inquisitive youngster ('Lad') and taught myself just about everything I know. My parents don't know which direction to turn a light bulb, so they were no help. I had the desire in my blood and even at the tender age of five, I replaced the plug on an air conditioner that my father faught with for days. I believe that it truly is in the genes, but it skips a generation. My grandfather (my father's dad) was a railroad engineer and he knew how to fix anything. I guess that I inherited his techno-genes.

Lately, it's the computer guys who think that they are suddenly telephone men. Since there are many computer programs that emulate telephone systems, they find it appropriate to attach this title to their resume'. I just don't get it.

Learning any technical trade is learned through the school of hard knocks. There's no "on-line" course that trains a person to become tradesman-level. True, a person can learn computer-related skills via their computer, but nobody, I mean NOBODY is going to learn the best practices to pull four 500MCM cables into conduit without field experience. This also must be while working along with seasoned professionals. This isn't "shirt and tie" material.

It's almost as foolish to make such a trade-jump decision to say "Hey, I cash my check every week at the bank and I watch what they do. I think I can become a banker".


---Ed---

"But the guy at Home Depot said it would work."
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 138
P
Member
If your not mechanically inclined by your mid-life, you never will be. It's learned and practiced over the years by watching (helping) you father, uncle, neighbor, etc day after day, year after year. Struggling to keep a 15 year old car running, doing your own brakes, picking up parts from a junk yard.

Your a tradesman first, electrician second.

I once hired a 35 year old guy whose father was a master sparky, thinking he would pick it up quick. He quit in two weeks - wasting my time and his. Too hard to go from selling insurance to working in attics as a middle aged noob.

I won't try it again.

Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 25
M
Member
oops.you know you may want to consider de-energizing the next time.

Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 144
N
Member
What a great topic. My mother wrote it down in my "baby book" that when I was 9 months old she couldn't keep me from crawling to electrical items and playing with their cords. I once got stuck under a refridgerator at a grocery store because I was following an orange cord. The manager heard me yelling and pulled me out by my feet. (I was 2 at the time).

Fast forward a bit. I am now 19. I have run a sound company out of my basement since I was 12. I have loved electrical things all my life, and I have dabbled in my share of other past times. music, sports and many other things that "normal" kids amuse themselves with. All the while, however, I could never get over the feeling of "this is not what I want to be doing". I have spent my whole life tinkering, taking things apart (and putting them back together sometimes) and collecting everything that I could get my hands on. I was pretty much regarded as a misfit in elementary school, I could install a ceiling fan but I couldn't shoot a basketball. ( I still can't). As I got older, I met more people who shared the same interest. I have met many neat people along the way, and have no regrets. I very much believe that the best way to find out if you enjoy something is to spend some time away from it. If you think you like electrical work, take a job with a landscaping company for a month or two. If you find yourself spending the entire time thinking about how much better the garden could look with a nice lighting system installed and some outlets on pedestals, then you probably have found your calling. If you don't miss what you left, then 2 weeks of apprenticeship with a passionate person would be a waste of their time. I love what I do, and would gladly do it for no money. When you find something like this, you know that you have found your occupation, and not just a job. I know that I am still young, but I get the feeling that I will probably be one of those people who never retires, simply because I will have no idea what to do with myself if I do.

Last edited by napervillesoundtech; 07/24/07 11:42 PM.
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 8,443
Likes: 3
Member
For a start,
I personally hate the term "Sparky", it suggests that we are a trade full of wire- pulling people that dropped out of High School and might know how to change a fuse, if we are lucky.
I prefer the term "Electrician", which is what anyone that has served an apprenticeship in the Electrical trade should be called.
There are a LOT of skills that the modern electrician has to have and that scope is ever-widening.
Having trained a few Electrical Apprentices myself, I would say that the most important skill an apprentice can have is being able to listen to what they are being told and to follow instructions to the letter.
Sure, I have to agree that you can't have a person come into a trade like ours and hope to pick it up automatically.
I had a girl that came from a design school and after that didn't work out, she tried Electrical Fitting, but at the end of the day, she told me she had been taking things to bits since she was 5, that was enough for me.
She finished her time as an Electrical Fitter 9 months ago.
Us electrical types must have been pretty destructive as kids.
I grew up in a mechanical engineering background and I had all the tools and thing to really reek havoc on my fathers workshop.
But, you don't learn, IMO if you've never had your hands on the tools.
Good Electricians are born, not made.

Page 2 of 2 1 2

Link Copied to Clipboard
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5