Electrician Starting

[KJBO]

Hey everyone, i hope this is the right place for this thread, i was looking for some advise and feedback. I'm currently 18, i left school at 16, jumped into a media course because at the time i used to use the computer alot and thought that it would suit me the most, however 3 of my friends were doing electrical installation level 2 course, 2330 level 2 or what have you. I decided i had to get out of my course and tried jumping into that, but where i started the year late, i had to do the basic course (level 1), so i completed that, and i completed level 2 last year, now im on my final year (level 3) - inspection and testing. I haven't really done much electrical work, had some site experience from work with my dad but that's from painting, not electrical or anything, and i just feel like i know NOTHING, literally, if i was asked to do something electrical, id mess it up or wouldn't know where to begin. And i keep hearing about it's all experience, today i started a job with someone to do with the family, and it was such a poor job, in a loft, covered in dust and all, no where to move just hell, but im guessing you get bad jobs, it's just i felt like most of the day i was doing nothing, i was asking questions and all, but none of it sinks in or seems to interest me at all.

When i did some work on the boards in level 2 pratical, as long as i knew what i was doing, then i enjoyed it, if i know what to do in terms of wiring and all (don't have a scooby) then id enjoy it more, but i don't know what im going to do, i feel as if ive wasted the past 2 years?

My dad says to stick to it, but to be honest im really not finding it enjoyable, i know work isn't fun, but as least be able to get on with things and find it ok.

 

[KJBO]

Hey, it's just i feel Electricians deserve to earn more, painting you don't really need qualifications, you can pick it up, i know several people that have done so, say they earn an average around 24k a year, not bad, sure there's some things like going up real high ladders painting roofs, but it's painting, you're at no risk of hurting people and all. I'm currently signing on (first time i have ever), and am unemployed, i feel im no good at electrical although i've had hardly any experience, when i did 5 days with a guy i knew from my aunt, i was doing a bit of chasing in, was alright even though i made a bit of a mess of it, then next thing i knew, i was drilling into a wall, i put the drill down whilst doing other stuff (putting a gromet on a steel box) and then i smelt burning, looked down and the drill had caught alight onto the dust sheet - just my luck, thankfully it wernt a big deal but it gives off the wrong impression about me. Another thing like we were drilling through joyce under the floor boards and it took me almost twice as long to do so as he did, it just made me feel useless and weak, which i don't feel i necessarily am as i workout, i know that's nothing releated but anyway.

Electrician is a good job, i just don't find no interest in it for me personally, but im worried as i don't know what else to do with my life, i just can't see myself doing it as i don't think im competent enough, im on my 3rd year (inspection and testing), im considering throwing in the towel but it's the last year they do the level 3 so im thinking just to finish it, but even then there's more to it.

I really don't know but i don't want to leave things to late, i feel useless.

 

[telectrix]

some of what you are saying takes me back a long time. we had no cordless drills, a decent drill for drilling masonry weighed in at 20lb. we had to drill joists using a brace and bit. we bent steel conduit over our knees. we carried our tools to work on a bicycle. a megger was a honking great box that you had to crank the handle on. what i am trying to say is. we've all had it rough at some time or another. stick with it. it can only get better. if you can't, then it's not for you, take up IT or banking , wear a suit to work and jeans for going out.

 

[Benny2]

When i left my 30k a yr lighting tech job, for being a spark i had gained Nvq level 3 and 16th edition and at the age of 23-24 earning £300 a week before tax again was abit of a shock, also this was before the resession. But money and experience doesnt grow on trees, dont be scared to work for different sparks they all do different work with different experiences. I remember talking to an apprentice a couple of years ago he was moanin that the new build sparks he was at college with were on £10 an hour n he was on like £7 ish, but i said forget the money the experience he was getting in petrol stations,commercial shops,idustrial 3 ph stuff ect ect over weghts the money big time and i just wonder how much those new build college lads earn now or if they still have work? like we all say things arent easy or nor come on a plate i honestly dont think you have given things chance yet, you will find somewhere to work and you ll settle in well but if you dont only you can tell in time? atleast if you finish your college and you dont like the trade it will look good on a cv as you finished what you started.

Just read through some older posts, sounds like you want something for nothing, i do agree though sparks are hard done by with regulations. But i Have grown up on farms all my life and my parents still have one now.
Try working 7days a week 12months a year inc bank hols and xmas day ect to milk the cows and do all the jobs that need doing in all types of weather. then mr tesco that sell his milk for loads of profit decides this month he will only pay the farmers 20pence per litre for there milk this time, but what the general public dont realise when they buy all this cheap produce it cost pretty much 20pence per litre to preduce so there would be many months where my dad may have earned only £50 in a month with no other income! unfortunately it still happens to this day and it only the tip of the ice burg. sorry to turn this into a farming forum but just thought it was pretty relivant.

 

[davemc]

Hi mate

dont give up unless your really sure its not for you

as i for one now 40 have regretted a similar action when i was a 16 year old apprentice i did what you are thinking regretted it every day since mate and i am now 40 spent the last 24 years still involved on and off in electrical installation but with no quals
wiring new build for £26 day rate -35 a day for price 3 years working sometimes for upto 22 hrs and i only got £80 for that this was between 1989 and 1992 until the recession then no work and beacause of no quals no work for years
the last 2 years i have been paying to do short courses with private training providers for a very large amount of money as well as 2391 at college just recently all funded by my partner and i tried to get on 2330 always told to old now its to late
to enable me to set up self employed ad do NVQ 2356 to get jib status as a electrician but this to is ending soon as i am a full time carer and believe me no work is not good i would swap to be in your shoes even for the amount you are getting because trying to get anywhere in the future without any quals is nearly impossible
no matter what job you do they are all hard its about what you want to get from it in the end
you have to take rough with the smooth and nearly always there is more rough
believe me every other job i have had other than electrics has been worse and low pay and my £30 apprenticeship was better than any others i have had since
Think carefully mate only fools rush in where angels fear to tread and if you jump to soon you may regret it
as they say the grass is not always greener on the other side
good luck with your decision

Who told you that?! When I did my 2330 4 years ago, there was an old chap in our class who was 59 years old. He wasn't looking to become a fulltime spark, but he was semi-retired and just interested in getting the qualification to do work at home and a few local jobs to keep him busy. There were a few over 40s though.

 

[Wicksyp]

Hi KJBO
I agree with the other posts as when i started in a factory as a trainee industrial electrician when i was 16 some 23 years ago all i got was a brush and clearing up duties in-between college and after that it was pulling cables and fetching tools etc.
This is my third year of running my own business and i too would say to you if after your first day you are dis-heartened then i would suggest you take up another career or go on the checkouts at asda like quite a few of the young lads ive had with me have done.
Personally this trade has been good to me but i had to work really hard to get there and i had to be patient to wait for my time to shine.
You need to be eager to learn and study hard and be an asset to the company you work for, now that doesnt happen overnight mate.
Hope this advice helps ace and stick it out it will get better
Wicksy

 

[brucelee]

Who told you that?! When I did my 2330 4 years ago, there was an old chap in our class who was 59 years old. He wasn't looking to become a fulltime spark, but he was semi-retired and just interested in getting the qualification to do work at home and a few local jobs to keep him busy. There were a few over 40s though.

Hi mate Everyone i have ever asked when i was on dole as you have to be looking for work not at college and there was no funding or training i have asked many times over the years since the 90s when i lost my job doing new build electrical installation for over 3 years
Since then I have tried many many times this is why I have had to pay private for qualifications that still do not entitle me to be classed as a electrician

I have tried to get on 2330 which is ending and is also to late as they are all full, 2356 which i have to be working to get
Basically i was telling the op to not make the same mistake i did

as this is were it leads if you ever want to return to the industry

 

[millwall ken]

Mate if you can get "26k basic" for doing that and its too much for you then find something else, sound like your a bit wrapped up in cotton wool some days are good some are bad, THats the way it is in most walks of life.

People have been working harder for less for years, thats not to say we have it easy as at this current time for newbies in the elecrical trade things are looking bleak and you try getting that 26k basic your talking about especially with your approach to be fair.

What other options do you have?

Well said, So many people come into this industry thinking they will earn mega bucks. Well reality check!!! The more people that come into our industry, the lower the wage will go - simple supply and demand.

 

[KJBO]

Hey guys im really grateful for the replies ive recieved, it's just sometimes i don't mind the work, IF i know what im doing and i can get on with it, but the college and all, so so so boring, it's impossible for me to not get put off by it, i can't revise it just seems none of it is an interest and therefore none sinks it, im quite into fitness and working out, so i was thinking maybe something along the lines of a PE teacher? I know it's completely different, and not sure of the wages, but they have around 3 months off a year due to the school holidays, if i stick with the electrical for this last year, at least on them months off, if i want i can do some electrical work?

Just a thought..

 

[KJBO]

Also, isn't this an electrician forum, you guys seem to not have a good word to say about the trade?

 

[millwall ken]

Thanks again for the feedback, surely electricians can expect to earn £200's a day?

I know there's good and bad of all jobs too, just would like more information about an actual electrician job.

£200 a day in this economical climate? With thousands of kids leaving colleages, up and down the country, supposedly qualified as a sparkie? My a***. Since the damn press told every man and his dog that sparkies can earn a doctor's salary; everyone has jumped on the bandwagon and NOW the industry is inundated with wannabes. Hence, this has caused wages to DROP. All to the deteriment of the blokes, and the joy of the employers - whom I suspect are the ones who have caused this situation in the first place. However, thats my personal view. I live and work in London, and would happily take a full time job offering me £12 per hour at the moment, but despite constant phone calls, internet searches etc, NOTHING. Things are so bad that, as regular viewers of my postings will know, I've had to take a job at my local Sainsburys in order to have work over the xmas period. I'd love to get my hands on the b****** who started the rumours in the first place.

 

[oldtimer]

Remember it is not about the guys who thought that they wanted to be an electrician it is the guys who stuck it out so what happens when they do?
Well they get taught in self discipline but it does not stop there, learning electrics is just the start but it is also the basic knowledge and experience that may help you secure your future because it’s not about standing still . House wiring is a start then burglar / fire alarms industrial commercial electrical contracting building maintenance and when you get through all that now you are set up.
Whatever you do not let your inexperience and your perception of boredom put you off but if it does then you do not have the mentality to be a tradesman I started 34 years ago and Christ does time appears to fly in but did I make the right move? well in a word yes When I started my peer group at school were making a quick buck working in a supermarket and earned 50% more than me at the time fast forward 30 years and if you are materialistic and I am not then compared to my peer group I have they say have got it easy. From my point of view I have approached my trade professionally so yes I probably make my job look easy but I put the time in and for that I will not and do not have to apologise for and yes I still have the humility to ask for advice because nobody knows everything.
So you need to make your mind up because I suspect your dad is wondering will he stick this or get bored and move on and if you do then you will be like some of the guys I started my time with who bailed out because they could not be bothered but then again that’s what it is all about in this trade i.e. Darwin’s theory applies who stays the course and who falls by the wayside.

 

[malcolmsanford]

Also, isn't this an electrician forum, you guys seem to not have a good word to say about the trade?

I think you would find this in most professions. My wife as been a nurse for as long as I've been an electrician and she moans like hell about it, but when I see her deal with people that are ill and scared I know she could not do anything else and so does she.

You will see on here guys that like me, have been in this trade for over 30 yrs and we moan like hell about it. Cold winters working outside, hot summers working in boiler houses, up in a spider infested loft crawling about in insulation, in a dust filled room chasing walls, standing infront of a 32 way TPN+E board saying what the....... and so on. Would we have changed anything, doubt it.

What I moan about is how my trade as gone. The ridiculous situation of a 30 yr experienced industrial electrician that can't wire his/her kitchen without paying out over a 100 pound to an authority becasue he is not Part P registered. Then the even more ludicrous situation of someone having a 5 week course and is deemed competant to rewire, test and certificate someones home.

I've seen this trade give it's power away by Ron Chapple for a few extra pence on an hourly rate, seen the demise of the apprenticeship as I knew it, seen our industrial base destroyed by governments so that we have become a nation of insurance salesman, the watering down of the skills by get qualified quick schemes. IMO the electrical industry is in poor shape and that saddens me as it is a trade that I have loved being in.

The majority of my friends are in this trade, I have a pint with electricians that worked down the mines where I live, and these guys knowledge will be lost in a few years. I hope that the new generation of Electricians will have the pride in them that was instilled into me, and seeing some of the replies on here I know a lot have that. After 30 yrs there is still no greater thrill for me than to switch something on, be it a light or a production line, and see it work, or hear someone say, that looks nice and neat, and being able to say yes that is what I did.

 

[KJBO]

Very mixed reply there Malcom, thanks.

 

[c.p.c]

What I moan about is how my trade as gone. The ridiculous situation of a 30 yr experienced industrial electrician that can't wire his/her kitchen without paying out over a 100 pound to an authority because he is not Part P registered. Then the even more ludicrous situation of someone having a 5 week course and is deemed competent to rewire, test and certificate someones home.

I've seen this trade give it's power away by Ron Chapple for a few extra pence on an hourly rate, seen the demise of the apprenticeship as I knew it, seen our industrial base destroyed by governments so that we have become a nation of insurance salesman, the watering down of the skills by get qualified quick schemes. IMO the electrical industry is in poor shape and that saddens me as it is a trade that I have loved being in.

Malcom.Very well put my friend .My feelings exactly! we must have the same blood group. lol

 

[KJBO]

As it turns out i have been offered work next week with the same electrician, it may not be much money and just watching him/general labouring, not doing much, bit of money over xmas so i may just give it a go, gotta be better than nothing eh?

Why am i even asking this, i got some issues.

 

[KJBO]

It's just last time, i really went out of my way to ask him questions, watch what he was doing the lot, and none of it, litreally none sinks in, it makes me feel stupid that i still don't know no more than someone who hasn't done a course for 2.5 years, does, this is why i feel it's not for me, but i better go anyway, still work.

 

[J@mes]

when I was an apprentice if I didn't have a screwdriver in my hand (or the kettle making the brews) I had a notebook. Sketches, comments, notes, diagrams - something to look back on in the evening, and refer to another time.

something worth trying if you have the time?

 

[scotsparky]

It's just last time, i really went out of my way to ask him questions, watch what he was doing the lot, and none of it, litreally none sinks in, it makes me feel stupid that i still don't know no more than someone who hasn't done a course for 2.5 years, does, this is why i feel it's not for me, but i better go anyway, still work.

As an apprentice or trainee do ask questiona and watch and keep doing it!!!!! ask to do things and get people to check them and also read the books. At some time if you perservere the penny will drop it will all come together and Thats when you can say your a sparkK!

 

[oldtimer]

Listen I hate to be a wake up call for you but you need to get positive because me thinks you are talking yourselv out the door on this one. So why ? well it could be you are just that type of character and if so then fine and before you say what a hard B"£%$£" he is my feeling are and always will be if you try and fail then you get my respect because you had the guts to do it but if you bitch and moan and dont try then as I said Darwins Theory kicks in I was always taught to inform people on the level they are on but this is not about me it is you , you need to focus and be humble enough to know when to ask and when to listen and yes there are guys out their who think knowledge is power so they will try to P£$" you off but that happens and eventually you will like us old heads you will spot them an eventually you will treat like with like .
So buck up learn and advance because it will not be put on a plate for you and if you are expecting it to drop on your lap then forget it. Remember some guys you meet have been doing the same job for the last 30 years and someone said to me one time you were lucky and as I said luck had nothing to do with it you make your own luck and you develope a character that does survive because when it is all said and done this trade has enriched my life from where the point I started from.

 

[cantabrian9]

a good electrician has never been paid the right money for years!! in times past i have made 65k,but the hours and days??? is it possible to put in 8 days a week (Beatles song!!) we are used and ABUSED!!! we have to do this exam and that course!!! NO REWARDS!! MY COUSIN has just retired from the council digging up roads ETC, nice pension plus the state pension,WHAT DO WE GET--------- F---K ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Freshstart2]

Thanks again for the feedback, surely electricians can expect to earn £200's a day?

I know there's good and bad of all jobs too, just would like more information about an actual electrician job.

I would be happy with £100 a day let alone £200 lol.

 

[rmc86uk]

I think most people will be wanting to top themselves after reading this thread!

I think most people think that being an electrician doesn't involve hard work, they just assume that a cable gets from one end of the building to the other on its own just slung across the ceiling!

I hate going to work some days and other days I enjoy going to work when I get to donut cherry pickers round the site!

There's good and bad in it all but you've got to look at it and think do I really want to do this for the next fifty years?

Start from the bottom get qualified and then years down the line you could become an electrical engineer which would involve office work and out on site.

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

 

[oldtimer]

I was 22 chargehand electrician industrial & commercial (30 years ago) and said is this it so i moved in to fire& intrude alarms then BMS/HVAC controls
then facilities maintenance and now running my own business doing domestic repairs. Now I have been unemployed for 6 weeks in that period but for me electrics is not my life dont get me wrong when I am doing it I am switched on and dedicated and take a professional approuch to the task in hand because the job is an end to a means or in other words you have to have a life whether it golf fishing family ect so when you are at your work take an interest in what other people are doing to see if it suits you I put a fire alrm system in and a guy strolled in a shirt and tie company car and I thought I want your job 2 years later I did but stuck for 2 years because the industry was full of old sweetie wifes. So if you want a change your the only one that can do it and sometimes its your tempramint some guys stay in the same job all their lives because it suits them.

Forgot to add I am making more money per hour doing the job I have now with less hassle and because it suits me.

 

[theroadblock]

The grass is always greener.............according to the 'for profit' training centres!


You've had one day on the tools and your acting like someone shot your dog!!! My advice......find another career this one obviously doesn't sit well with you.

^Agree! I myself have only just qualified but i have seen alot of people like the OP who become an electrician for the 'money'. in my experience to get on well in the industry you have to have a love for the subject and not treat it as just a job!

 

[pencilpusher]

^Agree! I myself have only just qualified but i have seen alot of people like the OP who become an electrician for the 'money'. in my experience to get on well in the industry you have to have a love for the subject and not treat it as just a job!

Spot on. I know this is an old thread but reading it tells me straight away that the OP just does not want to do the job, he just wants the "money" I love learning something new about this trade and enjoy studying. The OP hated it! He found college boring but that's where it all starts, doesn't it? I think this is more of a vocation that a "job" You gotta want to do it.:8: