Started in the trade

Started in the trade

  • Total voters
    67
Status
Not open for further replies.
1142 in the USMC - then after I got out looked for a job and found a former Navy ship-board Electrician who took me under his wing. Then several Irish EC's. One who kept a soccer ball in the gang box and took the whole crew to the bar to watch the world cup, another who's 75 and still working. Then a few companies, a trip out on my own, and few more companies - 17 years and still learning from everyone I have worked with, taught some to some I have worked for. Learned quite a bit from here and ECN too.
 
I worked for a large glass making plant, at one time there was over 400 hundred electricans. Alot of electricans learned the trade in either technical school or the service. I had to go to technical school, for four years and have 8000 hours of on the job training plus we had on site training all the time.
 
I took a pay cut from bagging groceries at $2.95/h to become an apprentice at $2.75/hr.
 
college, trade school then dad smacked me in the back of the head so now I work part time with him and full time with gas utility.....those wake up calls really really hurt!!!
 
I chose other.

A buddy and I were in college, I was in my second year as a business major. It was summer and we both had trucks so we started a hauling business, made us enough to stay in beer all summer. Anyways, we did a job for a couple of contractors and they liked our work so we did two or three more jobs for them during that summer. I was still going to school and now working at Toys R Us 4 nights a week and Saturday and Sundays when the EC that I had done those hauling jobs came in and asked what I was doing there. He offered me a job as soon as school was out and I took it, making $6 an hour and still working at Toys R Us and trying to figure out what I was going to do with all that money. When fall came I told my dad that I wasn't going back to school and he nearly had an attack (my dad was a Reginoal Administrative Director for NCR-National Cash Registar-corporation)

Within two years I was running jobs and doing most of the service work. After I got married I needed a little more security and I went to work as a maintenance electrician for a world wide printer manufacturer.

Six years with my first boss, six years as a maintenance electrician and 19 here as an inspector.
 
Oh my

Oh my

Lets see, basic electrical school started in June of 1969, aircraft electrician school, A.C. Theory, D.C. Theory, Ohm's Law, Kirchhoff?s laws, in Fl. in the United States Navy, and a hard behinded old MASTER ELECTRICIAN in Southern Colorado in 1974, another one or two in Northern Colorado, a change to open pit coal mine electrician for 17 years, MSHA h.v., m.v. and l.v. annual training, back to construction for another couple of years. After 31years of tool packing and supervising, then to electrical inspecting for 6 years, and now 2.5 years as a supervisor electrical inspector. I currently carry a Colorado Master Electrician license, a Member of the I.A.E.I., NRA, HOG, W.P.S.C.member, past State Pistol Champion, and a firing member of the Colorado National Championship Team in 1998 and 1999. (Talk about tooting your own horn.)Oh, and a daddy and granpa, and I can fish too. Hope that isn't overbearing.
 
Applied three years running to IBEW apprentceship and was turned down. Joined the Navy in 78 and went to BEE and EM "A" school. Four years of 480VAC at A,B,C, 1,2,3, Black, WHITE, and red for phasing! Applied in 82 &83 for apprenticeship again, denied. In the meantime, worked non-union (commercial & Industrial) and learned it was a whole different world than shipboard wiring (who'd have thunk white was a nuetral?). High school friend taught me how to bend pipe, and was on my way.

Last interview with the IBEW apprenticeship committee went something like this -

Interviewer: So what are you doing that makes you want to be an electrician?

Me: I'm waisting my contractor's time down here talking to you.

Interviewer: What is your background?

Me: Gave him the gist of above.

Interviewer: Interesting.

Me: I can do with you, or without you, just as soon do it with you, the choice is yours.

Interviewer: We'll be contacting you with the results.

Me: I have to get back to work, thanks for the interview.

Two weeks later got an acceptance letter for apprenticeship.

Turned out (IBEW JW) in 88.

Passed the WA masters in 93.

Edit - Couldn't have passed Masters if it weren't for Mike Holt, and his staff!:)
 
Last edited:
I took a year off from high school. When I went back, I wanted to go to the local vo-tech center. The only two classes left open were fondue making & electrical trades. Since I didn't know what a fondue was, I chose the latter. That was in 1974. Been a great run since.
Ron
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top