ECN Electrical Forum - Discussion Forums for Electricians, Inspectors and Related Professionals
ECN Shout Chat
ShoutChat
Recent Posts
UL 508A SPACING
by ale348 - 03/29/24 01:09 AM
Increasing demand factors in residential
by tortuga - 03/28/24 05:57 PM
Portable generator question
by Steve Miller - 03/19/24 08:50 PM
Do we need grounding?
by NORCAL - 03/19/24 05:11 PM
240V only in a home and NEC?
by dsk - 03/19/24 06:33 AM
New in the Gallery:
This is a new one
This is a new one
by timmp, September 24
Few pics I found
Few pics I found
by timmp, August 15
Who's Online Now
1 members (ale348), 302 guests, and 14 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Rate Thread
Page 2 of 2 1 2
#71795 11/09/06 07:21 PM
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 9,923
Likes: 32
G
Member
It looks like about half of your calls are electrical in nature anyway so you might really like the "repair" end of the electrical business. Certainly there is a lot of skill in new construction but it is a whole different skill to be able to find a problem in an existing installation. Your HVAC background is also on your side. "trades" may not approvee of folks who work in different diciplines but employers love it. Just keep our HVAC credentials up.


Greg Fretwell
#71796 11/09/06 08:11 PM
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 558
R
Member
Well, I will tell ya I think you are doing the right thing!
Personally I LOVE my job. I mean there are days I don't want to go to work because I know its not going to be a good day right out of the gate, but almost all the time I put on my party hat and head on down. I work with a great bunch of people, where every one is like second family to me. We all get along.
What I like about the job though is I do get to put my mind to work. Yes there is a lot of grunt / dirty and downright disgusting work, but I do get into some troubleshooting as well and really get to use my brain to figure out why something isn't doing what it should. To top it off I really like the fact that I can walk onto a trouble call and have what seems to be total chaos, restored to "normal" within a short time, (depending on the origin of the problem and the severity of course) and get thanked what seems a million times over, and on a few occasions a " Thank you " card mailed to the office of all things! I get a real charge out of that! This is a trade that commands respect, and you get it thats for sure.

You have the advantage of your HVAC background which in my mind is a BIGTIME BONUS. You will be able to show up at a job or a trouble call involving some piece of HVAC equipment and know the inside of it like the back of your hand as in what values should be measured or observed, what the function of each control or device within the unit is supposed to do, even what sounds the thing should or should NOT be making correct ( All I know is scroll compressors sound funny, are loud and apparently self destruct if the phase rotation is backwards.. So I have been told anyway.)
Trust me I think its a step in the right direction and you will do good!

A.D

#71797 11/10/06 12:25 AM
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 98
A
Member
SteveAA
Sorry to hear that you are burned out already. There are a lot of users out there, too bad that you had to work for some of them. I have always enjoyed the trade, it is the deadbeat con artists who won't pay that have put a bad taste in my mouth. I spend every monday night at a votech learning how to be a machinist, not as a career change, but for fun. I started welding at 45, took up blacksmithing to keep the electrical contracting from causing ulcers. Now I can bless wires more peacefully, even though I no longer have the opportunity to be a clandestine electrician in an unmarked truck at a wal-mart two states away.

#71798 11/10/06 12:50 PM
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 8,443
Likes: 3
Member
Steve,
Send me an e-mail.

#71799 11/13/06 01:02 AM
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 276
T
Member
It makes me a little sad to hear steveancientapprentice is leaving the trade after having such a string of negative experiences. To be sure, I have met my share of ***** in this trade, and not every day has been peach pie, sunshine & smiles, or filled with rainbows and unicorns, but I still enjoy the work overall and find it interesting. Too bad you had such bad handlers during your time in the trade. Alongside the jerks and types who never seem to have their act together, there are also a lot of truly nice people, who are good human beings out there doing this work as well. Sorry you didn't fall in with a better group of people.




[This message has been edited by electure (edited 11-13-2006).]

Page 2 of 2 1 2

Link Copied to Clipboard
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5