What do they not teach you at college?

[Mr Curnow]

I have completed my C&G levels 2&3 as well a HNC in Electrical Engineering, but apparently as someone new out of college I'm still not ready as an electrician as college doesn't teach you everything you need to know, my friend said in the real world it's nothing like at college, I gave up and went onto web development for the last few years as I knew that I wouldn't get a start, I didn't want to lie about experience, so it wasn't possible to get a start.

To me it seems that you could probably start but you'd need to learn some extra things which you can learn on the internet and practice at home, like LV lighting etc, I never did my 2391 when I was at college so I can't sign off electrics, would I need to learn that? It also seems like many electricians like to exaggerate how inexperienced you are, but when it comes to the job, you can actually do it, my mum had an electrician around her house the other day, he didn't fix the problem and wasted time purposely, but I fixed it within minutes. It seems that they are manipulative and looking to pay young naive people as little as they can hence why they emphasize their inexperience. And also most of the time you don't get that much better with experience, it's the theory that's hard, the practical work just takes a little time to get used to, anti intellectualism I bet.

 

[assegayer]

Have you even worked outside of college as an electricians mate or electrician?

 

[assegayer]

and you always get better with experience mate otherwise why is it called experience?

 

[Mr Curnow]

By the way I did actually ask this question before but nobody said what exactly they don't teach you. As I've said, you need experience to get experience, you aren't going to get a start without prior experience, an impossible catch 22. And yes, I've endlessly tried to find a job as an electrician, simply sending out CV's to random guys doesn't work, everyone does that. People say that you need to get used to the practical work, but to me it seems not that different from what we've learnt at college.

Someone did say about getting a job as an electricians mate, I will try that now. WOW I can't believe i missed reading that. You're right that you do need experience, but I think it's more important that you know the theory, if you know how to do it fast and right you are going to do it better than someone that has been doing it wrong for many years, the electrician over my mums house started doing things not at all necessary then I come along and fix it in a minute or two.

 

[Bobster]

They don't teach you a hell of a lot more than they do teach you.

 

[snowhead]

There are thousands of things they don't and can't teach you.

A few;

Working in customers premises
Working around customers / Members of the General public
Health and safety on sites
Working with, around and against other trades on site.
Estimating materials
Sourcing materials
Chasing suppliers and or central purchasing for materials
Dealing with the theft of materials on site after you've spent the last 2 weeks getting them
Dealing with the theft of all your tools the next day.
Using / working on access equipment, powered and unpowered.
Remembering to leave it on charge overnight.
Finding the batteries flat the next day because someone else used it overnight.
Working safely whilst still trying to keep a building operating or House usable.
Working under pressure.
Working with other people, some of whom know it all, some who actually know what they are talking about.
Installing a single socket in a house one day and modifying a complex control panel the next day
........

 

[Mr Curnow]

I'm looking at a electricians mate job on indeed and it says this:

"Electricians mates required for immediate start in Poole must have previous big site experience and be willing to learn new techniques and have valid C.S.C.S the role is working on a commercial install with the project looking to last for at least 6 months."

If this is the case then even then I won't be able to start, I could say I do have experience, but then I could do a job that I don't know what to do.


And by the way, most of the things mentioned above wouldn't take you long to pick up, that's what it's about. You could pick that up in a week.

 

[Simonslimline]

College will teach you the basics.


The practical side can really only be gained through hands on experience.

There is always more to learn.

 

[snowhead]

I'm looking at a electricians mate job on indeed and it says this:

"Electricians mates required for immediate start in Poole must have previous big site experience and be willing to learn new techniques and have valid C.S.C.S the role is working on a commercial install with the project looking to last for at least 6 months."

If this is the case then even then I won't be able to start, I could say I do have experience, but then I could do a job that I don't know what to do.

On that job, No
But there will be others you may be able to.

 

[Mr Curnow]

By the way, you will actually have to have experience for any job, because they will always take on the person who has experience over the one who doesn't, they may not require it, but they always employ the best person, which is usually experienced.

 

[Simonslimline]

I have completed my C&G levels 2&3 as well a HNC in Electrical Engineering, but apparently as someone new out of college I'm still not ready as an electrician as college doesn't teach you everything you need to know, my friend said in the real world it's nothing like at college, I gave up and went onto web development for the last few years as I knew that I wouldn't get a start, I didn't want to lie about experience, so it wasn't possible to get a start.

To me it seems that you could probably start but you'd need to learn some extra things which you can learn on the internet and practice at home, like LV lighting etc, I never did my 2391 when I was at college so I can't sign off electrics, would I need to learn that? It also seems like many electricians like to exaggerate how inexperienced you are, but when it comes to the job, you can actually do it, my mum had an electrician around her house the other day, he didn't fix the problem and wasted time purposely, but I fixed it within minutes. It seems that they are manipulative and looking to pay young naive people as little as they can hence why they emphasize their inexperience. And also most of the time you don't get that much better with experience, it's the theory that's hard, the practical work just takes a little time to get used to, anti intellectualism I bet.

Having the 2391 or new 2394/5 has absolutely nothing to do with being able to sign off your work.


Some work is notifiable in domestic situations IE, new circuit, consumer unit change, special locations etc.

 

[assegayer]

By the way, you will actually have to have experience for any job, because they will always take on the person who has experience over the one who doesn't, they may not require it, but they always employ the best person, which is usually experienced.

mate just simply find a job as an electricians mate, off course give it a little bull to get your foot in first, but just don't go over the top.

 

[sysrq]

By the way, you will actually have to have experience for any job, because they will always take on the person who has experience over the one who doesn't, they may not require it, but they always employ the best person, which is usually experienced.

They know that there are always someone more experienced than you out there.

 

[Pete999]

I'm looking at a electricians mate job on indeed and it says this:

"Electricians mates required for immediate start in Poole must have previous big site experience and be willing to learn new techniques and have valid C.S.C.S the role is working on a commercial install with the project looking to last for at least 6 months."

If this is the case then even then I won't be able to start, I could say I do have experience, but then I could do a job that I don't know what to do.


And by the way, most of the things mentioned above wouldn't take you long to pick up, that's what it's about. You could pick that up in a week.

Sounds really simple coming from someone who is retired, but if you don't ask you don't get, so apply for the jobs you don't think you will get, you never know, and what does it cost you to try, nothing really so my advice go for everything.

 

[snowhead]

Another one they don't appear to teach which comes up here quite often, in fact very recently again.

How to recognise a missing Neutral at a light or other accessory.

 

[hightower]

In a domestic setting (because that's all I have a little experience of) I've found it's not so much the wiring itself (connect this wire to this wire) that requires experience. That comes down (in large) to theory which I find can be picked up in the classroom.

They teach you how to cut trays, bend conduit etc at college (course dependant) but it's things like chasing walls and finding cable routes that don't get taught so much. Every house I've worked on has been unique in its own way. On Saturday I was working on a rewire and I said "Ok, time to lift the floorboards" and the bosses reply was "Why?" - turns out the house had a substantial void under the floor - we simply drilled holes where we wanted the cables to come up and then muggins here crawled about feeding the cables up through the holes - it was a lot quicker than (and less mess) than lifting floor boards.

I'm fairly new to the game myself, but I'm not sure asking on a forum is going to get you experience - it might get you knowledge but experience is something that comes with practice and can't be learned in an academic sense. You might know you have to chase a wall (understanding), you might even know how to chase a wall (knowledge), but experience means you can chase the wall (competence through experience). I reckon at the moment for every single thing I learn at college, I learn double through on-site experience.

I know this response doesn't help you any (in that you can now chase walls etc) but I'm not sure experience is something that can be handed out on an internet forum. Yes, it's hard finding work, but there's a reason why so many jobs want someone experienced - because it counts for something. So keep at the job hunt, and things will come good man. Good luck!

 

[Diddy]

As already said just lie about experience if you are applying for a mates job....Then if you arrive on site and they ask you as a mate to do something that you have never done then just pipe up and say "Oh I have never done this before can you give me a quick demo please" that will do the trick - As a mate you are not going to be left to wire complicated systems ect. You will most likely be doing containment on large sites - Conduit, Trunking, Tray, Ladder rack ect. Pulling in large cables and general lifting and carrying as and when required. The other handy thing is again in general you will be working as part of a team, Pretty easy to fit in and learn from the guys who have been doing it for a while.

 

[old dog]

and you always get better with experience mate otherwise why is it called experience?

I agree I am 38 years in the trade and learning every day. College can't teach all the things you learn over years of working in the trade. As suggested above try and get a job as a mate to gain the experience you need to move forward.
Good luck

 

[sysrq]

I agree I am 38 years in the trade and learning every day. College can't teach all the things you learn over years of working in the trade. As suggested above try and get a job as a mate to gain the experience you need to move forward.
Good luck

Another thing they don't teach is when employer fires you just because you are trying to get things done the right way and to the highest quality. Employers always wan't speed over quality.

 

[Adam W]

Another thing they don't teach is when employer fires you just because you are trying to get things done the right way and to the highest quality. Employers always wan't speed over quality.

They'll never admit to that though. More often than not it's "I don't care how long it takes, just do a good job" which roughly translates as "do the best job you can as quickly as you can".
Also the way to keep your job is to do what the boss tells you to do without questioning it, no matter how much of a stupid idea you think it is; just prepare yourself to be stripping it out and doing it again. Mistakes are fine as long as they're the boss's mistakes.