How you started......

[SPARK2B]

HI all, hope everyone is enjoying their Saturday, and if your working, i hope its all going smooooooth-ly!!

as my journey is just starting out, i thought i would ask how everyone else s started, apprenticeships, college...etc

i been trying to find out about my grandfathers path, he was a snr electrician on the GWR works in swindon here, retired in the early 60s, back when the works were the main employer for swindon,hes passed now,..... i was too young to quiz him on his path, but me and the my mum assume it was apprenticeship, trade school ?...I am not sure how it worked in the early 20s when he left school.

anyway, I am rambling,....

anyone want to talk about how they became a spark ?.........i am always intrigued to hear others stories...


hope you all have a good weekend.....


SPARK2B

 

[SPARK2B]

Obviously i have to disagree with the plumbers bit here although i agree there are some out there i wouldn't let plug a hose in the same as there are some sparks i wouldn't trust to swap a bulb

we had a guy do a safety check recently on the gas boiler, we got chatting about the job and such,.........


.....i says, i am planning on being an electrician, starting in sept ..


his answer.....


...well thats pointless, plumbing is where the real money is,......then he asked me if he couldkeep my pen, because he didnt have one.....


lol rollin in it obviously

.....i did consider plumber for a while, but ended up going with sparkzzzzzzz....

cheers tamz (-:

 

[Des 56]

Obviously i have to disagree with the plumbers bit here although i agree there are some out there i wouldn't let plug a hose in the same as there are some sparks i wouldn't trust to swap a bulb

OMG
Tamz has uttered that terrible word on an electricians forum

He surely now needs to be banned.said the anti Bulb boffins:83:

Lamp if you please.


Must admit.I always change "bulbs" myself
I just cant see the light when I am frowned on for this terible affliction

 

[tamz]

Never believe the hype. Most trades are struggling. I was making better money in the 90's than i do now.

 

[SPARK2B]

My 2 older brothers had served their time as fitters and used to bugger about with car engines and such. They used to let me muck in with them but I decided very early that all that oil and grease wasn't for me.
Now the oldest has been retired from the police for twelve years and the other is earning mega bucks as an instrument technician.
Ever thought you'd made a mistake somewhere along the line?

my biggest mistake , learning wise, was listening to teachers at school,..........when they said i was not meant for college, what they meant, was i was not from a well off family,......luckily most of my teachers are dead now,...soooooooo

now whos laffin!!!

 

[tamz]

Lamp if you please.

A bit like the stopCOCK word :lol:

 

[SPARK2B]

Never believe the hype. Most trades are struggling. I was making better money in the 90's than i do now.

im after a trade / job i can be satisfied in, i was earning 27k pre recession, hated it,........after i lost that job i had a job for £7 per hr, loved it,.....being rich dosent bother me, id rather be content, and have a skill thats useable..

 

[Kamikaze]

Obviously i have to disagree with the plumbers bit here although i agree there are some out there i wouldn't let plug a hose in the same as there are some sparks i wouldn't trust to swap a bulb

This is the gods honest truth, a third of all plumbers flush the toilet while they are still sitting on it. That says it all really…lol

 

[tamz]

This is the gods honest truth, a third of all plumbers flush the toilet while they are still sitting on it. That says it all really…lol

Its a hard habit to break :lol:

 

[ExArmy]

started an apprenticeship at a nuclear power plant in 2001 which was very industrial orientated, did a year of it, then left in 2002 to join the army as a Royal Signals Electrician and for almost 8 years I looked after generators, batteries and temporary power and light systems in the UK, germany, afghanistan, cyprus and oman, doing the odd bit of permanent installation now and then. then in 2010 I wanted to leave and since I didn't have any real quals I started resettlement training through the army and did my part P course (at the time we were told it was the be all and end all!) and 2391-10 and thought I would just waltz into a job in civvy street...
but that was not the case and I soon realised I needed some proper training so I went to college and did 2330 L2 and L3 one day a week over 2010-2011 whilst working as a builders labourer(not electrical specific, allsorts), and then still struggled to actually find a job to do my NVQ3 so decided to set up on my own and in 2012 got a van and joined a scam and started my own business, never looked back since and as of last month I got my NVQ3 and AM2 completed.

 

[oldtimer]

Started of with Mathew Halls industrial commercial training was put on my own jobs halfway through my third year had to train domestic electricians in my 4th year got my approved status after 6 years and was made chargehand electrician with 4 sparks and 2 apprentices but got bored and went into the Intruder/Fire alarm envirnment for 2 years then got bored agian and got into the HVAC/Controls environment for 5 years then did the same self employed for 3 years . Did 2 years facilities maintenance at a high street store the 6 years at a electronics factory then 9 years for a financial company and spent the last 3 years running a small electrical and alarm repair business mostly for rental properties. Why ? because 18 years of shifts was killing me plus dont need the hassle

 

[SPARK2B]

started an apprenticeship at a nuclear power plant in 2001 which was very industrial orientated, did a year of it, then left in 2002 to join the army as a Royal Signals Electrician and for almost 8 years I looked after generators, batteries and temporary power and light systems &nbsp;in the UK, germany, afghanistan, cyprus &amp; oman, doing the odd bit of permanent installation now and then. then in 2010 I wanted to leave and since I didn't have any real quals&nbsp;I started resettlement training through the army and did my part P course (at the time we were told it was the be all and end all!) and 2391-10 and thought I would just waltz into a job in civvy street...<br>but that was not the case and I soon realised I needed some proper training so I went to college and did 2330 L2&amp;L3 one day a week over 2010-2011 whilst working as a builders labourer(not electrical specific, allsorts), and then still struggled to actually find a job to do my NVQ3 so decided to set up on my own and in 2012 got a van and joined a scam and started my own business, never looked back since and as of last month I got my NVQ3 and AM2 completed.

First of all, thank you for your service...

secondly,......thats a hell of a story!,......very varied and experience rich ...nice one!

thirdly,......the outcome of your story is summin i will be aiming for, ...so well done you!


.............amazing the variation of people who have turned to the spark world



take me for example, a billionaire playboy who dresses as a bat in his spare time to fight crime and.....

no,...no thats not right,........but the varied backgrounds of this trade is impressive, obviously a pull!!


ExArmy,....many thanks!

 

[SPARK2B]

Started of with Mathew Halls industrial commercial training was put on my own jobs halfway through my third year had to train domestic electricians in my 4th year got my approved status after 6 years and was made chargehand electrician with 4 sparks and 2 apprentices but got bored and went into the Intruder/Fire alarm envirnment for 2 years then got bored agian and got into the HVAC/Controls environment for 5 years then did the same self employed for 3 years . Did 2 years facilities maintenance at a high street store the 6 years at a electronics factory then 9 years for a financial company and spent the last 3 years running a small electrical and alarm repair business mostly for rental properties. Why ? because 18 years of shifts was killing me plus dont need the hassle

ERRKKK....SHIFT WORK!.........

Again, a great story, varied, ...luvvitt!

cheers oldtimer

 

[trev]

take me for example, a billionaire playboy who dresses as a bat in his spare time to fight crime and.....

I was just starting to think, what is it about this guy that I like.
Question answered

 

[SPARK2B]

I was just starting to think, what is it about this guy that I like.
Question answered

aww shux,....you should see me bake a cake!! :rockon:

 

[shagbite]

you two should go on a double date with tony & glenn.