ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area advice for newbie?

99% of the advice I can give would apply just as well to anyone - not just a lady!

I believe that there IS a role in the trade for women. Not 'girls,' not 'dikes,' not 'princesses.' Just your ordinary person who happens to be female.

Unfortunately, the trades get a fair share of forever adolescents. Most of these weed themselves out after a few years - the little kiddies just can't stick with anything. Unfortunately, they can make a job a noghtmare for everyone else.
A lot can depend upon the foreman. Some seem to make an art of mis-management, and their crews are hell to work with. At least, in a program, the directors know this, act as a check, and can place you in another crew.

Let's get away from 'electric work' for a second. Ever learn to play a musical instrument? You seem to spend forever playing the same notes over and over, going from one silly drill to another ... then, suddenly, you have learned enough little bits to actually be able to learn to make music!

The first two years of the trade are surely like that. It seems that all you do is dig, bend pipe, and pull wire. Always crawlimg, climbing, lifting, squeezing. You also get to do all sorts of "non-electric" work ... drywall repair, roof repair, tree pruning, cement finishing, jackhammering, etc. Don't despair.

You get to do this stuff for a few basic reasons:
- It needs to get done;
- You need to learn how to do it;
- You simply don't yet know enough to do other stuff; and,
- You need to learn certain attitudes, like persistance, and paying atention to detail.

Preparation? ANY construction skills you can bring will be gladly accepted. A little framing, drywall / texture work, etc will help you .... not only how to do something, but to learn what a job site is all about.

Another major thing you can do is to first take a job at an electrical supply house. This will both introduce you to the folks in the trade, as well give you a chance to learn the names of all the bits and pieces. (And you thought only witches used batwings? Electricians do - to secure pipe to ceiling wires).

Getting into a program is key. Keep plugging away. Apply to multiple programs, if you can. The Re-apply- at every opportunity. You WILL hear "NO" a LOT. Continue with your community college work.

And don't rule out work in related trades. Industrial Maintenance Electrician. Telephone Company splicer. CATV installer. Alarm installer. Datacom. Satellite TV. Central vacuums.

And -prob the best idea of all- drop by the chat room some night. We'd love to talk with you.

Best chances of employment for a female electrician: Government! Check out local, state and federal agencies. They often have or support apprenticeship programs.
Next on the list: Military! Get a top secret clearance and name your salary when you get out.
Government jobs don't pay as well as private employers for skilled labor, but they have sound pensions, holidays, and job security.

What about a contractor that does Gov't work that needs to fill a quota??

girl germs,

i know it's not PC, but no one has asked...how old are you?

I ask for two reasons, if you are older (35+) many contractors look at you the same as older male green apprentices - no good.

If you are young (20-25) many contractors look at you and are afraid that they will invest time and money training you, then you will get married, have kids and quit. Sad fact, but true.

This could play into just as much as anything else.

So, just tell them that you are fixed and can't have kids

why did you get turned down by the appenticeship(s) ?

I used to get that quite a lot, it was tough but I grinned and bore it and I got more than my fair share of all that crap. Those days are over now I drop the PE on most who cause trouble - cause when it aint got a PE stamp it aint happening. It's hell for folk who need certification quickly to be hanging around cause I am getting my own back because I had to put up with their BS on the jobsite or whatever. Your time will come don't despair.

Hiya Germs
While I agree with some, but not all of what's been said above.. Stick to your guns and you'll do fine I've worked with a female apprentice before with no problems whatsoever on a couple TI jobs. She took care of the things I asked for, not to mention a decent hand and eye for conduit bending. I also had a female J-man help me on a deuce of a service job I had thrown in my lap a few years ago... she was awesome as well..
As far as being able to lift 1000' of romex off a truck, our company has male helpers that would have a helluva time with that as well.. Some people are just stronger than others... male OR female. (Romex comes in 250' rolls that I'm sure you could handle ) Brains and an sharp eye for details will carry you much further in this trade than braun, but don't be afraid of getting a bit (or really) dirty now and then.
A smaller EC shop might be easier to get your foot in the door to just coming into the trade, (especially one that does alot of T&M). get some on the job experience along with the classes you're taking/have taken, I don't see any problems getting to where you want to be.. There are alot of facets to the electrical trades. Look into all of em! Gov't apprentice electrician jobs are rare, (at least where I've been)but could hold a good future once you've been around the trade for a while. (The girl who helped me on the service call was also an electrician for LAUSD)
Reality will be that you might be looked at by some as a "female" vs. an "electrician".. This is unfortunate, but in my experience around female j-men, rare.
As John (renosteinke) said, drop by the chat sometime... There's people from all over the place that do all different parts of the electrical trades here... Not to mention decades and decades of experience. This is a great place to learn about most anything in the electrical biz

Best wishes
Randy

Hey there girl germs,

Federal or government jobs could be an option for you. I work for TVA, a federal organization that is always looking to improve the gender ratios. I would recommend you check out their website and do a job search. www.tva.gov Good luck in whatever you decide to do though!

Luke

thanks everybody..

My user name was just in jest... poking fun, y'know. I didn't mean to make a big issue out of it, but due to my lack of experience it is an amplifier and I have run into problems with it. Work well done speaks for itself, so I know this won't be the case later down the road. It's just getting there...

mahlere asked my age, and yes I fall into the younger category -- 25 -- but I'm already fairly hitched and have a kid (no plans for more), and even IF the unspeakable were to happen (maternity leave), there would be plenty of notice (6+ months?) and I'd be back. Really not such a scary thing. I don't do barefoot in the kitchen -- except for occasional fun of course. ;D

Well I guess we've pretty much covered it, then, I'll keep plugging away with what I'm doing... I just wanted to check that there wasn't some first-step opportunity I'm overlooking. And maybe renosteinke is right -- if I get fed-up knocking on doors I'll just go be a happy little workhorse in construction for awhile and bide my time.

togol asked why I've been turned down for apprenticeships: it's mostly the experience thing. The old paradox of needing experience and noplace to get it. I've had issues with the politics, too, but if I just had some experience to go on I could clear that hurdle. I had a good shot at one apprenticeship actually, but it turned out that I'd have to be out of town for weeks at a time and I'm not in a position to do that until my son is older. I can do a few days, but not weeks unfortunately. That's just my lot.

Thanks for all the input, I'll be lurking around. And thanks for the chat invite, I'll drop in sometime.

I recently hired a female apprentice about 6 weeks ago. Although I haven't had the time or opportunity to work directly with her myself, I've been asking my journeymen how she's doing and they have told me she's doing fine and enjoy working with her. So far there hasn't been anyone questioning her abilities, and no one has found her to be an "oddity" on the job.

She had applied at a lot of places with no luck. She happened to apply to me at the right time - I needed an apprentice, and I gave her the chance. I also felt that since she's a woman in a "man's trade", she would go the extra mile to prove herself.

I let her know of my concerns when I interviewed her: working with men where the language can be harsh at times, washroom issues (what if there's no porta john availiable?), the ability to carry her weight, etc. I also informed her that there would be no favortism because she was a woman...she would be treated like any other apprentice...crawling around in attics or dig holes for ground plates would be common. She had no problem with that.

So far, so good.

Best wishes for you in pursuing your goals.