Too clumsy

[Lee Gold]

At work I find some things hard to pick up, I am a very slow learner, I don't understand some things if someone tells me once I don't understand and sometimes tell me twice and I don't understand I am very slow I know that for myself and it takes me a while to get things, I work along side an electrican at work. Basicly I'm a labourer to the electrican he only lets me do basic things like wire 3 phase plugs, fix hopper loaders / industrial work. Today he told me I'm clumbsy and it dropped my confidence like is that how other people see it I know I'm really slow and I hate it I would like to pick up things like others, I'm not even trusted using a drill incase I "mess it up". Am I too clumbsy to be an electrican in the future? Do you have to be smart?

 

[DPG]

A lot of people take a while to pick things up, but don't forget many won't admit to this. I also know people who don't want to learn and are happy just chucking cables in and not knowing (or caring) how to test properly and understand the results.
Stick at it! Daz

 

[Pete999]

But I really enjoy it and I do want to do it, it's just hard for me to pick up

Well stick at it, we all made mistakes and we were all accused of being useless including me, I went on to work all over the world, electrical safety officer for a government dept don' think I killed or injured anyone except perhaps young Gary, not with electrics, withe sharp end of my tongue, the little get.

 

[Martyc]

I'm ham fisted and clumsy most of the time. For example, it took me ages in college to even cut a straight line with a hacksaw and making off and glanding swa took me like 4 attempts. Now I'm out of that pressure environment and without someone watching over my shoulder I'm banging out swa glands all day some days and cutting tray and trunking seems a walk in the park (well apart from the dead arm after a day of hack-sawing)


Sent from the moon using telepathy

 

[KWCFC]

Electrics does take a while to pick up. Its the hardest trade in the building industry.

Confidence is key and the longer you do it the more confident you will be. When I started as a nervous 16 year old apprentice I crapped myself every time someone gave me a job and I think if someone ever filmed me working it would of made TV! I was bumbling wreck. But the longer you do it the more confident you get, and things become easier

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

[Barry White]

Last apprentice I had before this one was crap nearly give up on him he was that bad then someting clicked in his head and he made an excelent electrician (industrial)
The only way to learn is practice. I give them a 6m lenght of swa and a gland and they regland it untill they can do it correctly then if not I find another piece of cable.
Practice makes perfect so stick at it.

 

[Martyc]

Last apprentice I had before this one was crap nearly give up on him he was that bad then someting clicked in his head and he made an excelent electrician (industrial)
The only way to learn is practice. I give them a 6m lenght of swa and a gland and they regland it untill they can do it correctly then if not I find another piece of cable.
Practice makes perfect so stick at it.

Amount of times I thought in college in the practical stuff 'I'm crap at this I'll never be any good', but once you're immersed in it, somehow after a little time what seemed a nearly impossible challenge becomes almost second nature. A bit like driving really

 

[Chivers]

I think sometimes people need to advise trainees how to do something by coaching them correctly when they take a task on rather than physically telling someone this is how it's done by showing them. Do you think you're a bit clumsy? Why exactly has your mentor said this?

Drill wise why not practice on some old wooden off cuts and stuff like that get the action right and see how confident your handling of power tools can be in this type of manner so it won't matter if you "mess up" build your skills up slowly and then gain this persons trust to allow you to take on more - if you show this type of willingness and there's no improvement trust wise find someone else to work for.

 

[ipf]

Last apprentice I had before this one was crap nearly give up on him he was that bad then someting clicked in his head and he made an excelent electrician (industrial)
The only way to learn is practice. I give them a 6m lenght of swa and a gland and they regland it untill they can do it correctly then if not I find another piece of cable.
Practice makes perfect so stick at it.

A while ago, but the armoured terms I was doing as a kid were wiping lead. Practice, practice...and even when it was a perfect art form (in my book), he'd get the blow torch, rip it apart and get tell me to re-do again.
Big difference was that there seemed time in industry for apprentices to learn and practice at work. Now it's a case of bish bash, where's the cash.

Anyway OP, stick with it, hope you come through.

 

[hightower]

Amount of times I thought in college in the practical stuff 'I'm crap at this I'll never be any good', but once you're immersed in it, somehow after a little time what seemed a nearly impossible challenge becomes almost second nature. A bit like driving really

Marty is right. Different career but when I started in IT 12 years ago I thought I wasn't gonna make it. Immersion is key, but the thing that gave me the sink or swim moment was 2 years after I started my boss quit so I was left on my own with nobody to go to for advice. It was scary, but I truly believe that was one of the best teachers - making my own mistakes.

I've since decided IT is not challenging enough hence my retraining. But I plan to apply the same technique. Yes, I'll get the advice when I need it, the correct training, and so on. But nothing quite drives it home like having a go, making some mistakes (that won't cost your life) and learning from the whole experience. I'm not saying go and put 300 holes in your wall, but back to martys original point - immersion is key

 

[sparkstu]

As everyone has said stick at and keep practicing when ever you get the chance I too was clumsy and things took me a while to get and understand when I first started out and then all of a sudden something just clicks in place and it's all there so keep at it and it will come to you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Diddy]

Turn up on time.
Do what your told - If you don't understand ask DO NOT pretend to know.
Listen when an explanation comes along don't play angry birds on mobile during down time....down time equals an opportunity to either clean up or assist someone else or finally just to watch what is going on and have your questions ready for later.
Do the above and you will become an electrician.

 

[VoltzElectrical]

When it comes to drilling, the variable trigger is your friend. Use it to start and finish slowly. There is absolutely no need to go full speed and push till you explode out of the other side. Use the trigger to feel your way through. When i got my new knipex croppers, it took me half a day of stripping flex to not score the cores when removing the outer sheath, or give the strands a haircut when stripping back as they were that sharp and new to me. I had to feel for the correct amount of pressure and angle.

I developed my hacksaw technique to manufacture bends in steel trunking by making small cuts initially but then cutting the maximum amount of back-cut (where I could control the back of the saw, then using that back-cut to guide the front cut as a sort of mitre guide. (Don't worry if you didn't understand that, it's something that needs to be shown really, but I only included it as an example of the way one learns through experience on site.)

PMA