# Electrical apprentice and chances to specialize



## SWDweller (Dec 9, 2020)

Just like any education you want a program that completes the training and is accredited by the government. Getting a piece of paper is worthless unless you know how to apply and install the parts and pieces. There are schools out there that are for profit, theirs not yours. I taught at one for a week. We had a knock down drag out argument about starting each class with safety.
Management wanted me to follow the book and nothing else. 
You really need to concentrate on what is available in you local to your area. Driving hours for class is not a doable thing for very long.


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## GigawattsGW (Sep 19, 2021)

wattsgood1337 said:


> Hello, I have been looking through different forums for information about apprentice programs. How do you know which apprentice program qualifies as a good program. Also is there a way to chart a career path into the various specializations or are all apprenticeships created equal. I have seen some instructions from the LnI but some different ones from the IEBW. I am new to all this and its pretty confusing. Just looking for some real life experience and responses beyond the websites and brochures. I am in Washington state. Thank you


I may be biased however I went through IBEW Local 1 apprenticeship. I'm not particularly found or certain aspects of Unions by any means, but they are going to be better with education and pay etc. Non union is hit or miss but you good benefit if the contractor is licensed and records your hours for a future chance to become licensed yourself.

Cheers


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## paulengr (Oct 8, 2017)

wattsgood1337 said:


> Hello, I have been looking through different forums for information about apprentice programs. How do you know which apprentice program qualifies as a good program. Also is there a way to chart a career path into the various specializations or are all apprenticeships created equal. I have seen some instructions from the LnI but some different ones from the IEBW. I am new to all this and its pretty confusing. Just looking for some real life experience and responses beyond the websites and brochures. I am in Washington state. Thank you


All different. Speaking specifically to licensing any “certification” you get from anybody is specific to them. Getting certified by one local union means nothing to the next. Same with pay grades at a company. You can be a pay grade X, with a certain job title but it means nothing to another company.

The only certifications that matter are government issued licenses or some certifications that are nationally recognized by standards. So for instance you can be a licensed electrician by documenting the hours via anyone (not just a union) and passing a test. Some trade school hours in some states matter but not the entire experience. Infrared insoection certification is generally recognized by everyone as an example of a more or less national certification.

Now going above and beyond this we are talking about skills and knowledge. Memorizing the NEC is knowledge. You can get that from reading, taking classes, or watching videos. Installing conduit is a skill. You get that from physically doing it over and over again. Much of electrical work is skill. Hence the hours of experience requirement.

As to where you get the various skills, this comes from working where you will be exposed to it. I know nothing about pool bonding for instance. I have no interest and I haven’t worked for a pool contractor. I hear it’s a pain in the rear. I have extensive skills with PLCs from years in chemical plants and mines. Also motors and drives from working for a motor shop. If you work strictly for a residential contractor I doubt you will get much exposure to PLCs.

Some of this also comes from taking the time to teach yourself. Go read a couple tutorials on the internet on making conduit bends. Get some scrap EMT take a bender and try it. Make sure you understand all the marks on your bender. Then just volunteer for a job involving it and do it. After some practice it’s another skill, if not at work if you have the time and desire do something at home. Maybe make a Christmas tree light controller with a PLC as an example. But maybe don’t try to climb poles or do your own line work.

Electrical trades are a business where the knowledge is so vast that it is physically impossible to know it all. That is one of the reasons that the attitude with NEC and electrical licensing is stupid and ridiculous. I routinely work on 416” but most never do. You will NEVER stop learning. If that’s not in your interest just quit now and go do something else.

First suggestion is just dive right in. You won’t know what you like or don’t like until you’ve done it. Second is if you want to target something go find a potential employer that does that kind of work and ask them where they look for people to hire. For instance motor shops often hire HVAC techs as a “move up” job when they get tired of crawling around attics and crawl spaces. All the utilities around North Carolina like to hire instrument techs from Rockingham Community College (RCC). If you know this you might try to target the entry level position this way.

I grew in my jobs by just having an open mind to alternatives. I moved from farming to mining then to an iron foundry, back to mining but from maintenance to projects, then to a tire plant, then a motor shop. I brought all my skills with me each time. Plus I learned more each time.

If anything I’d suggest avoid getting stuck in a rut. If all you ever do is residential you won’t learn anything else. Lineman might be a huge stretch from residential (just an example) but go for it if it interests you…who knows, it might actually work out. It always has for me. I know a lot of jobs I try to avoid. Like any office-only jobs.


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## wattsgood1337 (Oct 9, 2021)

paulengr said:


> All different. Speaking specifically to licensing any “certification” you get from anybody is specific to them. Getting certified by one local union means nothing to the next. Same with pay grades at a company. You can be a pay grade X, with a certain job title but it means nothing to another company.
> 
> The only certifications that matter are government issued licenses or some certifications that are nationally recognized by standards. So for instance you can be a licensed electrician by documenting the hours via anyone (not just a union) and passing a test. Some trade school hours in some states matter but not the entire experience. Infrared insoection certification is generally recognized by everyone as an example of a more or less national certification.
> 
> ...


This is some heavy advice, so to work in different areas of the electrical field depends solely on the contractor you get to work with? When you started out did you just immerse yourself in various fields to get the hours needed? I am eager to learn and looking for the entry position, i just dont want to waste all my time just fact checking but also dont want to waste a bunch of time on a theory driven course.


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## Robert J. Huey (Oct 11, 2021)

How can I further my career as an electrician?


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## Almost Retired (Sep 14, 2021)

Robert J. Huey said:


> How can I further my career as an electrician?


Go back and read this entire thread, several times, let it soak in, then follow the advice given.


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## paulengr (Oct 8, 2017)

wattsgood1337 said:


> This is some heavy advice, so to work in different areas of the electrical field depends solely on the contractor you get to work with? When you started out did you just immerse yourself in various fields to get the hours needed? I am eager to learn and looking for the entry position, i just dont want to waste all my time just fact checking but also dont want to waste a bunch of time on a theory driven course.


Not saying you have to do it working for someone else but to learn knowledge depends on how you learn things best. Some can read books or web sites. Some need class room instruction. To learn skills you learn it by doing it…muscle memory.

My experience is that class room training whether vendor or college or trade school is very limited. You don’t truly learn anything until you are actually doing it. It really helps to work with somebody that has actually done it before though. You learn a ton of stuff that isn’t in the books. Or YouTube videos.

If it’s close to what you already know it’s usually easy…you just transfer skills. So for instance say I’m working with a different brand of VFD. I have to learn something about how the control scheme works and where the menu options are at but at the end of the day, a VFD is a VFD. If I jump from VFDs to soft starts SOME of what I learned applies. But a common mistake is to increase the acceleration time with soft starts if they are tripping out on startup by decreasing the current limit. This is correct thinking with VFDs but the wrong direction with soft starts. You learn this through a lot of trial and error on your own or working with someone experienced. Usually that’s someone at work but could be a vendor or manufacturer. I’ve learned a lot just shadowing people and asking questions.

Often also you get into a new business because you and the customer are willing to take a risk or at least the customer unwittingly takes the risk. You step out and do something you’ve never done before. If it works out you learn something new. If not it may be costly. Always leave yourself an out if things go wrong.

As an example with medium voltage terminations the best way I’ve found is go to cable prepper school for utilities but that costs thousands and takes weeks. Second best is but a couple kits and practice. 3M has a PowerPoint and some videos that are really good. I’ve personally had a couple terminations fail before I learned what I was doing wrong though. I’ve also cleaned up after a lot of others that just bought the termination kits and forged ahead, and even more where they had no idea what medium voltage terminations are.


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## just the cowboy (Sep 4, 2013)

OK lets start from the beginning. 
This is a carrier not a job. ( the house)
The first 5 years in any part of the field is where you only start to learn. ( foundation )
Next ten years are finding your spot in the field ( Building your house)
The rest of your carrier is fine tuning and perfecting your field of expertise. ( Finishing house to taste)
Retirement ( Dream home)


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## u2slow (Jan 2, 2014)

I'm all for learning as much as you can, but you also want to cross the finish line in a timely manner.

I had a very straightforward experience as an IBEW apprentice (Canada). I'm learning apprenticeships in general aren't so simple stateside. For that reason I would recommend the union path even moreso.


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