[LedAng91]

Hello Everyone,

My name's Angela, and I'm glad to be here. Recently it came to my attention that our local was hiring electrician apprentices. Seeing as how my father is a carpenter and my boyfriend is a union millwright, the trades have always interested me. Having worked in a slew of customer service and desk jobs, I decided I'd much rather get into a position where I'm actually working for my money. I don't mind getting my hands dirty, and having worked with used car salesmen, I know how to deal with sexism on the job. I can definitely hold my own and be "one of the guys".

I'm passionate about weightlifting, so I'm not worried so much about the strength aspect of the job. My main concern is that I have virtually zero knowledge on electrician work or how any of it works. I've got until about May as far as getting an interview goes, so I'm hoping to find more information to ensure this is the right path for me, and also how best to prepare myself, should I decided to take it.

Any advice or pointers to helpful resources from successful applicants, journeymen, or retired electricians (male or female) would be greatly appreciated! Mostly I'll just be lurking in the forums until I feel comfortable enough to post, myself.

 

[ELECTRICK2]

Hello Everyone,

My name's Angela, and I'm glad to be here. Recently it came to my attention that our local was hiring electrician apprentices. Seeing as how my father is a carpenter and my boyfriend is a union millwright, the trades have always interested me. Having worked in a slew of customer service and desk jobs, I decided I'd much rather get into a position where I'm actually working for my money. I don't mind getting my hands dirty, and having worked with used car salesmen, I know how to deal with sexism on the job. I can definitely hold my own and be "one of the guys".

I'm passionate about weightlifting, so I'm not worried so much about the strength aspect of the job. My main concern is that I have virtually zero knowledge on electrician work or how any of it works. I've got until about May as far as getting an interview goes, so I'm hoping to find more information to ensure this is the right path for me, and also how best to prepare myself, should I decided to take it.

Any advice or pointers to helpful resources from successful applicants, journeymen, or retired electricians (male or female) would be greatly appreciated! Mostly I'll just be lurking in the forums until I feel comfortable enough to post, myself.

Sounds (reads?) like you have a great attitude. You could go on line and take courses about how electricity works. If you have a first aid ticket that is a huge plus in this day. You mentioned dad's a carpenter and the boy friend is a millwright, they must know some 'lectricians.

 

[LedAng91]

Sounds (reads?) like you have a great attitude. You could go on line and take courses about how electricity works. If you have a first aid ticket that is a huge plus in this day. You mentioned dad's a carpenter and the boy friend is a millwright, they must know some 'lectricians.

Yeah, my Dad's going to get me in touch with his professor who was a construction electrician before he began teaching. I went to the library and rented 4 different books on the subject, and purchased another on Amazon. Hopefully among all that I'll learn whatever it is I need to know right off the bat.

I'm assuming knowing the terminology, the basic understanding of how it works, and what tools do what would be a good start. I'd just like to ensure that I'm knowledge enough to not prove useless on my first day. If I'm one step ahead, all the better!

 

[ELECTRICK2]

Yeah, my Dad's going to get me in touch with his professor who was a construction electrician before he began teaching. I went to the library and rented 4 different books on the subject, and purchased another on Amazon. Hopefully among all that I'll learn whatever it is I need to know right off the bat.

I'm assuming knowing the terminology, the basic understanding of how it works, and what tools do what would be a good start. I'd just like to ensure that I'm knowledge enough to not prove useless on my first day. If I'm one step ahead, all the better!

Forgot to mention you could volunteer with a local habitat for humanities thing. You get to work with tools and get a warm fuzzy feeling. Good luck and give us an update:thumbup:

 

[LedAng91]

Oooh, I hadn't even thought of that! I'm currently volunteering at the Humane Society, and was already thinking how great it would be if I could help new rescues by doing their electrical installation (once I have my card, of course). That's definitely a great idea, and I'm pretty sure I saw that they were looking for people! Thanks, and I'll definitely keep you guys updated. I appreciate all the advice and words of encouragement I've gotten so far!

 

[gnuuser]

welcome to the forums
electricity is safe to work with as long as you follow safety rules properly
but you gotta remember its like a grumpy old dog and you have to handle with care!
get careless and it will bite you.

you are on the right track with that good attitude about work and there is a lot to learn.
don't be afraid to ask questions. any good electrician will be happy to help you learn.
bone up on your math skill because they will be used a lot when you work with conduit or circuit design, and troubleshooting.

know lockout/tagout procedures (this is one of the things that you should ask your employer 1st) some places are different than others and procedures may vary slightly.
there is residential, commercial, industrial, and lineman/utility
these four main fields are different and have some major differences that have to be taken into consideration.
here on the forum you will find fellow electricians from all fields and some from different countries as well so its a great place to learn.

we can also provide links to different resources for training.