mechanics/labor

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JJWalecka

JJWalecka

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New England
I was told that in addition to apprentices and journeyman, some states, have mechanics. They are employed to pull wire and other tasks. Massachusetts is not one of these states.

I was curious if this was true and if so what states promoted this.



JJ
 
In the Maryland area, the term "mechanic" is used in reference to a non-union J-man.
The Union uses the term Journeyman, non-union uses Mechanic.
Same job,doing the same work. There's a lot of electricians that are non-union that have never taken the Journeyman test at the end of the apprenticeship program.
Some have just gone on to take their masters instead.
 
JJ the term is used here in MA, when I hear mechanic here in MA I picture a J-man without the skills or want to be a leader.
 
luckyshadow said:
In the Maryland area, the term "mechanic" is used in reference to a non-union J-man.
The Union uses the term Journeyman, non-union uses Mechanic.
Same job,doing the same work. There's a lot of electricians that are non-union that have never taken the Journeyman test at the end of the apprenticeship program.
Some have just gone on to take their masters instead.
Click to expand...

Here in Oregon you have to complete an 8000 hour apprenticeship program before you can take your Journeyman exam... and then if you want to take your Masters exam (here it's called a Supervisor actually) you first have to rack up another 8000 documented hours as a Journeyman. Can't skip straight to the big one. And the Supervisor test is harder than hell, I hear.
 
the company i just hired onto calls us, mechanics.

a really good friend of mine, who happens to own both a mobile mechanic company and an auto shop laughed. he said it makes us sound stupid, like we are a couple of grease monkeys or something. he said he doesn't even call his guys mechanics, they are service technicians.

i have to agree with him, it sounds uneducated, and cheap.
 
JJWalecka said:
I was told that in addition to apprentices and journeyman, some states, have mechanics. They are employed to pull wire and other tasks. Massachusetts is not one of these states.

I was curious if this was true and if so what states promoted this.
Click to expand...


Some states don't have apprentices or journeymen for non-union shops so a number of different names have been used. In many places you are either a laborer, a helper, an electician, a leadman or foreman. Someone that's supposed to actually know what he's doing is often called a mechanic but not really an electrician, a good conduit man for example.

It would have been nice if there had been some sort of national program to regulate the trades but that never happened in non-union shops.


Most of the guys that I have seen that refer to themselves as mechanics often are good at one area of electrical work but really don't know much outside that area of expertise. I have seen guys that could run rigid conduit and do it better and faster than most but couldn't wire a dog house so what would you call this person. They are not really what most people would think of as electricians. It worked out well enough for years because there was a heck of a lot of pipe that needed to be run and wire that needed pulling. The bad thing is if that's all a person knows how to do then a times it can be hard to find a job. Much like a form carpenter or rod buster, there is not much use for them on the open market.
 
In Maryland, Washington DC and Virginia Journeyman=mechanic=electrician, not official terminology just field definition.

And being from one camp or the other does not seem to affect who has a license.
 
luckyshadow said:
In the Maryland area, the term "mechanic" is used in reference to a non-union J-man.
The Union uses the term Journeyman, non-union uses Mechanic.
Same job,doing the same work. There's a lot of electricians that are non-union that have never taken the Journeyman test at the end of the apprenticeship program.
Some have just gone on to take their masters instead.
Click to expand...

I've never heard it in the non-union text, only union.
 
hillbilly1 said:
I've never heard it in the non-union text, only union.
Click to expand...

It may be a locality thing or just a personnel thing, I see not one posting anything official.

When I was an apprentice a JW once told me I could call him anything I wanted just so the boss got his name right on his check.
 
The only times I hear an electrician called a mechanic is here.
Like said auto mechanic's have gone more with the term auto tecnician for a while now. Guess Gomer Pyle left a bad image as an auto mechanic.
Many ads for mechanics I seen tended to be for med / heavy truck repair.
 
iwire said:
JJ the term is used here in MA, when I hear mechanic here in MA I picture a J-man without the skills or want to be a leader.
Click to expand...

I will have to remember that the next time I want to call one of the motor repair and generator guys here a mechanic instead of an electrician. :wink::D
 
Most people here think of mechanics as "auto mechanics"

I think of a mechanic as someone mechanically inclined. One who has an understanding of how stuff works. Some people don't understand even simple mechanics like leverage, gravity, friction and which way to unscrew a lid.

I am an excellent mechanic BTW :cool:
 
My boss will occasionally call us lead men mechanics. I hate it though. Like someone else said it sounds cheap and stupid.
 
pipe fill question?

pipe fill question?

According to chapter 9 in the back of the book,2 or more conductors your suppose to do 40%,so my question is,you are allowed 16 #12 in a 3/4 conduit,so 40% of 16 is 6 condutors,I believe that is 3 hots&3 neutrals plus a ground,but my shop says no more than 8,so how is that 40%,if you do the calculations,can you explain the right way to go about this,isn't this why we have the code book??
 
spy44der said:
According to chapter 9 in the back of the book,2 or more conductors your suppose to do 40%,so my question is,you are allowed 16 #12 in a 3/4 conduit,so 40% of 16 is 6 condutors,I believe that is 3 hots&3 neutrals plus a ground,but my shop says no more than 8,so how is that 40%,if you do the calculations,can you explain the right way to go about this,isn't this why we have the code book??
Click to expand...

Unless I'm missing your point about the difference between Journeyman and mechanic (and I may be)... you need a new thread...
 
In Colorado...

In Colorado...

In Colorado:
Electrical Apprentice or Apprentice Electrician: Any electrician that does not carry a license. Also lovingly known as: hey Bi$^%!

Residential Wireman: a Licensed Electrician (4000 hours) that has passed the state exam and can run residential jobs. Considered an apprentice on commercial projects.

Journeyman Electrician: a Licensed electrician (8000 hours - Minimum 4000 of that commercial) that passed the state J-man test. Can work on any project. No limitations. Can have up to 3 apprentices per Journeyman

Master Electrician: a Licensed electrician (Journeyman + 2000 hours planning and layout) that has passed the state Master's exam. Again, no limitations to work. Still 3-1 apprentice ratio. Harder to find a job with this.

5th - year apprentice: That person that will probably never take or pass the test. 5th year can be replaced with 6th year - 100th year. There are many of these people who purport to be Journeymen... This is why I always ask for a license.

Other terms:
Laborer: Ditch digger... shovel handler... jackhammer guy... pretty much anything that helps us, but you can't TOUCH anything electrical. (Yes, this is often violated.)

Technician: Term electricians are called by people who are uninformed. My service electrician is a technician... but also a Master Electrician.

Mechanic: That guy that turns wrenches on my truck. Pretty much always applied to the auto industry. Auto technician has just not caught on.

Greg
 
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