30 year old male in need of some guidance... - Electrician Talk - Professional Electrical Contractors Forum

tony8404 · 08-11-2008, 02:19 PM

Hello everyone, i am tony i just turned 30 years old this year and i just registered to this forum in hopes of helping me with my studies in the electrical field.

I just started going to a trades school this april. I will finish the school next august, still have a ways to go but have questions no one seems to be able to answer. The school i go to is called Coyne American Institute in chicago. They have 2 electrical programs to choose from, 1st is ecm-electrical construction maintenance ( pretty much electrician) then there is est- electronic systems technician. both programs come with a diploma not a certificate. i choosed the est program for myself, my father was a electrical engineer for almost 40 years and did very well with retirement. I am not in it just for the money but it is good i guess but i do like electronics myself as well just never had anyone push me to go to college. at the time i didnt think it was important.

Well, now i have a family of my own with two little girls and the way things are right now i do not have much head room at work to move up the ladder like i want to and i want to put them through college since i didnt have the chance. so i decided to go to this school which is 3 nights a week from 6-10:30 p.m.

Seems like a good school kinda fast paced but it is what it is. so far I have kept a 4.0 gpa and have gotten 3 A's in the three classes i have had so far.

what i need help with is direction, i understand this school is teaching me the fundamentals right now so i do not see the whole big picture but at first i thought i wasnt learning anything but i guess its just the basics right now. i wanted to know if this diploma i will get next august will be enough to get a decent job in the electronic field? i would like to work at a bench and test, i really did not want to become a dishnetwork installer, i thought this schooling would get me something like working at a test bench. i was told that even if i do not remember everything or memorize everything i still can get a job in electronics cause that is were i would get most of my experience... i also would like to know am i on the right track? will this get me somewhere, i was hopeing this would get me a good career. I really do not know what other jobs this diploma will be able to get for me can anyone help me out with this? sorry guys, i had a long day yesterday and am a bit tired... Lol thanks for the help.. i had some more questions but i will start here for now. need a nap for a minute

tony8404 · 08-11-2008, 02:22 PM

oh, almost forgot, once i have basic knowledge i was going to learn alot from my dad, like tips and tricks you wouldnt know unless you have had a lot of experience. but for right now i need to get a litle more familia...

tony8404 · 08-11-2008, 04:08 PM

wow, i may have rambled on in my original post sorry guys. i would just like to know from the guys who have been in the electronic field for quite some time on how to or which way to start off getting into the electronic field ?

i know going to a 4 year college would be the right way to go but i kinda dont have that option now, with kids, house payment and full time job. i had thought about selling the house moving into the in-laws so that way i can stop working and dedicate all my time to learning electronics which i would then be able to go to a 4 year college.

But with the housing market the way it is i might not sell the house for some time. that is why i thought to start off with something basic like the electronic systems technician diploma program coyne offers. right now were learning the fundamentals and i hope to get into stuff alittle more deeper as time progresses which i am sure they will but once this is done i hope to breeze through more school with knowing the basics.

So does it sound like i am on the right track? i know i will not learn this over night and what not but before i get into something that is completly opposite of what i want i thought i would ask. i really want to have a career and stop working at this dead end job i have there really is no future in it and i have two little girls i want to go to college and i would like to be able to take care of them until they go.

earlier i had mentioned i would like to work on testing electronic circuits or repairing. not really into being a satelite dish installer or alarm installer or hometheater installation guy. here is the link to the program i am taking right now at the school http://www.coyneamerican.edu/program...technician.php

to me that sounds like that may be all i can do with the learning i get from this course any insight or ideas or correct way/path to follow?

if anyone could give me some insight that would be greatly appreciated thanks alot.

tony8404 · 08-12-2008, 10:12 AM

Anyone? how about joining the national guard would that be a better option then a trades school? i was just looking at the guards web page and they have a land combat missle system repairer...

daddymack · 08-12-2008, 06:10 PM

That tech stuff is hard to get info on. I once took a course in programming and automation in hopes of meeting someone in the field. No such luck though.

I can tell you that sitting at a bench soldering resisters and capacitors to a circuit board don't pay very well, and from what I can tell your program is not geared toward that either. So you may be headed in the wrong direction as we speak.

The program seems to offer a general foundation of the electrical industry but overall seems to be break toward voice/video, Highspeed data. So I'd say you would be a teledata guy.

It's a lesser paying of the 2 programs you mentioned, but overall your conditions will be better in many cases. Cleaner and less physical exertion.

martinre · 08-13-2008, 07:34 AM

It sounds to me like you would be better off to try and get into maintenance at some industry up there. Electrical mechanics make good money and learn a lot on the job. I gave up on the electronic industry back in the 80's. As a matter of fact, the electronic tech's (that actually troubleshooted and repaired boards) went out in the late 70's. It got cheaper to buy a new board.
If you get in Electrical maintenance you could take what you are learning at school and apply it in the real world of electricity. And, when I was an Industrial electrician their was a lot of satisfaction in taking blueprints and my meter and repairing a large machine that had all kinds of complicated circuits. Make sure to pay attention to any PLC stuff as most industrial machinery has some kind of logic controller now. Anyway, I wish you luck.

JohnJ0906 · 08-14-2008, 07:25 PM

Welcome to the forum!

Idaho Abe · 08-17-2008, 07:36 PM

I hope you find what you need.

Jeffro · 10-26-2009, 12:06 PM

Tony I think I know you, does Argo H.S ring a bell?

tony8404 · 10-26-2009, 12:36 PM

LOL..... well, yes argo H.S. rings a bell.... You probably do know me lol.. PM me ...

captkirk · 10-26-2009, 04:14 PM

Maybe you should think about writting short stories

......Welcome to the forum

wwilson174 · 10-26-2009, 04:45 PM

Hello Tony, I graduated from Coyne in 1950, Age 19. I got a maintenance electrician job for a couple of years and got into Local 134 IBEW in 1953 as a journeyman after passing a test. I have been in 134 for 56 years and I have been comfortably retired for 16 years. The training I got at Coyne served me well over the years so your chosen path looks good to me. It's a long road and a bumpy one but the rewards are considerable .Good luck, BillW.