How did you become an inspector?

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EBFD6

EBFD6

Senior Member
Location
MA
Marc's thread about his 73 year old employee has really gotten me thinking about where I want to be in 20 years. I'm 29 years old, I work for a medium sized electrical contractor in MA, I'm a commercial/industrial service tech and have been in the trade 10 years. I'm a licensed journeyman in MA, CT, RI and a licensed master in MA, NH, VT.

I don't hate my job by any means, but I definitely don't love it either. I make a decent paycheck, so I tolerate doing this for lack of a better option. I do like to be at the top of my game and strive to be the best at what I do both skill wise and code knowledge (hence the countless hours I spend on this and other forums reading and trying to learn).

Getting back to the topic of my question, I would like to hear from all you inspectors out there in Mike Holt land, how did you become an inspector. What course of action should one pursue to break into the ever elusive field of "Code Enforcement". I live in a small town that doesn't have a full time building dept., our Inspector of Wires is a part timer (he's actually an instructor at a local trade school by day and does inspections at night and weekends). This is how most of the towns around me are set up. These positions are appointed by the town and openings come up once in a while so I'll be keeping my eyes open for that and toss my hat in the ring next time the opportunity pops up. As I said, however, these positions are part time. The larger towns and cities have full time positions, but I never see these positions being advertised in the help wanted section.

Any thoughts, advice?
 
To the OP.

You dont love your job, or you dont love the type of work you do?
If you dont love your job, then find another. If you dont love the type of work you do then find another line of work.
Im going on 10 yrs in this field now. I love it. I may not always like who I work for but I respect him and will stay with this company until the doors close.
 
I would think about joining ICBO and IAEI. Must be a lot good information a click away. Industry needs good people in all aspects of the industry.
 
aftershock said:
To the OP.

You dont love your job, or you dont love the type of work you do?
If you dont love your job, then find another. If you dont love the type of work you do then find another line of work.
Im going on 10 yrs in this field now. I love it. I may not always like who I work for but I respect him and will stay with this company until the doors close.
Click to expand...

I love my job, there are times though and dealing with employees is not my thing, BUT I do love all aspects of our trade.

Oh and what Rocky said study, join and MOVE.
 
I'll bite on this one.

Electrical work and construction is all that I ever did in my life. I became very bored with residential wiring in the late 80's a few years after I got out of the Marines so I left self employment to do industrial electrical installations, maintenance and troubleshooting. I missed using the troubleshooting skills I learned in the Marines which by the way is where I first became an inspector. This is why I was drawn to industrial work because of the different types of drives, programmable controllers and variety of work on a daily basis. I went to college to earn a degree in electrical construction technology while I was doing industrial work.

All good things must come to an end and the last company I worked for lost half of their contracts and we were let go. I swore I would not work for anyone else again. I started doing private inspections and slowly gravitated towards the code enforcement end. After I blew a disk in my back that broke off and went up my spine, I knew i could not be a hard charger anymore and realized that I have to do work that is easier on my body. No more carrying a 150lb motor on my shoulder running up the steps to a 20' mezzanine. No more bending conduit by hand, no more heavy lifting. It is acutally depressing.
I teach as adjunct faculty at a local community college, put together training programs at various facilities and trained quite a few electricians along the way.

The bottom line is that in my case, I wore out my body after 4years of active duty in the Marine Corps, growing up in the building trades, playing hockey and doing a lot of heavy duty work. At a young age of 43, this is where I found myself.

I need structure and code enforcement is a perfect fit for my health and my mind.

What drives me crazy is when I go to some of my code classes for CEUs and there are inspectors there no older than 21 years old. That I have a hard time with.
 
aftershock said:
To the OP.

You dont love your job, or you dont love the type of work you do?
If you dont love your job, then find another. If you dont love the type of work you do then find another line of work.
Im going on 10 yrs in this field now. I love it. I may not always like who I work for but I respect him and will stay with this company until the doors close.
Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong, being an electrician is OK and it pays the bills, but if I could do something else that I actually enjoy and not have to take a pay cut in the process, I would. My point was, I don't LOVE doing this like I hear other guys saying. Some guys talk about how much they love doing this and it's all they ever wanted, they could never imagine doing anything else and want to do electrical work night and day until they die. That's just not me!

As far as finding another line of work, as I said before, it's all about the money. I'm too deep into this to stop and start another career. I have a mortgage to pay and a family to feed and taking a pay cut to start over doing something else just isn't feasible.

This, however, is not the point of my post.

The issue I'm having is, where do I want to be when I'm 50. This job is physically demanding (no secret to anyone here), and at 29 I can handle that just fine. The problem is, in 20 years, do I want to be doing the same things that I have to do now on a daily basis? The answer is no!

The way I see things there are a few options I'll have to advance within the trade and not have to work in the field.

1. Own my own company and hire other people to do the installs.
This will never happen, I have no interest in being a businessman and all the headaches that go with that.

2. become a project manager, service manager, or estimator for an electrical contractor.
I am not a babysitter, and have no interest in dealing with the politics and whining that goes along with supervising field personal and inter office relations

3. Trade school instructor
I enjoy teaching, but only to people interested in learning, which is a real problem in high school level trade schools around here.

4. Become an Inspector
hence the reason for my thread

This is not something I am thinking about doing tomorrow, just pondering what might be my options in 20-25 years
 
Besides your present level of knowledge, your stepping up into another aspect of the field.

I do like Rocky's pitch as well.

In my state there's level's and testing and is required to obtain a (what I beleive) is a certification I, II, III. IE,
its not so much a City/Town thing as it is a State requirement.
 
EBFD6 said:
Don't get me wrong, being an electrician is OK and it pays the bills, but if I could do something else that I actually enjoy and not have to take a pay cut in the process, I would. My point was, I don't LOVE doing this like I hear other guys saying. Some guys talk about how much they love doing this and it's all they ever wanted, they could never imagine doing anything else and want to do electrical work night and day until they die. That's just not me!

As far as finding another line of work, as I said before, it's all about the money. I'm too deep into this to stop and start another career. I have a mortgage to pay and a family to feed and taking a pay cut to start over doing something else just isn't feasible.

This, however, is not the point of my post.

The issue I'm having is, where do I want to be when I'm 50. This job is physically demanding (no secret to anyone here), and at 29 I can handle that just fine. The problem is, in 20 years, do I want to be doing the same things that I have to do now on a daily basis? The answer is no!

The way I see things there are a few options I'll have to advance within the trade and not have to work in the field.

1. Own my own company and hire other people to do the installs.
This will never happen, I have no interest in being a businessman and all the headaches that go with that.

2. become a project manager, service manager, or estimator for an electrical contractor.
I am not a babysitter, and have no interest in dealing with the politics and whining that goes along with supervising field personal and inter office relations

3. Trade school instructor
I enjoy teaching, but only to people interested in learning, which is a real problem in high school level trade schools around here.

4. Become an Inspector
hence the reason for my thread

This is not something I am thinking about doing tomorrow, just pondering what might be my options in 20-25 years
Click to expand...

I hear you. Im 40 now and wonder how much longer I can be as agile as I am today. I can fold myself into some very tight places that even those younger than I can think of doing. I never hesitated going under a house. A month ago I went under this one house and it got tight. I have been in this type of situation before, but this time I got scared. I dont know why. I got out as quick as I could and it took a while before I stopped breathing real quick like.
Point:

Im at a point in life where I need to get my own future going. My company does not offer health insurance or 401k for that matter. Im a little late in the game to choose another position.

You type of how to become an inspector? Get your knowledge by being in the field.

Atleast 2 of the inspectors I know of did not earn their right to be an inspector. As a matter of fact, one of the inspectors I know of, became an inspector while he was an employee of a comercial job that was still going on. He then came back to inspect that same job and turned it down. He turned down his own work before he had become an inspector.
 
Those who can't do, teach or become inspectors.
Click to expand...

I want to take issue with this, we don't rag much on other vocations here
be it para-professional, or professional.

Teachers are in way higher asteam in other countries. Were so spoiled here!

I'd like you to give the Tool box talk tomorrow, from scratch, not the weekly print-out, write something down,
see if you can fill up 15 minutes of "WHAT EVER" , then do it 5 to 6 hours a day, then do it for 5 days a week.

Sorry, I've taught classes, I live with a teacher! Go wear some different shoes and see how it fits!
 
Don't listen to Marc, he has his issues.


You may be a little young to be an inspector, you will need to think of your financial situation and family responsibilities. I have no idea what an inspector's position pays where you are.


I got into the inspection end for several reasons.

1. I own the company, which is private. Like any other private company, I have the same considerations as other owners. But, I get to control my own destiny (mostly), and I make more than the average contractor does in my area (financially).

2. I was teaching before I started the inspection company, I also own that company. This sort of lead to me becoming an inspector. If I had to choose between the two, I would teach hands down.

3. I was hoping to be able to help to make some changes to the industry as an inspection company. I have been told by many contractors in the area that our company has made a large difference...I would like to see more in the future.

4. I work in an area where there is a large diversity in the types of work installed. That is the best part of being an inspector. Seeing all of the different types of jobs I get to see. The next best part is meeting the guys. The range from creeps to great guys is there, I focus on the non-creep type of guys.

5. If you are going to get into inspections, sharpen up on your people skills. This will be the best and worst part of your work. You will work and meet with helpers, journeymen, foremen, owners, homeowners, business/property owners, realtors, engineers, GCs, building officials, secretaries and politicians. They all need to be treated differently if you want to be successful.
Next you will constantly need to be in study mode. I took 147 hours of formal class this past year. It helps alot. Make sure you focus on the classes that will help you in the local codes (state, county) as well as the NEC. Getting to know some of the building codes will be necessary as well.

6. I am training a few new inspectors. The difference is, these guys are somewhat younger than "typical" age of inspectors. I am able to do this, as we pay the highest wage of any inspection company in our area (I believe the inspector needs to make more money than journeymen - it is also how I draw good men to the position). I also have them in training all year long. These guys are the "new generation" of inspectors, and I am very proud of them.

Changing your career for whatever reason, will require constant training on your part and an open mind. The technology is moving so fast and changes are so swift as compared to the past.I am excited about this, I believe it makes for a more exciting future.
I wish you well, you are young, so you have plenty of time to make your decision.
 
Good point Cadpoint.For whatever reason, electricians are the masters of self deprivation. We can demand more pay when we are not being like comedians. Think about how quick the day goes when it's on an up mood, or how things tend to go positve doing service calls when it strts out on a positive note.
 
No Marc, I do not live in an apartment. I pay a mortage and have the same issues any other owner has. I recently did my kitchen over, and hired an EC/ plumber, etc... filed and inspected. - by another inspection company, not mine. ;)

Marc
You may even be surprised, I bleed red when cut, just like you.
 
I'm pretty sure the inspectors around here earn a better wage than most electricians and with excellent benefits.

Not so much a case of can't do as don't want to do.
 
I am very fortunate as I do many aspects of the trade including in depth inspections but if I could take a cut in pay or retire I would teach, I do enjoy teaching.

Inspecting contractors everyday might drive me crazy.
 
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