Construction or maintenance???

Construction or maintenance???

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I get some of both and am happy with it, I need variety.

I think some installers could benefit from maintenance work. You really see how well systems last after a few years and where the installers could of done a better job. Some guys wire like it's the last time they'll ever work there. If they did a little maintenance and see what's it's like to come after them they might do a little more labeling or not stick j-boxes where they are almost impossible to get at due to a drop cieling or throw in a glory pipe, etc etc.
 
I worked maintenance for 30 years, and frankly working for myself this last year doing light installations and smaller jobs is far more full filling to me. I hurt more physicaly obviously due to my age and being that contruction is more demanding...but I like it, anyway....:) I've always made decent money working maintenance especially when you consider the benifiet packages. But right now....Im wondering why I didnt switch to construction years ago......

I have a client right now, that I do contract work for, and they have been looking for an maintenance electrician for several months. He told me today the've interviewed several applicants and just cant find anyone with control, and troubleshooting experience as welll as a person that can do installations all in one......In fact the two maintenance guys they have now, continually are asking me technical troubleshooting questions, while Im doing installs. Neither of them have very much electrical background....they are basically electrial cobblers IMO, nice guys, but just dont have it...
 
Yes

Yes

Good Question. (Construction or Maintenance)

Question maybe a little to vague.

Construction can mean (plug and switch), nothing more than trimming out comercial bulidings by installing wall switches, wall recepticles, and luminaires.

OR

Construction could mean laying out, forming, pouring, transformer pads, and then installing 13.2kv primary wiring with high voltage terminations, and subsequent downstream 3,000 amp switchboards and distribution systems.

Maintenance can mean changing out lamps in HID or Flourescent lighting, or replacing broken duplex wall outlets, to debugging a large industrial control systems with numerous power sources and programmable controllers.

That being said. Yes to both.
 
with installs on these large projects you also see new products rather then fixing old ones, like last week i installed a 24 foot ceiling fan
 
it was a Big Ass Fan Co. they're pretty cool they go a lot faster then i thought they would. it was funny when i first looked at the arcitechtuals it read big ass fan right on it in the middle of the print i thought it was a joke at first
 
nunu161 said:
it was a Big Ass Fan Co. they're pretty cool they go a lot faster then i thought they would. it was funny when i first looked at the arcitechtuals it read big ass fan right on it in the middle of the print i thought it was a joke at first
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Note to self for future reference. :wink:
 
Ive actually have done both. Ive done industrial, construction, and maintenance. Ive just recently switch to maintenance(for most of time even though i still do some alterations) for good last year. I worked construction(including/remodels industrial) a good part of my time in the trade. I got tired of the 'get er done yesterday' and rushing all the time even though I made more money doing it. seeing how construction is slowing down in this economy, I made a good choice.

The only problem that I have with some maintenance guys is that some of them just dont know code, and some of the installs they try to do is just, (let me be nice) needs improvement. I do enjoy where im working at right now. I do however wonder how do some people get these jobs, I suppose its just in who you know.
 
wptski said:
Is "every" electrician properly trained to make the choice or does it take special training in each catagory?
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Sorry, I dont quite understand your question, can you re-state it another way? what do you mean "properly trained to make the choice"??
 
mark32 said:
Construction, whether it be commercial or residential is nice for a temporary stint but I'm all about electrical maintenance. It suites me in many ways. In construction it's speed first and quality second, I never felt that way while doing maintenance. The (Typical) work environment is another big plus for me in maintenance.
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I agree completely....especially speed first, quality second
 
I just threw a tiebreaker. It was hard to decide until I thought about it. When you install flawlessly there is no troubleshooting. At the end of the job I almost always do all of the punchlist troubleshooting anyway. I do agree it is more fun troubleshooting.
 
Well ive been in electrical construction and only new work ground to final day heavy Commercial, Industrial, Power Plant new work only in the civilian world ,and 4 years ship electrical maintenance plus worked 2 years in Port Smith ship yards wiring ships . I must say between both choices i like construction the most ! Its seeing the final project finished and all the work the crew has done thats what its all about team work the whole company had a part in the project .Its just a good feeling when a two year or a three year project is over and on time . Take care be SAFE
 
76nemo said:
You come in and get it running sometimes more productive than it was before, and I walk away with a big sense of pride.
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I am with you, I take a lot of pride in that as well, I also find it fun. Real fun is when others have been beating their head against a wall for hours with no luck and you come in and find the problem in short order.:D


ohmhead said:
i like construction the most ! Its seeing the final project finished and all the work the crew has done thats what its all about team work the whole company had a part in the project .Its just a good feeling when a two year or a three year project is over and on time . Take care be SAFE
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But I also agree with ohmhead, I can drive down the highway and see some of the large projects I was involved in from putting in the first temp power to installing the last plate. I remember the good days and bad days. Also the guys I worked with at that job. I can bore my kids as we drive buy and tell them about how I helped bring that beautiful building out of the ground.

Others are just cookie cutter stores but I still enjoy remembering the crews I worked with and there are always some funny things to have a laugh about years later. I am lucky in that I have get to go back to some of these places 10 - 15 years later and look at my old work. And I ask myself ........ why did I run that pipe that way ..... what was I thinking? :D
 
Originally Posted by mark32
Construction, whether it be commercial or residential is nice for a temporary stint but I'm all about electrical maintenance. It suites me in many ways. In construction it's speed first and quality second, I never felt that way while doing maintenance. The (Typical) work environment is another big plus for me in maintenance.
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Some of the best work I have ever seen is on a construction job and by far the hackiest I have ever seen was completed by maintenance electricians time after time after time. And in almost all cases the maintenance guys had plenty of free time to do the job properly, maybe too much time.

Guy in my office installed two of those Big Ass Fans in his horse barn, not sure who wired them, I sure hope he hired someone.
 
Mule said:
Sorry, I dont quite understand your question, can you re-state it another way? what do you mean "properly trained to make the choice"??
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Is a eletrician apprentice trained to do construction and maintainence work? Is trouble shooting a trained or learned skill? Trouble shooting is a nak that some never get good at. I think that maintainence is harder on the brain than it is on the body. You don't worry about NEC at all while doing maintainence work.
 
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