I'm assuming this counts as DIY, so I got a job over the summer being an electricians helper, so I'm gonna need to know what to expect during my employment. it's 10/hr for 10hr a day, sometimes 6-7 days a week. I'm in still in high school (18 tho) so this is big money for me. I don't wanna screw it up
>>1005398
expect to be his bitch since you don't know jack shit lol
>>1005398
expect a lot of 'get me this' and 'bring me that' and 'we're outta the other stuff so i need you to run to the hardware store and get some more' and 'go down to the truck and lug another spool of wire' ... basically what >>1005399 said.
>don't wanna screw it up
Then learn shit while you work. Show initiative. If you prove to the boss that you want to expand your skillset, you might find yourself farther along in a couple years, maybe even with your very own eighteen-year-old future electrician.
But it ain't gonna be easy. Expect nicks, cuts, shocks, splinters, and other assorted reminders to pay the fuck attention to what's going on around you.
>>1005402
It's better to order things in advance online because you can get better deals.
>>1005398
Be on time.
Do what the boss tells you.
Get off your damn phone.
Listen and learn.
>>1005403
Never worked in the field have you, kid?
>>1005643
Good start, but let me add in what you forgot:
Be on time.
>Get off your damn phone.
Do what the boss tells you.
>Get off your damn phone.
Get off your damn phone.
>Get off your damn phone.
Listen and learn.
>Get off your damn phone.
>>1005643
Definitely this.
Always keep with you:
Side cutting pliers/Linesman pliers
Electrical tape
A knife
Something to write with
Something to write on
These are the tools your boss is most likely to need, and therefore, the tools that he will appreciate you having if he doesn't have one on him at any given time.
A note on the last two items - your phone's notepad app is a bad choice here. Use a notepad and a pen/pencil. Using your phone just makes it look like you're fucking around.
Learn the proper names for tools and material. It's much easier to return quickly to the job site what what your boss needs when you can communicate to the shop clerk what it is you're looking for.
Calling ahead is a good way to save time. Know your local electrical suppliers and have their numbers handy so that you can do that.
Always have a sky hook and a cable stretcher in your car. They're invaluable tools that every apprentice should have.
Wear safety glasses. Even if your boss doesn't buy you PPE. Buy some and take care not to scratch them. They're not expensive.
srsly.
Expect to be a "gopher" (go 'fer this, go grab me that etc.) for at least a couple of months. Don't take it personally, just try and learn what everything is.
Don't fall for the usual gopher tricks like I did though. There is no such thing as a skyjack, checkered paint, or a cordless power cord.
>>1005678
Skyjack is pretty synonymous with a scissor lift, around my way.
>>1005662
Thanks for filling in the parts I missed. :)
>>1005403
This is correct, but you will inevitably have to run to a store to pick something up, unless you order way more than you need of every kind of part.
>>1005398
make sure your work hours are actually being recorded by a master electrician.
an electrician i met got fucked when he found out his boss had been paying him under the table, since there was no papertrail, he could not gain his journeyman license
>>1005662
I was going to say this. Nothing is more likely to get you fired than if I can't find you because you've fucked off to play on your phone
>>1005678
>It's skyhook
>>1005398
Always ask what something looks like when asked to retreive it, and dont come back until you have it.
Wire stretcher, sky hook, and left handed anything dont exist, it's just them havin a laugh at your expense.
Wear impact glasess and hard hat. Always place your left hand behind your back when opening a cabinet or working in one, always mantain 3 points of contact climbing a ladder, ask every time you're unsure about anything. Be afraid of the electricity.
>>1005398
If you get the opportunity for an official apprenticeship fucking take it.
Basically what these wise anons say. I don't know shit about being an electrician but I was a painter for a family friend for a summer (dad is a carpenter and general contractor). Same things goes for life. Think. Pay attention. Ask questions but try to be independent. When try time is right, ask good questions, not "what's that, what's it for" but "how did you learn this interesting technique" or "how do you like doing what you're doing". That's where you really learn shit and get ahead.
Make sure you are working legally.
Have A Hot Stick. (Non-contact Voltage Detector)
Don't trust a wire, assuming you ever do something other than carrying heavy objects, just because someone else says that the circuit is turned off.
>>1005694
This, here every aerial lift is a JLG or a skyjack. Mostly guys who worked in the south say skyjack, the natives say JLG.
>>1005678
Another one is "the water isn't hooked up yet, go get the bucket of water and the bucket of steam." Which I've seen escalate to "you forgot the fucking bucket of steam?! How could i have hired such a fucking idiot? Run back to the shop right now and get it, you have 15 minutes."
Kid had a sense of humor about it after he figured it out. He somehow managed to find boiling water, put it in a bucket with a lid, and when the journeyman opened it some steam came out. We all laughed, then the jm took the water bucket, dumped it down a drain, filled up a cup with water from a sink, turned the bucket over, sat down and stared at us.
Any construction job you're bound to be fucked with, but one you're in good with a crew it becomes more fun.
The 3 things you have to do to maintain job security on your end.
Make your boss like you, do this by at the very minimum not making his job harder. Make it easier by letting him trust you. Put his tools back like you found them, don't break stuff. Don't have to be told twice. Learn what tools he's going to ask for at what time and have them ready. This will help you too. I learned how to build cabinets before my old boss let me on the tools. How? Because I learned the process inside and out and memorized it, just by the order he did things. I could not do it as fluidly as him, but I could bumble my way through and make something acceptable.
And most importantly, don't be idle. Bosses hate that. If you're not working on something, helping, or watching and learning then you better be cleaning, prepping, setting up, breaking down, organizing something, anything. If you're just standing there that means he's wasting money to pay you.
2nd, if there are other employees make them like you, and if not like you at least respect you. Don't make their jobs harder, don't do things or go about things in a way to make them look bad, do your fair share, help them as needed without being their bitch, and learn from the ones who have been around the longest. And don't be tense, uptight, cocky, condescending, they're all there doing the same job for the same reason, money.
>>1005838
3rd, be reliable. Come to work every day and on time. If your lung collapses or you have to go to a funeral that's one thing, if they happen 2 Mondays in a row it's another. "I feel bad" isn't a reason. I got stuck in traffic definetly isn't a reason if it happens more than once. And reliability goes beyond that, if you're tasked with something and do it half assed several times after demonstrating before hand that you can do it correctly you are not reliable. If you forget tools on a job you are not reliable. I actually drove 45 miles checking every home depot to find a discontinued measuring tape that I lost before my boss could figure out the next day it was gone. Not because I felt bad, not because it was an exceptionally good measuring tape, but just because I didn't want to find my way back under his thumb. Mistakes happen, but when they do let them be something you had no control of.
Really, these all tie into each other. Do everything you need to do to be good at the job. But even then, if you're only there 80% of the time, and out of that time only 50% of it you're engaged you're not going to last regardless of good you are at what you do. And if the time you're there you irritate everyone around you there's no future for you.
I mean, honestly, as long as you keep the tools in order, hand him what he needs, and clean up after him you'll be straight. But this is the perfect chance to sharpen your skills for the workforce, and develop technical skills that will benefit you at some point in life, even if not professionally. I went to school for automotive mechanics, and although I decided not to go into it as a career(because I don't like ripping people off, which they teach you how to do in class), I have more than made my money back fixing cars for friends, family, and myself.
