I need your advice

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kevinware

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Louisville, KY
I am not an instructor but I am not sure where to post this question. I am having career issues. You guys as instructors have seen all aspects of this field so I need your help. I am a third year apprentice and I am wondering how much is knowledge worth? I work for a good company and I am well paid. But my worry is I am not learning my trade, well not like I should be my journey man is not always on site so most of what I know and learn is coming from side jobs, classes, books, and this site. Please don't get me wrong I push myself to learn all I can from theory to the code, I just don't have an opportunity to apply a lot of what I am learning. I do electrical work but on the small end of the scale. I install circuits and move light fixtures and switches but that is it at the most. Most of my circuits are installed with mostly MC cable, I can run pipe but I am real slow and I have never ran anything larger then 3/4". I do get to size all my circuits and wire, box fill and OCD that is a plus. I guess I am just frustrated. I want to be an electrician and maybe even an electrical contractor or inspector. To me the electrical field is so vast and I want to experience all I can, but I feel I am being short changed working my present job. But like I said I am well paid and i understand it is ultimately up to me but I want to know what you think. Am I just bitching?? (Sorry moderator, but that is the only word that fits).

Thanks,
Kevin

[ December 06, 2005, 09:53 AM: Message edited by: kevinware ]
 
Re: I need your advice

I commend you on you thirst for knowledge in the electrical field.

When I first became an apprentice I spent an entire year doing nothing more that running a roto-hammer drill on a hundred year old building remodel. I would go to work and drill holes through 12 inch walls for new conduit racks. I know what you are feeling, alot of the members of this forum probably have similar experiences as well. The first couple of years of my apprenticeship was spent performing similar tasks. I spent the better part of three years on that remodel. I felt that I was not learning much on one project, but now looking back it was a good experience. After that project I was juggled among four or five other projects and journeymen. Each project and journeyman brought different views and experience to the learning process.

I have been in the electrical trade for 15 years and still learn new things every day. This forum has been a great place to learn. You might want to talk to your boss and tell him your concerns. He might be willing to move you about to get a little more experience.

Just remember that alot of us have been there as well. Keep smiling :)

Chris
 
Re: I need your advice

The electrical business is a practice even though it is never called that like a doctor's or lawyer's work is. No one is going to be perfect at anything in the electrical industry overnight. Plus, certain things need to be learned and taught before other things in order for them to be completely understood.

Many electricians get into a "rut" of sorts doing the same thing over and over for years on end without learning anything new or picking up any new skills. There is nothing wrong with someone that is completely satisfied with that way of life and rate of progress. Others need more.

The best thing to do when you get into these situations where you are thinking about jumping ship is to write down all the pros and cons of the decision. Make a list of your priorities and what you hope to accomplish over the next several years. In the end, if you think the company you currently work for cannot provide you that path, it may indeed be time to look for another that will.

Good luck with your decision.
 
Re: I need your advice

Kevin,

I worked for 8 months in a hospital as their electrician (I had to leave, missed the outdoors). None of the work taught me anything (except the emergency power testing). What I did walk away with was a great amount of knowledge about how things were installed. That 8 months was a great learning experience from just looking around.

I would suggest you take some time and visit (on weekends) job sites that are in progress. You may be amazed at what you can learn. Another thing I always recommend is to move around some. Leave on good terms, but just explain that you need more diverse experience, and find a contractor that is doing that kind of work.

Good luck!
 
Re: I need your advice

Most employers (or supervisors) are only able to teach you things that help get the immediate job done. If you need to run a bunch of 3/4" conduit, they will teach you how to bend that conduit. They usually have neither the time nor inclination to go any further. There are lots of ways to get additional information, training classes, Internet, books, etc. It may not be as easy as having the supervisor show you how things are done, but it is possible. Look at the work you are doing with a critical eye. Why was that size conduit installed in that particular area? Why was a higher ampacity wire than required installed here? How would this installation change if this was a hazardous area? What if it was "a place of assembly"?
Subscribe to the various trade magazines and read the articles, even if they don't apply to the work you are doing today.
Look, read, learn, ask questions. Be a sponge, absorb all the knowledge you can, there is plenty of information available.
 
Re: I need your advice

Hang in there Kevin,

What you are learning about sizing circuts,troubleshooting, etc. will be invaluable. Too many electrician work on spec jobs and never have the need to look at a code book or figure out how to size motor overloads, fuses, etc. To me, these guys are installers, not true electricians.

Read a good book about bending conduit (I recommend the "Electrician's Guide to Conduit Bending: by Richard Cox, see Http://www.coxco.cc/ ) and you after a couple of day's you'll be able to run rigid conduit of any size like a pro. Remember, getting the correct measurement is about 75% of making conduit fit correctly.
 
Re: I need your advice

Kevin,
I hat is off to you for striving to learn more.

HOW MUCH IS KNOWLEDGE WORTH?

PRICELESS.

Nobody can take that away from you. Don't be an installer. Be a true electrician. Know why and how circuits, breaker, NEC, ......... works

My instructor had a board on the wall inthe class that alwys has stayed with my mind and it said:

ALWAYS CHALLENGE THE SYSTEM.

Hang in there. Do not stay with the current company only for the money.
Ask them to give you better job with challenging projects.

Always read trade magazines, visit sites like this and read the questions and reponses and put in your response as well.

My two cents.
wish you luck.

[ December 21, 2005, 09:35 AM: Message edited by: Edward 99 ]
 
Re: I need your advice

You might want to try and talk to your employer, if he has other work, than what your doing maybe he'd understand and give you more of a challenge, just be ready to step up to the plate. Keep learning
 
Re: I need your advice

It took me 20 years to learn that there is only one way to get 20 years experience. That is to do the job for 20 years.
 
Re: I need your advice

Originally posted by jbwhite: It took me 20 years to learn that there is only one way to get 20 years experience. That is to do the job for 20 years.
Click to expand...
Well said. I think I'll use that and claim to have written it myself. :D
 
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