Ok, so everyone here knows that this website is THE BEST DARN RESOURCE THERE IS!....Next to the NEC of course.(to me both are indespensible) So how is it that EVERYONE I talk to has absolutely no clue that this website exists. Is it because they have reached a point in there career that they just use the knowledge they have gained over X amount of years and don't feel the need to learn any more? Or is it simply because a lot of guys in the trade are just demotivated? Did I just say the same thing two different ways?

Anyway, has anyone else noticed this? Time after time, I ask guys in the trade if they have every visited
electrical-contractor.net, and get the same response...."no." Then I'll ask them again...."no...."...and again...."no."...
UN-BAH-LEEVE-AH-BULL!

You mean to tell me that there are other electricians out there besides us guys??

Here's life in my state.

Many electricians, once they pass the test & get their license, never crack open a code book again.

For many, this is just a good paying job & they really don't have a lot of interest in the trade other than the paycheck. When they clock out, the last thing they would do is spend time learning about the trade if they aren't getting paid. If they're on the internet at all, it would not accur to them to visit an electrical site.

There are Master Electricians in the area that pay me to put on my inspectors hat & come out to the job to help them figure out how to build a service.

There are other Master Electricians that build the service and then pay me to inspect it, twice. The second trip is the inspection that verifies the violations were corrected.

On the positive side, a few contractors actually pay their electricians wages and pay the registration fee for them to attend our IAEI meetings. I'm amazed at how enthusiastic these electricians are about learning more.

Wow, I just read my origional post and can't believe how crazy I sounded. Must have been pretty tired. Thanks for the responses.

nick

Here in my state NJ, that use to be the way. Once you got a license, you never looked in the NEC. Well the state took care of that and makes all Lic. guys to have CEU's. It use to be good when the time was 10 hours for continuing credits, but the electrical organizations screwed that up. They pushed for more hours and now believe it is 35 hours for the CEU's. I don't need them anymore because I am a AHJ. I do however need classes to keep my HHS license.

Florida also requires CEUs from building code officials. We need 8 code related, 2 law and 2 ADA, per cycle, minimum.
Since the original rule was 14 code/trade related and polititians/lawyers rammed in the ADA and "law" requirements I wouldn't be surprised if they kicked up the hours to get the code courses back up.

BTW if time is not on your side there are online courses that are accepted by a lot of states. I am taking my "law" and ADA from Red Vector (.com)
It isn't cheap but you can do it on your own schedule.
Those are required CEUs but actually finding a real class is not all that easy.

Just a little question,
What keeps you guys coming back here?.
I've been here for 5+ years (I had a different username before I was Trumpy), I've got nothing but good comments to say about ECN, but one thing I must say, if you look at the Members list here, most of the folks here that have registered take no part in discussions, that is rather sad because we would like their input as well, this place could be a really good resource for electricians, we just need your help.
Folks, If you've registered at least take the oppurtunity to say hello.
Cheers,
Mike.

Hello, I'm new here and think it's great.

But I won't take a knife to a gun fight.
If I'm out witted, I like to sit back and learn from the discussion.

However, I do have my strong points and when I see them, I like to chime in,Providing the answer has not already been told.

leland pretty much summed it up as well as it can be said.

There are a lot of knowledgeable people here and sometimes that can be intimidating. It's not to say that I don't have anything to contribute, just not on a consistent basis. I do learn just as much by reading here in my spare time as I do at work. So that says something for the quality of posts that are being posted here.

I like groups like this because the conversations stimulate me to go read the arcane language in the code and try to actually understand what the NFPA folks are saying.

The NJECA really screwed us on this one...now we have 10 hrs listening to the instructor read the code book changes and 24 hrs of infomercials...all mandatory...

Just like some people are chefs because they really love good cooking and really appreciate food, it seems like a lot of the posters here are in the electrical industry because we're interested in electricity and the electrical trade; it's something a little more than just a job. That's true for me, certainly.

Most of the guys I work with are capable, experienced electricians, but they got into the trade because that was the path of least resistance as far as finding a stable career. They have their licenses and have very little curiosity for anything that isn't absolutely essential to doing their job; e.g., they can quickly and properly wire a motor starter and install the OL protection but have no idea how the starter works or why those OLs should be that size, and they have very little interest in finding out.

It's fun to talk to and hear from people who have the same interest you do, which is why I come here.

-John

Don't forget that you need to PAY for the fun of sitting through those infomercials, as well. The whole 34 hour package usually runs ~$500 or so.

I guess 'who' you choose to do your CEU's with makes a difference.

Besides 34 hrs. for EC Lic CEU's, how about the five days (5) for the AHJ Lic CEU's?

But, back to the topic of this thread......
been here for a while.....time permitting....drop my 2 cents.....and still think this is a great source of expanding our (collective) knowledge.

I think that ECN is a fantastic website !

It is great to share knowledge and discuss matters regarding the electrical topics, and occasional OT threads.

I reckon that there are no "silly questions". If you are at a seminar and a question gets asked, even if it may sound silly, there are at least an other 10 or more, who will think, great ! he asked it, it was on the tip of my tongue but i did not have the oopmf to ask.

Same with postings, Industry experience, different levels of training in different countries, different regulations, etc, create a wealth of knowledge and create a great data base for reference.

Keep it up guys!

Kind regards from New Zealand,

Raymond ( RODALCO )

Well for me, I stumbled into the trade at 22 yrs old. (layed off truck driver) Wasn't sure what a screw driver was. A friend of a friend needed help, so there I was.
Started out doing small resi stuff and fire alarm, that fizzled and ended up with a big contractor. Did construction and commercial fire for a while. They must of thought I was kinda' intelligent coz they put me in service.

So with limited commercial service installs I learned how to diagnose and repair what others had designed and installed, I did some but not the heavey thinking part.

thats why I like this site, I'm getting a better knowledge of how to know what and why.

I can diagnose and fix it with great confidence, but why it was installed that way, I'm still learning.

Interesting topic goin on here... To address Trumpy's post, I too like to sit back and glean the vast knowledge of the fine folks here, and I do learn alot. I even throw out a few "stir the pot" posts now and then (shared neutrals, anyone? ) but overall I try to only contribute when I have something meaningful to add.

As for this topic in general, it's not just electricians. Projectionists and especially cinema service techs have a very close-minded attitude when it comes to expanding their knowledge. Most are happy to just sit back and do nothing while changes happen around them. And there are really no young bucks eager to enter either trade, and I am one of the last of a dying breed. It's depressing, really.

But thankfully we all have this great site to keep on learning more...and it'll be a big help when I have to switch back to being an electrician full-time.

wow, thanks everyone for the many responses. I printed out one of my other threads I started, "I am wiring a Taco Bell", to bring to work to see if any of the guys would think they could benefit from this great resource...

thanks again..

nick

It is what you make it.

A living.. or.. A career.

The way I see it. The more I learn the shorter my time of bull work is.

"Work smart, not hard"... Dad Some time ago.

Here's a link to the California State Journeyman's Certification statistics: DAS STATS

A whopping 52% of the applicants have actually passed the exam

I personally can not get enough knowledge on the trade. A while back I read somewhere that if you are in the trade, there are two types of people. You are either an elctrician or an installer. Which one is you? To me the pay is just added benefit. The Start of Alaska requires that their sparkies to attend 16 hours of approved code training. Some of the courses are online which I feel are actually harder to do but well worth it.

I frequent this and other message boards to broaden my understanding of the trade. The codes are open to interpretation. The message boards allow us sparkies to sit around a virtual watering hole and talk shop at your own convienence. The added benefit is that you are not just getting local feed back but the perspectives from around the world. Im a firm believer in that knowledge is power and in the words of Tim Allen, "MORE POWER! R-R-R!".

As an inspector, I do see more "installers" then electricians. I do not expect perfections but common and sloppy work mistakes shows me a lack of effort on some sparkies to get the job done right, they just want to be done. When I write up my inspection reports, I will reference the discrepency for several reasons to include helps me to keep my nose in the books. I encourage sparkies to stay in the books. Pick one up and reference a task that you performed, even it is a common task, like sizing a wire or the number of wires in a box or conduit. Over time, the rules can blur together and it is not easy to stay up with all the changes especially if you work in multiple jurisdictions.

When you believe there is no longer a need to learn, that is a sad day, quit, retire, or do something else.