How do I become an electrician?

[Irving]

I have a multimeter, a pair of wire strippers, some rainbow wire, an old motion detector, and some rechargeable batteries.

[Marlin]

I'm sure the MD will come in handy...

[Elhuero]

years back I was working on an IT helpdesk, and one of the guys there up and quit his job to go be an electrician.

He was gone one full day.

The next day he called the boss and asked for his job back.

Boss said "nope".

[Irving]

Sounds like he didn't spend anytime thinking about anything. The person that just leaves a job one day with zero notice is not a good decision maker.

[robsterclaw]

This may sound like a stupid bit of advice, but here goes anyway. Always be careful. A guy I worked with at Pizza Hut was a journey man or master, I can't remember. We both delivered part time, but he did the electric for new home builds. There was supposed to be NO power to a home he was wiring. Seems he checked things out in the morning her got there. Started working, and some moron sent power to the house. And he died. Was very sad.

[gnihcraes]

This may sound like a stupid bit of advice, but here goes anyway. Always be careful. A guy I worked with at Pizza Hut was a journey man or master, I can't remember. We both delivered part time, but he did the electric for new home builds. There was supposed to be NO power to a home he was wiring. Seems he checked things out in the morning her got there. Started working, and some moron sent power to the house. And he died. Was very sad.

Stuff happens with any job like this. I too knew a great guy, really sharp, thought he knew his stuff... got zapped too, gone.

I believe lock out / tag out is the moral to the story on some of this...

Like treating a gun as if it were always loaded...


"Lockout/Tagout (LOTO)" refers to specific practices and procedures to safeguard employees from the unexpected energization or startup of machinery and equipment, or the release of hazardous energy during service or maintenance activities.

Approximately 3 million workers service equipment and face the greatest risk of injury if lockout/tagout is not properly implemented. Compliance with the lockout/tagout standard (29 CFR 1910.147) prevents an estimated 120 fatalities and 50,000 injuries each year. Workers injured on the job from exposure to hazardous energy lose an average of 24 workdays for recuperation. In a study conducted by the United Auto Workers (UAW), 20% of the fatalities (83 of 414) that occurred among their members between 1973 and 1995 were attributed to inadequate hazardous energy control procedures specifically, lockout/tagout procedures.

[Irving]

Yeah, that's pretty crappy. Thank you for keeping my safety in mind. I also knew a guy who died suddenly when I was delivering pizza. Only he worked next door at Blockbuster and over dosed on Oxycontin.

[Marlin]

That's why one checks everything, even if you just checked it..

Out of 22 years, I've only been hit real bad twice. and maybe an average of 1-2 times a year.. Most of them were just getting stupid.. Mainly when I first started...

[ChadAmberg]

Stuff happens with any job like this. I too knew a great guy, really sharp, thought he knew his stuff... got zapped too, gone.

I believe lock out / tag out is the moral to the story on some of this...

Like treating a gun as if it were always loaded...


"Lockout/Tagout (LOTO)" refers to specific practices and procedures to safeguard employees from the unexpected energization or startup of machinery and equipment, or the release of hazardous energy during service or maintenance activities.

Approximately 3 million workers service equipment and face the greatest risk of injury if lockout/tagout is not properly implemented. Compliance with the lockout/tagout standard (29 CFR 1910.147) prevents an estimated 120 fatalities and 50,000 injuries each year. Workers injured on the job from exposure to hazardous energy lose an average of 24 workdays for recuperation. In a study conducted by the United Auto Workers (UAW), 20% of the fatalities (83 of 414) that occurred among their members between 1973 and 1995 were attributed to inadequate hazardous energy control procedures specifically, lockout/tagout procedures.

I still have my lockout tags and lock from over 15 years ago when I did some industrial electrician work. I keep it right up front of my tool kit so even if I'm just rewiring stuff around the house like last weekend, I always remember when getting my tools to go shut off breakers.

And yes, your first year is going to suck hard. I worked in the Chambers Works, in New Jersey. A more polluted, filthy, nasty place you'll never be, and it's even worse in the Chambers Works. That's where all the freon was made from Hydrogen Fluoride. The "safety briefing" was essentially "All the guards are armed, because if you get HF on you, they're going to put a bullet in your head to end the suffering. Sign here!" I also got to spend several days in a space suit, walking around doing work inside the building that made all the lead for leaded gasoline for a hundred years. Nasty stuff.

[GreenScoutII]

Well, in general I think sparkies have it a little easier than we plumbers do, but at least if we cut into a "hot" line, we just get wet

Actually the wost jobsite injury I've ever seen happened to an electrician's apprentice. I worked for a shop which had both plumbers and electricians so we would frequently be in the same house. Anyway, one day the sparkies were cutting trench for electrical service to this house with a Ditch Witch. Somehow, and I'm not sure of the specifics, one of the guys got his foot caught up in the stinger. It pulled his leg through between the cutting chain and the machine it's self. It stripped the muscle from his thigh right down to the bone. By some miracle, it missed his femoral artery.

That guy was just a young kid, 20 or 22 as I recall. Laid him up for a year before he returned to work.