Frustrated......

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Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
Good Advice. I did that and wound up spending 30 plus years there. Great retirement plan too.

add another one to the "yes" bin.

in the LA area LADWP always is looking for wastewater treatment electricians.
a working buddy of mine couldn't get into city of LA civil service any other way...
started at hyperion sewage plant, behind LAX.
he's now a first level supervisor, annual income about a buck thirty, benefits
second to none. nowhere near the sewage side of the industry. he's doing ok.

however, if the OP has a thin skin emotionally, blue collar construction may
not be a good fit. some people aren't suited to that environment.

and, to be perfectly honest, you'll come across people in this line of work
whose personality could most graciously be called sociopathic. then, there
are common bullies, people who use their spare time to torment someone.
apprentices frequently are grist for their mill.

there really isn't anything you can do about it, once you've become a chew toy.
it's not nearly as bad, imho, as it was 35 or 40 years ago, but it still happens.

i've also seen apprentices (and journeymen) who seem to spend the largest single
block of their day texting or phoning. it's one thing if you are self employed, but
if you work for someone else, excessive personal communication can be summed
up in two words: field check.
 

JFletcher

Senior Member
Location
Williamsburg, VA
Had a boss like the OP described. Rode me pretty hard, always critical (tho never in front of others), wanted me to be faster. After about 5 months of that, a better job came along, so I gave my notice. I did not tell him I had something else lined up, instead telling him the work environment (basically him) was too demanding (which it was getting to be - didnt know how much more of that job I could take). In a nutshell, he told me he was critical because he thought I would have been great at the job, so he pushed me harder than some others, who he didnt think had the same potential. While I understand the logic now, I do not think loading more onto someone who is doing more is a very good practice, unless you have a promotion of sorts in the plans for them. One of the major workplace gripes is bosses having competent persons do more to pick up the slack of avg employees rather than deal with the avg employees.

shockme123, maybe there more behind the scenes than you know, but if you've already cleared your tools, it may be too late for thi job.

And you are not alone in the anxiety issue; back in 2008, I was running comm jobs with more headaches than anyone should have to deal with, along going thru health and family issues. Medicine cant fix an impossible work load or unsaveable marriage, but a xanax will make you stress out about it a lot less. Maybe consider seeing a doctor for the stress/anxiety.
 

FionaZuppa

Senior Member
Location
AZ
Occupation
Part Time Electrician (semi retired, old) - EE retired.
Always be looking for a better opportunity but never let them know this.
+1 on this, regardless of what job you have. always look for better opportunities, even if your current job is going well.
 

Jon456

Senior Member
Location
Colorado
If you think you might be laid-off or quit, now is the time to cut back all discretionary spending and start saving as much $$$ as you can out of each and every paycheck.































































































































!
 

spark master

Senior Member
Location
cyberspace
In CA, you can sue your employer easily. Any harassment, or discrimination, they are screwed. You can go to the labor board for disability under their metal duress rules. You get 1/2 pay, and then find a lawyer. You'll win about $50,000, and 1/3 goes to the lawyer. It's done every day.

Luckily, we are no longer doing work in the hell hole of CA.
 

JFletcher

Senior Member
Location
Williamsburg, VA
Not getting measurements right is a problem.

Could be in training, or he doesnt have the correct tools. Measurements of what? Wire length, bending conduit, height of boxes, estimating?

In my experience, getting it right is more important than doing it fast. Doing it right builds confidence, and with that and experience, the speed will come.
 

oldsparky52

Senior Member
Could be in training, or he doesnt have the correct tools. Measurements of what? Wire length, bending conduit, height of boxes, estimating?

In my experience, getting it right is more important than doing it fast. Doing it right builds confidence, and with that and experience, the speed will come.

I don't disagree with you. I do think that some people have an aptitude for this work, and some do not. We are not all created equal. It may be that this type of work is not for the OP.
 

FionaZuppa

Senior Member
Location
AZ
Occupation
Part Time Electrician (semi retired, old) - EE retired.
here's what i would do. suck it up and be an outstanding worker, do things faster, measure once, cut once, etc. and just as your employer/manager recognizes the change, by that time you hopefully found something better and the feeling of saying "adios" will be complete opposite of how you are feeling now.
 

Jon456

Senior Member
Location
Colorado
Apologies to all for all the extra white space in my post above. It was caused by a keyboard accident and was completely unintentional.
 
add another one to the "yes" bin.

i've also seen apprentices (and journeymen) who seem to spend the largest single
block of their day texting or phoning. it's one thing if you are self employed, but
if you work for someone else, excessive personal communication can be summed
up in two words: field check.

I've gone through 4 apprentices in the last three years. I have a great one now.

I don't know the op, so don't take this personally: the current generation of 18-30 year olds have no clue what it means to work for a living. I'll never forget my father, who was a union carpenter, laid hardwood floors for 25 years, then at the age of 45 started working as a drywall installer. He ran all day long. He never strolled, never went anywhere without something in his hand (be it scrap, tools he could put away, materials, etc). He taught me never to be caught doing nothing on a job; if necessary, pick up a broom and clean up.

This new generation is on their smart phones constantly, can't seem to be on time more then 3 times a week, stay home sick with a runny nose, and expect to work 4 hours a day for 8 hours pay. Of course, not everyone does this, but it seems to be extremely common of this generation.

I pay well, I pay for schooling, I buy lots of lunches, I buy them tools they get to keep, I split scrap copper money with them, i try really hard to be the kind of employer you want to work for. But the last kid I fired (when I caught him for the umpteenth time talking on his phone) told me I was just to difficult to work for. He thought he was really good at multitasking, (phone, texting and working). He wasn't; he screwed up all the time.

Get off your phone, put your butt in something other then compound low gear, shut up, listen and watch, anticipate what your journeyman needs, and you'll go far.

Otherwise, go to work at McDonalds.
 

rt66electric

Senior Member
Location
Oklahoma
Some bosses only understand the stick. Some bosses are insecure and need to constantly ride their guys to make themselves feel more important. Some bosses see what they are doing as "tough love". Some bosses have a crummy home life and act out on the job to compensate.

It can take having a thick skin to survive a job working for one of those guys. Anyone who has been in the work force for many years has probably had to deal with it at some point.

I call this the "WHIPPING boy" type of leadman...... picks on one guy and the rest will fall in line......
 
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Johnnybob

Senior Member
Location
Colville, WA
My last employer wanted me to be faster. I told him you can't have good and fast. You get one or the other. If you're going to use that line though,
you'd better be good.
Working as a maintenance electrician in a mill, I can say with confidence that electrical is not something you want to rush! Pounding nails if you miss something, you go back and fix it. In electrical, if you miss or mess something up, you risk burning up something, or someone!
 
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Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
This new generation is on their smart phones constantly, can't seem to be on time more then 3 times a week, stay home sick with a runny nose, and expect to work 4 hours a day for 8 hours pay. Of course, not everyone does this, but it seems to be extremely common of this generation.

no, not everyone does, but i recognized the image without having
to look it up in wikipedia.

there is also the "grumpy old fart" syndrome. i notice i agree with
it a fair bit of the time since i became a grumpy old fart.

you may also be afflicted with grumpy old fart syndrome. check with your
health care provider to be sure. if your health care provider walks into
the exam room texting, and the first thought that enters your mind is
"put that thing down, asshole!" you have the syndrome.

there is no known treatment. shoving the offending cellphone up the operators
butt is suggested for temporary relief, but doesn't provide long term results.
 
I do fine while working alone but am nervous around others. Like today when I was running conduit. It was just a simple job apparently I should have done it in 15, but it took me almost an hour with someone constantly breathing down my neck. I'm 31 years old, and I don't know what other jobs I can do which won't put me in the same position as now. I think it might be a learning disability of some sort but I know if I get let go it's probably for the best.
 

ggunn

PE (Electrical), NABCEP certified
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Occupation
Electrical Engineer - Photovoltaic Systems
I'm not sure what kind of person you take me for but I leave my cell in the car. I'm not in this 20-30 age range you are so blatantly putting down.
I didn't see anyone accusing you of anything. The discussion expanded into generalities as they often do and the curmudgeons came out of the woodwork.

Hey! You kids get off my lawn! Dagnabbit! :D
 

__dan

Senior Member
I do fine while working alone but am nervous around others. Like today when I was running conduit. It was just a simple job apparently I should have done it in 15, but it took me almost an hour with someone constantly breathing down my neck. I'm 31 years old, and I don't know what other jobs I can do which won't put me in the same position as now. I think it might be a learning disability of some sort but I know if I get let go it's probably for the best.

No, when you learn how things are, it will take too long and the insight may be no longer useful to you.

If you get laid off, it is because of a number in a spreadsheet somewhere, not because it is for the best. Best has nothing to do with it although producing fast cheap crap work quickly, or competing with some other who merrily produces fast cheap crap work quickly seems to be the norm. Call it the MBA rule.

You are just a warm body reduced to some number in a spreadsheet. The higher level spreadsheets belong to financiers, the owners of the debt. So it's no longer true that you would work for an EC who works for the owner. The industry is plagued with DI's who work for the owner of the debt, who says give me faster cheaper crap, that's all I will pay for.

I've met a lot of apprentices who could not get field labor jobs and were stocking shelves at G Fox or JC Penny. There are not enough jobs for everyone who wants to be an electrician. It is a problem bigger than and impersonal to you.

If you were already a scammer, you would be expertly playing this game. The problem is with the true believers who believe that as you do your part correctly, you expect to give and get the same, that others in positions of power are also doing their part "correctly" or at least honestly and without intention to cause harm. I wish this were true that you count on others that you depend on to do their best as you expect yourself to do for them, but it is a delusion that collides with reality.

The reality is that if you see wrongdoing, the industry standard is to keep your mouth shut and fix it later if the customer want to pay again to fix the first mistake(s). (Deceptions being a common currency).

You are assuming they are good guys who know their stuff and you are at fault, assuming their criticisms to be well meaning and based in their honesty. Keep that view as long as possible but also hold the job, at least until you have something better to move to.

Try this, make it into a research project and try to discover for yourself the truth and falsity (lying) of your surrounding. Make a written log of all complaints, yours and theirs, daily. As you progress in this try to see which law applies that may be broken. The internet is a great equalizer.

Once you have some names in your log, try to look them up, house address. If your abuser who you hold in a position of esteem over you actually lives in some crappy apartment with the view out the living room window looks into the complex dumpster, you have to ask yourself what he really knows about pride in his work as a construction professional.

Look in your logbook. Are your coworkers actually producing work that you can say you are proud to be a part of, or do they work just to pay the tab at the local strip club and xhamster.

It should be obvious but never let them know you logged their names and their crimes in your book. This is an exercise to learn what you need to know. If you would ever show your logs to another, it would be to your attorney.
 
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