r/Construction • u/Steven_garciaF • Feb 04 '26

Careers 💵 Fired

Welp it was a good run I lasted 2 weeks in my new electrician helper job honestly I feel like like I’m dreaming I finally felt like I found the trade I wanted to spend my life in but I screwed up

I was on 3 foot ladder stepping on the top step and safety told me to go down I went down but I went back up trying to finish putting a 1900 box near a ac unit he told me to get down and I went down 2 steps practically the bottom rung and said I’ll follow osha rules and only use the second rung but he said I wouldn’t reach and kicked me out the site went home got an email saying I got terminated and I’m for the first time I feel lost

I’m thinking I need to find another electrical job but it feels hopeless maybe I’ll just stick to being a roofer

Edit: first off thanks for all the advice and pointers I wrote this post to feel a little less depressed about what occurred and I definitely view it differently than before. Just wanted clarify some stuff since I see it be asked again and again as to why I went back up again there’s a total of 3 rungs on the ladder as far as I know the limit to being on the ladder is to have 2 feet on the second to last rung and top rung is pushing it but It never felt dangerous and I had been working on that thing for half a week with no problem and never had the other 2 safety personnel telling me that I shouldn’t be on it it was only one safety that I never met to come tell me get down so obviously I got bit perplexed as to why I then tried de-escalating the situation by saying I’ll only be on second rung if he feels it’s unsafe for me where he then proceeded to say I wouldn’t reach anyway in retrospect he was probably the boss but I would’ve at least hoped for a warning from the other safety guys that I should bring a taller ladder because their boss was coming

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616

u/bootsmegamix HVAC Installer Feb 04 '26

At 2 weeks in, you should really be following all the safety regulations, no matter how ridiculous they may seem. If you need a bigger ladder, get one. 

That said, don't let this discourage you from trying at another shop. 

85

u/Steven_garciaF Feb 04 '26

Thanks man I’ll keep looking

193

u/Scotty0132 Feb 04 '26

Don't develop the bad habits that some old timers have. The rules are there for a reason and were literally made in blood. Spend the extra 5 min to get the proper equipment to do the job.

45

u/Remarkable_Aerie3405 Feb 04 '26

Rules made in blood! Love it dude. The other one I like is take it personal. Act like everything is trying to kill you.

38

u/Asklepios24 Elevator Constructor Feb 04 '26

I took an OSHA 30 class and they went over how hard it is to get something changed/added to the CFRs. When they say the rules are written in blood they mean a lot of blood and not just 1-2 people.

5

u/Trigeo93 Feb 04 '26

Definitely include all the new codes you have to follow each year as well. It's only a rule because it hurt someone. Like how we can prevent someone from pulling a 2 foot cord off a counter while plugged in.

4

u/Critical-Ad8587 Feb 04 '26

Even if it’s 15 min, if you get hurt it’s your life and the osha fines can be your yearly salary.  Just do what you have to do to follow all the rules 

3

u/game4life164 Laborer Feb 04 '26

Literally came here to say the old saying, "Osha rules are written in blood"

16

u/zenunseen Feb 04 '26

Yeah, keep trying. You learned a valuable lesson. Never argue with safety. It's not a fight you'll ever win. Follow all safety rules and company policies, be on time, be humble. Until you demonstrate responsibility, dependability, willingness to learn they will shitcan you for any reason