ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Knowledge versus Experience

Knowledge versus Experience

Someone in a post on another board stated that his knowledge exceeded his experience. In a lot of cases an electricians experience is the source of most of his knowledge. Instead of someone's knowledge exceeding his experience I would say his knowledge is limited by his experience. Am I just being defenive of the way I came up in the trade? Any other opinions on this?

maybe he meant his knowledge is from reading but has very little hands on or actually doing work. I believe there are a lot of people for instance that can site you chapter and verse of different codes,but when it comes to actually doing the work they have no idea where to start ,seems like I heard that the fellow that invented the bicycle could never ride it had knowledge of how to assemble ,how it worked ,but could not operate it

Without experience knowledge is not much help.

VS??....hopefully i'm gaining some knowledge from my experiences....

One without the other is of little use and can be dangerous if the balance is too far off.

Sparky,
I used the word versus because it seemed instead of valuing the two together, the person thought knowledge in electrical could be gained primarily through books and asking questions. I disagree but was looking for other opinions. I agree with you that experience should contribute to knowledge.

Oh...I see...I would have to agree also. I suppose the view could be seen from either perspective, with much contrast..

You could also throw in another variable....perseverance.

Not to get you into a "tortoise & hair" type of thread, but I do know a number of individuals, maybe not the sharpest knives in the draw, made good due this attribute

Hi everyone,

I agree with all on this one.

To add a little more, I feel that the book studies / knowledge should be done "Hand-In-Hand" with the work experience in the field, in order for the person to grasp everything correctly. In other words, when a person is on the job and runs across something that is either of interest to them, or needs a better explanation than another worker can give, study that subject in depth. Same goes for codes sections.

On the other hand, it is not too practical to study Electrical Engineering stuff and attempt to apply this to daily trade related installations, as there is no relavence here

I think it is very beneficial for an Electrical worker - either at the beginning level, or advanced - to be able to understand how current flows [just some basic circuitry]. Basic values related to this are helpful too.

I also am pleased to hear [and see - in forums] a person ask as many questions as they can, further adding to the knowledge base. This [IMHO] should walk hand-in-hand with actual trade experience.

To sum it up, the knowledge from studies - either self studies, or class room studies - should be "equal" with the in the field trade experience, in order for the two areas to be useful. Only after becoming very fluent in the area of the trade that the person is in should that person extend the knowledge base into studies of topics beond the normal installation of equipment [such as advanced theories, Engineering, Electronics - advanced circuitry and physics, and extended code subjects].

Just my opinion here, mainly from personal experiences with not only myself, but others.

Scott "S.E.T."

Hi, gpowellpec, this is my first post, I just found this board. One thing comes to mind on knowledge vs. experience, is safety. Reading books is great and I love it but how many times have you worked on something that you were told was off when in fact it was hot. I was working at a school once and in one wing someone had used green wire for all the hot wires. Experience will tell you to always check before you work, knowledge won't. In this day and age though, you have to keep up on technology, and book reading is a necessity.

Without knowledge, it would be a dangerous world. I'm sure you have heard the expression "just enough knowledge to be dangerous" So, I think you should at least know all you need to know for what you are going to do. Simply put, If you don't know, ask! or look it up. The bottom line is knowledge is what you get from books and experience. You can't get it all from either one alone. You need both.
ElecTrainer