/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Anonymous No.1614350]

I finished trade school about 1 month ago, and i start fulltime on may 28th as an electrical apprentice. What am i in for? I've worked in the field a bit but never for a company, I just worked with a master doing side work. Also tips would be nice.

[Anonymous No.1614358]

>>1614350
Just general rule stuff, but if you follow them you'll a job whether you've got the know how or not

Even when the boss is incorrect, he's right
When someone gives you advice, listen and do it
When someone corrects you, don't explain your thinking behind what you were doing, don't say you forgot or anything like that (I didn't know that thanks. Is acceptable) say sorry, you're right, I should do that
Everything is your job when you're new, shit rolls downhill. Doesn't matter if you're just out of school or have 10 years experience. Superior says to do it, you do it. This also applies for people in your same position but who've been there longer, like a year or so. If it seems sketchy, ask someone with gray hair. Long as you're following the other rules, they'll know you're just unsure and not just wasting time.
Always be ready to learn and thank whoever took time out of their day to teach you something.

Not sure what to do next? Look for a broom or some trash to take out or collect, can't, ask the boss if he'd like you to do something. Do not get caught on a phone or with your hands in your pockets.

Follow these rules, can't see why you wouldn't make it unless you're just not cut out for whatever you're trying to do.

[Anonymous No.1614364]

>>1614358
I gave generic rules because I'm not an electrician. I'm a mechanic. But i promise they're good rules.

Another couple I could think of.
If it's anything like being a mechanic, they'll start you off with someone who'll teach you the basics of your daily routine. They'll show you some simple stuff you can do, don't be their shadow. If they're doing something you know you're capable of, jump in and help. Maybe it's screwing in an outlet, idk, help em out.
Second, don't be annoying about it but make sure the gray hairs like you. Their opinion matters boatloads to any good boss. However, they'll probably take a liking to you anyway if you're following the other rules

[Anonymous No.1614370]

>>1614350
why havent you been working as an apprentice throughout your schooling?

anyways I am a foreman on a commercial site 14 years and I want you to know I am human too, I make mistake still too.

Generally 1st few months are shovel work and being a parts bitch, dont screw that up or bitch too much and I move you to working with one of my better 2nd or 3rd years to rough walls doing basic power with mc, maybe bending pipe or pulling wire maybe trimming. I need to know you are capable of working hard when its required and you wont up and quit when times are tough.

You really need just a year or 2 of basic power and lighting to get good and fast at wiring before we start giving you more and more complex stuff. you will get to learn some basic print reading during this time. you will also get to fix your own mistakes and learn some trouble shooting.

Around 3rd year we will get you mounting panels and disconnects on your own, maybe some light controls if you are good, maybe some gear rooms with a good journeyman. Generally I would like it if the guy can do everything from underground all the way to the finish of a portion of the building during this year.

Around 4th year you will hopefully be given an area to run on your own and a helper of your own, this is to teach you how to lead, do your own layout ect.

When you test out hopefully they dont throw you straight into the fire, you really need 2 years as a leadman under a good foreman to learn all the ins and outs of how contractors want you to file paperwork, going deep into prints and building a layout that works with the other trades systems. If you haven't been on a bigger job from start to finish then now is the time.

Around this time is when you need to make a real decision on what you want to do with your career... foreman, service, leadman, or PM

Dont be scared to ask questions/

[Anonymous No.1614381]

>>1614370
it was a college instead of just a trade school, but while i was there I was working as a tutor, i tutored basic electrical theory and advanced wiring techniques, which was just like basic residential shit. I also worked in the tool crib. When I was working with the Master i wasn't sure what trade I wanted to go into, but i appreciate the information, definitely helps with nervs.

[Anonymous No.1614382]

>>1614350

FETCH ME SOME SKY HOOKS WHERES MUH LEFT HANDED CRESCENT WRENCH

ON BREAK AGAIN YOU HAVE SPENT HALF THE MORNING ON BREAK...

get used to every one kinda testing you when you get there, they will either leave you alone and watch from afar and laugh, or nod in improvement or put you with some one to see how much crap you can put up with.

point is you are green and that is understood either you have what it takes to put up with all the crap that is in the construction field or you dont that is what they are looking for.

[Anonymous No.1614383]

>>1614364
I very much appreciate your input as well, I feel that I am hard working and whenever I work with that master i constantly ask questions, do what I'm told without complaining and the only times i look at my phone was either for a time check (when boss asked for one) or if he was curious about sports scores in the van lol.

[Anonymous No.1614414]

>>1614358
Same situation as OP.
Could I simplify those rules as:
>Kiss ass without looking like you're kissing ass.
>Be a good employee, polite, try & learn.

[Anonymous No.1614415]

>>1614370
Not OP, I couldn't where I live.
Had to do 1800 hours in school before I could even walk a work site.

[Anonymous No.1614420]

I am 4 months into my Ironworker apprenticeship. $25/hr right now, raise every 6 months until your journey out which is $41/hr or so.
I’ve noticed every union trade makes more, and does less physically demanding work.

My body fucking hurts. It’s backbreaking, moving thousands of pounds of iron all day, and the only “easy” part of the job is being hunched over tying rebar.
Leaves me so damn tired and sore I don’t wanna do shit.
I don’t see this as a trade I want to do for 35 years, even after I can switch to structural because it’s breaks every man down bad in some way. And being a slave to job dispatches ranging from 60-100 mile round trip commutes for work.

Pretty miserable most days.

I got a job offer today, as a boat mechanic, for $22/hr for the first 3 months, which then drops to $15/hr with commission which makes for $25-35/hr.

I’m nervous about taking it, as it’s not a career, but I’d learn more skills in the next 3-12 months than being an Ironworker that I could take elsewhere. Any input?

[Anonymous No.1614437]

>>1614420
>job dispatches ranging from 60-100 mile round trip
thats pretty much every trade, we are paid pretty good to make those trips.
>I’ve noticed every union trade makes more, and does less physically demanding work.
sounds like propaganda to me. I'm not union but I have seen some union guys put in some long hours and work their asses off. Its not like a trade suddenly changes just because someone starts a union. Also while talking with union guys that are in my trade we ended up more or less even in pay and benies so don't buy into all the hype.

>>1614415
back when I started you weren't required to take classes to test out, just pass the test and renew the license every 3 years. Now the guys who start are required 600 classroom hours.

[Anonymous No.1614446]

>>1614437
I’m not arguing union or non union or saying the other trades don’t work.

I’ve never seen any other trade having to bust ass, break their backs, or literally run like ironworking requires. Working smarter, not harder.

And I haven’t gotten a solid 40 hour work week in almost a month. Like today, pushed to do 8 hours of work in 6, then off early. Early fridays every Friday.
I mean, the OT pay is good, but not at the cost of chronic back pain at 24.
>pic related

I probably will get into another trade, but in the meantime I think I’m going to take the boat mechanic job closer to me, as I will learn more than just punking iron for a trade I don’t want to do as a career anyway.

[Anonymous No.1614449]

I got into the union apprenticeship program so I started working as a 1st year while concurrently going to school. Heres what I can tell you off hand:
>ALWAYS carry some wirenuts and electrical tape in your pockets/toolbag, journeymen will ask you for them consistently. Carrying some self tappers can't hurt too depending on what you're doing
>the quicker you git gud at bending pipe, the less you'll get treated like a burden
>also always keep a good sharpie marker on hand in your pocket
>if your journeyman doesnt mind you whipping out your phone now and then, write down your offset multipliers on a notepad app in your phone. This one helped me git gud at bending pipe

Idk what else I can tell you but if you have any questions about working out in the field as an apprentice, I can possibly answer them

[Anonymous No.1614456]

>>1614420
At least you aren't a mason

[Anonymous No.1614459]

Im studying for electrician too but why the fuck do these old guys want to be assholes about it? Im not even that soft but fuck its going to be annoying trying to compete with macho shit from what ive heard. I just want to work and get paid. Dealing with people is a drag.

[Anonymous No.1614464]

>>1614459
Part of it is to weed out the softbois/weakwilled ones who might quit or gas out when things on the jobsite are tough. Part of it is also literally "cuz thats how my journeyman was with me when I was an apprentice". I dont whine about or dwell on it, because I prefer that kind of workplace experience over working in a call center with a bunch of shallow thots, drug dealers, and single mothers.

If you're gonna whine about being consistently told "you dont know shit" then you're probably gonna whine when you're hauling around 2.5" IMC around all day or when you're pulling 500mcm cables.

[Anonymous No.1614470]

>>1614370
Funny I was given the opportunity to do your 3rd year stuff in a few months.

A lot of the basic advice given here >>1614358 is good but don't be a pussy if you think something is wrong stand up for yourself especially if you know the codebook and for sure is on the right. I've refused to do work from a superior several times because you're literally low man on the totem, you do something wrong and say somebody above the head of whoever you're working with comes in and wants to chew somebody out? that's your ass.

Really work, work hard and try to do as much as you can and learn as much as possible. I was lucky enough to work with a small crew so I was given a lot of leeway because it was 2 old guys, me and a rotating fourth in the most chill job ever.
Also download that codebook app.

[Anonymous No.1614472]

>>1614464
Not the guy you are replying to but I still whine about 500s 14 years into the trade.. shit sucks but when it comes to pulling big wire that's when I put down the note pad and jump back in to help save my boys backs

[Anonymous No.1614473]

>>1614470
>Funny I was given the opportunity to do your 3rd year stuff in a few months

Yeah that happens from time to time, just depends on the job. I was speaking from an idealistic point of view

[Anonymous No.1614480]

>>1614459
I had that same issue with some old boys picking on everyone else. After lunch one day I confronted the bigger of the two and told him to cut it out or he will have to suck my dick. Turns out he was pretty good at it so I now get a bj at least 4 times a day as long as they can pick on me

[Anonymous No.1614483]

OP here again.

One of my big fears is that we covered alot in school, i mean we would study one topic for like 20 weeks then skip to something completely different, we did this 3 times.

I'm worried that I might've forgotten some important information even though I'm probably good for a first year apprentice.

I do ask lot of questions and am genuinely curious about my trade, just dont want to look like a retard.

[Anonymous No.1614501]

>>1614437
Ironworkers, or esp rod busters like him have one of the hardest jobs in construction. There's nothing to get around it.

Welding trades (sheet metal, pipefitter, boilmaker) aren't too bad. Electrical is rather light work unless working industrial. Carpenters/Framers don't get paid shit.

[Anonymous No.1614503]

>>1614449
agreed on everything you said.

offset multipliers : tangent (angle / 2)
adjustment multiplier (for concurrent bends) : tangent (angle / 2)

[Anonymous No.1614504]

>>1614483
Union electrical apprentice here.

We only have 30 days of school a year for 5 years. There's no topic we cover in depth. Our "schooling" is an absolute joke.

Maybe that's why so many guys who turn out don't know their shit, but yeah, 20 weeks is more than enough to master a subject.

[Anonymous No.1614599]

>>1614446
I remember you from other threads, you should hurry up and quit. Put your resume together and send it off. Then just call in sick on interview days, see if you can get a few for the same day.

[Anonymous No.1614630]

>>1614350
This will save your life one day: Electricity is one woman you dont fuck around with.

[Anonymous No.1614889]

>>1614470
Oops, yeah, forgot to mention stuff that's downright unsafe. As a mechanic, I don't see that happening ever personally desu, they're more often telling me how to do things safer and with less long term harm to my own body so it doesn't really happen.

[Anonymous No.1614971]

>>161450
Thanks for telling it like it is.
>welding
The Ironworker apprenticeship doesn’t teach welding until you’re in your 3rd year.
The instructors even said when they offered welding to every apprentice, many would immediately get their certs and fuck off. And “only 20% of apprentices journey out” followed by “you leave a part of yourself at every job, but when you’re old and broken, you’ll have a good pension and healthcare”
Fuck. That. “Take care of your body, as you can’t be an Ironworker with a broken back”.... yet the job forces you to lift hundreds of pounds daily using only your back.

Nonetheless, I’ve taken another job I’ll start in 2 weeks.
Not even putting my notice in, out of fear of just getting shitcanned, since I’m easily replaced.

2 guys in my union just died a less than a month ago in that crane accident, and I’ve already seen many injuries. No regrets. Work smarter, not harder. Especially if you are a high school graduate and not a felon, lol.

[Anonymous No.1614987]

>>1614480
>people lie about pointless shit on the internet

[Anonymous No.1615003]

>>1614358
>gotta be a good goy bootlicker

[Anonymous No.1615541]

>>1615003
>bootlicker
Are you just pretending to be retarded? This is for a job, not the state.
Also, never said when you've got some time in you can't tell the boss to fuck off when he needs to fuck off.
Good luck with your jobless life

[Anonymous No.1616820]

>>1615541
doesn't have to be guberment to be a bootlicker

[Anonymous No.1616845]

I'm about to graduate in a few weeks (high school) and was looking at maybe doing electrical work or something. My biggest concern is I don't want to limit myself. I have an interest in computers and electronics so I would like to work in some kind of IT field eventually, but want to work as an electrician due to the supposed job stability.
TL;DR
Is being an electrician limiting? If I pursue that for a job right out of high school am I fucked if I want to switch to something else?

[Anonymous No.1616860]

>>1616845
it really depends on how far you want to go with this trade, after all there are little niches in the electrical field and it changes all the time.

for instance I'm the same commercial electrician that replied earlier in this thread. For the 1st 7-8 years of the trade using a computer to do anything aside from emails out in the field was pretty rare for me. These days I am sitting on a computer 2-3 days a week keeping up with the latest changes and adding them to my bluebeam files (kinda like paint, cad, and a file system on steroids) or planning out my prefab for an area where bluebeam links in with excel. My company works a lot with nLight products and its easier to program with the computer depending on how elaborate the system is. We have an "IT" guy who used to be an electrician but is now more of an office hand who manages the network and other money stuff. You could also go into the estimating side of things which is 75% on the computer and 25% personal skills. Then you could also be a project manager which mine is in the office 50% working from home 25% and then driving around and visiting jobs 25%.

There are also people who only go around programing different lighting systems, fire alarm systems, security systems, VFD's, temperature controls and other building automation systems. Or go all industrial, or oil and gas, or residential ect.

> If I pursue that for a job right out of high school am I fucked if I want to switch to something else?
lol never, I see guys that are 40 year old apprentices and its really common for people to be in love with the idea of being an electrician only to get 4-5 years in and hate it.
pic related is like 1% of a week of a normal electrician, its actual work the rest of the time and your hard hat and vest will only be that clean on your 1st day.

[Anonymous No.1616869]

>>1616860
Thanks. Are you aware of any people who got a proper college education while working? I still want to get a degree for comp sci out of personal interest but I'd rather be making money with a job than spending it at a college at least until I'm financially stable.

[Anonymous No.1616874]

>>1616869
lol no, we send our guys to trade school which is pretty easy, 1-4 hour class a week after work. counts towards college credits too which is nice. So while working not a proper college education. For me at least it slows in spring a little bit so I might not get a full 40, but then its a full 40 every week and usually ramps up to 50-60 hours a week. We really don't have time for guys who want to do this part time and not know the building. you sound like you will get pigeon holed into being shop help and then fired as soon as not needed. This trade is pretty much a life style at this point for me. We want career oriented people not just another guy looking for a job.

I have a few apprentices that have 4 year degrees and found out that they can make more as an apprentice than they can in their chosen field.

> I still want to get a degree for comp sci out of personal interest

then do that, most 18-13 yr olds dont really have enough understanding of what life is like once out from under their parents wing to really know what they want to do with their life anyways. Get the degree, try that out for a few years and see if that $100k/year is true or if its just shitty and a pain, this trade will still be here if you change your mind about computers and networks. If you don't you will always wonder "what if"

[Anonymous No.1616877]

>>1616874
18-23*