Working in Electrical

Status
Not open for further replies.
T

tyronb19

New member
Location
Clayton, NJ, US
hello, I'm a student at pennco tech in NJ and I'm working on becoming an electrician. Is there any advice anyone could give me or share some things more about the field. Just trying to get some opinions on the trade.
 
tyronb19 said:
hello, I'm a student at pennco tech in NJ and I'm working on becoming an electrician. Is there any advice anyone could give me or share some things more about the field. Just trying to get some opinions on the trade.
Click to expand...

Safety is of course the most important thing.

LOTO then verify deenergized state. Electrical equipment is often miss labeled. So always double check.

Troubleshooting is the only reason to work something hot. With the proper PPE it can be made safer, but never safe.

Be careful!
 
Commercial/industrial, and especially if you get training in PLC's. You will never lack for a job your whole life.
 
quote_icon.png
Originally Posted by electrofelon
IMO don't do residential. Make sure you get training and experience in commercial.



mtfallsmikey said:
Commercial/industrial, and especially if you get training in PLC's. You will never lack for a job your whole life.
Click to expand...



Never say never. I started with the IBEW all my training was doing commercial and heavy industrial. I had PLC training and was an ISA CCST. I had more work than I could shake a stick at for the first half dozen years. If I wanted a vacation I had to not sign the books for a few days. I also had decades of machine repair experience. All the guys I worked with in the IBEW hated doing res work and said they would not ever recommend it and would quit the trade if they had to do it.

Then, the economy took a downturn and half of us lost our jobs. I was forced to do res work with no experience. Once I did get experience, it was residential work that put food on my table for a couple years.

My advice is to learn as much about our trade as you can. Try to be as comfortable bending 2" RMC on a 555 as you are running NM cable or 1/2" EMT.

If a person just plain likes the world of electricity, it's application and maintenance, it will be much easier for them to learn skills outside their area of comfort, provide more opportunities and that person will be more employable.

If a person is just looking at the wages, which are very good, they will focus more on the 'bad' parts of the trade than the good, won't want to learn, and just plain won't become a good electrician, and that will be evident to the employers.
 
tyronb19 said:
hello, I'm a student at pennco tech in NJ and I'm working on becoming an electrician. Is there any advice anyone could give me or share some things more about the field. Just trying to get some opinions on the trade.
Click to expand...

Once you get some practical experience, consider going into engineering if you have the math/physics aptitude.
You would be surprised the number of engineers who cannot do anything practical for themselves; thus, the engineer who can directly relate to 'real life' has a advantage over other engineers for advancement.
 
Don't get dishearted

Don't get dishearted

Just remember.. there are asshats everywhere in every trade....

dont get discouraged when you get stuck working with one. Learn everything you can and move to the next opportunity......
 
tyronb19 said:
hello, I'm a student at pennco tech in NJ and I'm working on becoming an electrician. Is there any advice anyone could give me or share some things more about the field. Just trying to get some opinions on the trade.
Click to expand...

well, if you want a good feel for what it's like, sit here and read a bit. you'll pick up some
tech info that you might not understand, but more importantly, you'll get a feel of what
it would be like to be on a crew..... bear in mind, this is an above average crew.

some of the smarter folk i've seen in the electrical industry participate here.
and i learn from them.

a few of the more ornery folk in the electrical industry participate here, as well.
and i learn a lot from them as well.

so, if you can roll with this.... then start asking questions.... now's a good time
to just surf here.
 
tyronb19 said:
hello, I'm a student at pennco tech in NJ and I'm working on becoming an electrician. Is there any advice anyone could give me or share some things more about the field. Just trying to get some opinions on the trade.
Click to expand...

Residential, I hope you like to get dirty. Most work involves crawlspaces and attics. In the morning you may be digging a hole to put up a temporary service, mid day you are troubleshooting a GFCI not working, last call is adding a few recessed lights. You need to be able to switch gears from troubleshooting to new work to old work to w/e in the blink of an eye. You wont see motor #1 nor learn how to bend any conduit in residential. and, if you happen to learn industrial electrical first, you're gonna be pretty horrified at the abject safety 'standards' of most residential jobs.

I started out around industrial electrical, but didnt get directly involved until I started doing commercial v/d/v cabling (which is another animal from 'electrical' work). 4 years of that gained me almost zero practical experience toward doing residential electrical work.

There are lots of subsets and niches in electrical work. There are industrial electricians here with 20+ years experience who have never handled a single piece of NM, just as there as resi electricians who wouldnt know the first thing about running RMC.

Learn as much as you can, would be my best advice. and know that some things that are taught, like Ohm's Law, are less important in the resi field than knowing how the framing runs (or being able to figure it out) to install can lights. Also realize that energy codes, life and safety codes, and building codes are also important to learn if you are an electrician. Good luck!
 
Impressed

Impressed

I'm impressed you found the forum, and i'm impressed you asked your question. I started out as an electrician-hobbyist; studied electrical engineering at a top university; designed very high tech stuff (including life support, NASA related, etc.); wound up in senior management (which wasn't all that bad), and then returned to "electrician" because it so helps others in a very direct way. Advice: try to find an electrician with whom you can work to learn the practical aspects (what some engineers call "construction practices"). At the same time, further your education in whatever way you can: Community college, on-line courses, State colleges, IBEW, etc. Best of luck....you've started by asking excellent question.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top