Electricians of Reddit

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The original was posted on /r/electricians by /u/AppleJuice769 on 2023-08-18 10:03:52+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/electricians by /u/OwningSince1986 on 2023-08-18 09:56:04+00:00.

I’ve noticed a lot of older folks prefer the folding ruler as opposed to the tape especially in the dirt. Whats your preference?

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The original was posted on /r/electricians by /u/Afraid-Prune9639 on 2023-08-18 09:29:31+00:00.

So I started doing electrical work about 1 year and a half ago. Started on service calls did some new builds and a little bit of commercial work here and there. So my boss put me and my friend who started not long after me on a remodel for a lab in a school and we killed it l. Now he has me leading a restaurant rough in and i only get paid 14 an hr and i’m expected to do all the coordinating with other trades and contractors and teach the new hires commercial WHEN THEY STARTED AT FOURTEEN A MONTH AGO. idk am i just bitching or is this valid?

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The original was posted on /r/electricians by /u/wildwood100 on 2023-08-18 08:33:58+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/electricians by /u/Few_Assistance_8177 on 2023-08-18 06:39:52+00:00.

I’m running into a slight issue. I have one breaker that feeds the panel I am working on. It is a 3 Phase 4 wire 208v. We need to change the panel out.

Once we shut the power off, there is no power to the panel. However as soon as we loose the neutral lug, we start hearing arcing and all the wires are hot. You feel a shock when touching it as well. When you tight it back down, no more voltage.

In my time doing this, I have never encountered such an issue.

Anyone have some insight?

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The original was posted on /r/electricians by /u/stardust_squire on 2023-08-18 06:24:36+00:00.

Anyone work outside the US? I'm considering leaving the country and I'm wondering if my experience in the US will allow me to get a job anywhere in Europe or if electricians there make enough to live on

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The original was posted on /r/electricians by /u/No-Permission6415 on 2023-08-18 04:46:28+00:00.

I have serval outlets that don’t have ground wires the GCFI is in the bathroom that’s the pinky outlet that has a ground wire upstairs. My problem is I need to rent a big carpet cleaner for the upstairs but last time I did this all the non grounded wires stopped powering for a solid two days and the cercut breaker got all loose. I NEED TO CLEAN MY.M CARPET

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The original was posted on /r/electricians by /u/anyavailablebane on 2023-08-18 04:44:31+00:00.

Someone in a different thread said their sister started their apprenticeship 7 years ago and that in Canada it used to take 6 years back then. I’m in Australia where it is 4 years and when I google it says it takes 4 years in Canada. Can anyone enlighten me on if 6 years is true and why?

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The original was posted on /r/electricians by /u/Emergency_Cat_2137 on 2023-08-18 04:16:30+00:00.

Apprentice 3 lighting control panel that's never came to life yet

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The original was posted on /r/electricians by /u/trollingguru on 2023-08-18 03:18:56+00:00.

I got fired today for supposed incompetence. We were working on a commercial construction project. And the general contractor was pissed we were slow on deadlines. We had 3 people on a 50,000 square ft complete remodel. I guess the company was losing money being late so I got blamed. No journey men on site. Just apprentice electricians. The told me I suck and the industry isn’t for me. I never argued and told them thank you. This left a bad taste in my mouth about the trade. Is it always like this? I feel like the company was taking on more jobs then it can Handle and they were constantly hiring people who quit. it was strange.

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The original was posted on /r/electricians by /u/SparkChaser14 on 2023-08-18 01:21:55+00:00.

So the first time in my 10 years as a service electrician I got blamed for stealing 90 or more pain pills. The customer called me and asked if I did it which or course I did not do it and they had cameras all over the house and he said he is going to go through all the footage as they seemed to disappear the day I worked there. It’s been a couple weeks and I haven’t heard from him as I still have more work to do there but I almost feel too scared to go back even though I’m innocent. I guess that’s one bad thing of being in customers houses.

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The original was posted on /r/electricians by /u/SlowGuarantee5800 on 2023-08-18 01:10:05+00:00.

The original post: /r/tumblr by /u/ContributionOk4879 on 2024-05-17 17:36:07.

The original post: /r/tumblr by /u/Mael_Jade on 2024-05-17 13:57:59.

The original post: /r/tumblr by /u/Egotlib on 2024-05-17 10:23:08.

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The original was posted on /r/electricians by /u/NarcanMe_ on 2023-08-17 23:11:02+00:00.

Hey all. I'm a first year. Been on the job two weeks. My company is currently working commercial construction on a large building for the area. I've been pulling wire and dressing conduit boxes and probably will be for the next 10 weeks. I like it overall, much better than my last career field. However my forearms are raw. My using some cheap tools I picked up at Lowe's (links below) I think if I got something a little better and maybe lighter. I've been recommended a few things when I've ask but I want to see what reddit recommended. Thanks

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The original was posted on /r/electricians by /u/ic52 on 2023-08-17 23:07:29+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/electricians by /u/PancakeLord2k3 on 2023-08-17 22:16:03+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/electricians by /u/nuclearqueef on 2023-08-17 22:12:16+00:00.

Why are they so fucking stupid? Anyone can do their shitty job. Why must they insist on fucking with electricians? (Not cutting out boxes, moving/unstrapping pipes/ j boxes etc) they leave piss in the walls, they play their shitty mexican music fucking loud (im not being racist, im hispanic) , they scream at each other and repeat the same fucking stupid jokes over and over. I fucking hope they all perish from a slow and agonizing death. Do you guys have any shitty stories about them as well? I would love to hear the hate speech. Thank you.

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The original was posted on /r/electricians by /u/Final_Good_Bye on 2023-08-17 21:32:29+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/electricians by /u/Appropriate-Dot-1603 on 2023-08-17 21:23:12+00:00.

What’s up y’all, I’m a new journeyman working in industrial service. We do a little bit of everything, but mostly controls. I’ve pretty much settled upon the fact that I’m not interested in the typical electrician career path. I’m more of an emotional/odd ball dude, and while I do fine on the job site and fit in well, I’m pretty much wearing a mask out there, and that is extremely taxing internally.

So I’m thinking about all the possible paths I could go down, before I just straight up take the dive and go to college. Any of y’all have insight on being a high school electrical instructor? Obviously I’ll be taking a pay cut, but I feel like it will be much more fulfilling. I don’t inherintly hate electrical work, and I feel like being in that position will make it much more enjoyable for me.

Idk, I’m just looking for general advice about this. Thanks guys!

Edit: didn’t mean to put the emoji lmao

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The original was posted on /r/electricians by /u/Affectionate_Win7012 on 2023-08-17 21:17:58+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/electricians by /u/Fun_Huckleberry4385 on 2023-08-17 20:18:19+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/electricians by /u/Starchildren96 on 2023-08-17 20:15:50+00:00.

I just wanted to post this to vent, because my last few weeks have been pretty horrible. First I get hit and ran, the guy that hit me had fake plates. My insurance doesn't cover uninsured driver property damage.

Next, while working at the hospital I normally work at, I was pulling cables and I wheel around a cart that has some drills on it, and a back-pack full of tools/my milwaukee vacuum, easily probably 2-3k in tools. As I was snaking a wall, I return to the cart to grab my drill and move it, and everything is stolen on it. My cart was right next to a camera, that I later find out that not only is that camera not working, every camera in the building I'm working in doesn't have playback, (Im working in a cheap shitty hospital) Yeah I was pretty heart broken and pissed, and immediately called my boss. He says he has my back and will reimburse me, so I'm hopeful at least. I just hope my bad luck ceases cause on top of my car getting destroyed and my tools getting stolen I can't see a way to fiancially recover from this easily. I'm only an apprentice though I'm trusted to work alone since I've done well in the past.

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The original was posted on /r/electricians by /u/AverageGuy16 on 2023-08-17 20:07:14+00:00.

I’m graduating from my trade school in a few weeks and have been going on all sorts of interviews and such and one of the places I did really well. They asked me to come work with them for a day to see how I do before they consider offering me a job. They said I’d be doing basic stuff as a helper and that I should bring all my tools and some drills with me. I have an impact and hammer drill with two batteries.

Im used to just having a tool belt with all my hand tools in it but now that I’m having to bring my drills I ended up getting a welkinland electrical back pack. It’s a bit big but I guess that’s okay right? I’m assuming I can just bring my impact drill and some bits with me and leave the hammer drill home but I’m unsure if this is a good move. I’m gonna then just take my tool pouch/belt and put it in the backpack in case I gotta grab my tools/have them with me while I go around and work in these areas. I’m bringing some insulated screw drivers, dikes, channel locks, strippers, multimeter, plug tester, tick tracer, tape measure and some pencils which will mainly be in my tool belt/pouch. Am I doing this right and bringing the right stuff or is the overkill?

I’m so freaking nervous man. What should I expect here? All they told me was that they wanted to see me splicing, hooking and wiring some outlets in the office before hitting the field with them. What else should I do to prepare? I did really well in school, in the labs and when we went to go work on homes out on the field. I know I don’t know enough to be seen as an asset but I really want to learn and become a good electrician under these guys. How can I make a good impression?