ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Trying to be an Electrician.

I start class in September but I need to have OTJ training hours too. I skimmed through the first book level 1 and I think my brain just about exploded lol. Can anyone give me some advice. I need 4 years of schooling plus something like 8000 hours OTJ training. Was it a bit intimidating when some of first started out?

Andy, yes it can be intimadating when first starting out. Stick with classes and the 8000 hours. The carrer you end up with can be very rewarding. I have been in the trade 28 years and have not regretted my decision to be an electrician.

Andy and Al - welcome to ECN!

Andy, I know that the principles of the forces behind our job can be very confusing (even with a college degree, and several years of "hands on" OTJ experience I was lost in parts of Elec Theory). There are a lot of sources out there (including here) where you can find helpful folks who will take the time to explain the whys as well as the hows.

And remember, although the author of any one book will often disagree, there is often a simpler explanation in another reference book... and, just as we are all individuals, and interpret things differently, there is no "one true" explanation or method that will work for all.

Stick with it, and I hope you'll find it a rewarding career.

Good luck!

It is definately not a walk in the park. It does get easier when you start to put the school work with the on the job work.

You should do well as long as you have your head in the right place. You have to "want" to do this. It has to peak your interest and be sort of a challenge.

Alot of the school work goes in sequence. Don't get too far ahead of your self. It all comes together in time.

After fifteen years doing this trade, there is still more to learn!

The first few years are the hardest. Absorbing therory and doing grunt work.... (Studying Trig, and crawling around an attic...) Doesn't feel like it makes sense until the work and the edjucation start to come together. (in about five years for you.)It's how most of us started.

Well worth it though! And best if the basics are solid...

Becoming an electrician turned out to be very rewarding for me.

I was a High School drop out and could have become a just another guy asking if you want to super-size that order.

The trade has been very good to me. Do not think you will ever learn it all. To me that is one of the good things about this trade, often you find yourself doing new things.

Good Luck, Bob

Thanks guys for the replies.

My first day on the job where I was involved with the wiring, my foreman pointed to a junction box with black, red, blue, white and green conductors. He asked me if I knew what it was, I replied "colorful" that did not make him to happy.

Pay close attention on the job, be proactive, not reactive and ask a lot of questions. Today you have the opportunity of the net and a lot of documentation. Work hard and you will reap the benefits in the years to come.

Pierre

One thing that many people don't consider before entering the trade is mechanical aptitude. If you are skilled at taking things apart, repairing cars, working on engines, working with tools, etc then chances are you will succeed in the electrical trade.

From what I have seen, if you are "all thumbs" and have no mechanical aptitude, then your chances of success are very low, no matter how much book knowledge you might obtain.

Peter

Well I use to like to work on lawn mower engines hehe.