# Out of my depth



## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

Fat pigeon said:


> Hi, I have recently finished 3 years of training, that's a 3 year apprenticeship at Colchester, so I've got city and guilds, nvq, am2. all my Certs have recently come through so my pay rise shouldn't be far away, problem is I feel out of my depth. i no how to do 75% of the jobs I get and I ask about anything I'm unsure of I ask I just have real trouble with getting work done in the allotted time, really stresses the f*** out of me, I'm constantly worried, is this normal or should I give up an go on job seekers, cheers.


Don't worry about it,In this trade your too slow and lazy no matter how hard you work.

You will be surprised that the guys that tell you ,You are slow can't do it any faster..:laughing:

Welcome to ET enjoy the ride..:thumbup:


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## WarrenG (Apr 25, 2012)

I've been in the game along time and I can tell you that those that want you to rush are the very same ones that will want you to cut the corners as well.

Take your time and don't rush, electric can kill full stop. There's more than enough out there without having any pride in their work and trust me it will do you a favor for your reputation.

I personally never rush and I couldn't give a hoot who doesn't like it. I'm a professional spark and the difference is that I don't get called back to the job when I'm finnished, unless its for extra work. I take the time I need and do the job right.

Its ironic that whilst watching that DIY SOS with Nick Knowles on the TV earlier I actually cringed at the state of the consumer unit wiring which my 4 year old could have done a better job. And sure enough they had a fault and had to rip up the floor boards to sort it out. Says it all really.

Don't give up your hard work for the sake of others who think they are being clever doing it faster. The smart spark is the one that does it right first time, irrespective how long it takes.

And remember, you are only as good as your last job!


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## Rochsolid (Aug 9, 2012)

WarrenG said:


> I've been in the game along time and I can tell you that those that want you to rush are the very same ones that will want you to cut the corners as well.
> 
> Take your time and don't rush, electric can kill full stop. There's more than enough out there without having any pride in their work and trust me it will do you a favor for your reputation.
> 
> ...


This is great advice. I couldn't agree more


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## WilhelmM (Jan 21, 2013)

Hey mate, welcome to the trade!

I do agree as well with what's been said... don't worry and keep doing the best you can! :thumbsup:


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## hardworkingstiff (Jan 22, 2007)

The reality is in a production environment, speed does count. Some people move very fluidly and just have a knack for quick installs. Some people are much more deliberate and it just takes longer.

The main thing is when you complete your task, is it 100% complete, and is it installed so there won't be a call back?

Some people just don't perform well in a production environment (translate, very competitive, especially in this economic malaise).

All you can do is to perform at your highest level, then, Que Sera, Sera.


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

hardworkingstiff said:


> The reality is in a production environment, speed does count.


You know it does, we don't have to like it but it is a fact.

And to me telling someone _*Take your time and don't rush,*_ is horrible advice in the present economy.

My advice would be to keep an eye on those around you with similar levels of experience and see if your production is slow.

If you are keeping up, great, just ignore the people telling you are slow.

On the other hand if you are in fact slow you need to find a way to pick it up or change jobs as if you are slow long enough you will be laid off.

It sucks but it is life, life is competitive.


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## frank (Feb 6, 2007)

If you don't know. Ask. i am probably old enough to be your great great grandad and I still ask. Asking less and getting faster comes with experience and you havea lifetime in front of you to get better. Only idiots do more than their skill level should allow and sounds to me like you have your head scewed on nice and tight. 

Frank


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## WarrenG (Apr 25, 2012)

BBQ said:


> And to me telling someone _*Take your time and don't rush,*_ is horrible advice in the present economy.


You missed the most important part of the sentance.....*,electric can kill, full stop.

*Speed is one thing, safety is another.

Its each and to their own on how they work but trying to keep up with the Jonesy's may not always be the safest option nor the smartist. Only the end results would prove it?

As for the economy, its not a case of how much you are paid for the hour but more a case of how much Value that you bring to the hour that wins IMO.


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## thegoldenboy (Aug 15, 2010)

BBQ said:


> You know it does, we don't have to like it but it is a fact.
> 
> And to me telling someone _*Take your time and don't rush,*_ is horrible advice in the present economy.
> 
> ...


Agreed. I was working with a kid who had just gotten his license, I was still a few months out. Small office addition, 3 day gig just the two of us. He was blowing me out of the water when we were cutting in boxes and I couldn't figure out why. 

I checked his work when he wasn't around, to see what it is that we were doing differently, to see if I could pick up the pace by implementing something new. 

All his connectors were loose, none of his cables were stapled anywhere near the boxes.

I stuck to my methods. I even stapled his wires for him. Speed is good, quality is important too though.


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

Welcome to the trade from a fellow fowl member Pigeon

and yeah, you're _slow_, get used to it

some of us here appear on the job faster than a star trek transporter could get us there, and we're _still_ late just getting outta the truck....

this is the unfortunate demise out trade had succumbed to

my advice? get a hat with feathers , and tell 'em all that hot air's a great tailwind....

~CS~


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## oldtimer (Jun 10, 2010)

chicken steve said:


> Welcome to the trade from a fellow fowl member Pigeon
> 
> and yeah, you're _slow_, get used to it
> 
> ...


 
( unfortunate demise ) ?


O M G !

Who Died ??









Sorry, Steve .

I couldn't resist !


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## gnuuser (Jan 13, 2013)

WarrenG said:


> You missed the most important part of the sentance.....*,electric can kill, full stop.
> 
> *Speed is one thing, safety is another.
> 
> ...



welcome to the forum!
i agree with you 110 % 
as an industrial electrician safety is my primary concern. I have stopped work because someone walked inside the barrier we had put up around the work area.
this is for their safety as well.
being fast comes with experience but do not sacrifice the quality or safety of your work just for speed


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## Mshea (Jan 17, 2011)

Get good first and fast will come. I made it a policy to never work for anyone in too much of a hurry. they make more mistakes and often wind up wasting a lot of time and money doing the job twice. I was once asked if I am a hard worker and I said hard work is for idiots. I work smart, not hard, I work deliberate and do things once. Now this worked well for me but I have missed out on jobs because I refuse to run when running is not productive. I recall one contractor I worked on loan to. One owner was the work guy and the other owner was the rush around guy. The rush around guy hated me because he said I spent too much time thinking but I still had to fix several of his screw ups and I had no compunction telling him these problems were because he worked without thinking enough. I did finish the job for them and they said the job made the budget they had set but I was never invited back to help out again.
So my advice is be good at what you do and do it only once. Rushing almost never speeds things up, only practise.
Now don't mistake thinking for not working. There are times when work must progress rapidly, but shortcuts don't remove labour they only reposition the problem


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## piperunner (Aug 22, 2009)

Listen up 29 years with one company and this is not my first company homies in this trade . We have heard these words many times .
We never made a dime were broke were always behind we lost this we lost that these guys are too slow . But yet were still working and never have been out of work even in this economy .
Its typical trash they feed you how can we stay in business if were just not making money each year . Our trade today with all the safety crap Osha rules job site meetings  training bull crap and mega classes on how to use a ladder or a tool we used for many many years .
its a wonder we can actually do 2 hours of real work in one day .
plus the wasted time each day to have a safety meeting in English and then Spanish thats the best part of my half hour of wasted time . LOL 
GET HER DONE !


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## hardworkingstiff (Jan 22, 2007)

Mshea said:


> I recall one contractor I worked on loan to. One owner was the work guy and the other owner was the rush around guy. The rush around guy hated me because he said I spent too much time thinking but I still had to fix several of his screw ups and I had no compunction telling him these problems were because he worked without thinking enough. I did finish the job for them and they said the job made the budget they had set but I was never invited back to help out again.


Wow, go figure.


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## aftershockews (Dec 22, 2012)

Being afraid to make mistakes will hinder you. I had to learn the "swim or drown" technique that my boss did to me.
Granted there are still times I am unsure of situations, but you need to have faith in yourself. Sometimes that takes the "swim or drown" technique.
If you can't grasp that then you may need to reevaluate what you want to do for the rest of your life.


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## boora2 (Jan 28, 2012)

SLOW has four letters. So has LIFE. SPEED has five letters. So has DEATH, very important if you have to work on HV stuff, Arc flash, splattered copper, etc.


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

Practice economy of motion. If you have fifty holes to drill, pull your drill out of your bag once to drill fifty holes rather than pulling it out fifty times to drill single holes. Plan ahead. What will you be doing in the next five seconds, five minutes and five hours? What can you be doing now that will make your job easier later? Don't be scared to take notes. Do you have ALL your material? Go up a ladder once, not three times. 

There is a difference between looking busy and being busy. Every job has a beginning and an end. Chances are that, if you start in the middle, you're going to be undoing what you did just to get to the beginning.


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