Career path in a electrical company

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vilasman

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So... for those of you who have moderate to larger sized companys. And by that I mean some who has more to their middle management than just a lead electrician or foreman.
What is the career path in a electrical construction firm. I can see lead electrician, then project manager then estimator or sales person .
But what would be next? Or is it then time to hang ones own shingle?
 
I'm confused...

vilasman said:
So... for those of you who have moderate to larger sized companys.
.... Or is it then time to hang ones own shingle?
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If you have your own company, why would one need to hang their own shingle?:confused:
 
About the shingle...
Everyone i have talked to lately has said...
get a day job to make sure the mortage gets paid and that you have some retirement, your SS credits, insurance, so on so forth and then go for what you know on the side, while you are young and can work half the night or on the weekends , so on so forth.
My question was based on, if one takes this advice, and pursues the corporate contracting ladder, and one stays healthy, dosent fall off a ladder or blow up one's arm or some other unfortunate mishap with a live, high current carrying device in ones travels...
Where can one go in corporate contracting, if one gets used to being warm, dry in the winter, cool and dry in the summer and driving to the same office everyday :)
 
vilasman said:
About the shingle...
Everyone i have talked to lately has said...
get a day job to make sure the mortage gets paid and that you have some retirement, your SS credits, insurance, so on so forth and then go for what you know on the side, while you are young and can work half the night or on the weekends , so on so forth.
_____________________________________________________________
You receive what you believe....



Where can one go in corporate contracting, if one gets used to being warm, dry in the winter, cool and dry in the summer and driving to the same office everyday :)
Click to expand...

I know a place like that, but I'm not telling;)
 
macmikeman said:
I know a place like that, but I'm not telling;)
Click to expand...
NeverNever400.jpg



LOL
:D
:D
 
If you have what it takes to be a contractor, the earlier you start the better.

That said, you can learn from someone else?s mistakes while working elsewhere. The problem is getting to that level. I tried my hand at my own business in 1979, and didn't do too well. I lacked the discipline I needed, plus I had no idea of how much I really needed to charge for my services. IMO, this is the biggest mistake new entrepreneurs make.

I was fortunate that I went to work for a company as their ?Master Electrician?. I wired their equipment and in about 9 years moved into the department manager at another branch. I spent 5 years there before burning out. In that 14 years I learned about business concepts, sales processes, budgeting, how important it is to build a cash reserve, how much it really takes to operate a business. Because of that experience I have been able to keep my doors open for the last 10 years.

New contractors try to sell on price to get someone?s attention. The problem is they never learn to up sell, or push the upper limits a little. Sometimes it is better to let a job go. One of the owners of the business I worked for asked a question at a managers meeting one day that really got me thinking. ?What would happen to your bottom line if you took the two worst jobs for the last year out of the P&L statement, as if you never did the work?? The answer was you made more money for the year.

Lots of other lessons like that were learned in my 14 years there.
 
I had my own business from '84 to 90. I didn't go bankrupt, I just shut it down. In some ways, I wish I would have kept it going, but it really wasn't my cup of tea. The stress was too much. Since I've had my license since '79, I've been a project mgr, estimator, service dept mgr, and owner. I've havn't worked with my tools since, except when I was an owner. And that wasn't by choice. I've mostly been an estimator because I prefer it over anything else. And mostly for meduim to large companies. I currently work for a medium size company that's grown to a large company. We have 100+ electricians.
I really enjoy what I do today even more so than ever. And it's been good to me. There are great opportunities in larger companies beyond prject mgr or estimating. You can be a senior mgr, senior estimator (meaning you run depts), pre-construction services, design services, conceptual estimating, or marketing/sales. I choose to be just an estimator. I make a great salary, benefits, car allowance, and lots of free lunches.
It takes a special person to take his/her tools off and take their business to a high level where you can sell large projects with a large profit margin.
Either I'm not that kind of person, or I wasn't willing to fight it out all those years.
 
There are many paths that you can take as an "electrician". I had my own company, didn't like it and closed down. I was then the electrician for a government project and also worked as a facilities electrician at a major government installation. I then became a "Network Designer" determining the installation paths and methods for computer networks. Throughout my career I have taught classes for electricians. There are many things you can do with your electrical skills. You are limited only by your imagination.
 
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