[calispark]

Just wanted to know what keeps my fellow apprentices going on days when you wake up dreading work. Or ur stuck picking up trash all day not learning jack. Or you are on something that just insist on not going smoothly and youre ready to throw you tools off the scissor lift. Or youre working with a journeyman who thinks he is gods gift to the trade but cant teach or give clear direction to save his life. Lol...just figured the responses would help us all.

Thx.:thumbup:

 

[Dmansee12]

Everyday gets easier even if one day you take two steps back, and loving what I do... I have had many jobs but being an Electrician is the most fascinating and rewarding to date. I prefer being an apprentice the boss's probably have it worse at least when we make a dumb mistake it's excusable to our experience when they make a dumb mistake they look like total idiots

 

[derekwalls]

Just wanted to know what keeps my fellow apprentices going on days when you wake up dreading work. Or ur stuck picking up trash all day not learning jack. Or you are on something that just insist on not going smoothly and youre ready to throw you tools off the scissor lift. Or youre working with a journeyman who thinks he is gods gift to the trade but cant teach or give clear direction to save his life. Lol...just figured the responses would help us all.

Thx.:thumbup:

I'm going on third year and the company I've worked for has some very negative "j-men". I seem to get the worst of the bunch. I still have the same passion as I did when I started, but I can't deny that annoys/distracts me to have this guy that's letting his personal life or girlfriend/lack thereof/drinkin problem, etc get the best of him. I just try my best to overlook this crap and do.
What keeps me going is my going is my goal and commitment I made when I signed up and I never sway from that mentality.

 

[mikeh32]

I never was stuck moving materials, never had to take out any more trash then anyone else.

I guess I got lucky with my journeyman.

 

[fistofbolts]

I have worked with some of the craziest mofo's ever. Yet I can take some good tips off them, learn at least something, and flush all that negative crap away. You really learn how to not to be when you become a jw. Like the guy that flips out when the smallest thing doesn't go right etc. Or the guy that goes as fast as he can and screws up constantly....

 

[Vintage Sounds]

Every time I learn something new in the trade I think about how eventually I'm going to become skilled and knowledgeable enough to run circles around the people who doubted me and/or tried to keep me down.

 

[Voiceofwhaleshyt]

Local 3 apprentice program is like a hitler based nazi communist program. Drone to the system. Get used to the local 3 life and learn to have no life. No excuses count. No time for anything else. Long commutes. **** pay. And your always on the firing line. Shotguns loaded at the hall ready to blow you down. Typical "were the best trade ever na na poo poo" ****. The dedication and commitment and expectation level is ridiculous and in this day and age the amount of stress early morning wake ups and the way the current economy is and living costs are the job just don't cut it now to "dream" for the 5 years from now top pay... Which isn't a million dollars a year anyway.... Don't know bout you but I'm trying to make serious amounts of money and live happily . Not make 150 grand a year and live within my means while 80% of my days are committed to local 3 work school union meetings Friday commitees while the rest of the people in my life live and go by with barely any time spent. ****s changing. Prob won't be any pension for us apprentices now in local 3 bc of how they won't tell you the union majority in NYC isn't good. It's split 50 50 union and non union work in NYC. I respect the union and it's idea. But don't respect how they don't respect apprentices and their lives. Supposed to be a brotherhood not a concentration camp .

 

[ibuzzard]

I would think that the motivation of The Hall, an Unemployment Check, a longer than five year apprenticeship, and reverting back to a job at McDonalds would be all the motivation one would need.

If you are not internally motivated, you are in for a rough career.

 

[fistofbolts]

Local 3 apprentice program is like a hitler based nazi communist program. Drone to the system. Get used to the local 3 life and learn to have no life. No excuses count. No time for anything else. Long commutes. **** pay. And your always on the firing line. Shotguns loaded at the hall ready to blow you down. Typical "were the best trade ever na na poo poo" ****. The dedication and commitment and expectation level is ridiculous and in this day and age the amount of stress early morning wake ups and the way the current economy is and living costs are the job just don't cut it now to "dream" for the 5 years from now top pay... Which isn't a million dollars a year anyway.... Don't know bout you but I'm trying to make serious amounts of money and live happily . Not make 150 grand a year and live within my means while 80% of my days are committed to local 3 work school union meetings Friday commitees while the rest of the people in my life live and go by with barely any time spent. ****s changing. Prob won't be any pension for us apprentices now in local 3 bc of how they won't tell you the union majority in NYC isn't good. It's split 50 50 union and non union work in NYC. I respect the union and it's idea. But don't respect how they don't respect apprentices and their lives. Supposed to be a brotherhood not a concentration camp .

u sound like a 1st or 2nd year? ive been there man. there is no doubt the system in place needs a overhaul. imo its a tool to weed out he weak and keep the strong, smart, and dedicated. I dont agree with it and feel the frustrating parts should be removed and the program made to simply train great electricians. the best of the best could have further options...

 

[LanceBass]

My interest in it is what keeps me motivated. There's just so much I want to learn and it doesn't seem like therell ever be enough time or OTJ or schooling to learn it all.

Also, I'd like it if one day the people who thought I was only good enough for sweeping floors could see vans all over the place with my name on it. They could come into my office asking for work and I could make them bark like a dog and crawl on all fours. I could keep a puppy dish and a spare can of Alpo in my desk for just such occasions. When they don't get hired they would go home and eat baby food shortly before crawling into bed and laying in the fetal position while crying "Mommy" and asking themselves how there little floor sweep now owns some huge Electrical company while they're still wage workers even though they had a ten year head start.

 

[sparky402]

When i was an apprentice i think it all depended on who i worked with. If i worked with a richard then it sucked cuz usually they werent teaching me anything but when i had a jman that would show me and tellme why we did it like this or that theni enjoyed it.

 

[LGLS]

Local 3 apprentice program is like a hitler based nazi communist program. Drone to the system. Get used to the local 3 life and learn to have no life. No excuses count. No time for anything else. Long commutes. **** pay. And your always on the firing line. Shotguns loaded at the hall ready to blow you down. Typical "were the best trade ever na na poo poo" ****. The dedication and commitment and expectation level is ridiculous and in this day and age the amount of stress early morning wake ups and the way the current economy is and living costs are the job just don't cut it now to "dream" for the 5 years from now top pay... Which isn't a million dollars a year anyway.... Don't know bout you but I'm trying to make serious amounts of money and live happily . Not make 150 grand a year and live within my means while 80% of my days are committed to local 3 work school union meetings Friday commitees while the rest of the people in my life live and go by with barely any time spent. ****s changing. Prob won't be any pension for us apprentices now in local 3 bc of how they won't tell you the union majority in NYC isn't good. It's split 50 50 union and non union work in NYC. I respect the union and it's idea. But don't respect how they don't respect apprentices and their lives. Supposed to be a brotherhood not a concentration camp .

I understand your skepticism. When you're feeling low, think about all those other people on your train ride in and look at them: Most are on salary and putting in more hours a day and per week than your 35 plus school time. They're working for salary and not compensated extra for work beyond 40 hours. They have no pension, just a 401k if they're lucky (you have a 401k and 3 pensions) and will likely be working until they're in the grave. If they're downsized, outsourced, or otherwise fired they have to go out, interview, until they find another job. You just have to sit and wait. Comparitively, you got it good. I know the local is much tougher on apprentices these days. They've had to cram more education into those 5 &1/2 years like BMS, fire alarms, Network & intranet, and new OSHA regulations without extending the program length. But the apprentices are turning out better for it, and we have to keep up with technology to survive. There's 1 meeting a month, get used to it. And Friday committee is for the f-ups, don't make that a habit. Before the local put the hammer down, 1/2 the 1st year apprentices would be thrown out of the program before they turned out, and still too many "undesirables" made it through only to end up, as TVA put it "the leaners." Groups of these guys are the ones always warming the bench, employed only long enough in any one shop before their bad habits surfaced and the foremen realize what a ****head they were. Nothing in life is perfect.

 

[fistofbolts]

My interest in it is what keeps me motivated. There's just so much I want to learn and it doesn't seem like therell ever be enough time or OTJ or schooling to learn it all.

Also, I'd like it if one day the people who thought I was only good enough for sweeping floors could see vans all over the place with my name on it. They could come into my office asking for work and I could make them bark like a dog and crawl on all fours. I could keep a puppy dish and a spare can of Alpo in my desk for just such occasions. When they don't get hired they would go home and eat baby food shortly before crawling into bed and laying in the fetal position while crying "Mommy" and asking themselves how there little floor sweep now owns some huge Electrical company while they're still wage workers even though they had a ten year head start.

lol, made me chuckle and wonder what those bastards did to you.

 

[brian john]

To the OP I never dreaded coming to work, I was always looking to learn and get that license.

My interest in it is what keeps me motivated. There's just so much I want to learn and it doesn't seem like therell ever be enough time or OTJ or schooling to learn it all.

Also, I'd like it if one day the people who thought I was only good enough for sweeping floors could see vans all over the place with my name on it. :thumbsup:They could come into my office asking for work and I could make them bark like a dog and crawl on all fours. I could keep a puppy dish and a spare can of Alpo in my desk for just such occasions. When they don't get hired they would go home and eat baby food shortly before crawling into bed and laying in the fetal position while crying "Mommy" and asking themselves how there little floor sweep now owns some huge Electrical company while they're still wage workers even though they had a ten year head start.

I have worked with a few guys with your outlook and these guys were mocked and laughed at by other apprentices and older electricians, several of the motivated apprentices now employe the very guys that once laughed at them.

I have told this before the baddest ass I ever worked for that use to tell me I would go nowhere in the trade. Years later he would brag with pride when I would fix electrical problems for the company he worked for. "I taught him everything he knows". He fellow workers would ask him why they hired me if he knew all about fixing the switches I was repairing.

 

[Blkbeard]

During the recession I had multiple jobs where I was competing with day laborers for a position and the only thing that kept me working was the amount of tools I owned and the fact that I spoke English. Oh, and I literally ran where ever I was going and did everything faster than everybody else. When I inevitably got hurt I pretended like I wasn't hurt. I was making $10/hr (and living in Los Angeles, which is expensive) and I remember taking bags of change to buy dinner at the gas station very vividly. When my power tools broke I bought new ones instead of paying for things like electricity. When I got off work I went to my other job with a second contractor doing almost exclusively demo work. After concrete, framing, drywall, etc. (all fast-paced new construction) for 8 hours I would spend the next 4 hours or so ripping up carpet, tile, sinks, showers, etc. The only reason I was blessed with this job was again because I spoke English and I could direct the laborers the contractor would pick up at home depot while he went home and ate dinner with his family.

Eventually I moved up and they realized I was actually worth paying more, but that's what I had to do just to get my foot in the door and it lasted for months. A lot of people don't understand that this is what 'trade' jobs are like for the majority of people in this country. Most people aren't lucky enough to be represented by a union that fights for their salaries, benefits, working conditions, etc. A lot of people who go straight into the trades working for large commercial contractors, unions, etc. have no clue what it's like to have 0 rights or representation. How people act, not learning enough, or having to do work that is 'below you' is absolutely the last thing on your mind when your boss can tell you to go home any day of the week for no reason. Maybe he just found somebody who can do the same work for $9 an hour.

That's what I think about when I'm feeling ungrateful, and I'm not even in the union yet- I'm still in the process of applying. I'd sweep floors and dig ditches for the next 5 years if it meant my family got benefits and I were in the union afterward. Dudes can say whatever they want, call me names, spit on me, and it would be 10x better than most jobs I've done. 8 hours is nothing.

 

[fistofbolts]

During the recession I had multiple jobs where I was competing with day laborers for a position and the only thing that kept me working was the amount of tools I owned and the fact that I spoke English. Oh, and I literally ran where ever I was going and did everything faster than everybody else. When I inevitably got hurt I pretended like I wasn't hurt. I was making $10/hr (and living in Los Angeles, which is expensive) and I remember taking bags of change to buy dinner at the gas station very vividly. When my power tools broke I bought new ones instead of paying for things like electricity. When I got off work I went to my other job with a second contractor doing almost exclusively demo work. After concrete, framing, drywall, etc. (all fast-paced new construction) for 8 hours I would spend the next 4 hours or so ripping up carpet, tile, sinks, showers, etc. The only reason I was blessed with this job was again because I spoke English and I could direct the laborers the contractor would pick up at home depot while he went home and ate dinner with his family.

Eventually I moved up and they realized I was actually worth paying more, but that's what I had to do just to get my foot in the door and it lasted for months. A lot of people don't understand that this is what 'trade' jobs are like for the majority of people in this country. Most people aren't lucky enough to be represented by a union that fights for their salaries, benefits, working conditions, etc. A lot of people who go straight into the trades working for large commercial contractors, unions, etc. have no clue what it's like to have 0 rights or representation. How people act, not learning enough, or having to do work that is 'below you' is absolutely the last thing on your mind when your boss can tell you to go home any day of the week for no reason. Maybe he just found somebody who can do the same work for $9 an hour.

That's what I think about when I'm feeling ungrateful, and I'm not even in the union yet- I'm still in the process of applying. I'd sweep floors and dig ditches for the next 5 years if it meant my family got benefits and I were in the union afterward. Dudes can say whatever they want, call me names, spit on me, and it would be 10x better than most jobs I've done. 8 hours is nothing.

good luck to you and thanks for sharing. I hope u get in.

 

[Haiday]

When the job isn't going right and I am just about ready to throw my tools off the lift, I practice stress relief. The key is to get the proper arm movement to provide maximum power when you smash that cheap chinese compression coupling into a nice metal pancake.

On a more serious note, you win some you lose some. Usually if I get trash duty or shop cleanup or whatever the grunt work of the day is, I try to reflect a little on anything I learned lately. Failing that, it is a welcome respite from the constant barrage of information you are expected to learn and retain. If a day went by where I could honestly say I didn't have a chance to learn something, I'd be retired. As it is, I am a lowly second year apprentice, so I just look for the light at the end of the tunnel. Hope it isn't a train

 

[fistofbolts]

When the job isn't going right and I am just about ready to throw my tools off the lift, I practice stress relief. The key is to get the proper arm movement to provide maximum power when you smash that cheap chinese compression coupling into a nice metal pancake.

On a more serious note, you win some you lose some. Usually if I get trash duty or shop cleanup or whatever the grunt work of the day is, I try to reflect a little on anything I learned lately. Failing that, it is a welcome respite from the constant barrage of information you are expected to learn and retain. If a day went by where I could honestly say I didn't have a chance to learn something, I'd be retired. As it is, I am a lowly second year apprentice, so I just look for the light at the end of the tunnel. Hope it isn't a train

I dont know what your class arrangements are but 3rd year is the most challenging so far, work has gotten extremely better as I have steadily learned and can do a lot of things without getting lost. what im saying is 3rd year feels great compared to the first two. hope it goes the same for you. good luck

 

[That_Dude]

Planning for retirement already, best to do it in your first year. A nice couple of acres in the boonies after 20 years of work completely off-grid. :thumbup:

 

[Voiceofwhaleshyt]

I understand your skepticism. When you're feeling low, think about all those other people on your train ride in and look at them: Most are on salary and putting in more hours a day and per week than your 35 plus school time. They're working for salary and not compensated extra for work beyond 40 hours. They have no pension, just a 401k if they're lucky (you have a 401k and 3 pensions) and will likely be working until they're in the grave. If they're downsized, outsourced, or otherwise fired they have to go out, interview, until they find another job. You just have to sit and wait. Comparitively, you got it good. I know the local is much tougher on apprentices these days. They've had to cram more education into those 5 &1/2 years like BMS, fire alarms, Network & intranet, and new OSHA regulations without extending the program length. But the apprentices are turning out better for it, and we have to keep up with technology to survive. There's 1 meeting a month, get used to it. And Friday committee is for the f-ups, don't make that a habit. Before the local put the hammer down, 1/2 the 1st year apprentices would be thrown out of the program before they turned out, and still too many "undesirables" made it through only to end up, as TVA put it "the leaners." Groups of these guys are the ones always warming the bench, employed only long enough in any one shop before their bad habits surfaced and the foremen realize what a ****head they were. Nothing in life is perfect.

What you say is true BUT...........

The fact that the local wants to absenteeism lay off someone because they missed a few days of work for family personal reasons etc. is horse dung . Do they ever ask how my grades are in theory and college ??? No . Because I have A's. Do they ever ask about my quality of work ? And workmanship amongst my other co workers and the trade ? No... I am 1st year and have more experience before and do better work than some 3rd or 4th year. Never once do they ask the ppl you've worked with. How is he as an ELECTRICIAN?! They only say well you called out 5 days in 5 months... Therefore ... You're not doing the right thing " cancer to my union" "diseasing the union" "worthless to this business" those are just some of the things that have been said to me. Think the hall would ask the foreman and journeyman I was working with about me? No they don't care. Bc on paper to the state I wasn't at work a few days or missed a day of school so therefore it makes them more money to hold my raise put me out of work still collect my union dues and all the $$$$ that comes in from the government on account of them having my name on file . It's quote sickening how I used to hear such great things from old timers and ppl who used to be in this biz and then I get here and the whole idea and demeanor of brotherhood bull they preach at orientation is thrown out the window . I talk to other trades and none of them deal w this crap with their unions . Just because their top pay is 10$ lower than ours doesn't mean anything . Local 3 is the only local round here that treats things this way and mark my words it's only gonna hurt the union in the end .