Electrician career? decent

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what your looking for is "job"! being a qualified electrician is a "livelyhood"! you never stop learning and you never stop working hard.......... anything you do in life --- will require an "effort"! the more effort you put in --- the more enjoyment you get out. the money will come automatically and most of the time that amount of money is in relation to your qualifications. more important than money is happiness............ if you don't like hard work and enjoy it ----- stay away from the electrical trade!!!
 
the only trade ...

the only trade ...

In 2 weeks I'll have 30 yrs in the trade. I started as an Industrial Elect in a manufactureing complex (FoMoCo Rouge Plant, Michigan, 10 yrs) I did just about everything but romex .. we used a hickey to bend 3/4 and 1in RMC .. then to Alaska since .. Maintence and remodel for a school district, then to the oil fields and Industrial again .. then a while in residential and comercial .. now back to oilfield type maint/construction .. my lower back has 2 bad discs, my neck has 2 discs replaced and a chunck of Titanium holding 3 vertebraie fused with 5 screws ... dirt, grime, oil, grease, 8000ft of 2" rigid in a 3 ft ditch ... I could go on ... would I change trades ... nope ... when something has a wire to it and it don't work, they call me ... best feeling in the world when I fix it or tell them who should ... if I screw up, people can die ... what a feeling ... when the Lord said 'let their be light' who do you think turned on the switch ... might have been his local electrician ... I can work anywhere in the world ... I better quit, my eyes are getting wet ... best trade there is .. all you need is "Heart" ... m
 
Oh yeah! One great benefit I have is .... My employer thought it would be better for all of us to have our own shovels , so he bought all of us our very own!!!! Wewt! Shhhh don't tell anyone I use it at home too ;)
 
I think that, being an electrician as a carrier is a good choice, if you have an aptitude for it. Without an aptitude, you won't go far.

I can show most anybody how to pull romex (NM) through studs, but if you can't understand why we do what we do: If you can't take what you have been shown, synthesize it, and apply it to a different situation: If you can't grasp basic electrical theory: You will not amount to being more than a apprentice.
 
When I got into the trade, I was in the county engineering department working as a clone, 8-5 with good benefits, one hour comutes each way, & no where but up to move in the government. But all my friends were in construction, making lots of money working overtime, taking off to go fish or whatever or when ever. I was jealous.
So I asked around & everyone said be an Electrician. they said that Sparky showed up late, left early, never got dirty & made almost as much as plumbers. Well it was all lies but the plumbers pay part.
Don't decide too early what are you want to specialize in, but try to get your hand on everything from Residential to high rises & refineries or power generation. This will round you out. But its going to be easiest to get self employed in residential unless you make contacts in commercial. Once you got a few years as an apprentice, start soliciting side jobs like replacing lights & install new plugs, on the weekends & after work. Under bid all your friends on this forum. When customers ask if you have a license say yes. Apprentice is a license.
Remember Cheech & Chong, Up in Smoke, WHen the cop pulled them over and asked to see their license? "Its on the bumper ossifer"
Good luck.
 
fc said:
It sounds like you should play the lottery and if you are lucky you may hit for a few million and then you can be " laid back and not worry about back injury"
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you make it sound like as if im it mainly for all the money.......i do realise it requires hard work,persistant and goal-driven to become a qualified tradesman and im willing to go all the way. It won't be exactly be peaches and cream during the training to get qualified, you have to dig trenches, run wires under the house, strip wires etc. Apprentice wage in Australia is generally low, you get paid about $6.20 AU an hour and 1.5 times penalty rate on weekends. Australia is seriously facing a skill shortage crises as each year goes by.

P.S. ok i might have made it seems its so easy, sorry about that.

here an article about the skill shortages

http://www.smh.com.au/news/employme...for-the-skilled/2006/06/16/1149964706643.html
 
Will Australia reciprocate with a US License?



What is "award wages" we have different names for this?

But on the other hand if college is an option..I recommend it over the trades... Get an MBA then you can always open up an Electrical Contracting company then and just hire us!


Cheers
 
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i dont understand about the US license,be specific.

About the award wages, it basically a fixed minimum wage set by the government for each industry, it also includes your minimum entitlements to sick days, holidays,overtime rate etc.. for each industry. basically its a safety net to ensure workers don't get exploited. whats the equilvant in the US?
 
Syd_spark said:
i dont understand about the US license,be specific.
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We have basically 3 licenses with many exceptions
Apprentice ... 4 year license while you learn the trade.
Journeyman.... License saying youve passsed the minimun requirements of an apprentice & most states require testing.
Master.... Higher license, anywhere fron 2-4 years experience as a Journeyman plus another test. this is needed in most places to become a Contractor.

What I was wondering is can I bring my Masters License Down under & exchange it for an Aussie License?
 
don't know much, but im pretty sure you can since the USA is a developed country. You would have to take some short courses to familarise with the australian laws and methods and get your license and permits with the relevant authority.
 
Syd_spark said:
i dont understand about the US license,be specific.
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There is no such thing as a "US license." Licensing laws vary from state to state, and sometimes from city to city. Some states have a statewide license, some states do their licensing at the city or county level, and some states have a mixture of the two. There are also still places in the US where no electrical license is required to do electrical work. Many states have reciprocal agreements with other states whereby someone can get a license from another state without having to take their test. Some states don't reciprocate at all.

There are also many different types of electrical licenses. The most common ones you would see here are journeyman and master electrician. The various states sometimes have different names/classifications (e.g., supervising electrician, residential wireman, etc.). Where I live, there is no "apprentice" license like there is in some places. In general, you must have passed an exam and have a certain amount of experience before you can get a license that allows you to work without being supervised. Some licenses restrict what kind of work you are allowed to do (industrial, commercial, residential), and some don't. Usually a higher-level license (e.g., master) is required to be able to act as a contractor, but not always.
 
dnem said:
And now I'm an inspector so I only have to drive around, look around, write things down, and talk on the phone.

Not a bad gig

David
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you forgot the part about carrying that heavy clipboard around with you.
 
Syd_spark said:
i dont understand about the US license,be specific.

About the award wages, it basically a fixed minimum wage set by the government for each industry, it also includes your minimum entitlements to sick days, holidays,overtime rate etc.. for each industry. basically its a safety net to ensure workers don't get exploited. whats the equilvant in the US?
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the US is mostly a free country. we allow our citizens to choose how they wish to be compensated. they are allowed to negotiate such things with their employer.

there is a minimum wage but it is basically only paid to high school students working part time in fast food restaurants. most everyone else is paid substantially more.

there is mandatory time and a half for most people who work more than 40 hours a week, but that is about it.

everything else is pretty much negotiable.
 
Electricians

Electricians

I know an electrician that has a family business, his sons are all in the same company, he has offices in two major cities. He says he learns something every day, and if he goes to heaven, he'll look around for a place where they are building some houses and ask if they need any help wiring them. That pretty much says it.

Electricians have a higher risk of shock and electrical burns than the general population, and also wrist problems from turning all those little screws. On the other hand, they are well respected (except by plumbers) hardworking in an honest profession that has tangible results. Imagine being a bean counter? You'd never be able to see what you'd done(except when you land in court). I've hardly ever seen a fat electrician, I've seen plenty of fat bean counters - electricians spend all day either walking or climbing a ladder. Your gym fees should be minimal! Most older electricians seem to be plenty satisfied with what they do, And glad they went into the business.
 
jeff43222 said:
All I do is residential. I'm still waiting for the "laid back" work. Are you guys holding out on me? :D
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I am apparently, I gave up field work, now I wander around Disneyland at night, occasionally megging things between coffee breaks.

Took fourteen years of busting ass to get my "walking retirement" tho.
 
Decent???

Decent???

I started in the trade a little later than most, I was 32 when i got into the electrical field after doing a few years working for everyones favorite uncle. I started out right out of a tech school thinking I knew it all. It took me a total of one hour to figure out that I didn't know SH**. I did my share of the grunt work and many times said to myself that I didn't need this BS. Well the short of it is I've been in the field for 14 yrs now and wouldnt trade the experience for anything.
If you're not willing to get dirty, put in long hours at work and then more hours studying this probably isn't the field for you. Yeah the pay sucks to start out but what do you want? $20/ hr for not knowing anything? Isn't going to happen anyplace that I know. But if you're willing to do your time the pay comes. I can assure you I haven't missed many meals since I've been in the field,, other than by working through then because I lost track of the time,,,lol.
Go work for the job for more than a week. See what's really involved in it, THEN make your decision. This trade is like all of them, it isn't for everybody but if it's what you like, learn it and be the best electrician you can be. If not like it was said earlier, McDonalds is always hiring.

J Harvey
 
whoooa! I have 11 years in the trade six lag bolts in my spine and still run circles around my crew. Have a red bull, smile and get back to work.
 
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