I'm currently working on my bachelors for psychology, but kind have an interest in learning some kind of trade because they're more practical and have volunteered at a wood shop and loved working with my hands. I also like to think and problem solve a little bit which is why i figure being an electrician might be good. However before I embark on this journey I'd like to find out more info though. First of all how does the job outlook look? Since I don't know 100% if this is something I want to try yet, is there away I can volunteer in a similar field to explore my interests (like wood shop for woodworking/trades?) thank you all and some info would be nice asap please.
possible career?
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if you want to be serious about electric work you need to be in it 100%. It is not a hobby. After 10 or 20 years in the trade, you would have enough knowledge to where it could be a hobby at that point, if you desired. In woodworking, the only thing you have to worry about mostly is not cutting your fingers and hands and toes off. Doing electric work, you can kill yourself, you can kill others, and you can destroy very expensive equipment. That requires a tad more commitment than woodworking, IMO. I feel qualified to say this because I worked as a carpenter for a number of years. There are stoners in both trades, and stuff does go boom occasionally, but real electrical work as a trade requires slightly more commitment over the long haul to safety, safety of installation, and technical wiring issues than woodworking (and I am by no means denigrating the knowledge required to do quality building, framing and trusswork, building code knowledge required, etc.)
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You know how many unemployed psychology majors are out there and the ones working are making peanuts for the most part.
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There's work for decent electricians Wonderer, but you need to understand that first, we want your soul.
~CS~
~CS~
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Do you work in Fort McMurray?
In my personal experience, if you are at least 2 years into your bachelors, make sure you finish now. Because all the friends I had that dropped out halfway through had a real hard time going back to school if they ever did.
Stick it out for 2 more years, and when no one is answering your emails, resumes, or applications. Then feel free to look towards a trade like I did. I do really enjoy being an apprentice (2 years in), but feel even better that I have a degree to fall back on if I want to change it up. Or even to apply to a higher ranking position in the field like project manager etc... that requires a degree in the future, and actually know how commercial jobs go.
Stick it out for 2 more years, and when no one is answering your emails, resumes, or applications. Then feel free to look towards a trade like I did. I do really enjoy being an apprentice (2 years in), but feel even better that I have a degree to fall back on if I want to change it up. Or even to apply to a higher ranking position in the field like project manager etc... that requires a degree in the future, and actually know how commercial jobs go.
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