I started at 17 with a neighbor that did electrical and plumbing work on the weekends.
He knew nearly nothing, what he did know was wrong, and he passed this information on to me. It took longer to unlearn those things than the year or so I worked with him.
It did, however, help me to land a job with "real" electricians.

The rest has been OTJT, & lots of reading.

You really can teach an old dog new tricks. I learn some things from the greenest of helpers almost daily after 30+ yrs

The place I'm still learning the trade is here at ECN... [Linked Image]...S