I’m becoming an electrician

[Mada_]

I’m 24 and starting an industrial electrical apprenticeship. I get paid to learn an incredibly sought after trade and grow my cognitive ability as mathematics is essential for this job. I’m excited to use my maths brain again and might be able to tackle Gödel Escher Bach finally haha
 

I was pursuing music for a little while, even met some incredibly successful people who gave me inside information into the industry. And I realised I don’t want to make short form content, ever. I want to bin my iPhone actually as soon as my work allows for it haha. 
I want to do my time, get incredibly skilled at this blue collar skill.

 

My passion for music remains, as does my nascent joy of tinkering. I’m getting visions of using my time off to invent new instruments with therapeutic application, to create one of a kind synthesisers using foraged materials, repurposing discarded amplifiers etc. Eventually I see myself leaving the industrial/manufacturing sector, only working in renewable energy. Having my own property and workshop where I can use my skills creatively and with full integrity. I also have informal qualification in permaculture so want to live close to nature and semi off-grid. 

Admittedly I am conforming. I worry about the economy, I worry about never having property, I worry about being in a career that is replaced by AI (electrical/instrumentation will be one of the last professions to be replaced). On the flip side, I’ve spent my early adulthood starting projects that I keep quitting. I have an excellent understanding of business development and have dabbled in each area (lead gen, marketing, sales, ad building etc), and I hate it, I hate selling shit that isn’t worth selling, I hate these bullshit artist jobs where I am inflating people’s emotions, I feel like I can’t see straight after a days work. I feel like if I go full steam on art and work odd jobs there is a genuine chance I’m going to fail financially, which jeopardises my other ambitions (health, spiritual, owning property etc.), if I go full ball on business I’ve gotta go full steam and jeopardise my creative ambitions. I’ve had a go, I’m not special, I’m not amazingly talented, and it’s time for me to go back to school haha. This doesn’t exclude me from my ambition and passion for life, I’m humbled by the enormous organisational and effort it takes to go 100% your own way, and have enormous respect for Leo and all of you that are choosing this path. 
 

As soon as I start work I’m enrolling in one of Peter Ralston’s courses to keep myself growing whilst I work for the man. By the time I’m 28-29 I’ll have a skill that I can work 6 months of the year with for excellent pay if I want to, or charge a high rate for contracting. Then I can use the rest of the year to grow, create etc. I’ve got my own music/creative computing projects to keep busy with along the way. 

[Natasha Tori Maru]

@Mada_ Wow, yeah. Ok. HELL YEAH

Do it. I work in construction - so we subcontract out to the services trades.

You can pursue consciousness work and creativity while also doing a trade. In fact - if you grasp the right insights into the material reality of what you are doing correctly, you will find overlap with electrical manual work, creativity and truth. In the field you will always have plans issued from consultants, but there are many ways to creatively find solutions given constraints. Many ways to skin a cat, is the saying

I would highly recommend aiming for commercial work. Domestic work is fraught with shitfights and clients withholding pay. They have you by the balls. Commercial can be slow to pay - but they always cough up. Even better if you can get your foot in the door with state/federal work. 

Most of what you learn will be A/C I suspect. DC definitely for data - but you probably have a good grasp of DC already if you are musical. You sort of have to with any electric work + music. Custom pedals for guitars, amps etc. I've repaired a few! 

I used to work in an electronics store, so I love all electrical stuff within my work. I've even designed some performance solutions for hospitals based on what I have picked up (obviously consultants and BS pass this, but it was my design and proposal).

Good luck with the Ralston course. I am green with envy!

Edited July 23 by Natasha Tori Maru

[Mada_]

1 hour ago, Natasha Tori Maru said:

@Mada_ Wow, yeah. Ok. HELL YEAH

Do it. I work in construction - so we subcontract out to the services trades.

You can pursue consciousness work and creativity while also doing a trade. In fact - if you grasp the right insights into the material reality of what you are doing correctly, you will find overlap with electrical manual work, creativity and truth. In the field you will always have plans issued from consultants, but there are many ways to creatively find solutions given constraints. Many ways to skin a cat, is the saying

I would highly recommend aiming for commercial work. Domestic work is fraught with shitfights and clients withholding pay. They have you by the balls. Commercial can be slow to pay - but they always cough up. Even better if you can get your foot in the door with state/federal work. 

Most of what you learn will be A/C I suspect. DC definitely for data - but you probably have a good grasp of DC already if you are musical. You sort of have to with any electric work + music. Custom pedals for guitars, amps etc. I've repaired a few! 

I used to work in an electronics store, so I love all electrical stuff within my work. I've even designed some performance solutions for hospitals based on what I have picked up (obviously consultants and BS pass this, but it was my design and proposal).

Good luck with the Ralston course. I am green with envy!

Shit fight… You sound Aussie haha

Appreciate your response, avoiding domestic like the plague. Have met some bad apples already for whom safety is a bottom priority.  
 

 

[Natasha Tori Maru]

28 minutes ago, Mada_ said:

Shit fight… You sound Aussie haha

Appreciate your response, avoiding domestic like the plague. Have met some bad apples already for whom safety is a bottom priority.  

I feel attacked.... yep aussie >.<

My advice is: trust your gut and don't be afraid to push back. Supers, project managers and even clients will push you to ignore safety to meet a deadline. It happens every day. The building industry is corrupt on many levels - flouting safety is common. And sad. 

[MarkKol]

Doesn’t it take like 4 years to get cert III in Australia? You’re willing so go through it? 

I looked into it too months ago, but for HVAC.

Believe it or not in some US states you don’t even need a license, whereas AU and Ireland require 4 years of apprenticeship.

Edited Thursday at 09:53 AM by MarkKol