Not To Get Trapped

newguy07

I need advice from the business owners. I know I am probably doing this prematurely but as I start my first day or work on monday and being in the orientation on friday. I can tell the company wants me to "specialize". The thing I have going is that I am going to be attending school to become more of a well rounded electrician.


Please help me and if you could give me advice on how to learn things and what I should do to "not be stuck in the rat race in a company"

MY goal is to learn everything I can and eventually become a small business owner.



Please help me I would much appreciate it.

mdshunk

Don't sweat it. After you complete your apprenticeship and get your j-man license, you're going to be working for alot of different contractors doing lots of types of work. You will end up well rounded, because few electricians work for the same guy for 20 years like in the past. On the other hand, specialists make bigger coin, so think about that. It's way to early to puzzle on these sorts of things anyhow. Get some years in, then you'll be more equipped to ponder such things.

newguy07

I understand ya. I just didn't like how the human resoucre lady talked. I don't want to lead that but I don't want to get stuck in that postion


I appreciate it.

mdshunk

You're not going to get stuck anywhere, unless you permit it. If you look around at your new job, you'll notice that nobody's wearing a ball and chain.

newguy07

I understand. I am going to be doing the IEC program. You are union right?

mdshunk

Um... it's a little complicated. I'm not sure how to answer you there, so I won't. Do your IEC apprenticeship and don't worry about getting trapped. The apprenticeship is necessarily well rounded. What you do after your apprenticeship is what will determine if you get trapped or not.

newguy07

I understand. Well After and during I plan on attending college to finish up with my B.A. in electrical engineering. I have about 2-3 years left.

JamesNLA

Not to knock you for going after your BA (after you finish your AA) but think about it for a sec. I have my EE, because at the time I wanted to be a designer. I thought analog was for the less intelligent and wanted nothing of it. By the time I had my first job as a lead tech for an engineering firm I was sick to death of electronics and wanted out. So I specialized. I started repairing new next generation cell phones (the first digital ones). Know what that consisted of? Plug the board in, run the software, print the results. Since there is no money in replacing surface mounted components, it was analog devices that were replaced (speaker - mic - momentary buttons - flash the EEPROM) Mondane to say the least, but I made decent money. If I knew then what I know now......AA in E.E. and a B.A. in either economics - accounting - business management - or the like. A BA in EE WILL help you in a specalized field but there will be a lot of stuff you will learn that you will not utilize in construction electric. Even the saftey stuff that ....John (i think is his name) does. Well.....it's a trade off and I am of the mindset one can never learn enough. It's kinda like flying aircraft, the day I think I know all I need to know, is the day I stop flying planes. Doing electrical is IMO FAR FAR more dangerous than flying an airplane, but that's just me.

Point is, you have SO many options at your disposal at this point, you would be hard pressed to screw much of anything up. You'll be fine and if your anything like me, no matter how much education & experience you have, you will wind up loving what you do. At the end of the day, what else can you ask for? Blue Skies kid!

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-Adrock

Northernboy

If you don't want to pull wire the rest of your life take any chance you have to learn PLC's, drives, switchgear and the rest of the industrial type stuff. I was a "narrowback" maintenance electrician for years and that's where you want to be when your older unless your goal is to own your own company, then you can hire the grunt work done. Did you get hired on as a construction electrician or plant maintenance?
We had guys come in and do annual breaker testing which seemed to be a pretty lucarative enterprise, lots of travel to hit all the shutdowns but they seemed to have the field pretty much to themselves.
Not very many people know 2 or 3 family Allen Bradley PLC's anymore and they're pretty much writing their own ticket from what I've heard lately.

neolitic

Mercy son, go back and read you own posts! Just yesterday you were worried about getting a job, then thrilled to have it. Lighten up and enjoy the moment. Life is gonna come at you fast enough, don't have to rush down any imaginary roads just yet.
If I were to bet on any thing, I'd bet whatever you're doing 10 years from now won't be what you think it will right now.

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dirt diggler

hmm ... how not to get stuck in the rat race

i'd say its all in perception and attitude. we're all in the rat race.

hate to tell you - you'll always have to face responsibilities. "being your own boss" is a myth for most of the population. Now, going in 9-5, doing the "same sh*t, different day" routine with the rest of the clockwatchers - now that is what I consider "the rat race" ...

not sure how to tell you to avoid it. To me, that's just not "livin"

But you've got a lot of learning (about your trade, life, etc) - so take advantage of it!!!




btw - stay away from coworkers who, in the mornings say "same ****, different day"


not only will they consume precious oxygen in the air - you'll pick up all sorts of bad habits

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Thanks in advance!!!

neolitic

Right when you work for yourself it's always, new day,NEW *****!

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randomkiller

Yeah read his posts, he expects to be running a crew on Weds and be president of the company by Fri at noon. So he can buy a $200k house Saturday. WTF is up with these new young guys? Nobody wants to pay their dues anymore. Hell I remember doing all the crap jobs and being poor for years when I was first married with one child.

JohnJ0906

Don't run before you learn to crawl!

I'm glad you are eager to get into the trade, but you can't get 5 years experience your first week!

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John from Baltimore
"One Day at a Time"
All replies based on the 2008 NEC

dirt diggler

lol

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Thanks in advance!!!

gravtyklz

I spend a good bit of my time reading about financial freedom, "getting out of the rat race", and business in general. I think you're asking good questions actually, just dont let you're motivation to not do the same thing all the time make you hate life and what you do.

If you want to avoid the rat race a great place to start is reading a book called, "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki. But one of the things he says in this book that you can use right now is, "...dont just work for money, work to learn"

newguy07

I read that book already. Assets over libalites or something like that. Buy assets not libalites. It sounds nice in person but what assets to buy is not as easy as it sounds. I have been doing the stock market and have a decent CD.

I wil be doing the 401 (k) with the companies 50% match and I have my own roth ira that I will continue to do.

I also save some cash so I can "start my own business" or purchase a house or whatever it may be at the time.

newguy07

Are you serious about the B.A. thing? I have about 2 more classes until I get my A.A. in engineering.

At the company I work for they offer engineering. I seen P.E. engineers there. They are all going through the blueprints and everything. Don't you need a B.A. an a P.E. to engineer the electrical in a building?

newguy07

Ya I know.. I am impatient right now. I just like to get edcuated. I guess I tried getting the house to early I didn't understand it completly now I do and I understand waht I need.

gravtyklz

How do you define rat race?