u/Ambitious_Station715 — reddlx

Advice for a Rookie?

I am one of the d-bag white collar guys that think they can just waltz in and hack it in this trade. Just kidding but I am moving over from an office marketing job. My family has always done labor work so I’ve used tools and done some work before, but for the most part I’m very inexperienced.

I just landed a job with a small nonunion electrical contractor and will be starting in 2 weeks. He said they mostly do a lot of new and rebuild commercial, tenant finishes, a little bit of service, and like one out of the ground core and shell project each year.

I’m just looking for any advice from you all who’ve already been doing this on how to show up prepared and how to be as successful as possible during my apprenticeship and entire career.

Some stuff I’ve heard/read
- Ask questions as much as possible
- Be okay with the grunt work when you start and find any opportunity to actually learn skills while doing it
- Find an old head who looks like they know what they’re doing and learn as much as you can from them
- Be on time always
- Write things down
- New boss told me the hardest thing new guys struggle with is learning the names of all the materials and tools
- Study and learn code for my area + you need to keep learning no matter how long you’ve been doing it

Any advice would be much appreciated.

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u/Ambitious_Station715 — 5 days ago

▲ 3 r/UnitedAssociation

Anybody have any word on what work looks like at Plumbers Local 3?

I just did my aptitude test and dropped off my application at the hall and was told the next step will be something on the 14th of May.

I have no experience so don’t know my odds of actually getting in, but if I do well does anyone know how long I could expect to wait for the call? Is there much work at the moment or expected this summer?

Appreciate any insight, thank you.

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u/Ambitious_Station715 — 13 days ago

▲ 10 r/ibew_applicants

Hey Everyone, currently in the process of trying to figure out how the heck to apply and what’s needed and how to stand out and blah blah blah.

Like many of you, it’s been confusing but wanted to bring this up since I’ve seen it mentioned in a few posts recently, for anyone looking to apply.

Many locals have switched over to the GAN test system instead of the old test. This means there is no interview, and the test focuses on different subjects. This is good information so you don’t do what I did, and pay to do a prep course or an virtual live session with TheElectriciansGuide, which is recommended on the mega thread of this sub, because that covers different topics. They are great, but it’s different from GAN.

I do not know the accuracy of this site, but from what I’ve read the provided screenshots is more of what you can expect on the test.

This is the case for Local 68 for anyone else looking to apply in Denver when applications open up in May.

I called my local to find out which test they were using. If you are looking to do test prep, it would probably be a good idea to search your locals website or call the training center to see which test they are using.

On the bright side, I’ve read people saying this test is easier. However the math is more like dividing fractions and mixed numbers. Easier than the algebra of the other test, but I haven’t done any of that since I was literally a child, so it took some refresher practice. I’ve also read that the spacial awareness (paper folding) can be a bit challenging if you don’t prepare for it ahead of time.

Good luck to anyone looking to apply and test soon!

Edit: instead of an interview there is Personal Experience Form (PEF), but I have not read on it much to be able to speak on it. I do believe it is significant to your ranking.

u/Ambitious_Station715 — 17 days ago