# New to it all



## electricinterest (Sep 26, 2017)

Hello,
I've realized that i don't want to do what i had planned to do all throughout high school and am now looking towards trades, more specifically industrial electrician. Being in second year university in a completely different field with a different high school pathway i am really lost with it all right now. I have found a college that would fulfill my needs, Industrial Electrician (apprenticeship), but i just need some info on the whole field. What's my pathway from college to a job? They offer trade courses without apprenticeships, why? 442a? 

If anyone can help a confused student it would be greatly appreciated!
EI


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Welcome aboard @electricinterest!

I'm sure one of our Canadian members can answer better than I can.


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## Lone Crapshooter (Nov 8, 2008)

My advice is for you to complete your electrical education then find a job with a industrial maintenance contractor or a contractor that does industrial electrical construction.
After being around plant educated electricians that know nothing about pipe work,how to lay a job have no imagination as to how to do the finer points of making a job look nice rather than a piece of some abstract that's it's parts came from the local junk yard.
Now when it comes to troubleshooting some of the plant guys are hard to beat but as being well rounded electricians they are not and out side of the gate the are lost.

LC


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## scotch (Oct 17, 2013)

You will probably find the course is just the "schooling" part ...with YOU having to obtain an apprenticeship for your on the job hours .....if you want to be trade licenced i.e.Red Seal .
BC trade colleges call it a " pre-apprenticeship course " .....for just that .


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## paulengr (Oct 8, 2017)

electricinterest said:


> Hello,
> I've realized that i don't want to do what i had planned to do all throughout high school and am now looking towards trades, more specifically industrial electrician. Being in second year university in a completely different field with a different high school pathway i am really lost with it all right now. I have found a college that would fulfill my needs, Industrial Electrician (apprenticeship), but i just need some info on the whole field. What's my pathway from college to a job? They offer trade courses without apprenticeships, why? 442a?
> 
> If anyone can help a confused student it would be greatly appreciated!
> EI


In the states you need a certain number of hours AND pass a Code test to get a license. Like any trade someone in the shop has to be licensed and others work under that license. You don't need the college to be an apprentice but learning to pass the test without it is difficult to say the least.

And a third oath...the technicians, opens up easier and faster with the college training. Some electricians are perfectly happy running conduit or replacing receptacles. Others aren't. I work on VFDs, big motors (over 1000 HP), starters, soft starts, breakers, and control systems all the time. My team mates do balancing, vibration analysis, and alignments all the time. The margins on our jobs are better and we're constantly overwhelmed for business. None of us started out as apprentices in residential electrical work. As for me I've been doing this kind of work for forty years. I started out on a family farm but after college as an engineer I kept getting calls to go out and support maintenance. So eventually I gave in and now I'm a field service engineer.

Sent from my Galaxy Tab 2 using Tapatalk


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## Easy (Oct 18, 2017)

I agree with Lone Crapshooter. Industrial Maintenance Electricians don't run pipe and often times have nothing to do with maintaining the electrical distribution systems of a plant. Really most of the good ones are technicians and can work miracles with controls, and calibrations but lack any real electrical skills other than reseting circuit breaker, changing light bulbs or working on alarm systems and stuff like that. An industrial electrician reads blueprints and looks more at the code and mechanical aspects of electrical work. A great construction electrician is hard to come by and usually lays out the work for his craftsmen to install. The installers ( Journeymen and apprentices ) that are most valuable are those that can do work that is amazing to look. They take pride in their work.


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## gnuuser (Jan 13, 2013)

Lone Crapshooter said:


> My advice is for you to complete your electrical education then find a job with a industrial maintenance contractor or a contractor that does industrial electrical construction.
> After being around plant educated electricians that know nothing about pipe work,how to lay a job have no imagination as to how to do the finer points of making a job look nice rather than a piece of some abstract that's it's parts came from the local junk yard.
> Now when it comes to troubleshooting some of the plant guys are hard to beat but as being well rounded electricians they are not and out side of the gate the are lost.
> 
> LC


not all of us!
im not perfect at conduit but can bend pipe well if i take my time.
of course ive done residential, commercial, agricultural, solar, alarms, and industrial throughout most of my life. but thats me.
currently retired and teaching a little. (spending a lot of time spoiling grandkids though):vs_laugh:

highly suggest to any active electrician Do not get yourself set in a particular comfort zone because things are always changing.
a good dossier of skills is indispensable in the job market, and gets your foot in the door for better paying jobs.


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## Handcraftedsince87 (Feb 9, 2018)

I kind of view it as the people that build (Commercial electricians), and the people that maintain (Industrial Electricians). Although, I am responsible for all the facilities electrical distribution and controls, and do run pipe. I have friends who only run pipe all day, and I also have friends that only sit in front of of a computer all day and program PLC's. To each their own. I went to a Tech School and learned Industrial Power and Automation so I could do both. Both paths pay well comparatively, and both seem to be pretty short handed. I show up to the same place everyday. I know people who aren't sure where their next job is going to be in a month. I think the sweet spot for me is an older facility that needs a bit of love on both fronts to keep it interesting. Having a drive to be good at what you do, and being flexible about getting the experience you need to become well rounded is the most important thing. That being said, I think if the economy falls off and the building slows, the books for construction electricians are going to fill up pretty fast, but some manufacturers are still going to be manufacturing and looking for controls electricians


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## 360max (Jun 10, 2011)

Handcraftedsince87 said:


> I kind of view it as the people that build (Commercial electricians), and the people that maintain (Industrial Electricians). Although, I am responsible for all the facilities electrical distribution and controls, and do run pipe. I have friends who only run pipe all day, and I also have friends that only sit in front of of a computer all day and program PLC's. To each their own. I went to a Tech School and learned Industrial Power and Automation so I could do both. Both paths pay well comparatively, and both seem to be pretty short handed. I show up to the same place everyday. I know people who aren't sure where their next job is going to be in a month. I think the sweet spot for me is an older facility that needs a bit of love on both fronts to keep it interesting. Having a drive to be good at what you do, and being flexible about getting the experience you need to become well rounded is the most important thing. That being said, I think if the economy falls off and the building slows, the books for construction electricians are going to fill up pretty fast, but some manufacturers are still going to be manufacturing and looking for controls electricians


...where would an electrician that builds industrial manufacturing plants fall, commercial or industrial electrician?


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

360max said:


> ...where would an electrician that builds industrial manufacturing plants fall


Unfortunately he'd probably fall in China


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

360max said:


> ...where would an electrician that builds industrial manufacturing plants fall


Builds new manufacturing plants? 

Unfortunately he'd probably fall in China


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## 360max (Jun 10, 2011)

splatz said:


> 360max said:
> 
> 
> > ...where would an electrician that builds industrial manufacturing plants fall
> ...


major chip plants where built in nys, leading edge plants.....China, phhfff


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## Easy (Oct 18, 2017)

I truly believe that the bottom line here is not so much choosing a path as a maintenance electrician or construction electrician but rather choosing a good employer to work for. It's very rewarding to work in construction at your own pace. The problem is most construction jobs have time lines and cost considerations. It's really no fun when you are being pushed to get stuff done. Personally I like construction work because I enjoy building things. The company I work for now ( small shop - 2 electricians ) never rushes jobs and my boss never complains about expenses. If I need tools or equipment no questions asked. I got real lucky finding this job. The last job I had was industrial maintenance and when I first hired in we had 54 electricians all working at the same facility. That was a great job as well and with so many electricians you were able to constantly learn new things and had plenty of man power to get stuff done. That company paid for school, gave good bonuses and the pay scale was real good. With so many electricians it was easy to hide out and do nothing if you wanted. The problem was if you did not apply yourself and prove you could repair equipment you were just hurting yourself because you would be assigned to changing light bulbs all day. Knowledge is power and as Handcrafter said "being flexible about getting the experience you need" was right on. Construction can be hard work but If you like being in shape than just consider it to be a free work out. No health spa required. Maintenance work generally requires less physical labor but can be difficult as well. Industrial Maintenance might require some hard labor. Yes installing conduit, pulling wire and in some cases you will have to climb 120 ft. fixed ladders to replace aviation lights. If you are good with calibration, programming and controls you will most likely never have to work hard physically. It's hard to say but I feel worse at the end of the day if I sit in a chair for 8 hours than I do if I dig ditches all day. If you really like easy work a maintenance electrician you have to know everything you can about electronics and programming. A good example. Two "journeyman electricians" go out to fix a lighting control panel. They come back to the shop 6 hours latter and tell the supervisor that they need a order new dimming module. One moth latter the part come in and the lights still wont dim. The supervisor sends out an industrial electronic tech. He finds nothing wrong with the old module but finds a bad diode at the switch and replaces it. He only spent one hour trouble shooting the problem. Most NC machines do have quite a bit of electronics so learn the basics if you want to work smarter not harder. Personally I am terrible with electronics but I do know how to check basic components. Work on becoming a well rounded electrician and then decide what path to take. There are many and when you find what you like stick with it and get good at it. Take pride in what you do and you will be blessed with good work. If you don't know ask someone. Learn from your mistakes and don't be so hard on yourself. Starting out in any trade can be hard but it gets easier as you gain knowledge and learn the tricks of the trade.


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