Are there any college educated electricians?

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Re: Are there any college educated electricians?

I am a mechanical engineer by degree but work as a master Electrical contractor. The engineering helps in design work and load calculation. I think that college electricians are needed expecially if you are going into home network systems and home automation. :cool:
 
Re: Are there any college educated electricians?

Originally posted by southern electric:
I think that college electricians are needed expecially if you are going into home network systems and home automation. :cool:
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I disagree.
Could you explain why a college degree would be needed for installing these systems?

I install these systems and do not have a college degree. Could me or my customers benefit from it?
 
Re: Are there any college educated electricians?

In my opinion, knowledge and skills can be gained in many ways and from various sources, in addition to the institutions of higher learning.

The essential ingredient is the desire to learn.

Ed
 
Re: Are there any college educated electricians?

I have completed an apprentice program at my work place. So I am now a journeyman electrician, and had to take some classes at IVY Tech to complete this. Now going to Ivy tech to finish my two year degree in industrial electrician.
I sure hope this does some good for my job out look.
 
Re: Are there any college educated electricians?

luke warmwater:
I have never been convinced myself either that a college degree is necessary to be able to do the work. I struggled with that in my head for a long time, and I didn't get my degree until I was 34. Things didn't start happening right after I got it either and I started to doubt what I did, even though I used my GI Bill so it didn't cost me hardly squat. But, it has just started to make things happen and open doors and give me tools I never thought I would use or need. My degree is not in engineering but it shows that I am willing to do what it takes to keep up with things and can learn new concepts. Everything I learned in college 12 years ago is now history. Even the "EE"'s will probably tell you (if they've had their degree) awhile that they don't use what they learned but it made it so they can learn more. Anybody disagree with that? You can be fine sitting there doing what you do, day after day, but when the well dries up you need to be able to show that you can dig yourself another well if necessary. Oh and let me say, Thank God for spell checkers :)
 
Re: Are there any college educated electricians?

When I was in college, a professor once told me, "College is where you go to learn how to learn." I think this is very true. What we specifically learn in schools is not necessarily the skills to do the physical labor or the desktop work. In reality we don't retain that much of it anyway unless we use it regularly. In the process we get introduced and exposed to material related to our field of study but what we learn is how to overcome the fear of learning. The best of the best are the ones that can come into contact with a device or situation never before encountered and rather than pull back is able to dig in and figure it out. It's amazing how many times I hear someone say, "I can't do that! I've never worked with one of those before!"

After all, before any of us learned how to ride a bicycle, we didn't know how to do it either.

Bob
 
Re: Are there any college educated electricians?

Graduated 1971 taught school 2 years, found didn't like being inside all day.
Indentured as apprentice, became Journeyman, then supervisor and 7 years ago becane county electrical inspector.

Teach apprentice and JW training evenings most of the time for the last 22 years.

The college has helped in the class room....but the best thing about college was my wife of 36 years...best thing I ever did.

tom ;)
 
Re: Are there any college educated electricians?

Bob; i am not commenting on your other comments, only the bicycle analogy. It was my experience teaching my daughter to ride, that i wasn't teaching her, but convincing her that her body knew how to balance. Some other small input of mine about safety and braking and letting her explore the learning experience in an empty lot, may qualify as teaching.

My point is that her body actually knew how to ride. at least as far as me teaching her. There was more to the experience of learning, but it was also beyond my teaching. :cool:

paul
 
Re: Are there any college educated electricians?

Interesting point Paul. But then, were we born knowing how to balance our bodies or is it a learned experience? I tend to adhere to the latter.

When we learn how to balance I believe we are teaching our bodies muscle coordination and control as well as learning our limitations at the moment. I say this because the more we learn, the more we discover that we don't really catch up to our limitations. That said, what we are teaching, or learning as the case may be, about riding a bicycle is not only to balance but to get over the fear of not balancing. We are learning not only how to do it but also that we can do it.

Bob
 
Re: Are there any college educated electricians?

Did it the other way: I tried to get in to an apprentice program, but at the time, all they were taking was women and minorities. So I went to school to get my EE. Given the choice, I would've been an electrician. Probably would've gotten the EE sooner or later anyway.
 
Re: Are there any college educated electricians?

I think babies start working on muscle control and balance from the beginning. I think most of the balance skills used in normal bike riding have already been processed and are almost spinal reactions. it just takes transliterating ( don't have the word that means that for motor skills) to a mobile platform. I also think great teaching is more like getting out of the way, not that i am good at getting out of the way as you should be able to tell from the arguments i get in in here.

sorry to be off topic

paul :)
 
Re: Are there any college educated electricians?

i contracted "work" for a college and got quite a bit of education!!!!!!!!!!!!! believe me--it was a learning expieriance!!!!!!!!!
 
Re: Are there any college educated electricians?

I have a BA in Asian Languages and a BS in EE, with a concentration in computer engineering, and a second major in computer science. I worked as a Corporate Cubicle Slave - Technical Division for several years, but I hated it. So I took the necessary steps to obtain licenses as a master electrician and electrical contractor, and now I'm the happy CEO/Chief Wire Puller of my very own one-man shop, where I specialize in remodeling work on old houses. :D

Other than the theoretical foundation in electricity I got in the EE program, my degrees per se aren't really directly useful in terms of doing electrical work. However, I have found that my background does help in more indirect ways. Having a computer science major makes it easy for me to manage my business on the computer, and being able to communicate well helps considerably when I meet potential clients. I'd say the main benefit to getting a college education is that it helps a person see and think about the big picture. A professor I used to work for once told me that the difference between college graduates and people who don't attend college is that college graduates are able to think at higher levels of abstraction. I don't know if he's right, but it is food for thought.

Although some have questioned my career choice as something that is somehow "beneath" me because of my education, most of my friends (most of whom have graduate degrees) have been overwhelmingly supportive. My lawyer friends have been especially supportive, to the point of going out of their way to refer me to their colleagues without me asking them to.

The bottom line is that I like what I do for a living. How many people can say that?
 
Re: Are there any college educated electricians?

17,in H.S. got a full scholarship to Pratt institute in N.Y.C. ,but well couldn`t see past her 34 DD 9 months later Tommy was born so out wnt the education.Got a job as a helper with the most arrogant guy there was Ritchie,6 months of lugging risers , tools , pounding a 2 in. star chisel.One day he said well you held out time to teach you a trade.that was in 1973 here I am still in the same trade as for E.E`s well IMHO they need field experience to see that pretty cad designed rack of pipe can`t fit with an equal sized rack of HVAC and plumbing in an esigned to hold only one of the above.With experience we gain wisdom as well as knowledge a desk can only teach info.This becomes wisdom with experience.
 
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