# What inspired you to become an electrician



## ce2two (Oct 4, 2008)

For me , i worked at a pattern makers shop , this guy always had electrical problems , it frustrated me, that i could not help him , so i looked in to electrical field after leaving his company ..the rest is history ..kinda wish i was a lawyer now :jester:, a little late ya think... :laughing:


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## John (Jan 22, 2007)

I got drafted. 

View attachment 982


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## Trimix-leccy (Dec 4, 2007)

Grandfather was a Spark. Father left Navy at end of WWII . Grandfather gave him until weekend to get a job. Did not get one so he came into the firm! I had gone out on jobs with my Grandfather since the age of about 6! Always taken things to pieces etc , So....I wanted to become a Pathologist! Universities wanted too high grades so I dropped to Pharmacology. Crashed and burned on that one so an Electrical career beckoned:yes:...and here I am 34 years later


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## BryanMD (Dec 31, 2007)

Once upon a time I went to a culinary school. I had the insane notion that I wanted to be in the restaurant business. I've seen gotten over that but the school seemed like a good approach to get more serious about the trade. So, as part of the school thing I was doing an internship at a fancy french pastry and bread shop and managing but it was clear that I didn't have the touch or the interest in it that the others working there did.

One day something broke and I dove into it with what (very) few tools were available. The curmudgeonly Austrian journeyman baker looks over while I'm making my way happily through the problem and says: "There! That's what you should be doing!" 

I probably should have taken his advice more directly then but I postponed it. Instead I spent 7 years as a manager type with a restaurant equipment repair company (learned a LOT there) and then did sales for a while (hated it) and then stumbled into stainless fabrication work (still in the food service industry) but again more as a manager type until I opened my own shop (big mistake).

Throughout all these various adventures I did a lot with tools, bought, fixed and sold a few houses, raised a couple kids, divorced, and continued to learn all sorts of odd bits but nothing in any sort of organized way. 

I was 41 before I was actually paid to do electrical work as a regular job.

Oh yeah inspiration. EC in the neighborhood with a DWI restricted license needed someone close by who could drive his truck for him at the same time I was licking my wounds from the failed fab business. It worked out.


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## tkb (Jan 21, 2009)

I ended up in trade school in the early 70's.
When I turned 18 I left my career bagging groceries for $2.95/hr to become an electrician apprentice for $2.75/hr.


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## paul d. (Jul 13, 2008)

girls ( yeah right ):no:


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## Kletis (Jan 18, 2008)

paul d. said:


> girls ( yeah right ):no:


I am in it for the ladies too Paul....I think we both made some bad decisions....

I started in the electrical trade right out of high school because I knew I had to do something productive with my time, I knew I wouldn't make it at college, and I had always been fascinated with anything electrical when I was in science classes.


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## nolabama (Oct 3, 2007)

was working a great job in ohio that involved a lot of travel and we built, maintained and operated spray equipment all over america - i determined that the only way to happiness is that i become a business owner and promtly quite my job moved back home to the gulf coast and niavly tried to be a general contractor:laughing: - based on the background of the automation that was done for our equipment i assumed that electrical work was a shoe in, mind you i did not know what romex was but i figured 'lectricity is 'lectricity right ? was involved in wiring more homes than i can count after katrina, found some work with a commercial contractor who without a shadow of a doubt ran the worst outfit i have ever worked for in my adult life, and recently have hooked up with a group of guys building an injection system for the fuel additives at a refinery - didnt know what romex was when i started this so i hope to know what all this allen bradley equipment is soon enough


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## randomkiller (Sep 28, 2007)

When I was looking for a job after getting out of the Corps I had guys I served with looking to get me in the Steamfitters and Electrical Unions. I worked in a family construction business as a kid and electric seemed more of a thinking mans trade to me so I followed that path and have always been glad I did.

Side note: Almost all of the women I have dated I met from jobs.


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## TheRick (Apr 13, 2008)

When I got out of the Army, I went to work in the paper plate factory my Father and Grandfather both worked in. Started out in production, but quickly decided that I belonged in maintenance.

Decided electrical was the way to go after working with the electricians on a few projects, they seemed to enjoy their work a lot more, and got to work with "cool" stuff like PLCs. Worked night shift general maintenance and went to school days, got an AAS Degree and a day job after that. Left there for grayer pastures in the cement industry, and am now working as a contractor in Iraq.


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## Tara (Feb 4, 2009)

Well hi.
I'm not in it for the girls either.
Being a girl that's straight girls never interested me=]
I currently attend the Australian Technical College- Gold Coast and have found my career path.
I was in cabinet making but hated being in a factory 24/7
My uncle was a regional board manager and I often saw him doing some electrical work and decided I'd have a crack.
I had a crack and loved it.

The only downside, the state of porter loos!


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## william1978 (Sep 21, 2008)

You mean there was something else I could have done.


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## JRent (Jul 1, 2008)




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## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

I knew around age 9 or 10 that i was going to be an electrician... nothing has ever interested me as much as this field. I have done other things as well before I got into the field. I owned an internet services business/IT consulting for 6 years, I did underground construction for a few years, I was a telecom tech for a couple of years and I even worked at big orange for about 9 months. Now that I am an electrician.. ill never stray too far. Ill be an electrician till the end.

~Matt


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## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

By the way, there are quite a few people here who I look up to and have gained a lot of knowlege from, so I would like to thank you guys for helping me improve myself on a daily basis and become one of the best electricians out there.

~Matt


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## frank (Feb 6, 2007)

One week before leaving school I was TOLD to get a job. One week later I was working in a Butchers shop. Although scraping the brains out of dead cows heads was fun - after 6 months it all became too much. In the local paper I read an add for an 'apprentice electrician wanted'. Must have good character and school leaving certs in Maths and Physics. Sounded fine to me so off I went in my Tony Curtis hairdo to meet a fine old chap that I came to learn was the second generation owner of a great family business. Never looked back and grateful even to this day for that old guy and his team of highly skilled and motivated men.

Frank
.


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## cdnelectrician (Mar 14, 2008)

I Started in the electrical trade when I was 15, I left the trade for awhile to work as an outside tech for the phone company. Also worked in CATV as an installer for a few months and then went to work for my uncle doing HVAC and plumbing. After doing all that I decided that electrical was the trade for me :thumbsup:. I wrote my ticket at 22, now I'm 25 and have been in the trade for almost 9 years now and I still love it most days!


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## iaov (Apr 14, 2008)

I was always intrigued by electricity. Learning how the old three relay voltage regulaters worked in auto shop class pushed me over the edge. I knew right then that this was the field I wanted to be in. It has been a thirty year love affair!:thumbup:


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## micromind (Aug 11, 2007)

Electricity has always been extremely interesting to me. It's been my hobby from a very early age, I've studied it my whole life long. 

When I was about 10 or so, one of our family friends had remodeled a bathroom, and the light kept tripping the breaker. He asked my dad about it, and his response was 'take Rob with you, see if he can fix it'. I still remember it, there was a wall switch, and a switch mounted on the fixture. He had them wired in parallel. I still remember the look on his face when a 10 year old fixed the problem! 

I was born and raised in Oregon, where a license is required to do ANYTHING electrical. I don't do well in a structured learning environment, as quite a few high school teachers and administrators will readily affirm! So I went to work for my dad building large custom houses, and small commercial projects. We did the concrete work, framing, roofing, and finish woodwork. I enjoyed this work, and when my dad 'retired', and started a lumberyard, I decided to look into the electrical field again. I had done a considerable amount of electrical work 'under the table' up to this point, and actually understood code pretty well. 

I found that the state of Nevada doesn't require licenses for journeymen, and I've always liked the Reno area, so I applied at a few places, and was hired at one. I moved the next day. I didn't know it at the time, but this company will hire just about anyone. The vast majority of guys last about 2 hours, some a few days. The ones they keep, they treat very well. 

This was in Feb. 1990; I'm still working for them. 

I've never been an official apprentice, but I'm still (and always will be) an 'apprentice'. The day I stop learning new stuff will be the day I die. I've done a few houses, usually big custom ones, quite a bit of commercial, lots of industrial, power plants, generators, sewer plants, water plants, etc.

Not bad for some dimwit who barely graduated high school!

Rob


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

I drew a picture of Tippy and sent it in, and they suggested I look into something else. Later, I saw an ad on a matchbook, and the pay was too much to resist:


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## shunt trip (Jan 15, 2009)

*Why Electrical?*

I remember when I was a young'n,(10) being lured into the electrical field by my father, He would not part with any money unless you earned it. He also pushed me into the trade with his large boot and the firm slap of his hand to the back of my head, I never actually decided to become an Electrician. He required everyone under his roof to work when available. 2 older brothers & I are all electricians. By the time we could leave home, we all had enough experience that any other job or school would pay way less, So we all stayed in the trade,At 21, a drunk driver rear ended me & tore my right leg off, Recovery took about a Year(never)& I had to learn to walk again. Instead of Whinning, I enrolled in a trade school and learned All the electrical theory I never knew. Wow. Its a totally new world when you control it. Passed my jw test in 1985. 35 years in the trade & i'm still working on other streams of income to allow me to give up packing tools at 55. If my goverment would quit wrecking my country, I just might make it. I'm 47 now.


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## starter (Oct 24, 2010)

I started out in a bakery as aline machanic and saw a lot off electrical problem in the field . from control to hard wire and was amaze by it and then had agasp for it.


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## wdestar (Jul 19, 2008)

It was kind of like chess with me. A colleague showed me the ropes and I always wanted to one up him. Problem was, I never could.

Here's to ya Jim. I couldn't have done it without ya.


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## Specialist (Nov 18, 2011)

Started learning about Electrickery, when i was really young. My favourite uncle was a dockyard Electrician & used to take me into work with him on weekends. I just caught the bug from watching him work & it's all i've ever wanted to do. Tried a few different things over the years but allways come back where i belong


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## rdr (Oct 25, 2009)

Spent five years in the navy as a radar technician (read electronics/generic grease monkey) I liked that job just fine but the military lifestyle just wasn't for me. I got out when my time was up, and took a few months off. Figured, well hell I better do something before the money runs out. 

I saw an ad in the newspaper for electrician apprentices and said why not. Turns out this trade and I were a perfect fit for one another. Wrote my ticket in the states in 2009, but I've basically had to start back at 3rd or 4th year when I immigrated north, though I do get better money at this stage than a lot of places down there were paying JW's so I'm not TOO bummed. They're a little more stringent about how much schooling you have than most places I saw in the states but I'll get my ticket again one day. Least ways it does give me some time to get familiar with a completely new electrical code and some of the subtle differences I'll run across.


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

I was a TT night driver, but i _couldn't_ sleep daytimes, and was afraid i'd put someone's lights out in a crash....

now i'm qualified to put 1/2 the town in the dark, and i _sleep_ well

~CS~


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## 90Deg.bend (Dec 19, 2011)

I blame my dad while I was growing up in Pa. he was redoing our house and he would get my brother and me to help him pulling wire and explaining to us what he was doing. After a stint in the Green machine I went to work at a auto parts factory and while watching the Maintenance guys poke around the machines I thought to myself "I can do that" and my girlfriend at the time said why don't you go to school and try it. 10 yrs. later I'm glad I heeded her advice. we've been married 13 yrs.


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## Tyson (Jan 17, 2011)

I just liked to figure out how things tick as a kid and teen. Now i am a industial electrician and repair 410 ton 380/250vdc crains to lighting to pneumatic controllers. Learn some thing new every day and never boring


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## captkirk (Nov 21, 2007)

this guy..


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## B W E (May 1, 2011)

A Palestinian guy from Home Depot.


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## sparkmaster (Mar 3, 2010)

stuck a key in a outlet when i was 5 (whooooo god  i want to find out how that works)lol and now im 27 with a JM in WI


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## knowshorts (Jan 9, 2009)

It's an old thread, but what the hay. Damn near every male in the family has been an electrician. I never wanted to wear a tie or sit in a cube farm.


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## dronai (Apr 11, 2011)

knowshorts said:


> It's an old thread, but what the hay. Damn near every male in the family has been an electrician. I never wanted to wear a tie or sit in a cube farm.


 
So you never stood a chance :laughing:


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## knowshorts (Jan 9, 2009)

dronai said:


> So you never stood a chance :laughing:


That's why I am a contractor. 

It's funny. Last year when I went to my Mom's for thanksgiving she gave me a box. It was filled with all kinds of childhood memories. Looking through the box, I found an assessment report from my 9th grade high school counselor. I think the school gave a type of ASVAB test. In a nutshell, the report said I was best suited for the electronics/construction/business management fields. I just combined them all.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

I had to go into the electro-mechanical field, it had much better benefits than being a mob hit man even if the annual pay was lower .


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## ilikepez (Mar 24, 2011)

My father and I worked at the same plant. He worked electrical maintenance and I did production. Anyway I noticed he never worked, never got dirty, got paid more, and never got yelled at by anybody. So when I got laid off I got a bunch of money to go to school and decided to do the electrician program.


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

dronai said:


> So you never stood a chance :laughing:


imagine a baby shower lousy with these>>










~CS~


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

captkirk said:


> this guy..


a shipwright 

~CS~


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## Mshea (Jan 17, 2011)

sparkmaster said:


> stuck a key in a outlet when i was 5 (whooooo god  i want to find out how that works)lol and now im 27 with a JM in WI


I used a tweezer and later a knife. The tweezer blew up and the knife blew me up. Like you I have been fascinated with it ever since. In the late 70s I started work in an electrical motor and industrial repair shop. I still had a bug to be a pilot so I quit that job for the big money in Bus Driving where I could affor flying lessons. After the free introductory lesson I had an epiphany. Flying for a living is bus driving. You take a really complex vehicle out with a load of passengers and move them somewhere else. I also found out that I was not especially suited to operating heavy machinery and that a mistake in an airplane often results in death. After a couple more years of driving for a living I got restarted on my electrical career and have never looked back. I learn something new every day, no two jobs are the same and I am good at it. I hope to retire in about 9 years which will put me 42 years in the trade.


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## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

Working with my hands and never having to answer to anyone..

Make my own hours and some decent money along the way.. :thumbup:


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## lefleuron (May 22, 2010)

the only kid in my neighborhood that had any money, his dad was an electrician. Its not hard to figure out when he has new cloths every year, and you are wearing a shirt straight off the Brady bunch 15 years after the show was canceled.


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