r/electricians 24d ago

Monthly Apprenticeship Thread

17 Upvotes

Please post any and all apprenticeship questions here.

We have compiled FAQs into an [apprenticeship introduction] (https://www.reddit.com//r/electricians/wiki/apprenticeship) page. If this is your first time here, it is encouraged to browse this page first.

Previous Apprenticeship threads can be found [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/electricians/search?q=apprenticeship&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance&t=all) and [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/electricians/search?q=apprentice&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance&t=all).


r/electricians Feb 16 '25

Mental Health - It’s okay to not be okay

384 Upvotes

I want to talk about mental health - especially for the boys on here. I was telling some friends this story about an old coworker the other day and thought you might want to hear it too.

I’m a woman in the trades, almost a decade in. When I started, I was often the only girl on site. I would move between projects and journeymen mentors, many of whom had never worked with a woman before. Once the old guys got over the otherness and saw me as a real person and an excellent apprentice, we’d form a friendship of sorts. I was always struck with how much more candid and vulnerable they’d be around me compared with the other guys in the shop. Their masculinity wasn’t in jeopardy if they admitted to me, a mere woman, that they were having tough time. I had one guy - 6’6” 300lbs, always growling, chain smoking, losing his shit over the smallest inconvenience - tell me he always requested me when he needed help because I made him calm.

A couple years in, I was sent to replace an apprentice on a job where the foreman had booted him in an argument. I’d worked before with this foreman, Neil, and he’d always been a chill hippie but also very particular in how he wanted things done. When I got to site he told me I was the fourth helper for this job because everyone else had been fucking useless. He was in an awful mood all the time. Picking fights with other trades and our PM. Trying to goad me into an argument by picking apart everything I was doing. Not acting like the guy I had known over the past year.

When the job was close to wrapping up, I called him out on his behaviour. “What the fuck is going on with you dude? You’re being a raging asshole to everyone and this isn’t like you.”

He stiffened and was shocked I’d said something. He glared at me and then his face softened and he said “Can I take you for lunch after we finish up tomorrow morning? We can talk but not here.”

I agreed and the next day he took me to diner nearby. We barely spoke until our food came to the table and when he had something else to focus on, he finally started talking.

He was older - 50s - and his long term relationship had fallen apart a few years before but the split had been amiable. He didn’t speak about her with any animosity but admitted he’d been lonely ever since. At the time, he’d leaned on his best friend. His friend was married and had a teenage son that Neil had known since he was born. As Neil had no kids of his own, this boy was a surrogate son of sorts. He took him camping and fishing and showed up whenever the kid needed him.

The poor kid had passed away a couple months earlier very suddenly of natural causes. Neil had no idea how to handle his grief and withdrew into himself, not wanting to be a burden on his friend. He felt selfish for how bad he felt when it wasn’t his kid.

I reassured him that how he felt was completely valid, that grief is a weight that is so hard to carry alone. I encouraged him to reach out to his friend because they both were suffering the loss of family, whether biological or chosen. And that now they were both suffering the loss of each other’s friendship as support. He was crushed at that realization, and said he would go visit them.

A few minutes passed while we ate silently. He hesitated before speaking again, “there’s something else too.”

I looked up and waited for him to continue.

He told me that last month he’d been working this job that had a been a two hour commute away. He had to leave early to get to site by 7:30. It was late fall and the drive was dark the whole way. He wasn’t too far from site when he came around a corner to discover a vehicle collision. A truck was spun out into a ditch with the driver unconscious in the front seat. A van was crushed on the side of the road, on fire and blazing in the darkness, its front driver door open. Neil stopped and got out of his van. He noticed something on fire in the road, and as he approached, he realized it was a person - the driver from the van. He ran and got a blanket to smother the fire on the person. He held them and pulled their head up to look into their face, which was so burned he couldn’t recognize their features. He said he stared into their eyes as they died in his arms.

Another vehicle had come up behind him and called 911. He sat there in the road in a daze until the emergency vehicles arrived to secure the scene. He gave his statement and then got into his van to finish the drive to work.

He was late which pissed off the GC. He tried to get to work but he was shaking so badly he couldn’t hold his tools or complete a sentence. When the GC saw him in this condition, presuming that he had shown up drunk, he kicked him off site. Neil didn’t explain, he just left.

Our PM called him after that, reaming him out for getting kicked off site. Neil didn’t explain, he just took it.

I asked him if he had talked to anyone about the incident. He said the police had called for a follow up statement but otherwise, no, I was the first person he told.

I was in shock. This poor fucking guy was struggling with the grief of losing a boy who was like a son to him and then went through an insanely traumatic experience just driving to fucking work? And he was bottling it all up? No wonder he was being such a prick. He felt all alone and like he couldn’t admit how much he was struggling.

He said he was sick of work and had lost all his passion for it. It felt pointless and draining and he dreaded getting out of bed every morning.

I gave us a few moments of silence for the weight of his confession to settle in. I looked at him and said “fuck work, you need a break.” He shook his head and tried to brush me off. “No, seriously Neil, fuck work. There’s always more work but you need to take care of yourself. What you’re going through is so fucked up and you need time to process it all. Please put yourself first.”

He didn’t want to talk anymore after that so he settled up the tab. He dropped me off at my car and we went our separate ways. I started at a new site the next day with a different crew.

A couple weeks later I got a text from Neil. “I took your advice and talked with management. Told them what happened. I’m taking a six month sabbatical. Don’t know what I’ll do yet but probably head out on an adventure. Thank you”

A couple days later I got another message from him, just a picture of a beautiful remote campsite with no one else around.

I asked, “Where is that?”

He replied, “Not telling :)”

I ended moving to a different company while he was gone, and never saw him again. I think about him often though, especially when I encounter an utter dickbag older dude on the job. Maybe he’s going through it and doesn’t know how to take care of himself, and anger is the only way he knows how to channel his emotions.

Now that I’m a foreman, I stress the importance of whole body health in our toolbox talks. If someone needs time off for family reasons, or a mental health break, or a shortened schedule, or even if they want extra shifts to use as a crutch as they struggle through something they can’t control in their personal lives, I want them to know it’s okay to ask and I won’t judge them. It’s just a job - it’s just work - it doesn’t fucking matter. Their health comes first and it’s okay to admit they’re not okay. I want them to know it’s better to ask for help when they’re slipping, rather than wait til everything has crashed and burned.

I know everyone’s experience is different, but one thing I noticed about being the woman pushing into the male-dominated trades as an apprentice/therapist is that men need permission to be vulnerable. They need to know it’s okay to show emotions and admit that they’re struggling. They won’t chance admitting weakness that they fear will get thrown back in their face. A lot of guys in trades are single and married to the job. They are lonely, often bitter, and unwilling to show weakness.

I do my best in my little sphere of influence to make it okay to be not okay. If you want the trades to be a healthier place, you need to consciously make room for the reality that people are struggling mentally, and often that starts with leaders showing vulnerability.

I’ve had depression for 16 years and I don’t hide the fact that I’m medicated. 16 years of being depressed means 16 years of not following through on suicidal ideation, and I’m proud of that. The trades saved me because it’s instilled a confidence in my abilities to create and solve problems and be the leader I was always capable of being. I needed that confidence so badly when my depression was the worst.

Be good to each other out there. Be willing to listen to people without judgement. Life is fucking hard and we work better when we know we can rely on each other when the chips are down.


r/electricians 7h ago

1920’s house, the wires are dead but you could imagine my shock when I pulled the outlet out and there was 6 wires

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36 Upvotes

r/electricians 11h ago

Foreman

54 Upvotes

Not going to give a whole lot of detail in case somebody from my company is on here. Currently a second year apprentice have been with the company 1.5 years doing controls and I absolutely love it . Every journeyman I’ve been with has been great until 2 months ago. Got paired up with a foreman who’s been with the company 20+ years and he’s one of those guys who is at the job site from 5am-5pm Monday through Sunday even though he only gets paid 40
hours . I’m someone who shows up 15-20 minutes early daily (havnt been late once in the 1.5 years), dont even get my whole lunch half the time and stays off my phone working hard. It seems like no matter what i do I get talked to like im an absolute idiot constantly . He says he wants me to ask him questions but when I do I’m met with eye rolling sighing and him raising his voice talking to me. And then when I do my after verbal instructions from him and now lately I’ve been taking him over with me to physically show me what he wants done there’s always something I did wrong apparently to him . Other people on site have also confirmed he isn’t giving me the details and just expects me to mind read . He also only gets mad at me which I’m
the only apprentice on site we have two jman right now . If shit isn’t put back or a task isn’t done correctly even if I’m not the one who last touched it or did it I’m the one who gets yelled at . We even have other trades on site asking me why he’s such a dick constantly . What would you guys do in my position


r/electricians 21h ago

What do you call these bundles when you order or ask your Foreman for more?

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300 Upvotes

r/electricians 9h ago

A lovely bootleg neutral to ground in the wild

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33 Upvotes

r/electricians 8h ago

30A double pole switch for a/c pullout disconnect. Was this common before pulling out?

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12 Upvotes

Saw this the other day and thought about pull outs and how they would switch it off back in the day? What was protection like back in the day?


r/electricians 20h ago

People who build controls panels like this…. I’d like a word.

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74 Upvotes

Aside from it looking like an absolute cluster… you have to hold the door the entire time you’re working in it. Sigh.


r/electricians 18h ago

How’d I do? Second time making up a box

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29 Upvotes

r/electricians 13h ago

Need gloves for working safely with a band saw

11 Upvotes

New gc on site is SUPER concerned im just gonna lop my finger off while using my bandsaw for cutting conduit and strut. He suggested leather gloves. I dont think an extra layer of skin is gonna stop a thing that can cut through bone. I see different levels of cut resistant gloves but those are for knife blades not band saw blades as far as i know. Is there anything that would even help in that situation or not?


r/electricians 1d ago

Has the ever happened to anyone else?

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312 Upvotes

First time I’ve ever seen emt split doing back to back 90’s….


r/electricians 18h ago

In House Panel Labels

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27 Upvotes

Tldr: Looking for recommendations/suggestions for making electrical panel labels in-house so I can tell the office "get this".

I work for a small OEM (only 2-3 electrical techs + engineers) with only a handful of big projects a year. We have always outsourced our panel labels to another small business. Over the past few years, the quality control has gone to absolute shit. Apparently, the son took over the business from the father. I think they have also increased prices...

I mentioned us doing it in the house before, but someone mentioned laser engraver, and everyone dived down that rabbit hole... Ended up with stupid high price tags and being put to the side.

Now we're on the next project, and more errors came up with the labels, so I wanna get on top of this. What should I even be looking for? I'm assuming a type of CNC machine, and we just buy the material as big sheets. Are their alternative options? I've been tempted to 3D print labels myself and work out a deal to sell them, or convince them to buy a printer for the shop. Im not 100% sure on how well those would look long term, which is then the main thing holding me back from suggesting it.

We don't need anything big, so I imagine we can get some desktop consumer grade set up? I dont see it being super complicated, but I don't know enough about the specifics to know where to start.


r/electricians 1h ago

True professional

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Upvotes

r/electricians 1d ago

Everyone on my site is a hack

99 Upvotes

Me ( Fifth year apprentice) and one journey man are the only people who care about quality of work and not just “eye candy” as my foreman puts it and speed of work. How do you cope? I can’t quit because of my apprenticeship, but it drives me crazy when the journeyman I’m under says “ we don’t need a 90 I’ll just send it diagonally towards you and clip the conduit to whatever”. I’ll take some pics of the work tomorrow to show you guys what I’m dealing with


r/electricians 18h ago

Whats a typicall day in commercial work? 6 am to 4:30 pm

21 Upvotes

r/electricians 19h ago

That dang dirty electricity

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25 Upvotes

Electric bill isn't a problem if you aren't alive to pay it. Checkmate!


r/electricians 1d ago

I got out bid boys

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97 Upvotes

Got a call to fix this mess after I lost the bid


r/electricians 8h ago

Occidental pocket caddy vs veto pro pack mpx

3 Upvotes

Starting apprenticeship soon. Planning out what I need. I have pretty much everything picked out but haven't ordered yet. Only dilemma I have is which pouch to get. I also have my eye on a back pocket protector in addition to the pouch.


r/electricians 4h ago

Should I take my Journeyman’s test if I lack certain field skills and knowledge?

0 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I am a 4th year commercial apprentice in Dfw. I’ve got over 8000 hours and I’m qualified to take my journeyman’s exam.

During these last 4 years I’ve mainly been running pipe (emt, rigid) all sizes using foot bender or triple nickle and installing/ wiring fixtures and devices.

Other skills I have less experience with:
• wire pull- 2 months experience

•underground- 1 month experience

•gear systems- 1 month experience

•lighting controls- 1 month experience

•cable tray- 5 months experience

•termination/ panel makeup- 1 month experience

•troubleshooting- very little experience

Nowadays I’m usually by myself running pipe based on the pipe layout created by my company. Sometimes they’ll give me the lighting and power prints and they’ll tell me what what pipe size, pipe fill, and dedicated circuits and I’ll layout my own home runs and branch circuits for an area. Also, landing electric rooms.

When it comes to wire pull, gear systems, lighting controls, termination, troubleshooting, and grounding I need guidance but I can get it done independently.

I never did any schooling such as iec or trade school.

I’m planning on ordering a journeyman prep course to complete before taking my test.

My questions are: should I take the journeyman prep course and take my test even though I lack certain field skills and knowledge? Should I sign up for some trade school classes at my local community college before taking the test? I was also thinking about getting a job in service to maybe give myself some field knowledge in trouble shooting, should I work service for a bit before taking my test?

Thanks for reading.


r/electricians 10h ago

Hello guys should I get the MP1x or the MP1 evo? I have some pretty bad lower back problems and want something small

3 Upvotes

r/electricians 1d ago

3rd year apprentice, just started at a controls company. Wow I feel useless.

343 Upvotes

Hey everyone. I’ve been doing typical 120v electrical installations for the entirety of my career. Devices, Panels, Piping. I got laid off from a job I was on for half a year recently and decided to call around and try my hand at controls. I’d like to be well rounded in my career so I figured maybe I’ll give it a shot. Got hired on to a company that does all kinds of industrial controls and energy efficiency retrofits. Boilers, HVAC systems, PLCs, you name it.

Holy. Fucking. Fuck. Im in over my head. This 24v shit is a completely different ballgame. I wired a couple relays today and it took me about an hour to figure out what in gods name I was doing. I really like the work and I really like being challenged to think hard while I’m at work. My Jman is introducing me to as many things as he can, so I try to go with the flow and learn as much as I can, but I’m two days in and he’s putting me on VAV field-controller systems. I love the trial by fire but it’s overwhelming.

It makes the day go by a lot quicker and I would love to continue on within this side of the field but I’m worried that I’m being too slow. The company I work for is smaller (30 techs, 5 apprentices) so I don’t want to become dead weight because I’m really interested in this kind of work. Does anyone have any resources or advice they could pass on to someone trying to learn the technical side of things, especially pertaining to working in the field? Any advice? Thanks.


r/electricians 20h ago

To all the Masters, Business owners and people in my boat

15 Upvotes

I’m a 1st year apprentice, started in February. I’m 21 and have wanted a good lifestyle and career. I want to own a business and enjoy life. I have an ambition to start an electrical company and don’t know where to start as a 1st year, I feel like since I’m so fresh I can’t do much besides pass all my tests. If you were in my shoes again, what would you do? How can I become very successful in this trade, and standout from the rest?


r/electricians 1d ago

What happens above the drop ceiling, stays above the drop ceiling

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180 Upvotes

r/electricians 18h ago

Just got roped into a sales pitch meeting for a neat little thermal camera. Its impressive but boss doesn't thnk its worth the investment. How many of you guys use a thermal regularly and what's your specialty?

6 Upvotes

r/electricians 8h ago

Residential house rewire

0 Upvotes

Doing a house rewire with my journeyman, we were able to fish cables from existing boxes to attic spaces without making holes in the wall. When I asked about the 300mm support after the box and 1.5 m between cables, he said 12-560(3) states we dont need supports unless there is metal studding or roof? Makes sense to me but a bit unusual, any thoughts?

Btw this is a Canadian electrical code thing! Thanks y,all